RTHK: Zelensky repeats warning over Russian nuclear weapons The world should prepare for the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Saturday, repeating an earlier warning. "We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with Ukrainian news media. "We must prepare for that." Anti-radiation medicine and air raid shelters would be needed, he said. The Russians, he said, "can use any weapon, I'm convinced of it". The interview was relayed by six Ukrainian news websites and also broadcast by the Ukrainian presidency on Telegram. Already on Friday, Zelensky had warned that the world should be worried about the threat Putin posed, echoing comments by CIA director William Burns. Burns said on Thursday that Russia's battlefield setbacks raised the risk that President Vladimir Putin could deploy a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon. The Kremlin said it had placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the assault began on February 24, but the United States says it has not seen any sign of unusual nuclear movements. Moscow has said it would use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine in the case of an "existential threat" against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN in a recent interview. Russian military doctrine includes the "escalate to de-escalate" principle of launching a small nuclear weapon to regain the initiative in war. US President Joe Biden is "deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which nuclear conflict becomes possible," said Burns. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-04-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Racism against Asian Americans an ugly thread in U.S. history 08:41, April 17, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily In the U.S., there was a continued rise in the anti-Asian incidents during the period when the coronavirus pandemic ran rampant in the country, said a report released by the China Society for Human Rights Studies on April 15. The report reveals the dark history and harsh reality of the racial discrimination against Asians in the U.S. society, emphasizing that Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans are subject to discrimination and violations in various forms, and cannot fully enjoy their human rights. It claims that the increasing racial discrimination against Asians exposes the countrys fundamental racist nature. Some U.S. politicians and media outlets are reluctant to acknowledge the racial discrimination against Asian Americans, but massive incidents are telling the truth that such discrimination is getting severer. According to a survey released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), hate crime cases in the U.S. decreased by 7 percent in 2020 compared with 2019, but those against Asian Americans increased by 149 percent. According to a report published on Nov. 18, 2021 by the national coalition Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate, from March 19, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021, a total of 10,370 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to the organization, with the majority of the incidents took place in public spaces such as public streets and businesses. Statistics released by the New York City Police Department on Dec. 8, 2021 showed that anti-Asian hate crimes in the city rose by 361 percent from that of 2020. Theres a Chinese saying that it takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in March 2021 that "Thousands of incidents across the past year have perpetuated a centuries-long history of intolerance, stereotyping, scapegoating, exploitation and abuse." Discrimination on a systematic basis is akin to a long-standing malignancy in the United States. In the late 19th century, some politicians and media deliberately stigmatized Asian Americans as "Yellow Peril," and in 1924, all Asians were forbidden to immigrate to the U.S. Asian Americans have suffered from long-time prejudice, exclusion, and racial violence. The Associated Press once observed that "Racism against Asian Americans has long been an ugly thread in the U.S. history." In recent years, U.S. politicians have poisoned the U.S. society through political manipulation, which made the racial discrimination against Asians even more rampant. They politicized, labeled and stigmatized the virus, further exacerbating the discrimination against Asian Americans. White House press secretary admitted that there was "no question" that the former U.S. administration's "damaging rhetoric" led to "elevated threats against Asian Americans." In September 2020, 164 Republican congressmen voted against the bill condemning discrimination against Asian Americans. Unfortunately, the current U.S. government proceeded to manipulate the public opinion and politicize the COVID-19 origins tracing, further stoking the Anti-Asian sentiments within the U.S. Deceived by some U.S. politicians' and media's lies about the coronavirus pandemic, some African Americans mistook Asian Americans as their enemy and attacked Asian Americans to vent their anger. What the U.S. politician did has further indulged the racial discrimination against Asian Americans. The increasing racial discrimination against Asians reflects a mindset of the U.S.: bullying the weak, which comes from the white supremacy environment. The U.S. government and society have long turned a deaf ear to Asian Americans' complaints of racism and discrimination. The U.S. has never compensated for or reflected on the sufferings it has inflicted on Asian Americans, and even tries its best to cover up or blur relevant facts. In the U.S., Asian Americans are portrayed as outsiders in racial conflicts. Such identification of Asian Americans in the U.S. makes them the target of racist exclusion. Numerous vicious violent attacks against Asian Americans have gone unfiled as hate crimes. After the three shootings that occurred in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, the spokesman of the local police office openly denied that it was a hate crime and even defended the shooter by claiming that he was having a "bad day." Being labeled as a "permanent alien" is a traumatic experience shared by many Asian Americans, said BBC in a report. The cold reality reflects that Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans are subject to discrimination and violations in various forms, despite the fact that they have made prominent contributions to the progress of the U.S. society and that the ethnic composition of the United States is changing. The poor records of the U.S. on racial problems mirror the deep-rooted institutional and structural deficits of the U.S. society, profoundly reveal the hypocrisy of the American human rights, and debunk the so-called beacon of human rights. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Virtual Talk on Dolphins from Oregon Coast Scientist, April 21 Published 04/14/22 at 5:52 AM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Newport, Oregon) There aren't a lot of dolphins on the Oregon coast, and those that are present are usually quite a ways out and only spotted by those at sea. Yet a handful of species do exist in these waters, and thus they are the subject of study by the Marine Mammal Institute at Newport's Hatfield Marine Science Center. (Photo courtesy Hatifield Marine Science Center) The Hatfields Science on Tap series continues and features a talk dolphins on Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m. Guest speaker is Mauricio Cantor, an assistant professor with the institute, with a virtual talk entitled Inventive feeding tactics shape dolphin societies. These famed Oregon coast lectures are not yet back in person and at local pubs, so once again you'll have to pour your at home while watching. Cantor's talk looks at creative ways dolphins catch a bite underwater and how these inventive tactics can profoundly shape individuals' lives and societies. Cantor said dolphins have a certain technique in navigating their physical environments to find food and acquiring the skills to best handle their favorite yummy bits. Dolphins on the Oregon coast and elsewhere - have the additional challenge of navigating their social environments to decide when to race, share or fight for their food. By combining exceptional cognitive and learning abilities with a remarkable social life, dolphins are famous for inventive solutions to these foraging challenges. To register for this event, free and open to the public, go to https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/95347131268 Or call: +1 971 247 1195 Webinar ID: 953 4713 1268. For accommodation requests related to a disability, contact Cinamon Moffett at 541-867-0126. The two main types of dolphins found off the Oregon coast are the bottlenose dolphin or the Pacific white-sided dolphin. Unfortunately, the only times these show up close enough to be seen by visitors is if a deceased one washes up onshore. There are many cases of the Seaside Aquarium dealing with this on the north Oregon coast and southern Washington coast. According to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the bottlenose dolphin is the most common type found in the oceans of the world, in both temperate and tropical environments. They are well known for their intelligence and have a kind of smile built into their mouths which humans find endearing, making them popular with TV and movies. The U.S. Navy also utilizes them to search out weaponry underwater. The Pacific white-sided dolphin is more common in Southern California, but during the summer they do move northward into waters off the Oregon coast and Washington coast. They prefer the deeper waters of the region. They are about seven to eight feet long, and have three different colors on them in various parts. This includes a dark gray around the eyes and a light gray stripe running beneath it. Porpoises are extremely common off the Oregon coast, often fairly close to shore, and these are mistaken for dolphins. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Below: more of the Hatfield Marine Science Center More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Help Out on Oregon Coast with Marine Debris Survey, Black Oystercatcher Monitoring Published 04/16/22 at 5:32 PM PST By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Oregon Coast) One way to really get down deep into the Oregon coast is something called voluntourism a hybrid of being a visitor here while helping out in a way that lets you truly enjoy the outdoors in a whole new manner. You're doing some good for Oregon coast science or in the environmental sense, but you're learning and being hands-on while seeing new sights along the beaches. (Above: a black oystercatcher, courtesy Seaside Aquarium) There are numerous such activities going on constantly, and two of the more interesting projects are the Black Oystercatcher Project up and down the entire length of the coast and the Maine Debris Survey on the Clatsop Spit between Warrenton and Seaside. Both have put out calls recently for volunteers and it's a worthy cause yet an opportunity for fun. Volunteer organization CoastWatch conducts numerous marine debris surveys along these shores, and one of the large ones is at Fort Stevens State Park, just south of the Columbias South Jetty. Courtesy Seaside Aquarium More volunteers are needed to fill out the team, headed by Oregon Shores board member Ed Joyce, which handles the monthly survey at this site, said CoastWatch. We seek to organize a large enough team that some members can be there every month, without any one person having to be there each time. Upcoming dates for shoreline marine debris training are April 20, May 18 and June 22. This isnt just practice, though - the actual survey will be conducted. Meet at 10 a.m. at Parking Lot B, about three-quarters of a mile south of the Columbia on Jetty Rd. in Fort Stevens State Park. As with all CoastWatchs marine debris survey sites, the survey is conducted monthly, to supply consistent data. Everyone is welcome to participate in this citizen science project, CoastWatchers and non-CoastWatchers alike. While the goal is to recruit volunteers who will participate at this site, anyone is welcome to join in. This is serious citizen science, employing a protocol developed by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and producing data used by scientists studying the marine debris problem. For more information on the upcoming survey event or plans for the Fort Stevens survey site, contact Ed Joyce, (503) 468-0995, edjoyce1@verizon.net. RSVPs would be helpful, so Ed can provide some background information in advance and will know who to look for on the day. Courtesy Seaside Aquarium For the entire Oregon coast from Brookings to Seaside the Portland Audubon is hoping to find more volunteers to assist with the monitoring of black oystercatchers. If you're interested in participating in this upcoming project, sign up for the virtual training from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 28. The training will cover the life history of this species, conservation challenges they face, and instructions on how to participate in the nest monitoring program this summer. To sign up, email aanholt@audubonportland.org. The idea is to determine if nests are successful, indicated by eggs hatching and the young leaving the nests. Nest monitoring is conducted from May through August at 75 sites up and down the coast, from Brookings to Seaside. See the Audobon link here. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Photos below Seaside Aquarium More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted According to Star Trek: 'Astoria. On Earth's Oregon Coast. It's Heaven' Published 04/14/22 at 8:22 PM PST By Andre' GW Hagestedt (Oregon Coast) You're casually watching an episode of the latest season of Star Trek: Discovery. Things are getting rather intense on the bridge, everything is shaking, and the starship Discovery is heading through the galactic barrier and getting ripped apart (yeah, like that's real science). In the midst of it, two characters are talking about where they'd love to visit when this chaos is all over. When the conversation comes around to Lt. Commander Eva Nilsson, she blurts out Astoria. On Earth's Oregon coast. It's heaven. Who didn't cheer with glee at that remark and hoist a joyful arm into the air? For those familiar with the Oregon coast, this was right up there with the Discovery crew meeting the Guardian of Forever in the last season that unforgettable, mysterious AI character from the original series. It's the 32nd century, keep in mind. What the heck would Astoria be like then? A good one thousand years into the future and I'm guessing all the original wood is gone. But I digress. In any case, the random moment of TV fame brought a little buzz to the north Oregon coast. Sure, it's not as fame-inducing as Goonies being filmed there, but to us Trekkies in Oregon it was a big deal. This moment happens about 41 minutes into the episode We here at Oregon Coast Beach Connection tried to get an interview with the writer of the episode (episode ten of season four), but to no avail. We wanted to know why screenwriter Anne Cofell Saunders popped our favorite spot at the tip of Oregon into the dialogue. If it is was, in fact, her. It could've been someone else on staff who inserted Astoria. Saunders is also known for penning some scripts for the esteemed Battlestar Galactica, Timeless, 24 and Smallville. Nice. As to Lt. Nilsson, she was played by Canadian actress Sara Mitich, also is known for that rather trippy role of Gia in The Expanse. Mitich also looks a bit like this girl who works at the coffee shop near me, who's actually studying to be a pilot. Maybe space is in her future? Cool..... This is the first I've seen the Oregon coast ever mentioned in any Star Trek, although DS9 slipped in that Sisko had a sister in Portland but we don't know which Ptown that was. Liz Cole in DS9 Yet it's not the first I've personally encountered something Star Trek on the Oregon coast. I'll never forget, somewhere around 2007 or so, walking out of a grocery store in Manzanita and I heard a unique voice I instantly recognized: a voice from the Susie episode of Seinfeld. I whirled around to look, and sure enough: there was the grayish lady who was a germaphobe from a few episodes of the '90s mega hit. It turned out, the lady had also done at least two episodes of Star Trek: one in Next Generation and the other near the finale of DS9. Liz Cole was her name, and she still lives in the north Oregon coast region. I've talked to her a couple of times, and she's very gracious, even to a manic Trek fan like me. I think she dug the brief hero worship. Liz sometimes goes by Megan Cole on stage as well, and periodically she gives performances in the Manzanita area. Oceanside, before the arch fell Then there is, of course, the spot in Oceanside nicknamed "Star Trek Beach," at least it was in the '90s and early 2000s. Part of the reason was the arch there that looked just a bit like the Guardian of Forever, from that famous time travel episde "City on the Edge of Forever," written by Harlan Ellison and DC Fontana. Sadly, the arch fell apart in the early 2000s but the nickname remains for some. The Oregon coast has popped on TV and movie sci-fi in other unique ways as well, not including filming locations. It was either directly referenced or tacitly referred to in LOST, X-Files, Stargate and others. See Curious Moments Oregon Coast Showed Up in TV, Sort Of. Hotels in Astoria - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted A Beaumont drug dealer may have bargained with a Chevy truck owner in exchange for crack-cocaine, but the truck's owner ultimately struck a different deal with police. The Jefferson County grand jury on earlier this month indicted the 28-year-old man with the state jail felony of possession of a controlled substance. A Beaumont Police Officer received a call on Jan. 5 to the La Salsita restaurant located at 612 Washington Blvd. in Beaumont for an auto theft complaint. A man who met with police said he loaned his Chevrolet pick up truck to a known drug dealer in exchange for crack cocaine, but he now wanted the truck back. The truck owner was escorted by police to the last known location of the alleged drug dealer in the 1000 Block of Fulton Avenue in reference to a civil standby, court documents said. When police arrived to the location, the drug dealer was sitting in the front seat of the truck, which was parked in the driveway. Police noticed the man in the truck allegedly tuck a pistol away next to his right leg and noticed a clear baby bottle containing a green liquid-like substance. From my law enforcement training and experience, I know that such characteristics are indicative of promethazine, a dangerous drug, the officer stated. The officer removed the man from the vehicle and restrained his hands due to the gun on the scene. Court documents said the man gave police consent to search him, at which point the officer located about $4,175 and a pill later identified as hydrocodon. The pistol was reported stolen from our agency under BPD case number 2019-027839, the officer stated. The man was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and taken to jail. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/megzmagpie FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) Seventeen-year-old Emma Rose Smiths living room is jampacked with donated menstrual care and general hygiene products. The piles are answers to a call from her and fellow Franklin High School student leaders hoping to make a difference in the lives of youth just like them. Theyre collecting products as part of Her Drive, a Chicago-based nonprofit working to fight period and hygiene poverty. Theres a lot of period poverty in Tennessee, which isnt really focused on in Tennessee because (hygiene products) are available to many, Smith said. Smith, alongside fellow juniors and student leaders Emma Collins and Haley Jaworski, already works outside of class with their teachers, administrators and classmates through self-founded groups to expand the scope of literature and social issues covered in their school and district. But hoping to make a more direct and immediate impact, the three have united on this new front. In our school and in Williamson County, theres a lot of wealth here, Jaworski said. And theres a huge opportunity for us to help people who arent as wealthy. Her Drive was started by students attending Emory University and Tulane University. Since finding the group on Instagram and TikTok, its leaders have provided the Franklin students with guidance and a platform for the drive, empowering them with an authority to ask locals for help with confidence. On the first day of April, the teens held a drive at Franklin Road Apparel in downtown Franklin, explaining to customers and passersby the importance of readily available and accessible period products. This is a basic human right, because people cannot control having periods. And so they should be free, but theyre not, Smith said. Most people in Williamson County dont understand that there are people who seriously cannot afford to buy a box of tampons. That day, the teens collected over 1,000 individual pads and tampons, as well as around 700 miscellaneous hygiene and health products. And they still havent made it through counting all the inventory donated and connected outside of the event, mostly in response to posts on the Nextdoor app. The teens will ultimately donate the gathered products, which also include general hygiene and health products like toothpaste, brushes, cotton swabs, multivitamins, skincare, socks and lip balm, to organizations like Room In The Inn and the Oasis Center in Nashville. All of us feel like we want to give back, we want to change our society and our atmosphere wherever we go, Collins said. So, this was just another opportunity to do that. Smith, Jaworski and Collins are hosting the drive through April 18. Anyone interested may donate in person or via an Amazon wish list at https://linktr.ee/Ermasmith13. WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 17, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Austin San Antonio has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Southern Medina County in south central Texas... East central Uvalde County in south central Texas... * Until 630 PM CDT. * At 537 PM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 10 miles north of Sabinal to near Hondo, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Hondo, Devine, Sabinal, Natalia, Biry, D'Hanis, Yancey, New Fountain, Quihi and Dunlay. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Large hail, damaging winds, and continuous cloud to ground lightning are occurring with these storms. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. PITTSFIELD On the map, this bit of Pittsfield high ground, home to the Powell and Hamilton families, is inked in red. Hazardous, a label says. The hazard isnt crime, including the arson that destroyed the house at Robbins Avenue and Division Street, next to where Courtney R. Hamilton is raising four kids. The hazard isnt all of the people going in and out of drug houses, some of whom drive recklessly through this neighborhood and have struck children, spurring parents to holler Car! to children playing outside. The old map, prepared by a federal government agency in 1936, protected people who didnt live here. It fashioned these once refined Circular Avenue blocks into a kind of bulls eye, advising bankers where not to invest. It marked three red zones in Pittsfield, along with sprawling areas in yellow designated as Definitely Declining. Nearly a century later, its plain that decades of intentional disinvestment rubbed this place raw. A new report, Redlining in Pittsfield: A case study, is about to lay bare the decades-long bad deal dealt to residents of the West Side, practices that stymied homeownership and deprived Black families of the ability to build wealth. Around its red zones, the 1936 Homeowners Loan Corp. map colored other Pittsfield streets green and blue, labeling them Best and Still Desirable. Today, the West Side has some of the citys lowest rates of homeownership as well as lower life expectancy and income. Roderick Powell, 44, answered a knock on his door at 22-24 Robbins Ave. this week and studied a copy of the 1936 map. His familys house sits near the center of the red zone. Powell, who works in construction, was asked: If we say hard time getting a loan, does that resonate with you? It does. My father was on a police officers salary. And my mother worked for the city. And for the longest time, back in the 80s, they wasnt able to get our house, he said. Those parents, Walter J. Powell and Sabrina Powell, eventually bought the house on Robbins Avenue. His dad, who now lives in North Carolina, had worked as a cop in both North Adams and Pittsfield. His son still wonders why it took his father so long to become a homeowner. When my younger sister went off to college, thats when my father was able to buy his first house, Powell said. Land records show his father taking out a mortgage in 2006, and then modifying the loan in 2008, when he owed $71,255. Roderick Powell said he hasnt attempted to buy a home, but was aware over the years that guys he worked with in the trades seemed able to secure mortgages. Its crazy. When I was in the laborers union, I worked with white guys that were young and had houses, you know what Im saying? Guys that worked at gas stations and was able to purchase houses. Today, Powell, who is raising two young sons, Chance and Bentlee, sees his future elsewhere. One brother may remain connected with the family property on Robbins Avenue, but he is considering a move, perhaps to North Carolina. Im gonna get my family out of here. I think theres a better chance of being able to do better in life if we get out of this area. Pittsfield is dying, he said. Given chances From Powells front porch, the view south is more open these days, after the fire took the house at 11 Robbins Ave., beside where Courtney Hamilton, 45, lives at 31 Division St. Across Robbins Avenue, a blighted home recently came down. Hamilton bought the lot that held the burned building and has fenced it in to create a safer place for children to play. The Hamilton family has a long history here. It includes owning homes and losing them. The house Courtney bought in 2007 from Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity had once belonged to her grandparents, Rodney and Shirley Hamilton. Courtney celebrated her first birthday here, 44 years ago. Today, she is the Hamilton carrying on the tradition and an exception, as a Black homeowner. She said her family had lost the house before she was able to buy it, for $60,000, according to property records, through Habitat. Ive been here for 14 years, I own the house. I think I have six more years until its completely paid off, she said. I would love to see more people owning, more African Americans, owning property, and given chances, she said in a visit on her front steps, as she braided her hair. Researchers associated with the local NAACP chapter have determined that Black residents of Pittsfield own homes at less than half the rate of the city as a whole. The disparity has grown in the last half century. If home ownership could increase among West Side residents, Hamilton is asked, how would this neighborhood change? I think it would be amazing, she said. But it feels a bit like a dream. It is what it is, you know, Hamilton said. A few blocks north, at 28-30 Daniels Ave., the group West Side Legends is rehabbing a home that will be sold to a local buyer. The project offers, one home at a time, a solution to a century of financial institution neglect. On Thursday, Thomas Moody was inside the house, continuing work to strip it to its frame, ahead of a full reconstruction. He has done construction for years in the neighborhood and seen barriers to improvement. Anything on the West Side you try to do, it gets blocked, Moody said. Most people rent on the West Side. Whats keeping the neighborhood down? he is asked. They need to let you build more. They just need to open it up. Maybe its just a lack of money in Pittsfield, he said. Moody sees the West Side Legends project as a way for families who havent owned homes to build equity. They can get into these houses for decent money. And if they get tired of it, they can go out and [sell and] make $15,000 on their own house, and then go across the street, or wherever they want to go, and buy a bigger house. Separately a few programs have been showing love for the West Side. Mayor Linda Tyers administration has been knocking down blighted properties. The city also set up forgivable loans for home improvements. Children at play When applying years ago to Habitat, Hamilton wrote a letter explaining how much it would mean to have the property back in her family and to be able to raise her children here. When the property was renovated, she asked that its old floors be retained, because nicks and scratches are part of the Hamilton story. And now I have four kids here, and its home, she said. From her front stoop, Hamilton is a one-woman neighborhood watch. Two nearby houses are destinations for drug activity, she says. I take pictures, and I write down license plates, and I send everything to the cops. And 14 years later, its still a crack house, you know, thats been going on for 14 years, Hamilton said. Yesterday I found a needle. The neighborhood isnt the greatest. Both of her grandmothers, Shirley Hamilton and Barbara Hanger, were known to speak up when things bothered them. That hasnt changed in this family. I get fed up; I get mad, Hamilton said, who works as a sexual and reproductive health counselor for Tapestry Health. Ive reached out to the City Council, you know, to my ward people, but nothing is done. I put a Children at Play sign out and somebody stole it. Weve seen at least four kids get hit by cars up here. It doesnt just take three neighbors to do improvements. We need a lot of people to do improvements, she said. Hamilton is determined to stay, but may want a different life for her children, who are 10, 12, 18 and 20. One daughter attends North Carolina A&T State University. I dont want her to come back here. I dont want to leave this house to her. How many shootings or how many killings has there been this year? And its not even summertime yet? She remembers another West Side. When I grew up, you know, we could ride our bikes around the block. We played outside. We were just outside playing as kids. Had no worries in the world. And now, I always tell my kids, Be careful. Dont horseplay. There could be needles here. No, you cant go to the park because Im not there to check the slides to see if theres needles, she said. I think drugs have definitely taken over. And not that there wasnt drugs back in the day, but its taken over and its getting so bad. Most people just want to get the hell out of here. PITTSFIELD The citizen advisory group that serves as the liaison between residents and the Pittsfield Police Department will gather virtually Tuesday morning in the first meeting since the killing of Miguel Estrella. The Pittsfield Police Advisory and Review Board has set aside a portion of its 5 p.m. meeting to discuss the night of March 25, when city police officers Tased and then shot and killed 22-year-old Estrella after officers say he advanced towards them with a knife. The agenda item includes the note: public input welcome. Its a pivotal moment in the boards history as Estrellas death is the first killing by police since the the board was formed in 2019. The meeting could stand as a test to whether the board is meeting what it and the police department defines as the bodys goal: to allow citizens and the police to directly learn from each other in order to create a more stable relationship. The product of a multiyear push by residents and city leaders to give citizens a voice in city policing, the board was proposed in the wake of the last police shooting. Daniel Gillis, then 36, was shot and killed by a Pittsfield Police officer in September 2017 after officers responded to reports that Gillis was threatening to harm himself. Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless cleared the officer who shot Gillis of any criminal behavior the following January after an investigation into the case. In July 2018, Gillis girlfriend Jacquelyn Sykes came before city councilors at the ordinances and rules subcommittee meeting on the creation of the advisory board. Eagle reports from the time note that she told the committee Its time to hold the department accountable. As city councilors debated the formation of the advisory and review board in late 2018, then City Solicitor Rich Dohoney said the board would usher in a level of transparency that the city has never seen. With a message in mind, Pittsfield review board backs police reform bill PITTSFIELD The citys Police Advisory and Review Board made official Wednesday its support for the states policing reform law. By the spring of 2019 the board had received City Council approval and Mayor Linda Tyer had filled the boards 11 seats. The original members represented members of law enforcement, the Human Rights Commission, the Berkshire chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and local faith communities in keeping with the citys charter. Members were supposed to serve either two or three year terms. While early meetings of the members were promising, the board now appears to be on the brink of succumbing to the same fate as Pittsfields two prior failed attempts at a police board in the last 15 years. Membership has dwindled down to three people in the last several months. Police Advisory and Review Board Chair Ellen Maxon proposed at the boards meeting in March that board reduce its meetings from once a month to every other month in part because of lack of membership and business to address. She said the change was based on concerns over whether we should be meeting when we dont have a true representation of the community. Pittsfield residents make case for police advisory board PITTSFIELD Elizabeth Calkins said she was heading into work one day when officers showed up at her door.Though she committed no crime, she said, officers threw her to the ground and I have sent emails to mayors office many times reminding them that theres only three of us, Maxon said. And I dont know what more to do. Responding to large vacancies on the police advisory and review board and other city bodies, Tyer issued a spate of new board and commission appointments during the City Council meeting last week. Among the appointments approved were three new Police Advisory and Review Board members. The new members are Lt. Col. Thomas Grady, Dennis Powell and Marie Richardson. Grady is an officer with the Berkshire County Sheriffs Office, Powell is the president of the Berkshire chapter of the NAACP and Richardson is a retired Pittsfield Public School caseworker. The multi-billion dollar pharma giant with an incredibly tainted past, who has seen exponential profits during the pandemic as a result of taxpayers being forced to pay for the jab, has also enjoyed billions in taxpayer dollars to advertise said jab. The windfall of profits realized from vaccinating adults using propaganda and mandates quickly turned the companys sights to children as their customer base waned as people realized the vaccine did not protect you from getting covid. Despite children facing a near zero chance of dying from COVID-19, the FDA jumped on board and quickly approved Pfizers mRNA vaccine for children ages 5-11 last year. Governments across the country then began requiring children to get the jab to go to school and researchers began to see an increase in myocarditis. Since the vaccine was approved in December 2020, there has been a record number of adverse reactions reported to the CDC and many of them include children. As the following example illustrates, when those children are injured, their parents are censored for speaking out about it. Ernesto Ramirez Jr. was one of hundreds of children who took the jab early on. Sadly, however, unlike others, he did not survive and five days after the shot, according to his father, Ernesto dropped dead. I kept hearing more advertisements about how it was safe for the teenagers, so I said OK, Ernestos father, Ernesto Ramirez told Fox 26 Houston journalist Ivory Hecker earlier this year. Two or three weeks later the CDC started announcing children were having enlarged hearts. A typical heart for a boy this age would be less than 250 grams, said Dr. Peter McCullough, a Dallas physician featured in Heckers video. In this case it was more than 500 grams. Ramirez tried to raise money for his deceased sons funeral but because he claimed the jab killed his son, GoFundMe deleted it. GoFundMe cancels grieving father's fundraiser for son who died from vaccine The BL https://t.co/H3YIGA0Tmv Ernest Ramirez (@rgvrunner01) September 14, 2021 Since his son died, Ramirez has been facing an uphill battle of censorship and hatred. Many folks online are angry with Ramirez for telling people that the vaccine caused his sons death. But this hasnt stopped this single father. Instead, its made him go harder. This week, he launched a billboard to tell people what happened to his son and unless the censors have a giant black sheet and a crane, lots of people will see this sign. My baby boy story is getting out pic.twitter.com/SUwmbAZEaI Ernest Ramirez (@rgvrunner01) April 15, 2022 For the last couple of months, Ramirez has been travelling the country, telling people his story, and the censorship class is unable to stop him. Another one of those children who participated in the Pfizer trial and was severely injured is Maddie de Garay, who received the Pfizer vaccine when she was 12. She is now is in a wheelchair. Like Ramirez, Maddies family made an advertisement to tell her story about her experience with the vaccine. Unfortunately, however, Maddies ad is and has been actively censored. Whats more, Comcast pulled the ad last year as it was slated to run before the FDAs Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met to discuss COVID-19 vaccines for children. Despite the censorship, Maddies ad went viral on other platforms and received significant coverage in the independent media, including this outlet. Apparently, according to big tech, only those who praise the vaccines efficacy even if that praise is false are allowed a platform. If you or your child was injured by it, you have no right to speak. As Ramirez and the de Garay families illustrate, big tech is having an increasingly harder time keeping a lid on this information. And that is inspiring. In this book, Mary McThomas examines how individuals can claim their own subjecthood while still evading the identity-forming powers of state surveillance. Building on post-colonial theories, Queer theories, and surveillance studies, McThomas analyzes how the creation of categories and identities can serve as a form of control or, conversely, can be used as a form of resistance. In doing so, she discusses ways in which state power is extended or frustrated, and the way in which the unauthorized resident shapes public discourse and policy. Featuring over 100 hours of committee meetings, public hearings, and legislative floor debates on sanctuary cities in the United States, McThomas argues for policies that recognize and protect residents while allowing them to remain invisible to federal immigration enforcement officers. She locates sites of contestation and potential points of resistance that allow for individuals to self-create their identities free from state intervention. It is these sites and practices that help to subvert the state's monopoly on determining which bodies matter and which stories are heard. Elusive Subjects: Immigrant Recognition and Legitimation in Modern Surveillance States will appeal to scholars and instructors in the fields of citizenship studies, surveillance studies, immigration policy, and migration studies. In early March, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, a strange thing happened in the market for wheat futures: Trading came to an unexpected halt. Prices of wheat had spiked soon after the war started. That made sense, since Russia and Ukraine together account for about 30 per cent of the worlds wheat exports, and a conflict would probably cause shortages. But professional traders who speculate on the direction of wheat prices using so-called futures contracts, and businesses that use those contracts to lock in prices for the grain, could not figure out why the price of one of the most popular contracts had shot up so suddenly that it prevented them from trading. Russias invasion of Ukraine is driving up wheat prices and is the impetus for a curious move in markets. Credit:Bloomberg For five days beginning March 1, the Chicago wheat futures contract for May the nearest month that could be used to bet on the future price of wheat without the risk of having to accept a shipment of the grain was at limit up, meaning that its price could go no higher for the day. For part or all of those days, no one could trade it; no one was willing to sell contracts at prices lower than the limit. As analysts and traders tried to figure out what was going on, a small exchange-traded fund that had caught the attention of individual investors many of whom congregate on Reddit provided a clue. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar says Australians cant equate Anthony Albaneses gaffe about the unemployment rate to Prime Minister Scott Morrisons slip of the tongue on the JobSeeker payment. Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne this afternoon, Sukkar said the Labor leader did not make a simple mistake - he just didnt know a key economic data point, which Australians will make their own judgements about. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Me saying 20 bucks a day versus 20 bucks a week because its a slip of the tongue is very different to not knowing a key piece of economic data, and I think most Australians know that, Sukkar said. As we reported earlier, Morrison said this morning at a press conference in Perth that the JobSeeker payment was $46 a week. It is $46 a day. The assistant treasurer, who is also the minister for housing, said the governments home deposit scheme - which has been extended - is a proven success. He was defiant in his denial that the schemes expansion would inflate prices and otherwise be of minimal help to the economy, given it helped fewer than one in 10 Australian homebuyers each year. Weve seen first home ownership levels at the highest levels for nearly 15 years [and] at a time with extraordinary house price growth, Sukkar said. However, as The Age and The Sydney Morning Heralds senior economics correspondent Shane Wright pointed out when talking to host Raf Epstein after Sukkars appearance, new loan commitments to owner occupier first home buyers have actually plummeted since January 2021. PM and Opposition Leader set to head to church for Easter Sunday Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Labor leader Anthony Albanese has paid the price for a damaging opening week in the election campaign after voters cut their support for the opposition from 38 to 34 per cent while swinging back to Scott Morrison as preferred prime minister. Primary support for the Coalition rose from 34 to 35 per cent, and Morrison made gains on his personal approval and performance on key issues including economic management and national security. Voters have cut their support for Anthony Albanese after the first week of the campaign. Credit: The first major survey of the campaign revealed a reversal of fortune for the two leaders, with Morrison leading Albanese as preferred prime minister by 38 to 30 per cent after the Labor leader held the advantage two weeks ago with a lead of 37 to 36 per cent. But the survey, conducted by Resolve Strategic for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, also showed that 27 per cent of people eligible to vote at the May 21 election describe themselves as uncommitted, up from 21 per cent two weeks ago. Liberal senator Anne Ruston has been forced to defend old comments she made about Medicare not being sustainable even when Australia was on track for a balanced budget as Labor claimed her nomination as the Liberals next health minister would spell the end of universal healthcare. During debate on the GP co-payment floated in the heavy-cutting 2014 budget under Tony Abbott, Ruston said Medicare in its current form was not sustainable and unfortunately, the credit card is maxed out. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his chosen incoming health minister Anne Ruston, left, have been forced to defend her previous comments on Medicare. Credit:James Brickwood Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese seized on this to question the future of Medicare under the Coalition a scare campaign tactic that worked well for Labor in 2016. Anne Ruston has made it very clear that she wants to take the universal out of universal health care, he said from Cairns. The Coalition will raise the price caps for houses eligible under its controversial Home Guarantee Scheme to help home buyers get into the property market faster as the soaring cost of housing plays a key role in the federal election. Buyers with a deposit as low as five per cent can apply to the scheme, in which the government guarantees up to 15 per cent of the mortgage so buyers dont need costly lenders mortgage insurance. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will raise the price caps on the Home Guarantee Scheme. Credit:James Brickwood Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday night the price caps on the popular scheme had been raised to $800,000 for Melbourne and regional Victoria and $900,000 in Sydney and regional NSW. Were building a stronger future for Australians by making home ownership easier by making more properties eligible for the scheme, Morrison said. Under the Criminal Code, it is an offence to incite someone to give false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity. She called on Morrison to rule out Tudge returning to the ministry and explain why he should remain in parliament. Encouraging another person to withhold information from national security agencies as part of a vetting process undermines our national security and safety, she said. While ASIO is warning that the biggest threat to Australia is foreign interference and espionage, such conduct risks playing straight into the hands of our adversaries by encouraging a person to withhold the very information national security agencies need to protect Australia against these threats. Tudge did not respond to a request for comment. But in response to questions about whether the minister had potentially breached the criminal code, the ministerial standards and whether Thom had been aware of the texts, a government spokesperson said Mr Tudge remains stood down from his position. He is not receiving a ministerial salary. As he submitted to the inquiry conducted by Dr Vivienne Thom, Mr Tudge did not consider himself to be in a relationship with Ms Miller. Mr Tudge has not met with Ms Miller in any capacity since 2017, the spokesperson said. The government cleared the way for Tudge to be restored to cabinet after the election on the basis the Department of Finance has offered to settle a complaint brought by Miller over her treatment while an adviser, worth a reported $500,000. The Saturday Paper reported Miller had accused another senior Liberal MP of sexually harassing her during the settlement process over the Tudge matter. On Sunday, Morrison was asked about Miller stating she released all parties from any confidentiality requirements of the settlement. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would honour the process of the Finance Department. Credit:James Brickwood This process is confidential and has been put in place by the Department of Finance ... I think that is the way these matters should be handled and I intend to honour the process that has been established independently, by public officials, about how sensitive matters of this nature should be handled, he said. When asked why he wouldnt release detail about taxpayer money paid out perhaps concerning the conduct of a government minister and their office, Morrison replied: If there was any matter that was, in the assessment by the Department of Finance, that involved the conduct of any Minister whatsoever in the granting of that payment then that matter would have to be raised with me. I can assure you absolutely that no such reference has been made to me. In the texts, Miller wrote to Tudge on March 5, 2018, and said: Im sorry, I need to talk to you about something urgent regarding an update to my NV2 [Negative Vetting 2, the second-highest level] security clearance which I have to do. Can you pls call? She later wrote: I have to send through via email marked sensitive personal to a secure inbox a form which discloses a change in personal relationships. I am stating Personal intimate relationship with Alan Tudge MP commenced 7 June 2017. Tudge then wrote back in a series of messages sent within 18 minutes: Why? And it is not accurate. Miller then sent: Ok, you tell me what is accurate? You are so good at denying this to yourself youve convinced yourself it didnt happen! and I am sending this email. Tudge replied: Why? You should at least put it in the past tense and You are opening a large can of worms. Four hours later, Miller wrote that she had sent the form and declared extra-marital affair last half of 2017 with unidentified male who did not deserve me. Tudge also urged Ms Miller not to disclose the relationship during a phone conversation around the same time. Negative Vetting 2 allows political staff and public servants access to classified resources up to and including the Top Secret rating. It is the second-highest security clearance rating and to obtain this clearance, candidates have to provide a wealth of personal information about their family and financial circumstances, overseas travel history, criminal history and more. Having an extramarital affair would not preclude someone from receiving security clearance but the withholding of information which could be grounds for someone to be blackmailed is problematic and could be an offence. Loading Miller ended up declaring the affair with Tudge, and in a series of messages over March 7 and March 8, tried to organise a time with Tudge to speak because she had been asked by the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency for more information. Its not my fault Alan! AGSVA have come back to me for more details. I now know better than to ask you to see me just because we might want to, she wrote. Tudge replied: You know I cant, Rachelle. Cant see anyone anymore. #hermit #monk #boringasbatshit. At 9.44am on March 8, Miller confirmed she was handing over the details. Im also giving AGSVA your name, DOB and place of birth. I have been specifically asked for this information. I cannot do anything else. I am sorry, she said. At 10.26 am, Tudge said: I am free in about five mins. Miller sent through a document and the minister replied: Ok. Pls qualify it. In the past. Etc. V dangerous for both of us. This leaks and Labor will pursue relentlessly your new role with MC [Michaelia Cash]. All over. London: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge led the royal familys Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle, the Queen noticeably absent from one of her traditional outings. The Queen, who has been experiencing mobility problems, did not attend the service despite it being held in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle, where she lives. Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge attend the Easter Sunday service at St Georges Chapel in Windsor with their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Credit:Getty Images William and Catherine were accompanied by two of their three children: Prince George, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 6. Also in attendance were the Queens youngest son, Prince Edward, his wife Sophie and their children. Ukrainian authorities condemned Russian artillery attacks on cities in the north-east and the continuing siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, of which Moscow said it had taken almost full control, following almost two months of bloody fighting. After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on Donbas, while launching long-distance strikes at targets elsewhere, including the capital, Kyiv. Eighteen people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in shelling in the past four days in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said. This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians, he said. An elderly local resident speaks to a journalist near a destroyed part of the Illich iron and steelworks in Mariupol on Saturday. Credit:AP Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in the pulverised port of Mariupol were still fighting on Sunday, despite a Russian demand to surrender by dawn. The city still has not fallen, he told ABCs This Week program, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continued to control some parts of the south-eastern city. On Saturday, Russia said it had control of urban areas, with some Ukrainian fighters remaining in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov. Capturing Mariupol, the main port in the Donbas region, would be a strategic prize for Russia, linking territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region Moscow annexed in 2014. It would be Russias biggest victory after two months of costly fighting and could help reassure the Russian public amid a worsening economic situation resulting from Western sanctions. Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the neighbouring region of Luhansk, which has seen heavy fighting, repeated a plea for people to evacuate. The next week will be difficult, he said in a post on his Facebook page. It may be the last time we have a chance to save you. On the streets of Mariupol, small groups of bodies were lined up under colourful blankets, surrounded by shredded trees and scorched buildings. Residents, some pushing bicycles, picked their way around destroyed tanks and civilian vehicles while Russian soldiers checked the documents of motorists. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have left much of the city pulverised, leaving an estimated 21,000 people dead. Some 100,000 people out of a prewar population of 450,000 remained trapped in the city on Sunday without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of the some of the worst suffering of the war. All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Major General Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministrys spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. A Russian military convoy near Mariupol on Saturday. Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov, has been resisting Russian troops for almost seven weeks. Credit:AP He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that could not be independently verified. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for the battle in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Loading In a reminder that no part of Ukraine is safe, Russian forces carried out missile strikes on Sunday near Kyiv and in Kharkiv, the countrys second city. After the humiliating loss of its flagship Black Sea ship to a Ukrainian missile attack, Russias military had vowed on Friday to step up strikes on the capital. The Kremlin said on Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Russia also claimed to have destroyed Ukrainian air defence radar equipment in the east, near Sievierodonetsk, as well as several ammunition depots elsewhere. Explosions were reported in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. Mariupols final stand Tunnels at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill have allowed the defenders to hide and resist. Loading President Zelensky said the fall of Mariupol could scuttle any attempt at a negotiated peace. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations, Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists. In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky called on the West to send more heavy weapons to help save the city. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow last week the first European leader to do so since the invasion February 24 said the Russian president was in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press on US TV, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Ukrainian servicemen run for cover as explosions are heard during a Russian attack in Kharkiv on Sunday. Credit:AP Like Mariupol, the north-eastern city of Kharkiv has been a target of attacks since the early days of the invasion and has seen conditions deteriorate ahead of the eastern offensive. At least five people were killed and 13 wounded in Russian shelling of Kharkiv on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris. Reuters, AP THE AVOIDABLE WAR: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinpings China Author: KevinRudd Publisher: PublicAffairs Price: $32 Pages: 432 Here is one way the American era could end: China, on a pretext or piqued by some provocation, orchestrates an invasion of Taiwan. Beijing launches a shower of missiles toward Taipei, crippling its American-supplied military, followed by attacks on Okinawa and Guam. More than 200,000 Peoples Liberation Army troops climb ashore at 20 different beachheads along the Taiwanese coast. American submarines sink some Chinese ships; still, its not enough to slow the onslaught of paratroopers and helicopters. Slowly then swiftly the pitched fighting tilts in favour of the Middle Kingdom, altering the military and political balance in East Asia. The result, which ultimately reduces a world superpower to one weakened player among many, comes to be seen by historians as the American Waterloo. It is not such a far-fetched scenario: According to Kevin Rudds penetrating and sensible new account of the United States-China relationship, some reports have shown Washington losing to Beijing as many as 19 straight times in desktop war games simulating a conflict over Taiwan. Mr Rudd, who is a former prime minister of Australia and now president and CEO of the Asia Society, has spent four decades trying to understand the machinations of the Chinese and argues that President Xi Jinping is a man in a hurry when it comes to Taiwan, having concluded that his predecessors gradualist approach has failed. Beijing, Mr Rudd believes, now sees the time as ripe to change the nature of the order itself. The path that Mr Rudd has followed in his career is certainly unorthodox. After leaving office, at age 60 he enrolled at Oxford University to study for a doctorate focusing on understanding Mr Xis worldview. Mr Rudd, who has visited China more than 100 times and speaks fluent Mandarin, is one of the few foreign politicians who have had a chance to get to know Mr Xi personally; on one occasion the two men spent hours conversing in Chinese before a winter fire in Canberra. Those talks, among other impressions gleaned from his travels, have left Mr Rudd with a rare feel for Chinas cultural flashpoints. Our best chance of avoiding war, he writes, is to better understand the other sides strategic thinking and to conceptualise a world where both the US and China are able to competitively coexist, even if in a state of continuing rivalry reinforced by mutual deterrence. That task feels particularly urgent in the shadow of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Already the post-World War II order that underpinned the American Century appears to be fraying, with 19th-century-style power politics supplanting it. Russia, moreover, is a relatively weak power, with an economy smaller than that of Italy. Should Moscow succeed, through its diplomacy or its progress on the battlefield, in persuading Beijing to join its efforts in reshaping that order, the global landscape could shift dramatically. Mr Xi has worked harder than his predecessors to court Russian leaders, flattering Mr Putin by implying that the two countries are peers and bolstering joint military exercises. Until now, however, the Chinese president, Mr Rudd observes, recognises great value in Moscow being prepared to act far more adventurously than China itself not only in Ukraine but in Syria as well. Quietly, however, China has been working to reorganise the strategic chessboard. It invested, for example, more than $90 billion between 2012 and 2017 into building ports and coast guard hubs along a maritime route through the Arctic known as the Northeast Passage that would cut the voyage from Asia to Europe by more than two weeks and nearly 5,000 miles. The route would also allow Chinese forces to avoid bottlenecks like the Straits of Malacca, which are vulnerable to American naval forces. Mr Rudd structures his book like a white paper or policy brief. We get plenty of good grist for a presidential daily brief; it would have also been nice to hear more of the kinds of tales he might tell over a beer. Almost nobody has enjoyed the kind of access he has had to Chinese officials, and those encounters could have proved as revealing as any intel briefing. He mentions in passing that he once listened to Jiang Zemin, when he was a top party official, belt out a tune from the stage at an empty Sydney Opera House but dispatches the scene in a sentence or two. He briefly recounts a boozy evening over much maotai with several Chinese generals, but we hear little beyond the fact that they displayed a high level of professional prudence over the East China Sea. The core of Mr Rudds argument, however, remains unimpeachable: The consequences of a full-scale war with China are almost too grave to contemplate. The American statesman Dean Acheson liked to complain that Americans too often think of foreign policy problems as headaches for which they can just take a powder and make them go away. Mr Rudd understands better than most that there will be no wishing away of Xi Jinping and his transformative worldview, at least in the short term. The headache is chronic; Americans will need to use all their ingenuity if they hope to manage the pain. While news and pictures of the and occupied the headlines and went viral on social media last week, a unique was held in Kolkata. Fans of the couple organized a Bengali-style for the actors, where life-sized dolls of Kapoor and Bhatt were married to each other following traditional rituals. The organizers were the Ballygunge 21 Pally Cultural Club and several entrepreneurs as well as some personalities of the Bengali film industry, reported The Indian Express. Some of the fans also played the parts of Karishma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, cousins of Ranbir Kapoor, at the wedding. While it is easy to dismiss such incidents as indulgences of fans, they reveal a few fundamental things about and Indian society itself. Marriagesand weddingsare central to Indian society. Journalist Rukmini S drew upon a wealth of data to show about 93 per cent of Indians got into arranged even in 2018. Another set of data from 2014 showed that 90 per cent of marriages were within the same caste and 95 percent within the same religion. (With 11 states now introducing or planning laws to prevent allegedly forceful conversionoften erroneously referred to as Love Jihadof grooms and brides, inter-religious marriages are likely to fall even further.) Another survey from 2020 showed that younger people were losing interest in . Nevertheless, weddings continued to be a big industry in Indiaaccording to Statista, turnover for wedding tourism in India had gone up from Rs 234 billion in 2017 to Rs 458 billion in 2020. Of course, anyone who has attended a wedding in recent years or been marriedincluding this columnistwould be aware that plays a very important part in the ceremony, be it the music or the fashion or even the rituals. For instance, rituals such as mehendi and sangeet were almost unheard of in Bengali weddings even 10-15 years back, but are now an integral part of many, displaying a Bollywoodization of culture. Discussing the influence of Bollywood on Indian marriages, cultural studies scholar Andrew Howe in his essay Here Comes the (Bollywood) Bride writes: Bridal rituals in Indian society hinge around families coming together and the preservation of cultural and patriarchal norms Since 2000, cinematic depictions of marital unions have shifted somewhatdespite maintaining some of these patriarchal ideastowards the ascendency of middle-class values and the negotiation of global Indian identity. But why is Bollywood so influential in Indianand, in fact, South Asianweddings? To understand this, we must first understand what Bollywood is. Film scholars such as Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Ravu Vasudevan have tried to understand how the Hindi film industry based out of Bombay (Mumbai) became commodified as Bollywood through the 1990s and early 2000s. In his 2003 essay, The Bollywoodization of Indian Cinema, Rajadhyaksha argued that cinema had a strong political significance because of its mass cultural influence. Vasudevan, in his essay The Meanings of Bollywood (2011) provides a helpful list of films that presented the traditional family identity through a set of ornamentations and performancesHum Aapke Hain Kaun! (Sooraj Barjatya 1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra 1995), Pardes (Subhash Ghai 1997), Kal Ho Na Ho (Nikhil Advani 2004), and even Mira Nairs Monsoon Wedding (2001) and Gurinder Chadhas Bride and Prejudice (2004). This was a sort of commodification of Indian culture by an export-oriented film industry. Of course, all these films either revolve around weddings or feature weddings in a significant way. These films have developed a genre of their own, with weddings becoming ritualistic sites of resolving crises that beset Indian society in the post-Liberalization era. These challenges could be the nuclearization of larger families (Hum Saath Saath Hain, 1999), foreign influences unavoidable in an open market (DDLJ, Pardes), and even death (Kal Ho Na Ho). The family was the safe space in which these anxieties could be addressed. As Vasudevan notes, even the term Bollywood came into circulation only in the late 1990s, after the Mumbai-based film industry was given official recognition as an industry by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998. Over time, Bollywood and Indian weddings found themselves inalienably intertwined, with frenzied voyeuristic interest in celebrity weddings such as Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan (2007), Anushka Sharma-Virat Kohli (2017), Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh (2018), and Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal (2021). These weddings themselves have become performances, and Bollywood superstars like Shah Rukh Khan performing in big-budget weddings (Band Baaja Baaraat, 2010, refers to it) have embellished the rituals. As we have already seen, the budgets for weddings and the budgets for films have increased in tandem. This is not a coincidenceboth are markers of certain economic and political developments in post-Liberalization India. Perhaps the one Bollywood product to interrogate how films, weddings, and the economy were inalienably interlinked was the 2019 drama series Made in Heaven. The nine-part series follows New Delhi-based wedding planners Tara (Sobhita Dhulipal) and Karan (Arjun Mathur in an Emmy-nominated role). In each episode, they try to organize a big-budget wedding for New Delhis rich and famousindustrialists, former royals, political leaders. Each wedding is, of course, a performance on its owna display of wealth, tradition, ambition. But they also put the spotlight on the cracks beneaththe persistence of patriarchy, the sharp class differences, and a brutal dog-eat-dog world that is urban India. In this world, the glitz and the glamour that money can buy are perhaps more real than love and companionship. Uttaran Das Guptas novel Ritual was published in 2020. He teaches journalism at O P Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana. employees plan to approach the Bombay High Court and Maharashtra government to protest possible eviction from staff quarters in Mumbai. Employees took the call at a protest meeting on Sunday which was attended by Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar and NCP leader Vidya Chavan. Last October the airline had issued notices to 1200 employees to give an undertaking that they would vacate their staff quarters in Kalina area of Mumbai within six months of disinvestment. Employee unions protested the move and served a strike notice. The issue is now pending before labour commissioner's office which initiated a conciliation process. Kirtikar said Shiv Sena will support the employees and stage protests to protect their homes. "We have consulted our lawyers. After the close of conciliation proceedings we will move Bombay High Court. We feel we will get relief from court," said George Abraham, general secretary of Aviation Industry Employees Guild. Abraham alleged that the airline has tried to pressurize the employees to give undertaking by withholding their arrears. He also pointed out that Air India colony also houses employees from ground handing and engineering which have not been privatised. Greenbase Industrial and Logistics Park, a joint venture between Group and Blackstone, said that it has signed a lease agreement for 200,000 square feet of industrial space with Jost India in its integrated township Hiranandani Parks at Oragadam in South-West Chennai. Jost India, a global leader in manufacturing components for commercial vehicles and agricultural equipment, is planning to make the facility operational by the end of 2022 generating employment for nearly 200 people. With the signing of this deal, our total delivered portfolio stands at 1.5 mn sq. ft at Greenbase Chennai, a milestone accomplished in the short span of two years despite the unprecedented covid crisis. The Hiranandani Group in JV with stays committed to investing over Rs 3,000 crore to develop industrial and logistics parks across key cities in India, said Niranjan Hiranandani, founder of Hiranandani Group and Chairman of Greenbase Industrial and Logistics Park. The existing land bank of close to 500 acres spread across four locations is dedicated for 15 mn sq. ft of industrial and logistics parks development. The group is actively scouting for new land parcels across the length of the country to further expand its footprint to achieve a business plan of close to 20 mn sq. ft in the next five years, he added. Oragadam, Chennai is an emerging economic centre best suited for a hub and spoke model, attracting the right mix of industrial and warehousing to set up their facilities in the Detroit of South Asia. Greenbase Park aims to designate Oragadam as the new epicentre for the renewable energy industries to set up their industrial and logistics facilities. The well-connected road, rail, and port infrastructure favours multiple industries to establish their hubs in the best-suited location. The globally acclaimed like Vestas, Gurit, and Hydraspecma have commenced their fully scaled operations from Greenbase Parks, and Oragadam providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to a multi-layered workforce successfully. Speaking on the occasion, Hemant Prabhu, Chief Operating Officer at Greenbase said, This partnership will certainly build the deep synergies between the two organisations of a great repute, enabling an opportunity for the holistic development of the infrastructure ecosystem. Seven of the 10 most valued firms suffered a combined erosion of Rs 1,32,535.79 crore in last week, with emerging as the worst hit. In the holiday-truncated week, the Sensex tumbled 1,108.25 points or 1.86 per cent. While Ltd (RIL), TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL, Bajaj Finance and HDFC were the laggards from the top-10 pack, ICICI Bank, SBI and Adani Green Energy were the gainers. Adani Green Energy had on Monday last week entered the list of the top-10 most valued domestic firms. The market capitalisation (m-cap) of plummeted by Rs 43,491.37 crore to reach Rs 17,26,714.05 crore. The valuation of Infosys dived Rs 27,953.78 crore to Rs 7,35,611.35 crore. HDFC Bank's eroded by Rs 27,866.34 crore to Rs 8,12,338.57 crore and that of HDFC tumbled Rs 14,631.11 crore to Rs 4,31,028.49 crore. The m-cap of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) tanked Rs 9,348.88 crore to stand at Rs 13,39,688.48 crore. The valuation of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined by Rs 7,119.26 crore to Rs 5,05,737.77 crore and that of Bajaj Finance diped by Rs 2,125.05 crore to Rs 4,43,685.79 crore. In contrast, the new entrant Adani Green Energy added Rs 84,581.99 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 4,48,050.99 crore. ICICI Bank's market capitalisation jumped Rs 5,559.02 crore to Rs 5,29,739.59 crore and that of State Bank of India (SBI) rose Rs 1,249.45 crore to Rs 4,61,848.65 crore. In the ranking of top-10 firms, Reliance Industries maintained its top position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HUL, SBI, Adani Green Energy, Bajaj Finance and HDFC. Stock markets were closed on Thursday for Mahavir Jayanti and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti, as well as on Friday on account of Good Friday. (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.) While lenders were preparing for taking (FRL) to the bankruptcy court, the protracted litigation and uncertainty on a deal with nudged them into immediate action under the (IBC). The next steps include approaching the (DRT) and examining prospects to invoke guarantees. A senior banker with a public sector bank said going to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was the last option. The legal process Amazon-Future issues continues to drag. There was some expectation of Reliance taking initiative for a way out but there was hardly any movement forward. Banks have charge on assets and this was a step (NCLT application) to protect their rights and an effort at a resolution, bankers said. A middle-level bank executive said a resolution, which is approved by a judicial forum like NCLT, is safe for bankers, especially those in public sector banks. It protects them from litigation in the future that they have to fight on their own after retirement. After a part of the IBC process, Bank of India (BoI), which moved NCLT on behalf of lenders, suggested that the insolvency tribunal appoint Vijay Kumar V Iyer as interim professional of the company. Besides admission at the tribunal, lenders work will involve steps like preparing a resolution plan, getting it vetted from rating agencies and inviting interest from resolution applicants, bankers added. The total exposure of banks is estimated around Rs 17,000 crore. Besides BoI, others in the lenders consortium include Axis Bank, Andhra Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. As for making provisions for FRL, they have been setting aside money as provision since Q1 of FY22 as this is being restructured under Covid regulatory package. Lenders have been treating it as a non-performing asset (NPA) since Q4 of FY22. Provisions are more than regulatory norms and would continue over a period. A senior SBI executive said efforts will be made for a resolution and the prospects of recovery are low. The company, being a retail venture, has hardly any hard assets. Future Group will conduct meetings of their respective shareholders and creditors from April 20-23 to seek their nod for the deal. Over 33,000 people have so far registered themselves for the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir, officials said on Sunday. The devotees are making a beeline for designated bank branches to secure a permit for undertaking the journey to the cave shrine in Lidder valley of south Kashmir Himalayas and paid obeisance to the naturally-formed ice-Shivlingam. The 43-day yatra is scheduled to start on June 30 after the coronavirus pandemic enforced break of two years. "As many as 33,795 pilgrims have registered for the yatra till Saturday," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), Nitishwar Kumar told PTI. Kumar, who is personally monitoring the arrangements, said 22,229 pilgrims have been registered through online mode and 11,566 through offline mode (banks). During the 43-day yatra, the journey to the cave shrine will begin from the twin routes -- the traditional 48-km from Nunwan to the cave shrine from Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag, and 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir. The government, this year, is also introducing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system for the pilgrims to track their movement en-route to ensure their well-being. Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the annual pilgrimage, has designated 566 branches across the country for the registration of the pilgrims, in addition to the facility on its website. According to SASB, no one below the age of 13 years or above the age of 75 years, and no woman with more than six week's pregnancy, shall be registered for the yatra. The registration has been going on at Punjab Bank (PNB) branches in Rehari, Katra, Reasi, Akhnoor and Samba in Jammu and Kashmir besides 316 other branches across the country, officials said. They said the pilgrims have to submit an application, compulsory health certificate from SASB-designated hospitals, four photographs and a fee of Rs 120. However, those who have registered for the yatra last year, but could not undertake the pilgrimage have to deposit only Rs 20 as fees, the official said, adding that those pilgrims who have crossed 75 years of age would be refunded Rs 100 which have been deposited as registration fee with the application last year after depositing the permit slip. Besides PNB, the registration is also being done at designated branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, YES bank and State Bank of India. Officials further said the registration and issue of yatra permit is being done on a first come-first-serve basis for the yatra, which will culminate on the day of Raksha Bandhan (August 11). The was cancelled midway in 2019 ahead of abrogation of Article 370 in August that year, while only a symbolic yatra was observed during the past two years due to the outbreak of the pandemic. During this year's yatra, SASB has decided to put in place a daily route-wise pilgrims ceiling to 10,000, excluding those travelling by helicopters. The board has also decided to extend the free-of-cost battery car service for the pilgrims at the 2.75 km-long Baltal to Domel stretch. (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 Aam Aadmi Party-led presented a Rs 75,800-crore Rozgaar Budget for 2022-23 on March 26, 2022. Less than two weeks later, on April 7, the AAP claimed that while the Bharatiya Janata Party-governed states were in huge debt, Delhi was the only state with a surplus . If you want to learn governance, learn it from Kejriwal government. By emptying peoples pockets, the makes states indebted, tweeted the AAP in Hindi. It listed debt burden of seven BJP-led states Uttar Pradesh (UP), Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh and compared it to Delhis revenue surplus. There are a few factors that prove this claim misleading: Debt-revenue surplus comparison unfair: The AAP compares total liabilities of BJP-led state governments with Delhis surplus revenue for 2022-23, which is not a like-to-like comparison. Delhi, too, in debt: While the AAP enlisted other states' debt, what it did not mention was the debt the is burdened with. Delhis outstanding debt was estimated to be Rs 40,697 crore at the end of 2020-21 (5.18 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product), according to 2022 Delhi Economic Survey. Delhi cant borrow from market: Delhi, being a Union Territory, does not have the same ability as other states to raise debt. Delhis debt comprises only loans from the central government. This means that Delhis debt with other states can't be practically compared. Furthermore, the debt of a state is dependent on many factors, the most important being its GDP. Comparing states debt without considering their population, size or size of their economy is incorrect. Of the BJP-led states listed in the AAPs tweet, three have shown a revenue surplus in their recent UP (Rs 23,210 crore), Gujarat (Rs 1,006 crore) and Uttarakhand (Rs 115 crore). The numbers for Uttarakhand and UP are from 2021 since both states had elections in 2022. The has directed all states and union territories to switch over to environment friendly methods of cremation and explore viability of electric or PNG crematorium alongside wood to curb . A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said takes place in the course of cremation and electric/PNG crematoria can be set up as an option to the wood-based crematorium. The tribunal noted that as per religious belief, the mode of cremation by fire is considered to be pious and in one cremation, 350-450 Kg of wood is burnt in the open. While making it clear that it has no intention to hurt any religious belief, the green panel said it had asked all states and UTs to consider remedial steps to prevent such pollution and educate and motivate people to switch over to environmental friendly methods of cremation. "To begin with, electric/PNG crematoria can be set up as an option to the wood-based crematorium and if and to the extent people are persuaded to do so, a wood-based crematorium can be given a go by. The report does not show serious effort on this aspect. "Authorities concerned may explore viability of electric/PNG crematorium alongside wood-based crematorium, in the interest of environment and also lesser cost for those who find it difficult to afford high cost of wood-based cremation. This aspect may be considered by authorities concerned of all states/UTs," the bench, also comprising Justices Sudhir Agarwal and Arun Kumar Tyagi, said. The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Real Anchors Developers Pvt. Ltd relating to prevention of on account of dust and emissions during cremation in the context of crematorium operating at Shakti Khand-4 in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. The NGT directed the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam to expedite the process of remediating the legacy waste scientifically and to ensure prompt handling and disposal of current waste, ascertaining management status in terms of waste processing and resultant gap. "The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) may also specify the infrastructure provided in projects developed/being developed with reference to sewage and solid waste management and linkages with Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam. The GDA and Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam may file their respective reports before the next date by email," the bench 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 (ED) has issued fresh summons to AMMK leader to appear on April 22 for questioning here in a linked to alleged bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction, officials said. He was grilled and his statement was recorded for the first time by the federal agency here for about 8 hours on April 12. The agency's notice and investigation against the 58-year-old politician came after the recently arrested jailed 'conman' and another accused in this case, Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The next round of questioning scheduled for April 22 is aimed to take the probe forward, they said. While exiting the ED office late night on April 12, Dhinakaran told reporters that he cooperated with the agency and replied to their questions in the Sukesh Chandrashekhar case. Chandrashekhar too is being grilled by the agency in the case over the last week. The ED case under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on the primary FIR field against the accused by the Delhi Police crime branch in 2017. Both Dhinakaran and Chandrashekhar were arrested by the crime branch then. Officials had said that they have recorded the statement of Chandrashekhar in this case early this month and now they want to grill Dhinakaran and confront him with Chandrashekhar to take the probe forward. Chandrashekar was arrested in April 2017 from a five star hotel by the Delhi Police for allegedly taking money from Dhinakaran to bribe EC officials to get the AIADMK's two leaves symbol for the Sasikala faction in a by-election to the R K Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. Dhinakaran, who has been charge sheeted by the police, was arrested by the Delhi Police after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe EC officials for the symbol. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of the then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa (on December 5, 2016), who represented the assembly seat. The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after the two factions -- one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam -- staked a claim to it. Dhinakaran's close aide Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50 crore deal between him and Chandrashekar. Dhinakaran was the deputy general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and was expelled from the party in August 2017 along with Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala. He later launched his political party called the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). (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.) Finance Minister will be leaving for the US later on Sunday to attend the spring meetings of the and the as well as G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG). During the official visit to the US, Sitharaman will take part in bilateral meetings with several countries, including Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and South Africa. She will also hold one-on-one meetings with CEOs from the semiconductor, energy and other sectors of priority for the Government of India, the finance ministry said in a statement. India is expected to record the highest growth rate among large economies of the world. As per the Economic Survey, India may log 8-8.5 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal ending March. In a high-level meeting, it said, the finance minister will also meet David Malpass, President, . Sitharaman will also participate in a high-level panel discussion on 'Money at a Crossroad' hosted by the Managing Director, . Apart from the official meetings with the World Bank, IMF, G-20 and Financial Action Task Force, the finance minister will also attend an event at the Atlantic Council, a prominent think tank based in Washington DC, and will also interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has banned services till April 24 after three passengers on one of its flights tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival on Saturday, a senior government official has said.| Passengers from India can arrive in only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done 48 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the government, said the official on Sunday. Moreover, all international passengers are required to take a post-flight COVID-19 test at the airport premises in Hong Kong. "The three passengers on Air India's AI316 Delhi-Kolkata-Hong Kong flight on April 16 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival," the official said. flights from New Delhi and Kolkata have been banned till April 24 by the Hong Kong government, the official added. did not respond to the PTI's request for a statement on this matter. Regular international flights resumed in India on March 27 after a two years' hiatus induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. (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.) Civil Aviation Minister on Saturday flagged off the first flight between Gujarat's Keshod in the Junagadh district and under the Centre's 'Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN)' programme and said that the air connectivity will give a boost to tourism in the area and also accelerate further development of the state. Speaking to reporters, Scindia said, "We believe that with this flight connectivity, the availability of commutation facilities will help attract more passengers here which would lead to an increase in business and tourism. This would help in furthering the development of Gujarat." The Union Minister also announced two new greenfield airports at Hirasar and Dholera. Gujarat is heading for the Assembly elections later this year. "We have given five new flights to Gujarat - from Ahmedabad to Amritsar, Ranchi, Agra, from Porbandar to and from Rajkot to . Two new greenfield airports will also be established in Hirasar at a cost of Rs 1405 crore and Dholera which will cost Rs 1305 crore," he said. Lauding the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Centre's UDAN programme, Scindia said that it will open new dimensions of regional prosperity with tourism and trade. "As per the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, the direct flight between Keshod-Mumbai under UDAN was inaugurated today in the presence of Chief Minister of Gujarat @Bhupendrapbjp ji. It will open new dimensions of regional prosperity with tourism and trade. Congratulations to the people of the area," the Union Minister tweeted. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was also present at the event. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday it had barred entry to the country for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members and politicians. The move was taken "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British Government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials," the ministry said in a statement, adding that it would expand the list soon. Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth accompanied by his spouse Kobita Jugnauth and a high-level delegation will arrive in India for an eight-day visit starting Sunday. The Premier is arriving in India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his visit, Jugnauth will participate in the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar next Tuesday as well as in the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, along with PM Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. : Delhi on Saturday recorded nearly 26 per cent jump in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 5.33 per cent, according to the data provided by the city health department. The city saw 461 fresh cases and two deaths. It had on Friday recorded 366 COVID-19 cases and zero death, and the positivity rate stood at 3.95 per cent. The government in is relaunching a special pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens, which was discontinued after the BJP's defeat in the 2018 polls and the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special train leaving for Varanasi on Tuesday. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will flag off the special train at the Rani Kamalapati railway station here. He reviewed the preparations for the Maukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana on Saturday. The train with 974 pilgrims from seven districts under the Bhopal and Sagar divisions will leave for Varanasi from the Rani Kamalapati railway station on Tuesday, officials said in a meeting chaired by the chief minister. Chouhan said that the train will reach Varanasi on April 20 morning. The return journey is scheduled for April 22. During the Varanasi visit, the pilgrims will be taken to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. They will also take part in the famous Ganga Aarti and visit the birthplaces of Sant Ravidas and Sant Kabirdas, he said. The pilgrims will also be given a memento of Lord Vishwanath on their return to MP. The state government will arrange for the stay, food and transport of the pilgrims during this journey, the chief minister said. According to officials, the senior citizens aged 60 and above, who are not paying Income Tax, are eligible for this scheme. The state government has entrusted the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) with the responsibility of the Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana. Doctors and MP police personnel also travel in the special train to provide medical facilities and security to the pilgrims who are senior citizens. This scheme was discontinued after BJP's defeat in the 2018 assembly polls and due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The came to power again in March 2020 after the then chief minister Kamal Nath resigned following the defection of Congress MLAs to . The next assembly polls are due in MP in November next year. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A major broke out on Sunday at a chemical factory in the Kundli industrial area of Haryana's Sonipat district, a police official said. He said about 50 tenders, many of them from neighbouring Delhi, were pressed into the service to douse the flames. Methanol and some other chemicals were kept in the factory, the police official from Sonipat told PTI over the phone. He, however, said no one is stated to be trapped inside the factory complex. "About 50 tenders, many among them summoned from Sonipat and neighbouring Haryana districts as well as from Delhi are trying to bring the flames under control," he said. A fire has broken out in a chemical factory in the Kundli area of Sonipat, Haryana. On the special request of Haryana, the Delhi fire service also sent its firefighters for the operation. The cause of the fire is not yet known: Delhi Fire Service pic.twitter.com/ml5PRPqpEu ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022 The cause of the fire is not immediately known, though a short-circuit may be the reason, 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.) Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth accompanied by his spouse Kobita Jugnauth and a high-level delegation will arrive in India for an eight-day visit starting Sunday. The Premier is arriving in India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his visit, Jugnauth will participate in the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar next Tuesday as well as in the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, along with PM Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The PM will also pay a visit to Varanasi apart from his official engagements in Gujarat and New Delhi. "India and Mauritius enjoy uniquely close ties, bound by shared history, culture, and heritage. The upcoming visit will further strengthen the vibrant bilateral ties," MEA said. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary to the Cabinet of Mauritius NK Ballah in New Delhi and said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries was "progressing from strength to strength". Earlier in January, PM Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth had jointly inaugurated the India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually. They also launched the Civil Service College and 8 MW Solar PV Farm project in Mauritius that is being undertaken under India's development support. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister has written a letter to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, pitching for "meaningful" engagement between the two countries, people familiar with the development said on Sunday. Sharif's communication on Saturday came in response to a letter sent by Modi to the Pakistani leader congratulating him on becoming the prime minister, they said. In his letter a few days ago, Modi conveyed to Sharif that India desired constructive ties with Pakistan. On April 11, the Pakistan parliament selected Sharif as the 23rd prime minister of the country, a day after was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote. In a Twitter post, Modi congratulated Sharif on becoming the prime minister of Pakistan and said India desires peace and stability in a region free of terrorism. "Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people," he tweeted on April 11. In his response, Sharif said Pakistan desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India. "Thank you Premier Narendra Modi for felicitations. Pakistan desires peaceful & cooperative ties with India. Peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes including Jammu & Kashmir is indispensable. Pakistan's sacrifices in fighting terrorism are well-known. Let's secure peace and focus on socio-economic development of our people," the Pakistan prime minister tweeted. It is learnt that Sharif, in his reply to Modi's letter, also sought resolution of the outstanding issues, including that of Kashmir, while maintaining that Pakistan favours peaceful and cooperative ties with India. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such an engagement. The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack. The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. "The government's consistent position has been that India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence," Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in Parliament on April 7 while replying to a question. "The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere," he added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A major fire broke out on Sunday at a chemical factory in Kundli industrial area of Haryana's Sonipat district and more than 20 workers were evacuated and the situation brought under control, a top official said. Nearly 20 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, which have now subsided and the fire should be brought fully under control by late in the night, Sonipat Deputy Commissioner Lalit Siwach told PTI over the phone. Fire tenders from Kundli and nearby areas, including Narela in Delhi, Haryana's Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Sonipat, Samalkha and Panipat were summoned to douse the flames, he said. "The factory is related to making peppermint oil and ancillary chemicals, all of which are used in making toothpaste," he said. Siwach said more than 20 people were working in the factory at the time of the incident, "but all were evacuated in time". Meanwhile, the Sonipat district administration faced the problem that a gas pipeline ran nearby and high temperatures caused by the burning chemicals could have resulted in a mishap, but timely action prevented any untoward incident from happening. "There is a gas pipeline of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), which runs close to the factory where the fire broke out. There is a possibility that in case of high temperatures, a mishappening could have happened. We immediately called engineers and fire officers and the supply in the pipeline was stopped as a precautionary measure," Siwach said. Earlier, a police official from Kundli, Sonipat had said about 50 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, but the DC said many were kept on standby mode just in case the fire would have spread to other units in the vicinity of the chemical factory. There were garments and other chemical factories located in the area, he pointed out. Siwach said a strategy was adopted not to solely focus on controlling the fire in the factory, but some fire tenders were engaged in spraying water so as to keep the walls of the adjoining units cool and prevent the flames from spreading. "Had the fire spread, it could have been a disastrous situation," Siwach, who had earlier also served as chief fire officer with the Chandigarh administration, said. In the factory where the fire broke out, there were big explosions in the chemical drums and flames were visible from a considerable distance. The cause of the fire is not immediately known, though Siwach said, "Most likely, it was caused by an electric short-circuit. (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 become the first British Prime Minister to visit Gujarat when he lands in Ahmedabad next week for a two-day visit to India for in-depth talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, according to Downing Street. Johnson's first visit to India as will begin on April 21 with a trip to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, which is Prime Minister Modi's home state. Investment announcements in key industries in both the UK and India will take place, Downing Street said in a statement on Saturday. Johnson will then proceed to New Delhi to meet Modi on April 22, where the focus will be on India-UK strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership. According to officials on both sides, Johnson will also use his India visit to drive progress in the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year. My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence, said Johnson, ahead of the visit. As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world's largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times, he said. While in Ahmedabad, Johnson is scheduled to meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India's thriving commercial, trade and people links. The choice of Gujarat, India's fifth largest state, was linked with it being the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian diaspora population in the UK. In Gujarat, the Prime Minister is expected to announce major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology, the Downing Street statement said. The Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi on Friday (22nd April). The leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India's strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering our close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific, the statement said. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, which will move into their third round later this month, are expected to result in a deal predicted to boost the UK's total trade by up to 28 billion pounds (USD 36 billion) annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds (USD 3.9 billion). It emerged earlier this week that at the end of the first two rounds, four out of 26 chapters have been agreed and there has been significant progress in the remaining 22 chapters of the FTA. The two leaders are expected to mandate a timeline for the possible completion of the process, initially set for the end of this year. Last year, the two prime ministers had agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than 530 million pounds (USD 692 million) in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting people. India was identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year's G7 summit in Cornwall, the UK government officials noted. Downing Street highlighted that the UK is leveraging post-Brexit trade opportunities with India's growing economy to drive down prices in key commodities for consumers, open opportunities for UK businesses in areas like green tech and services, and create high-wage, high-skill jobs. According to official estimates in the UK, investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal. Modi and Johnson last met in person on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November last year. Johnson's visit next week is seen as long overdue on both sides, having been cancelled twice before due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. (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.) Raising the pitch for Hindutva, MNS president on Sunday said he will visit on June 5 to take darshan of Lord Ram and appealed to "Hindu brothers" to "be prepared" if loudspeakers are not removed from by May 3. Stating that loudspeakers relaying the 'azan' call is more a social issue than a religious one, said they don't want peace in the society disturbed, "but if the use of loudspeakers continues then they (Muslims) will also have to listen to our prayers on loudspeakers". "On May 1, I will address a public gathering at Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). On June 5, I will visit for darshan along with MNS volunteers. I also appeal to others to come to Ayodhya," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president told a press conference in Pune. When asked about the purpose of his visit to Ayodhya, parried the question, saying he has not travelled out for a long time. Interestingly, amid a war of words between the ruling Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray, Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that state minister Aaditya Thackeray will visit next month. He reiterated his demand that loudspeakers on be removed by May 3 or else MNS will play 'Hanuman Chalisa' eulogising Lord Hanuman on loudspeakers outside . "People think that loudspeakers atop mosques is a religious issue but it is a social issue. If you want to play loudspeakers five times a day then we will play 'Hanuman Chalisa' five times in front of mosques. I appeal to all Hindu brothers to be prepared. We will wait till May 3 when Ramzan ends. But if they don't stop, and if they think that their religion is bigger than the judiciary, then we will give tit for tat. The MNS is preparing for it," he said. Stating that the MNS never wanted communal riots to take place in the country or to disturb the peace, Raj Thackeray said the Muslim community should look at the demand for the removal of loudspeakers from mosques from a humanitarian angle. "We are not opposing their prayers. But if they insist on using loudspeakers then they will have to listen to our prayers on loudspeakers," the MNS chief said. He narrated an incident involving a Muslim reporter who had told MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar how he had to visit the mosque near his house and ask the management to shut down speakers as his newborn child is disturbed by the loud noise of prayers. When asked about the police action against MNS volunteers for playing Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers, Raj Thackeray asked why separate legal parameters are applied for mosques and MNS workers. Replying to the purported statement of a Popular Front of India leader that nobody will be allowed to touch loudspeakers atop mosques, Raj Thackeray said, "our hands are not tied". When asked about Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut calling him a "new Hindu Owaisi", the MNS chief said he doesn't respond to "lavande" (spineless people). "If our processions are attacked then we won't stay calm. Our hands are not tied. Don't force us to pick up weapons," he said when asked about the attack on a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday. (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 depleting coal inventory of domestic thermal power plants has prompted public sector power engineers to warn of an impending energy crisis in 12 states. According to All India Power Engineers Federation chairman Shailendra Dubey, the could worsen owing to the low coal stock to fire thermal power units. The coal crisis is being witnessed in 12 states once again after October 2021, he said, adding that in the first fortnight of April 2022, domestic power demand hit a 38-year high for the month. While there was 1.1 per cent power shortage in October 2021, this shortfall shot up to 1.4 per cent in April 2022. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Haryana are facing power cuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent, he said. He urged the government to take immediate steps to replenish the coal inventory in thermal power stations to avert the crisis situation. In Uttar Pradesh, the daily power demand has already breached 21,000 megawatt (Mw) while the supply is around 19,000 Mw to 20,000 Mw. Union power minister R K Singh has blamed the steep rise in the prices of imported coal on the Russia-Ukraine war. This is because of inadequate availability of railway wagons to transport coal. To supply coal to the thermal power stations, 453 wagons are required whereas only 379 were available in the first week of April. This number has now increased to 415. Overall, the current situation is that the coal demand has increased by 9 per cent compared to last year. Only eight days of coal is left in the thermal power stations in 12 states, Dubey added. Although UP is not facing any serious coal crisis, yet the UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam power plants have coal stock to the level of 26 per cent compared to standard norm. Against the total requisite coal inventory of 1.97 million tonnes in all the four thermal power projects of the Nigam, the existing stock is to the tune of 511,700 tonnes. The demand for power will increase as mercury rises in the coming days. As such, the power situation would further worsen, he warned. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Eastern Airlines has restarted using Boeing 737-800 jetliners for commercial flights less than a month after a crash that killed 132 people on board and grounded over 200 of its aircraft, data from a tracking website showed on Sunday. Eastern flight MU5843, operated by a three-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft, took off from the southwestern city of Kunming at 09:58 am local time on Sunday and landed at Chengdu, also in southwestern . That aircraft, which completed a test flight on Saturday, departed Chengdu for Kunming, according to Flightradar24. Another Boeing 737-800 jet conducted a test flight on Sunday morning in Shanghai, where China Eastern is based, data showed. On March 21, Flight MU5735 crashed in the mountains of Guangxi and killed 123 passengers and 9 crew members. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ursula von der Leyen is calling on EU countries to supply Ukraine with more weapons as soon as possible, amid Russia's ongoing special military operation. "For all member states, those who can, should deliver [weapons] quickly, because only then can Ukraine survive in its acute defensive struggle against Russia," von der Leyen said in an interview with the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper, published on Sunday. She added that everything possible needs to be done to help end the Ukraine conflict, although the hostilities could "last for months or even years in the worst case." "Ukraine needs to get what it needs to defend itself and what it can handle," von der Leyen said, adding "I don't differentiate between heavy and light weapons." Following his visit to Kyiv with von der Leyen earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the conflict in Ukraine "will be won on the battlefield," reiterating the EU's unwavering commitment to providing further military support to Kyiv. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has warned that a continuous flow of weapons to the conflict zone in Ukraine from the West is adding fuel to the fire, adding that halting lethal military supplies to Ukraine is crucial. Moscow has also warned that the weapons that the West supplies to Kyiv could end up in the hands of terrorists anywhere in the EU. launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted. After the start of Russia's military operation, the West rolled out a major sanctions campaign against Moscow. At the same time, over a dozen countries have voiced their readiness to supply arms and military aid to Ukraine. Earlier this week, Borrell said following a meeting of the EU Foreign Council in Luxembourg that EU foreign ministers had agreed to continue military assistance to Kyiv. (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 plans to sanction Russia's largest lender Sberbank and other Russian financial firms in its next round of restrictions, head Ursula von der Leyen told a German newspaper. "We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37 per cent of the Russian banking sector," von der Leyen told Bild am Sonntag when asked about the forthcoming sixth round of sanctions. The US had imposed "severe sanctions" on Sberbank and another Russian lender, Alfa Bank, earlier in April. The UK has also sanctioned Sberbank and committed to ending all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022, the BBC reported. But the EU had, so far, spared Sberbank and another large Russian lender, Gazprombank, as they were the main routes for its payments for Russian oil and gas. In its fifth round of penalties, the EU had announced a number of restrictions, including a "full transaction ban" on four banks that represented 23 per cent of Russia's banking sector. --IANS int/shs (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Atomic Energy Organization of (AEOI) said Saturday that the Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) continues to monitor activities in Iran's sites, but it has no access to the recorded information in its cameras. "Monitoring continues, but until a (nuclear) agreement is reached, the information will remain with us and will probably be deleted," Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the AEOI, was quoted by Iran's Arabic language news network Al-Alam as saying. Regarding the transfer of some facilities in Karaj, near the capital Tehran, to Natanz complex in central Iran, he said "unfortunately due to the terrorist operation against Karaj facilities, we had to intensify security measures and moved an important part of these machines." "Centrifuge machines have been moved to a safer location because of their importance, and they are now operating," he noted. On April 4, informed the UN watchdog about its plan to transfer the producing machines of centrifuge parts from Karaj to Natanz. The AEOI spokesman added that with the agreement reached with the IAEA, the issues regarding the past activities of would be solved by June. "We do not have any technical issues at the moment, although there might be some small issues that are being solved," he said. In 2015, Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers, including the United States. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties to revive the deal. (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 former prime minister of Pakistan, on Sunday rejected the "mafia-captured election" of the Chief Minister of Punjab province. In his tweet, said whatever happened in Punjab Assembly was condemnable and against all democratic norms. "No one was in the Chair conducting the supposed elections - a total violation of all norms. We reject this mafia-captured election." The Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman condemned the ruckus in Punjab Assembly on Saturday, during the election of Punjab CM, ARY News reported. On Saturday, When Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari arrived in the Punjab Assembly hall to preside over the session, he was attacked by government members. Dost Mohammad Mazari was slapped by government members and his hair was pulled out. Security staff and members of the opposition rescued the deputy speaker from government members, after which he returned to his office, reported ARY News. Later, Pervaiz Elahi was also attacked after which he claimed that the attack on him was an "assassination attempt" as the attackers cried "Maar Do" (kill him) while hitting him. Elahi blamed Muslim League-Nawaz leader and current Punjab CM Hamza Shahbaz for the attack, reported ARY News. Hamza Shahbaz, son of PM Shahbaz Sharif, was elected as the new chief minister with 197 votes, while his rival Pervaiz Elahi did not receive any votes as his party and PTI had boycotted the polls. He is the third member of his family to be elected as chief minister of Punjab. Earlier, his father Shehbaz Sharif, who is now the prime minister, and his uncle former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had also held the post. (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.) United States President will host a special in-person summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13, a White House statement said Saturday (local time). "The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region's most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of US-Asean relations," the statement by White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. According to Psaki, President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the aforementioned date as the summit will commemorate 45 years of US-ASEAN relations. "It will build on President Biden's participation in the October 2021 US-ASEAN Summit, where the president announced $102 million in new initiatives to expand our engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, fighting the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth, promoting gender equality, and deepening people-to-people ties. "It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient," She said. The summit is being held amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine which has entered the 51st straight day. The summit might witness deliberations on the situation in Ukraine and Europe. (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 continuing siege of the port city of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country's journalists in an interview. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said on Saturday. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Earlier, he estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had died in the war, and about 10,000 had been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Meanwhile, Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western and beyond in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old son's body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital, Klitschko said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. As the U.S. and Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraine's defenses ahead of what's expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant Friday. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military has intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Friday's attack killed civilians and wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian president's office reported. On Saturday an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday's toll was three dead and 34 wounded. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jos Andrs, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Andrs tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid a declining economy, Pakistans oil and eatable import bills surged by 59.98 per cent to $21.87 billion in the July-March period, according to local media reports by ANI. Last year, in the corresponding period, the import bill surged to $13.67 billion owing to higher prices and massive depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee. The countrys overall import bill surged to 49.10 per cent to $58.87 in the nine months ending September 2021. The new government has decided to resume talks with the Monetary Fund from today. Former prime minister Imran Khan reiterated his allegations of a foreign conspiracy behind his ouster and said he knew that the match was fixed when a no-confidence motion was moved against him. Addressing a huge rally here on Saturday night, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman sought to know from the people whether his government was a victim of conspiracy or interference. Amid the formation of the new cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Sanaullah on Sunday confirmed that Peoples Party's (PPP's) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be getting the Foreign Ministry. Sanaullah said that following consultation between the allied parties of the government, PPP will likely get to head the foreign ministry, reported Geo News. He added that the ministry of foreign affairs will most likely be handed over to the PPP, while the party's chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is deliberating over the decision to head the ministry. "I cannot ascertain whether Bilawal Bhutto will become part of Shahbaz Sharif's cabinet," he said. Speaking to the media, Sanaullah said that the allied parties have completed the talks related to the distribution of ministries, however, the parties have asked for a day to deliberate on the decision. "The ministries have been divided among the allied parties and now each party will name their preferred candidates," he said. Sanaullah said that in accordance with the number of members each party has in the Parliament, PPP will get 11 ministerial positions, while PML-N will get 14, reported Geo News. Earlier, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday decided against joining the cabinet of new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Zardari who is considered a key player behind the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister, said that his party will not take ministries as they want their friends to be accommodated first. The central leaders of the People's Party (PPP) suggested their four members for different positions in the new government during the meeting held on Friday. The members suggested that the position of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) should be given to their member Sherry Rehman, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah should get the Communication department, Petroleum should be given to Naveed Qamar and the Ministry of Human Rights should be given to Shazia Marri. PM Shehbaz was sworn in as the prime minister on April 11, following the removal of Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion -- making him the first prime minister to be removed through the democratic process. Meanwhile, apart from the PML-N and PPP members, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) is expected to get three ministries and a state minister portfolio, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) is expected to get two ministries each. Independent candidates are also likely to get ministries, the sources said, reported Geo News. MQM-P will get the governorship of Sindh, PPP Punjab, JUI-F Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and BNP-M Balochistan, the sources 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.) gave holdout Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised southeastern port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces almost completely controlled in what would be its biggest capture of the nearly two-month war. Several hours after the 0300 GMT deadline, there was no sign of compliance by Ukrainian fighters holed up in the smouldering Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov. Having failed to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on the eastern Donbas region while maintaining long-distance strikes elsewhere including the capital Kyiv. Lamenting an "Easter of War" during an address in St. Peter's Square, pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and implicitly criticized . "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," he said, thanking those who had taken in some 4 million refugees from . said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol, the main port in Donbas. The city has seen some of the fiercest fighting and worst civilian suffering since the Feb. 24 invasion, with bodies littering destroyed streets and thousands hunkered down in atrocious conditions underground. The steelworks, one of Europe's biggest metallurgical plants with a maze of rail tracks and blast furnaces, has become a last stand for the outnumbered defenders. "The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms," Russia's defence ministry said. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared," it said, offering the defending "remnants" a four-hour window to leave the plant without arms or ammunition. 'OUR SOLDIERS ARE BLOCKED' There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the ultimatum, though Ukraine's military said Russian air strikes on Mariupol continued along with assault operations near the port. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia on Saturday of "deliberately trying to destroy everyone" in Mariupol and said his government was in touch with the defenders. But he did not address Moscow's claim that Ukrainian forces were no longer in urban districts. He said killing his troops would put paid to peace efforts. "Our soldiers are blocked, the wounded are blocked. There is a humanitarian crisis... Nevertheless, the guys are defending themselves," he told the Ukrainska Pravda news portal. If Russia's capture of the port is confirmed, it would be a major strategic prize for Moscow: connecting territory it holds in Donbas with the Crimea region it annexed in 2014. Russia calls its action a special military operation to demilitarise and clear out what it calls dangerous nationalists backed by an expansionist NATO military alliance. The West and Kyiv accuse President of unprovoked aggression. Russia said had lost more than 4,000 soldiers in Mariupol as of Saturday. But Kyiv says its total troop losses nationwide so far in the war are less than that, between 2,500 and 3,000. Neither side's figures could be verified. It was not known how many soldiers were in the steelworks. Satellite images have shown smoke and fire coming from the area, which is riddled with tunnels underneath. Petro Andryushchenko, an assistant to Mariupol's mayor, said Russians were giving passes to hundreds of civilians for permission to move around central parts of the city. SCATTERED ATTACKS Elsewhere in Ukraine, there were more reports on Sunday of sporadic Russian strikes around major popular centres. Local media reported an explosion in the capital Kyiv, though deputy mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air defence systems had thwarted Russian attacks. The mayor of Brovary city, close to Kyiv, said a missile attack had damaged infrastructure. Russia said it had destroyed an ammunition factory near the capital, according to the RIA news agency. Russian artillery attacks on multiple neighbourhoods in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, wounded 31 people, including four children, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. Russia has changed tactics after Ukraine's military resisted ground advances in the north during the early phase of the war. The Ukrainians showed greater nimbleness and deployed Western-supplied anti-tank missiles against slow-moving Russian armoured convoys confined to roads by muddy terrain. Despite the desperate situation in Mariupol, Ukraine said it was holding off Russian forces in other parts of the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. On Sunday, Ukrainian police in Donetsk said that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces opened fire from tanks, multiple rocket launchers and heavy artillery on 13 settlements under Ukrainian control, killing two civilians. With its economy badly hit by the war, Ukraine has asked the G7 rich nation bloc for $50 billion in financial support, Zelenskiy's economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said. Western sanctions aimed at isolating Putin have meanwhile battered Russia's economy. Forthcoming further European Union sanctions will target banks, including major institution Sberbank, as well as oil, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian forces renewed missile strikes on Kyiv and intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in an apparent strategy to hobble Ukraine's defences in preparation for what is expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. These attacks and scattered across the country were an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat. With the port city of Mariupol under siege, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. He said needs more heavy weapons from the West immediately to have any chance of saving the city. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. After the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command vowed to step up missile strikes on the capital. The Russians said they hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital, he said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it. The mayor said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armoured vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. They said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too, recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. The day before, rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, killing a 15-year-old boy, an infant and at least eight other people, officials said. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jos Andrs, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Andrs tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow - the first European leader to do so since the invasion began Feb. 24 - said the Russian president is in his own war logic on . In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in .'' Nehammer said he confronted Putin with what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and it was not a friendly conversation. Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol - what they are doing now - can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesman, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Russian Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried Saturday in St Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in . In the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war in an Easter vigil homily at St Peter's Basilica that was attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three members of Ukraine's parliament. Francis did not refer directly to Russia's invasion but has called, apparently in vain, for an Easter truce to reach a negotiated peace. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian forces on Sunday pummelled a hulking steel plant that held the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, a southern city that has suffered under siege for six weeks and whose capture would aid Moscow's plans for a full-scale offensive in the country's east. With the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was "deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. He said needs more heavy weapons from the West immediately to have any chance of saving the port city on the Sea of Azov. Either our partners give all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Earlier, Zelenskyy had told Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman on Saturday said Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the Azovstal steel mill, where tunnels allowed the defenders to hide and resist until they ran out of ammunition. The Russians already control what is left of the city after weeks of bombardment. Striking the steel plant to take the rest is part of Russia's preparations for the anticipated assault in eastern Ukraine. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland and the focus of the anticipated offensive. Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said on Sunday that Mariupol's defenders had tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. Malyar described the city as a shield defending Ukraine that prevented the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. She said the Russians had continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and appeared to be preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. Meanwhile, scattered Russian attacks elsewhere in Ukraine were an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat from an invasion now in its eighth week. After failing to capture Ukraine's capital and the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command had vowed to step up missile strikes on capital Kyiv. The Russians said they hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. He advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital, he said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling in eight regions across the country between Friday and Saturday. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighbouring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. The workers said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too, recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. The day before, rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, killing a 15-year-old boy, an infant and at least eight other people in Ukraine's second-largest city, officials said. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jos Andrs, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Andrs tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with this past week in Moscow the first European leader to do so since the invasion began on February 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine.'' Nehammer said he told Putin what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and it was not a friendly conversation. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general on Saturday said at least 200 children had been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused on Thursday Ukraine of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in . Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was on Saturday buried in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov. Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Sri Lankan government delegation is headed to the US on Sunday to engage with the to secure a USD 4 billion package as it desperately tries to salvage the country's beleaguered currently reeling under a severe forex crisis. The delegation led by newly-appointed finance minister Ali Sabry will hold talks with the Monetary Fund (IMF) between April 19 and April 24. Sabry has said that is seeking a bail out package of USD 4 billion from the IMF, having earlier resisted calls to seek a facility from the global lender. The visit is taking place days after the finance ministry on Tuesday announced that it is suspending repayments of foreign debt, including bonds and government-to-government borrowing, pending the completion of a loan restructuring programme with the Monetary Fund (IMF). had to meet USD 7 billion of debt payments this year. This was the first ever debt default by in its history since 1948 and the country's 22 million people are facing crippling 12-hour power cuts, and an extreme scarcity of food, fuel and other essential items such as medicines. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) on Saturday announced that the Colombo Stock Exchange will remain temporarily closed for a week from Monday to provide investors an opportunity to have "more clarity and understanding" of the current economic conditions in crisis-hit Sri Lanka that would help them "to make informed investment decisions". Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. The economic crisis also triggered a political turmoil in the island nation with citizens holding nationwide street protests for weeks over lengthy power cuts and shortage of fuel, food and other daily essentials and demanding ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's entire Cabinet -- aside from President Gotabaya and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa -- resigned from their posts after thousands of people defied a countrywide state of emergency and curfew and joined street protests denouncing the government. According to sources, President Gotabaya has made arrangements to swear in a smaller Cabinet anytime soon. It will not feature any member of the Rajapaksa family other than Prime Minister Mahinda. President Gotabaya had fired his brother and finance minister Basil Rajapaksa from his post earlier this month and invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the economic crisis. The Opposition rejected the offer to form a unity Cabinet. The Opposition is to move a no trust motion against the government next week. With the acute shortage of forex, an Indian credit line of USD 500 million for fuel imports has provided a lifeline to the island nation. 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. 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.) Russia has warned Ukrainian forces fighting to defend Mariupol to surrender starting 3 am GMT to save their lives. Moscow claims to have secured most urban areas but a small band of fighters remain inside a steelworks factory in the city, news agency AFP reported. Mariupol has been the scene of some of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in this war. Moscow's claims - to have all but taken control - could not be independently confirmed, AFP reported. Russia said it has cleared all of Mariupols urban areas of Ukrainian forces, and called on remaining troops to lay down their arms to avoid being killed. Ukraine has rejected similar Russian demands in the past. If true, it will be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the invasion began February 24. It is the main port of the Donbas, a region of two provinces in the southeast which Moscow demands be fully ceded to separatists. Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the war. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in Mariupol were still fighting despite a Russian demand to surrender by dawn. "The city still has not fallen," he told ABC's "This Week" programme, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continue to control some parts of the city. Russia said on Saturday it had control of urban parts of the city, with some Ukrainian fighters remaining in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov. Capturing Mariupol, the main port in the southeastern region of Donbas, would be a strategic prize for Russia, connecting territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on Donbas while maintaining long-distance strikes elsewhere including the capital, Kyiv. About four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the start of the invasion. The occupiers will be responsible for everything they did in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on his Telegram account, posting images of destruction he said were akin to the terrible times of World War Two. The elimination of our soldiers, of our men (in Mariupol) will put an end to any negotiation of peace between Russia and Ukraine, declared the president in remarks reproduced by the news website Ukrainska Pravda, warning that the two sides would then find themselves in an impasse. Implicitly criticizing Russia, Pope Francis pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and lamented the Easter of War during his address in St. Peter's Square after Mass. May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, he said. The European Union will look at Russias Sberbank in its next round of sanctions over the war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Germanys Bild am Sonntag, without offering details. We continue to look at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which alone accounts for 37 per cent of Russias banking sector, she said when asked about potential elements of a sixth sanctions package. The EU said it will allocate a further 50 million euros ($54 million) of humanitarian support for people affected by the war in Ukraine, according to a Sunday statement by the bloc. About 45 million euros will go to projects in Ukraine and 5 million to Moldova, a country of about 2.6 million people which has taken in over 420,000 refugees. Itis working on ways for an oil embargo to be added to a forthcoming package of sanctions on Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Germanys Bild am Sonntag. At issue is that since oil is a globally traded commodity, what shouldnt happen is that Putin charges even higher prices in other markets for supplies that otherwise go to the EU, von der Leyen said. Russia continues to pound Mariupol, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, amid Moscows window for troops in the besieged city to surrender. The opinions poured in, 280 characters at a time, as to whether it was good or bad that had offered to buy for more than $40 billion and take it private. A persons politics typically dictated how they felt: Conservatives cheered it as victory for free speech. Liberals fretted that misinformation would spread rampantly if Musk followed through with his plan to dismantle how the social network monitors content. But what no one seemed to be able to say with any certainty was what kind of political philosophy the enigmatic billionaire believes himself. Thats because Musk, 50, who was born in South Africa and only became an American citizen in 2002, expresses views that dont fit neatly into this countrys binary, left-right political framework. He is frequently described as libertarian, though that label fails to capture how paradoxical and random his politics can be. He has no shortage of opinions on the most pertinent and divisive issues of the day, from Covid-19 lockdowns (fascist, he called them) to immigration restrictions (Very much disagree, he has said.) There is not much consistency in the miscellany of his public statements or his profuse commentary except that they often align with his business interests. And despite the intense partisan reaction to his unsolicited bid to buy Twitter, his opaque politics make it difficult to say whether the elation and fear about how he would run the company are justified. He has railed against federal subsidies but his companies have benefited from billions of dollars in tax breaks and other incentives from federal, state and local governments. He has strenuously opposed unionisation, criticising the Biden administration for proposing a tax credit for electric vehicles produced by union workers. He is the co-founder of an electric car manufacturer, Tesla, who quit former President Donald J. Trumps business councils after the administration pulled out of the Paris climate accord. But he recently ran afoul of environmentalists for calling for an immediate increase in domestic oil and gas production, though it would not be helpful to his own businesses in electric cars and solar energy. He is an avowed enthusiast for the First Amendment. But he has tried to force a journalist to testify in a defamation lawsuit against him, and he has often had outsize reactions to criticism. Four years ago, he floated a plan to create a website to rate the credibility of reporters, calling it Pravda, in an odd nod to the Soviet Unions propaganda publication. (Nothing much came of it). And a venture capitalist wrote at length about Musk cancelling his order for a new Tesla after the investor complained about a Tesla event. Musk said he was a registered independent when he lived in California, the state he famously and loudly left for Texas because he said its business climate had grown too inhospitable. He has described himself as politically moderate but added, Doesnt mean Im moderate about all issues. His concerns about the way now censors content echo those of conservative activists and politicians who have argued that companies are poor arbiters of truth and should not be engaged in policing speech. One person who has worked closely with Musk said that it is Musks firmly held belief that in a functioning democracy, it is anyones right to say whatever stupid thing you want. This person, who spoke anonymously to not violate Musks trust, added dryly, Which he occasionally does. If he should become Twitters owner, Musk said he would scrap the current program of content monitoring and censoring. Conservatives were elated. seems to be our last hope, declared Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Ordinarily, with public figures so outspoken and wealthy, their political leanings are easy to discern because they are explained in campaign finance disclosures. But Musks political giving is paltry compared with that of other billionaires like Charles Koch and Peter Thiel. Musk tends to give only a few thousand dollars at a time. And his giving is fairly evenly distributed to candidates in both political parties. Musk has objected when politicians have tried to characterise his views as in sync with their own, insisting that he would rather leave politics to others, despite ample evidence on Twitter to the contrary. If thats the case, he often cant seem to help himself. He heckles political figures who have taken a position he disagrees with or who have seemingly slighted him. Mr. Musks response to Senator Elizabeth Warren after she said that he should pay more in income taxes was, Please dont call the manager on me, Senator Karen. Ann Coulter, a frequent presence on Twitter, said that the Musk struck her as mostly apolitical and mostly about promoting himself. Chinese astronauts return with six-month space station mission accomplished Xinhua) 09:54, April 17, 2022 Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit. This year, China will complete the in-orbit construction of its space station. The return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship lands successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen) Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Shenzhou-13's return capsule, carrying astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 9:56 a.m. (Beijing Time). The Shenzhou-13 manned mission was a complete success, the CMSA announced. Astronaut Zhai Zhigang is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen) The trio were carried out one by one by ground workers and placed onto chairs in front of the capsule. They looked relaxed and waved to the ground crew. "Welcome back home," people cheered for the trio and raised their cameras to capture the historic moment. "It is the power and strength of our country that built the high-flying space station. I am proud of my great motherland," Zhai, the mission commander, told the state broadcaster CCTV in a live program. Astronaut Wang Yaping is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen) Wang, first female to China's space station, said she is very happy to return to the motherland and wants to tell her 5-year-old daughter that "her stars-picking mom is back." Ye, a newcomer to space, said that he has realized his dream of flying into space. The return capsule separated from the spaceship's orbiting capsule at 9:06 a.m. under the command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The braking engine of the return capsule was ignited at 9:30 a.m., followed by the separation of the return capsule from the propelling capsule. After the return capsule landed successfully, the ground search team arrived at the landing site. The medical personnel confirmed that the astronauts were in good health. Astronaut Ye Guangfu is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Cai Yang) From separating from the space station core module to return to Earth, the journey took only over nine hours, the first time for a Chinese manned spacecraft to use the "rapid return mode." It shortened the flight mainly by reducing traveling circles around the orbit, according to the CMSA. The Shenzhou-13 spaceship was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 16, 2021, and later docked with the space station core module Tianhe. During their stay in Tianhe, the crew conducted a number of scientific and technological experiments, including manual remote operation and module transfer supported by the robotic arm. They performed extravehicular activities (EVAs) twice during the mission, in November and December respectively. The first EVAs, performed by Zhai and Wang, took approximately 6.5 hours. Wang's EVAs made her the country's first female astronaut to leave footprints in outer space. Zhai and Ye carried out EVAs for the second time, completed tasks such as lifting panoramic camera and testing goods transport in about six hours of EVAs. The EVAs further tested the function and performance of the core module airlock cabin, extravehicular suit and mechanical arm, and assessed the technologies related to EVAs, the coordination of astronauts inside and outside the space station, and the coordination between space and Earth. Students attend a livestreamed popular-science lecture given by Chinese astronauts from China's space station Tiangong, at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng) The crew members delivered two live classes from the space station, on Dec. 9 and March 23, respectively. In the classes, they conducted various scientific experiments, such as the crystallization of supersaturated solution, a liquid bridge demonstration, water-oil separation and throwing objects under the zero-gravity condition, amazing numerous students on the ground. In the second class, the trio expressed their expectations for the students on Earth. "We hope you will continue to gain scientific knowledge and explore the mysteries of science. The future space station is waiting for you guys," Wang said. The six-month mission also saw Shenzhou-13 crew members celebrate traditional Chinese festivals in space. The trio became the first Chinese to spend the nation's most important festival -- the Chinese Lunar New Year -- in outer space. They extended their Spring Festival greetings in a video released by the CMSA on New Year's Eve. They wished the motherland and all Chinese people prosperity. Astronaut Wang Yaping receives flowers from her daughter on her arrival in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Tian Dingyu) With five launches, including two crewed missions, China completed the technology verification phase of its space station program. This year, China will complete the in-orbit construction of its space station. It has planned six launch missions, including the launching of two lab modules Mengtian and Wentian, two cargo crafts Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5, and two crewed missions Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15. (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupol's fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and that is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The presence of Prime Minister at the inauguration on April 20 of the two-day Bengal Global Business (BGBS) 2022, meant to showcase West Bengal as an ideal investment destination, has become uncertain. A state government official told IANS that nothing final has been confirmed by the Prime Minister's Office to the state secretariat on this count as on date. As per Press Information Bureau (PIB)'s official tour information of the Prime Minister, he is slated to be in his home state Gujarat from April 18 to April 20. "However, we are still hoping that the Prime Minister might attend the meeting on April 20 morning coming from Gujarat," the official, who did not wish to be named, said. In November last year, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went to New Delhi and met the Prime Minister, she invited him to attend the inaugural session of the event. After the meeting, she even told the media persons that the Prime Minister has even accepted her invitation and assured his presence at the inaugural session of the summit. State government sources said that top top-notch industrialists from the country like Reliance Group's Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group's Gautam Adani are slated to be a part of the inaugural session of BGBS-2022. Agri-business, mining, IT-ITES, and Tourism are among the focus sectors of the summit this year. The summit this year, as per state government sources, is expected to witness business delegations from a number of countries, including the UK. Banerjee herself had said earlier this week that businessmen and industrialists from 14 nations will attend the summit this time. She also claimed that her government is the first state government which has shown the guts to organize a business summit of such stature in the post-pandemic situation. The Bengal Global Business Summit became an annual event of the state government since 2017. However, it could not happen in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns. (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.) Chief Minister along with his cabinet ministers will be visiting schools and on Monday. They will be accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Earlier, Kejriwal on Thursday had announced that his counterpart and his ministers will visit schools on Monday to see the "remarkable improvement" the regime has brought in them. His remarks came days after Opposition parties alleged that the government was being run through "remote control" from Delhi after Kejriwal held a meeting in the city with the state's top bureaucrats in Mann's absence. Addressing a programme at the Thyagaraj Stadium to celebrate Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar's birth anniversary, Kejriwal had said that his government has improved government schools to such an extent that people from across the globe are coming to see these "remarkable changes". Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin visited government schools and with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Stalin who visited the schools on April 1 had said that his government is replicating the model of Delhi's government schools in Tamil Nadu. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday asked AAP national convenor and state Chief Minister to expose mafias which approached them after their party formed government in the state. Kejriwal ji and Mann sahab, when you know who are running the mafias, then why are you not revealing their names ... Why are you not exposing the mafia now who approached you with bribes ?? asked Warring in a tweet. Kejriwal on Saturday in Delhi had said that after the formation of the AAP government in Punjab, several "big mafias" approached him, Mann, ministers, party MLAs and leaders seeking favours by offering bribe. "All the big mafias, who were looting Punjab, started approaching me, Mann, our ministers, MLAs, party functionaries, asking what is the system in your party, who has to be approached with bribe," Kejriwal had said. "We told all of them to work honestly, otherwise they will be put in jail. And everything fell in their place. See within a month your electricity became free. We saved every penny for this," Kejriwal had said. Kejriwal had said that the AAP fulfilled its first poll promise in Punjab and it will not let lack of funds hinder the state's progress. He had said this after Mann announced 300 units of free power a month for every household in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party formed the government in Punjab last month after it won 92 seats of the 117-assembly segments in the state assembly polls. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After its global unveil in India last November and subsequent spy shots showing it landing at the Batangas Port and on its way to dealers... Photo: The Canadian Press Lebanons government on Thursday approved the demolition of the huge grain silos in Beiruts port, gutted in the devastating 2020 explosion that killed 216 people and ravaged parts of the Lebanese capital. Information Minister Ziad Makari made the announcement after a Cabinet meeting, citing the risk of collapse of the once towering cement structure jutting from the Beirut coastline that was shredded by the force of the blast. He did not specify a timeframe. Demolishing the silos is controversial in a country gripped by multiple crises, including an economic meltdown, financial chaos and anger over the stalled investigation into the port blast. The explosion was triggered by the detonation of hundreds of tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrates in a port warehouse. The resulting explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history. A government-commissioned study in the wake of the disaster said the 50-year-old silos could collapse at any moment and should be demolished, sparking an emotional debate among the citys residents over how to preserve the memory of the tragedy. Relatives of the victims of the blast and many other Lebanese want the silos to stay as a mark of shame and reminder of the corruption and negligence of politicians that many Lebanese blame for the tragedy. Rights groups and families are concerned its a tactic to protect senior officials, none of whom have so far been detained or charged with any wrongdoing. Following the news, families of the victims called for a protest near the port. The massive, 48-meter-high silos absorbed much of the explosions impact, effectively shielding the western part of the city from the blast that damaged or completely destroyed thousands of buildings. Photo: Contributed For the past few weeks, Canadians have begun to plan a return to life after the COVID-19 pandemic. In a country with high vaccination rates and no lockdowns, we are beginning to plan trips and see friends again. Things that we did with extreme care in 2020, such as visiting a bank, are now done mostly without masks or hand sanitizer. This month, Research Co. and Glacier Media took a look at the way Canadians communicate, as well as our level of anxiety when dealing with others. The results show that the younger generations are more reliant on technology to get their points across, while those over the age of 55 lag in embracing apps and enjoy human interaction. For starters, more than two in five Canadians (44 per cent) claim that they would have no problem giving a speech in front of other people. More than half (52 per cent) disagree with this statement, including 30 per cent who strongly disagree with their own ability to speak in public. The generational divide becomes evident in the next two questions. A slight majority of Canadians (51 per cent) acknowledge feeling anxious when they have to make a phone call to a person they do not know including 61 per cent of those aged 18 to 34. In addition, almost half of Canadians (46 per cent) say they find text messages impersonal including 55 per cent of those aged 55 and over. When asked to choose a preferred mode of communication for quitting a job, more than seven in 10 Canadians (73 per cent) say they would do so in person, while significantly fewer would announce their departure through an email (15 per cent), a phone call (seven per cent) or a text message (five per cent). Canadians aged 18 to 34, who grew up with laptops and smartphones, are more likely to say that they would quit a job via email (24 per cent). The numbers are lower for Canadians aged 35 to 54 (17 per cent) and Canadians aged 55 and over (five per cent). It is not surprising to see that more than four in five Canadians (82 per cent) would prefer to end a relationship in person. Still, the numbers are far from unanimity. The survey shows one per cent of Canadians saying they would prefer to use an app to break up with someone, and higher proportions would take this step through an email (four per cent), a text message (seven per cent) or a phone call (also seven per cent). There is not much of a gender gap when dealing with the challenge of calling a relationship off. However, more than one in 10 Canadians aged 18 to 34 (11 per cent) say they would rather break up with someone through a text message. Canadians approach other more impersonal endeavours differently. When asked how they would order food delivery to their home, the same proportion of Canadians expressed a preference for making a phone call (39 per cent) and using an app (also 39 per cent). The explosion in app use to find lunch or dinner is commanded by the two youngest generations: 53 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 and 47 per cent of Canadians aged 35 to 54 prefer this route. Conversely, more than three in five Canadians aged 55 and over (62 per cent) make a phone call to the restaurant of their choice. There are some significant regional differences on app usage for food delivery. Alberta and Ontario lead the way (50 per cent and 49 per cent respectively), followed by British Columbia (44 per cent) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (43 per cent). The proportions are decidedly lower in Quebec (26 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (18 per cent), where a majority of residents dial their orders in. Banking has become remarkably easy over the past two decades, with Canadians going from the uncertainty of remembering a password to being able to deposit cheques with a smartphone. Still, there is a disparity between a task that is easily achievable away from the branch and needing to know a piece of information especially during tax time. We found that 37 per cent of Canadians would make a phone call if they had to ask a question to their bank. A slightly smaller proportion (32 per cent) would visit the branch in person, while significantly fewer would send an email (15 per cent), use an app (11 per cent) or send a text message (five per cent) to get a response. The gender gap is more pronounced when the difference of a face-to-face meeting with a representative and a phone call is analyzed. Most women prefer to call the bank (41 per cent), while most men choose to go to the branch themselves (38 per cent). Finally, when Canadians are asked about communicating with their municipality or city hall, 39 per cent express a preference for sending an email, while fewer select a phone call (33 per cent), an in-person meeting (20 per cent), a text message (five per cent) or an app (three per cent). Once again, we see a severe generational fluctuation. Canadians aged 55 and over are fonder of the phone call to city hall staff (44 per cent), while the email route is more popular among their counterparts aged 35 to 54 (45 per cent) and aged 18 to 34 (42 per cent). As the way we communicate continues to evolve, and the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic make us more predisposed to meet people in person, it is clear that there is no prevalent technology that Canadians favour for all tasks at hand. Significant majorities would not consider ending a relationship with a person or an employer unless they are in the same room. Our choices are more varied when dealing with banks, municipalities or restaurants. Mario Canseco is president of Research Co. Results are based on an online study conducted from April 1 to April 3, 2022, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: Getty Images COVID-19 brought hardship to much of Canada's pet industry as kennels sat empty and owners working remotely started walking their own dogs, but demand surged for veterinary services. With up to 35 per cent of Canadians adding pets during the pandemic and additional safety protocols restricting the number of patients in clinics, vets faced significant challenges, says Dr. Scott Weese, a veterinary internal medicine specialist and professor at the University of Guelphs Ontario Veterinary College. "You have owners that are frustrated because they can't get in as quickly as they used to and veterinarians that can't take new clients because they're so busy with their old ones," he said in an interview. Vets adapted by increasingly conferring over the phone and providing curbside service. A more formal move to online care would further help alleviate some of those pressures, Weese said, because it works well for patient monitoring and can replace normal visits or be used to prepare for an in-clinic visit. One such service is Vetster. It helps pet owners to avoid lengthy waits to see a vet by hooking up patients online with licenced doctors across North America and in the U.K., 24 hours a day. Launched after the start of the pandemic, Vetster has seen a meteoric rise in popularity, said co-founder and CEO Mark Bordo. "It was at the perfect sort of intersection of growth of telemedicine and spike in pet adoption." Vets set their own rates and availability, while pet owners can select their preferred doctor. The service can be especially attractive in remote communities. Melanie Patterson, owner of home dog boarding business Pamper the Pooch, turned to Vetster when one of her furry guests was bleeding with an open wound and several emergency clinics she called said she'd have to wait hours to see a vet because the injury wasn't lethal. Within 20 minutes of logging on to Vetster she had an appointment booked and conferred online with a vet who then faxed a prescription to her local drugstore. "There's obviously a time and place where a virtual vet appointment will not be useful, but for things like this, for times where it where a virtual appointment is sufficient, it was amazing," she said. Still, Weese said there's a concern certain ailments could be missed unless a vet can actually touch the patient, who can't communicate how it feels. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government for the ongoing energy crisis in the country and said that the load shedding across the country is due to the "mismanagement and incompetence of the previous government". Yesterday, while speaking at the National Assembly, Pakistan's PM said, "The load shedding in the country is due to gross mismanagement and incompetence of the previous government," Dawn newspaper reported. He said that the country had the capacity to generate 35,000 megawatts of electricity but after the closure of several power plants that were running on gas and oil, different parts of the country were facing load shedding for the last few days. Sharif also said that the country is facing a shortage of around 6,000 megawatts of hydel power, where the electricity is generated from the melting of glaciers and the availability of water but still he insisted that the country had sufficient electricity to meet its requirements, reported Dawn newspaper. Pakistan PM regretted the fact that the power plants which had been set up under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants which can produce about 5,000 megawatts of electricity, had been closed, according to Dawn newspaper. He further informed that the power plants which was to start generating power in 2019 had not yet started. Pakistan PM alleged the PTI-led government for not purchasing the LNG when the price was just USD 3 per unit and now the price surged and stood at around USD 30-35 per unit. While appreciating his party, Sharif said that during the Pakistan Muslim League-N reign the party had reached an agreement with Qatar for the import of LNG, but PTI always finds faults in it, reported Dawn. He further added that due to the sanctions imposed by European countries on Russian oil after they launched a military operation in Ukraine, the gas was not easily available to several countries. The prime minister said the PTI government was indifferent to public issues and it was "stone-hearted". He, however, assured the house the new government was trying to resolve issues facing the country on a priority basis. (ANI) Also Read: BJP tears into Opposition joint statement, alleges duplicity citing Bengal violence I followed the Hamilton County Mayoral election closely and I noticed Weston Wamp reached across the aisle to win over Democrats and Independents. His efforts were sincere and much needed today in our polarized country. The U.S. Congress is paralyzed by hyper partisan political brinksmanship and our federal legislative branch is dysfunctional. A heart-felt video Weston ... (click for more) On April 30, the day before the mother-daughter duo famously known as The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with Ray Charles, Naomi Judd unexpectedly died after struggling with Hepatitis C and mental health issues. She gave birth to her daughter Wynonna at age 17 and, after a rough start that included several years on welfare, the iconic duo won five ... (click for more) (This is the 9th of 10 essays Im writing before primary day on May 3.) Public health, early childhood education, K-12 education, workforce development, economic development and crime. These are many of the issues Ive been asked about most often over the past five months as a candidate for county mayor. But politicians have difficulty grasping that these areas of public policy are all inextricably interwoven. The status quo approach is to half-heartedly address each and as a result, many of our neighbors are being left behind. Our economy and our schools work well for some and provide little hope to many. Lets start with economic development. Ill translate these political buzzwords: Is your community a good place to start and grow a business or for a larger company to make an investment? Employers typically make these decisions based on the quality of the communitys workforce, which is a direct reflection of the quality of your public school system. Likewise, companies looking to make a sizable investment typically prioritize communities with quality K-12 education. The quality of K-12 education is all too often measured by its ability to place graduates into a four-year college. In order to be successful in sending graduates to universities, students typically need to be reading on grade level in third grade. Heres where it gets complicated. Reading on grade level has much more to do with variables outside of the classroom and, for that matter, outside of government. Children whose parents spend time with them as infants, interact with them, read to them and sing to them are more likely to read on grade level. Contrary to popular belief, public Pre-K is a disaster. A large-scale study released by Vanderbilt University in February showed that children who were accepted into a public Pre-K program in Tennessee lagged behind their peers in behavior and academics, who were not accepted into public Pre-K. Whats invaluable, and underestimated, is that children get love and attention prior to Pre-K. As the dad of toddlers for most of the last decade, I can attest to the critical importance of the toddler years in brain development. This is where public health connects. The Hamilton County Health Department has an opportunity to proactively pursue new parents to share the lifelong consequences of the first few years of a childs life. Further, our health department, county government and local nonprofits can help make sure parents, particularly single moms, have an adequate supply of diapers. Without diapers, you cant send your child to daycare. And a good daycare can change a childs learning trajectory. Diapers and crime might not seem connected, but they are. The parts of our community with the highest concentrations of violent crime are also the parts with the lowest performing schools. Hopeless students often drop out of school and hopeless young men commit almost all violent crime. Its all connected. There is no easy answer, but there are two obvious interventions we should forcefully pursue. Leverage the Hamilton County Health Department to educate new parents on the lifelong implications of the first few years of a childs life. Recommit to vocational and technical education so that students who dont read on grade level still have a realistic path to a great career. Our local technical college is amazingly proficient in training students at all learning levels. A stable income from a good job will empower young parents to break the cycle and spend quality time with their children, increasing the odds they read on grade level and go on to live productive lives. The highest calling of the next County Mayor is to pursue a comprehensive agenda to raise the quality of life for all citizens of Hamilton County. Even as Chattanooga has become known around the country for its quality of life, the opposite is true in many of our neighborhoods. If were going to build a workforce that will ignite another generation of economic growth, we must understand that the path to a great career as an adult begins in diapers. Weston Wamp The assistant manager at a store at 2288 Gunbarrel Road showed police security video footage of a white female wearing a white sweater and blue jeans change her boots with a new pair of Nike shoes and walk out of the store with two other pairs of Nike shoes in her hands. The woman passed all points of sale without purchasing the shoes. The assistant manager also said that all three pairs of shoes were worth a total of $270. Prior to police arriving, the woman got into a silver Chevy Impala and drove away. * * * A woman on Hooker Road called police to wait with her until her ride arrived. The woman had locked herself out of her residence and didn't want to wait alone. * * * Police responded to a vehicle fire at a residence on White Oak Road. When police arrived, the fire department was in the process of extinguishing fire on a 2010 red Chevy Cobalt. The vehicle owner said she noticed her vehicle was smoking when she arrived home and then, approximately 20 minutes later, she saw it was on fire. There was no suspicious activity regarding the fire. The owner said she would call a private tow during daylight hours. The vehicle was not a hazard where it was parked. * * * A woman on West 38th Street called police and said that a man had put his hands on her. She then told dispatch she did not want police. Upon arrival, police saw the woman walking back towards the house and she claimed she did not want them there. She said she did not want to talk to police and said she had not been hit. * * * A disorder was reported at a residence on Wheeler Avenue. Police spoke with the people at the home and they said they worked everything out and there was no physical altercation. * * * A man on Hickory Valley Road told police he wanted them on scene while he retrieved his belongings from his sister; The man was able to get most of his stuff, besides his freezer, which was in a storage unit out in Hixson. The sister agreed to let him get the freezer. He said he had the receipt for the freezer in his name. * * * Police spoke with a man on Spruce Street who lives out of his vehicle. Police have been out with this man twice previously, due to his car being parked improperly on the wrong side of the roadway and partially blocking the entrance to the apartments there. On all occasions, the man gave multiple excuses for why he had not moved his vehicle. He told police that he had met another person at a gas station and let this person drive his vehicle, at which point he ran out of fuel at this location. He also said that the key to the vehicle had broken and that this person was supposed to go get another key made for him and had never returned. Police attempted to assist him in moving the vehicle from the roadway, but the vehicle was unmovable. Police then had the vehicle towed by United Wrecker, due to it being a traffic hazard and because the man had not moved it previously. * * * A suspicious person was at 2100-2199 Cummings Highway. Police found a woman running in the middle of the road on the busy highway. Police asked the woman if she was okay and she said she was fine and only wanted to get back down the mountain towards St. Elmo. Police asked her if she had a home somewhere around the area and she said no, that she was homeless. Police informed her they could not drop her off randomly around St. Elmo, but could take her to the Community Kitchen instead. The woman agreed to go and police transported her there. * * * Police spoke with a woman in the Hamilton Place Mall parking lot who said she started working at Gabe's two weeks ago, and she noticed that there was a lot of shoplifting happening in the store. She said the employees are aware of the shoplifting, and they never reported it. She also said she observed people going in and out of the store shoplifting, and after she reported it to the assistant manager, other employees started calling her a snitch. The woman said she felt the other employees were following her when she was working, and she did not feel safe at the workplace. Police spoke with the assistant store manager and she said the woman brought to her attention that she did not feel safe with what was going on in the store. The assistant manager said she assured the woman that she would make sure that nothing happened to her. The woman quit the job, and she left the store without incident. * * * While patrolling the area of 7017 Shallowford Road, officers observed a vehicle parked facing the wrong direction. Officers ran the tag and discovered the vehicle was stolen. They had it towed by Ford's Towing. The vehicle was removed from NCIC. * * * Police responded to 2100 Hixson Pike on report of a tree that fell on power lines. Police found a tree blocking the intersection of Hixson Pike and Altamont Road and cleared it from the roadway. The tree hit power lines connected to EPB pole E306 and knocked down a traffic light at the intersection. EPB and CDOT were notified of the incident and both responded to the scene. Police stayed around until barricades were up and there was no longer a need for police presence. * * * A suspicious person was reported at a residence on Magnolia Street. Police spoke with a woman who was with her two daughters, who were in their early 20s. The woman said that prior to police arrival, she and the daughters were walking towards the residence, which was their Airbnb. She said as they were walking to the home, they were followed by a black male. She said as they began to enter the Airbnb, the man approached them and requested they allow him to enter the premises. She said she told him no. She then went inside and locked the door. She said after this the man walked onto the porch and attempted to enter by knocking repeatedly and trying to turn the door handle. Police then made contact with a neighbor, who identified herself and said she observed the man walking past her house from her security camera. She said she did not know what the situation was with occupants of the Airbnb. Police patrolled the area and were unable to locate any person matching the suspect description. Police received no further calls about this suspicious male. In this age of social media, celebrity relationships get a lot of attention. From Instagram shots to Twitter feeds, some celebrities are just as famous for their lifestyle and partners as they are for their work. Others prefer to keep the details of their personal lives out of the spotlight. Actor and comedian Joel McHale likes to keep the drama on stage and screen rather than on the internet or in the news. As Hello! reported in 2021, he and his wife have managed to keep their 25-year marriage and family life relatively low profile. Joel McHale | Charles Sykes/Getty Images Joel McHale married his college sweetheart Seattle native Sarah Williams McHale was born on August 10, 1970. In 1995, she was pursuing a degree in psychology at UW when she first met her husband. I called my friend Kim and I was like, Hey, do you think you could put a good word in for me with Sarah Williams?' McHale recalled on Wired. And she was like, Good luck, but Sarah took pity on me and, um, allowed me to take her out and uh, then I, I wore her down, and then she eventually agreed to marry me. Thank God. That was almost 24 years ago and shes regretted it ever since. Growing up, Williams McHale suffered a life-changing tragedy. Heavy reports that she and her older brother, Richard, lost their father in a car accident when she was just 10 years old. She often mentions her love for her father and gratitude for her mothers strength and sense of humor on her Instagram account. Widowed at 42, you have lived with M.S. since you were 33 and now Alzheimers, she wrote in 2019. Through it all, you LIVE with joy, laughter, style, and faith. I am more in awe of you all the time. I love you! After college, Williams McHale worked as a community center youth worker in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a clothing line, and as Creative Director for a greeting card company. She is currently a professional artist, having pursued her passion in Los Angeles at Barnsdall Art Park and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Joel McHales wife is the mother to his two sons Williams McHales Instagram is packed with art projects, cute pets, and happy family photos. The McHales two sons, Edward and Isaac, are teenagers now, but that wasnt always the case. Legit reports that Edward, who was born in 2005, required open-heart surgery as an infant. He was born with two large holes in his heart. It was horrific; we couldnt believe it. But we just started dealing with it, McHale told WebMD in 2012. Fortunately, Edward made a full recovery with his parents at his side. His brother, Isaac, was born in 2008, and McHale says, Both are hams in their own way. They definitely can tell jokes. When I make a bad joke, Eddie says, Daddy, no more jokes for a year.' In January 2022 McHale appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and revealed a bit of what their family life is like. I have two very sarcastic sons. Shocker, shocker. And I have a thirteen-year-old that whenever I get excited about something, he goes, Calm down. Its not your birthday.' McHale also revealed that the family has three dogs and one rabbit. Originally there were two rabbits, but when the one died, they worried that something might be wrong with the cage. So my wife put it in the shower and the rabbit rejuvenated. Shes like Saint Francis, it was great, McHale said. And now it just lives in the shower near the kitchen and so when people come over and they do their business, theres a bunny in the shower and so many of them come out and go, Theres a rabbit in your shower. And Im like, Youre kidding! And then I run in there. McHale does his stand-up act at different venues across the country and you can watch all six seasons of Community on Amazon Prime. Joel McHales career is rooted in comedy On November 20, 1971, McHale was born in Rome, Italy to his Canadian mother Laurie Jackson McHale, and American father Jack McHale, who according to TheFamousPeople, was Dean of Students at the Loyola University Rome Center. McHale grew up and attended school in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington and received his masters degree from the universitys Actor Training Program. McHale has two brothers and is the middle child. Their names are Chris and Steven, he told Wired on YouTube. We look alike. McHales career began on a locally based television series called Almost Live! which ran from 1984 to 1999. According to IMDb, McHale moved to Los Angeles after college and was cast most notably on Will and Grace in 1998 and Spider-Man 2 in 2004. That same year, he began writing and producing the project that opened doors for him. E!s The Soup featured him as the comedic host commenting on ridiculous celebrity antics and reality show moments. I have always survived with comedy, in that I grew up very dyslexic and did not get good grades, McHale told Collider. I always thought I was dumb and there are many people out there who would agree. In 2009, McHale landed the role of Jeff Winger on the popular series Community which ran for six seasons and received a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2014. Since then, he has made numerous television appearances and several films, most recently the animated action-adventure film, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, and the crime/comedies Queenpin and Happily. RELATED: These Celebrities Married Their High School Sweethearts and Some Are Still Together Years Later Prince Harry is currently raising two kids in the United States with his wife, Meghan Markle. The pair has a 2-year-old son named Archie and a 10-month-old daughter named Lilibet. Archie is at an age when he is beginning to have some career aspirations, and Harry recently shared what they are. Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage Archies life in California Archie was born in the United Kingdom, but he moved to California with his parents after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020. The family currently lives in Montecito, which is an hour and 30 minutes away from LA. Earlier this year, it was reported that Harry and Meghan had been sending Archie to a nursery. It is not clear which nursery Archie is attending, but The Mirror noted that it is not All Saints by the Sea Episcopal School, which celebrities in the area often send their kids to. The outlet also reported that Archies school teaches emotional literacy, mindfulness, and how to be kind and look after the environment. Harry often drops Archie off and picks him up, and seems like a good dad, an alleged parent at the school told the Daily Mail. All the parents have been laidback in welcoming Harry and Meghan, without making a fuss. And to the other kids, Archie is just one of them. They dont know his parents are royalty, and probably wouldnt care unless Meghan was a Disney princess. Prince Harry shares some of Archies career aspirations Prince Harry Shares Son Archie's Career Aspirations at Invictus Games Opening: 'Some Days It's an Astronaut' https://t.co/E2ud8HDqSd People (@people) April 16, 2022 Harry and Meghan are currently in the Netherlands to attend the Invictus Games, which Harry founded in 2014. During the opening ceremony, Harry gave a speech and shared some of his sons career goals. When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days its an astronaut, other days its a pilot a helicopter pilot obviously or Kwazii from Octonauts, Harry said (via People). If youre laughing, then youve seen that. The Duke of Sussex added, But what I remind him is that no matter what you want to be when you grow up, its your character that matters most, and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today. Prince Harry wants to make the future better for his kids Harry was also interviewed by young reporters from the Dutch childrens news channel Kindercorrespondent. In a YouTube video on their channel, the reporters asked Harry about his wish for his kids. To grow up in a better world, Harry answered. To grow up in a fairer world, a safer world, a more equal world. He continued, Its not going to be easy, but I will never, ever, ever rest until I as a parent have at least tried to make the world a better place for them, because it is our responsibility that the world is the way that it is now. I dont think we should be bringing children into the world unless we are going to make that commitment to make it better for them. We cannot steal your future. RELATED: Prince Harry Has Adopted the American Attitude of My Way or the Highway, Journalist Says Anna Camp and Skylar Astin finalized their divorce in August 2019 after more than two and a half years of marriage. The celebrity couple started dating back in June 2013 following Camps divorce from Michael Mosley. Surprisingly, Camp and Astin spent more time dating than they spent married. Below is a breakdown of their relationship timeline. How did Anna Camp and Skylar Astin meet? (L-R): Actors Anna Camp and Skylar Astin arrive at the premiere of Universal Pictures Pitch Perfect 3 at Dolby Theatre on December 12, 2017 in Hollywood, California. | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic The divorced Hollywood couple met in 2012 while filming the 2012 musical comedy Pitch Perfect. But they were just friends first, Camp told Glamour in 2014. We didnt really have a scene together, but hes just such a fun guy, she added. Camp also shared she wasnt ready to date immediately following her divorce. She also had reservations about their age difference, given that he was 26 and she was 31 at the time. However, the age difference did not deter them once they got together. In Astins opinion, it was love at first sight. He revealed to PopSugar he knew from the onset that he wanted Camp in his life, and he was sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He added that he could not imagine life without her. The two made their first-ever public appearance as a couple in 2013, shortly after news of Pitch Perfect 2 made the rounds. Both actors returned to their roles. Astin and Camp married in 2016 after three years together In Jan. 2016, the two love birds shared their engagement news. They posted on their respective Instagram accounts during the New Years holiday weekend while on vacation in Hawaii. Camp and Astin got married in September 2016, about three years after their romantic relationship began. Shortly after their first anniversary, Anna Camp shared how the two kept things musical at home, telling Stephen Colbert about a jingle they wrote together while installing an air conditioning unit. Were just that cheesy! she laughed. After they tied the knot, Camp and Astin didnt work on any more live-action projects together. Camp appeared in Pitch Perfect 3 and took on a starring role in the short-lived Amazon Prime Video series Good Girls Revolt. Astin, meanwhile, joined the cast of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. However, the pair did provide the voices for Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein in an episode of the animated series Vampirina. They announced their divorce after less than 3 years Skylar Astin and Anna Camp were last spotted together in October 2018. However, the relationship went downhill shortly after. At the premiere of Isnt It Romantic in February 2019, Camp walked the red carpet by herself, possibly indicating their separation. After two and a half years of marriage, the actors announced their divorce in April 2019. We can confirm that we decided to separate, and this decision was made mutually and amicably, Camp and Astin jointly told E! News (via Clevver TV). Just hours after announcing their decision to split, Camp filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Even though the stars were open about their love for each other during their marriage, there were signs resulting in divorce indicating that things werent always pitch-perfect. RELATED: Pitch Perfect and Zoeys Extraordinary Playlist Star Skylar Astin Reads Thirst Tweets and Virtually Auditions for Hercules Spy x Family Episode 2 introduced the third and final member of the Forger family, but Twilight is still a long way off from completing Operation Strix. The next chapter of the anime will determine if Anya gets into Eden Academy something the entire mission is riding on. So, when does Spy x Family Episode 3 arrive and how can fans watch it? [Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spy x Family Episode 2, Secure a Wife.] Twilight finds a wife in Spy x Family Episode 2 RELATED: 10 of the Most Anticipated New Anime Coming Out in 2022 Twilight meets his perfect match in Spy x Family Episode 2, though he may not realize just how similar he and Yor really are. The second installment sees the animes main spy searching for a wife. Hell need one if he hopes to get Anya into Eden Academy, which requires both parents present at its admissions interview. Yor, the woman he stumbles upon, is also searching for a partner and for a very similar reason. Her colleagues and brother have begun to regard her as strange and suspicious over being single. Fearing that kind of attention, she jumps on Twilights advances. After all, its the only way to protect her secret life as an assassin. And although she and Twilight both know theyre putting on a facade, the end of Secure a Wife highlights how good they are together. Now that theyve tied the knot, theyll both be able to focus on their dangerous professions. Of course, theyll also need to get Anya into school in Spy x Family Episode 3. Yor, Anya, and Loid in Spy x Family | Tatsuya Endo/Shueisha, SPY x FAMILY Project RELATED: Spring 2022 Anime Which Shows Should You Watch on Crunchyroll? Now that Twilight has found a mother for Anya, Spy x Family Episode 3 will see him preparing for Eden Academys admissions interview. As Franky notes in Secure a Wife, Anya may need some help playing the role of the wealthy, worldly child. And Yor will probably need practice as well to keep up with the well-to-do other parents at the school. So, when does the next episode of Spy x Family come out? New installments premiere in Japan at 11 p.m. on Saturdays, heading to streaming services like Crunchyroll and Hulu soon after. Heres when they drop on those platforms in the following time zones: PST: 8:30 a.m. CST: 10:30 a.m. EST: 11:30 a.m. GMT: 3:30 p.m. CEST: 5:30 p.m. AEST: 1:30 a.m. With Twilights entire mission dependent on Anyas interview, fans wont want to miss the Forger familys next adventure. Will they need a subscription to access it? Watch the third installment on Crunchyroll to see how Anyas test goes "New episode next week." Me: pic.twitter.com/EUtjo8beaz SPY x FAMILY (@spyfamily_en) April 16, 2022 Now that you know what time Spy x Family Episode 3 arrives, lets get to the specifics of how to tune in. Those living in Japan can catch the newest chapter when it airs on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TV Setouchi, TV Hokkaido, or TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting. International fans will need Crunchyroll or Hulu to catch the third mission. And to watch it on its premiere date, that means theyll need a subscription. Starting with the spring 2022 anime season, Crunchyroll has begun requiring premium subscriptions to access its new seasonal content. Plans start at $7.99 per month, and theyll gain subscribers access to the latest episodes as soon as they arrive. Those unable to get a plan can also watch episode 3 a week later, as Spy x Family is part of Crunchyrolls seasonal sampler. The first three episodes of the show will be available free with ads from a week after their initial release date until May 31. Hulu will also receive the latest adventures of the Forger family, with subscriptions beginning at $6.99 per month. That leaves a few options for fans hoping to keep up with this exciting new anime. Wherever you choose to watch the next chapter, one thing is certain: fans are in for more hijinks as this series continues. Catch the first two installments on Crunchyroll and Hulu now. RELATED: Spy x Family Lands English Dub Release Date, Main Cast Revealed The Bold and the Beautiful characters come and go from the CBS soap opera. Unfortunately, characters like Dr. John Finn Finnegan (Tanner Novlan) met a tragic demise most of the time. Yet, as fans know, someone can come back from the dead. As viewers await word on Finns fate, lets look at a few characters who returned from beyond the grave. Bobbie Eakes, I Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic Macy Alexander was presumed dead in a car crash on The Bold and the Beautiful The Bold and the Beautiful beloved character Macy Alexander (Bobbie Eakes) is someone who knows about second chances. The daughter of eccentric fashion designer Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) had her first brush with death in July 2000. Macy was heartbroken when her husband, Thorne Forrester (Winston Harmon), divorced her to be with Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang). Macys night worsened when Brooke showed up after Thorne left. The two women got into an argument, and Brooke jumped into Macys car when she tried to drive off. The car collided with a semi-truck, and while Brooke was rescued, Macy was trapped in the car when it exploded. RELATED: The Bold and the Beautiful: 5 Character Deaths That Had Fans in Tears However, a year later, a trip to Italy has Thorne reuniting with Macy, who is alive. Macy explains she was rescued by her father, Adam Alexander (Michael Swan), before the explosion. Although Macy was adamant about staying in Italy, she returned to Los Angeles to be with her family. Macy found love with reformed bad boy Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan). Yet, the couples marriage was cut short after Macy was injured when a chandelier fell on her. Macy was in a coma, and doctors offered little hope of recovery. Although its believed Macy was taken off life support, fans know theres still a possibility of another return from the dead. Taylor Hayes cheated death twice Everyones favorite doctor Taylor Hayes (Krista Allen), has a lucky rabbits foot. The Bold and the Beautiful character has escaped death not once but twice. Her first near-death experience came in 1994 when she was presumed dead in a plane crash. However, before boarding the flight, Taylor was knocked unconscious by a drug dealer. Months later, Taylor is alive but has amnesia. She was rescued by Prince Omar (Kabir Bedi), who wants to make her his bride. However, after Taylor regains her memory, she heads back to Los Angeles to reunite with Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye). Taylors next brush with death came in 2002 when she was shot by Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). While it looked like Taylor would survive, she later died in Ridges arms. However, in 2005, Taylor made another miraculous return. Again Prince Omar came to the rescue by removing Taylor from the hospital and helping her recover. Ridge Forresters presumed death devastated Brooke Logan Ridge Forrester is a prominent character in The Bold and the Beautiful. Its hard to imagine the show without him. However, fans almost said goodbye to the character in 2003. Newlyweds Ridge and Brooke embarked on a honeymoon to South America, which Sheila disrupted. Sheila kidnaps Ridge and holds him hostage in a foundry. Brooke and Nick Marone (Jack Wagner) arrive to rescue Ridge but are taken hostage by Sheila and her thugs. Brooke's intuition shifts to overdrive when she reveals to Hope and Liam that she knows an external force is at work. Watch all-new episodes of #BoldandBeautiful on @paramountplus: https://t.co/sjiNoUN3hl pic.twitter.com/1N0MXzCkbq Bold & The Beautiful (@BandB_CBS) April 6, 2022 While things look gloomy for the trio, Massimo Marone (Joseph Mascolo) comes to the rescue. A fight breaks out, and Ridge falls into a fiery furnace in the melee. Brooke and everyone else watch in horror as they presume Ridge burned to death. However, days later, Brooke is stunned to find Ridge is alive. The couple shared a heartfelt reunion, cut short when Brooke confessed to sleeping with Nick following Ridges death. RELATED: The Bold and the Beautiful: 3 Characters Who Could Return in 2022? The Challenge champ and The Real World: New Orleans alum Julie Stoffer had a five-season run on the competition reality show before disappearing from the community. She claims she was supposed to make a comeback in spinoff All Stars but says veteran Aneesa Ferreira filled her spot at the last second. Julie Stoffer, Dan Renzi and Jamie Murray during The Real World Reunion Tour | J. Vespa/WireImage/Geetty Images The Challenge champ Julie Stoffer reportedly replaced on All Stars 1 with Aneesa Ferreira Shortly before The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans premiered on Paramount+, reality star Julie Stoffer appeared on episode 284 of The Challenge Mania podcast. After filming The Gauntlet 2 in 2005, in which she made the finals, Stoffer admitted she left reality TV. She explained that the producers called her back for another season, but she didnt want to return at the time partly due to past drama. The nerves are kicking in as the All Stars make their way to their first challenge of the season! Watch #TheChallengeAllStars2 exclusively on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/KxgBImaSiD The Challenge (@ChallengeMTV) November 14, 2021 RELATED: The Challenge: Beth and Jisela Voice Support for Ruthie Following Aneesa Fall Out When champ Mark Long contacted her for the first season of spinoff All Stars, 15 years after her last appearance, the Wisconsin native agreed. According to Stoffer, she made the cast and had her plane ticket and contact ready. However, they reportedly switched her out at the last minute with veteran Aneesa Ferreira. Stoffer said she had to choose between The Real World Homecoming and The Challenge The news devastated the reality star as she began working out and wanted to make her come back. She claimed the producers promised her a spot on the next season but then she received a call to film the third season of The Real World Homecoming. As the filming conflicted, she had to choose one. Stoffer said she expressed her preference for The Challenge but reported the producers encouraged her to participate in the revival of her original show instead. "If I didn't do the show, I wouldn't have the life that I have right now and I love my life." The #RealWorld Homecoming: New Orleans premieres NEXT WEDNESDAY April 20, exclusively on #ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/0vBJu6j6Tu Paramount+ (@paramountplus) April 14, 2022 She hoped to compete in the third season, but a hurricane postponed filming for Homecoming instead, causing her to miss the upcoming All Stars 3 as well. Stoffer admitted shes hungry to return but isnt sure if shell get another chance as Paramount+ hasnt announced a renewal of the spinoff yet. She has 1 win and 2 final appearances during her time on The Challenge A few months after debuting on The Real World: New Orleans in 2000, Stoffer competed on Extreme Challenge. She won as part of The Real World team, earning a total of $19,333. The Wisconsin native returned two seasons later for Battle of the Sexes but became the first contestant voted off the series. Stoffer had a better showing in The Inferno (2004) as she nearly made it to the finals and walked away with the $1,000 she won during a mission. Get ready to Laugh, Cry & Be in complete Disbelief!! @JulieStofferMTV joins Me & @SHOTOFYAGER for a Mind Blowing good time!! NEW PODCAST is UP!https://t.co/y0gJXOL64M pic.twitter.com/jq8nNBvyfW Derrick Kosinski (@DerrickMTV) April 11, 2022 After falling to the same fate in The Inferno 2 (2005), she came back for the following season, The Gauntlet 2 (2005), which would become her last one to date. The reality star put forth an impressive performance as part of The Veterans team, but they fell short in the finals. Even so, Stoffer walked away with $8,571 in prize money. Throughout her five-season run on the reality competition show, Stoffer has one win, two finals appearances, 28 daily wins, and two elimination losses. The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans premieres April 20, 2022, on Paramount+. RELATED: The Challenge: Janelle Cried Over Production Blatantly Not Giving 4th Step for Lockbox to Everyone Brittany Cartwright from Vanderpump Rules found herself in the emergency room after she had a terrifying allergic reaction during a friends weekend wedding celebration. Cartwright and husband Jax Taylor shared photos on their Instagram stories of Cartwright on a hospital gurney, eyes swollen shut, but still light-hearted as they rushed to return in time for the wedding. Cartwright told Showbiz Cheat Sheet she thought that eating a small piece of kiwi is what sparked the reaction. But now she isnt sure because shes continued to break out in hives weeks after she was treated at the hospital. Vanderpump Rules Brittany Cartwright had a serious allergic reaction Cartwright recounted the incident, sharing that she noticed the swelling minutes before she was supposed to join the bridal party for photos. It was the morning of one of my best friends wedding. Im a bridesmaid, she said. Were supposed to be ready for pictures at 2:00. And it is 1:45 and Im headed to the E.R. I was trying to hold out as long as I could. I took the Benadryl and did the normal stuff to try to help with the allergic reaction. Brittany Cartwright |Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank But my arms and my feet started breaking out and then my face started breaking out, she continued. My eyes started swelling shut. I got really scared. And for someone who doesnt normally have allergic reactions, that is terrifying. So I feel terrible for people who suffer from this because it can be painful, itchy and just not good. Brittany and Jax managed to return from the ER in time for the wedding In typical form, Cartwright was more concerned about disturbing the wedding flow or upsetting her friend. I got scared because my eyes started shutting and I didnt want to freak my friend out, who was also five months pregnant and a bride, she said. So I was trying my hardest not to talk about it too much, but on the inside, I was freaking out, Cartwright recalled. My mom was there watching my son. So I called my mom. It doesnt matter that Im 33, I still needed my mom to come to comfort me. So my mom comes upstairs to the hotel room and I was just like, Its getting worse. Its not getting better.' So I just went to the emergency room and they gave me an I.V. with all the fluids and all the prescription medicines and everything that they have. And then they put me on steroids and different things, she said. Taylor posted on his Instagram story that the wedding weekend didnt go exactly as planned. We are in Florida right now, currently at an emergency room, he captioned a video outside of the ER. Yep, thats right. Brittany is in the emergency room. Things are happening. Shes allergic to kiwi, we just found out. He joked, Shes right here. Dont worry. Everything is okay. We got our I.V. bag, were on our way back to the hotel, and hopefully, the Patron is waiting, She isnt sure if the kiwi is truly the culprit Cartwright also remained light-hearted about the incident. Leave it to me to get an allergic reaction and end up in the emergency room on my friends wedding day, she shared on her Instagram story. Adding, After an IV Im fine. At the time she was convinced the kiwi sparked an allergic reaction. I thought it was kiwi because I bought a tropical fruit bowl mix for Cruz, she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. And I had not had kiwi in years. I know some people get different allergies as they grow older or from having babies, things change. But I took a little piece of [the kiwi]. I thought that was [the kiwi] but now now I have no idea, she said. Because it continued even after I came back home. So its got to be something else going on. So Im getting allergy tests done. Thankfully, Cartwright did not have the same, severe reaction she had before the wedding. But she plans to find out why she is still getting a few hives and itchiness. Ive been getting [hives] on my hands, on my arms and on the palms of my hands, but I havent had them in like two days now, she added. RELATED: Vanderpump Rules: Brittany Cartwright Swapped Birthday Cake for Tequila Shots This Year (Exclusive) Yolanda Hadid is a celebrity with more than one claim to fame. The Dutch former model has been in the public eye since she was a young teen, and shes remained there ever since. Hadid is the matriarch of a famous family, and shes been a part of the well-known Real Housewives franchise on Bravo. The TV personality has been married twice. After her second divorce, however, she decided to go back to using her first husbands surname. Not many people are eager to take their ex-husbands name again, but Hadids reason to do so is simple and sweet. Who is Yolanda Hadid? Former model Yolanda Hadid during 2020 Paris Fashion Week | Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images Hadid was born Yolanda van den Herik in the Netherlands in 1964. A Dutch designer approached her as a young teen, asking her to model in his fashion show. This led to a successful 15-year modeling career. Hadid moved to LA in 1994, where she had three children with her first husband Mohamed Hadid. Those kids, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, and Anwar Hadid, all went on to become models as well. Some fans even call them the most beautiful siblings in Hollywood. In 2012, Yolanda joined the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and she stayed with the show until 2016. The following year, she wrote a memoir, Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease. Yolandas experience with the bacterial infection prompted her to spread awareness about Lyme disease and how it can impact peoples lives. Yolanda Hadids love life Yolanda Hadid shares loved-up photo with boyfriend Joseph Jingoli#TheNews The News (@thenews_intl) May 26, 2020 The List reports that Yolandas first husband, Mohamed, was 15 years older than her. Their marriage lasted from 1994 to 2000. After their divorce, she waited 11 years to try her hand at marriage again. In 2011, Yolanda married musician David Foster, making them newlyweds when she started appearing on RHOBH. They divorced four years later. Although she hasnt shared much about why they split, she has suggested that it may be related to her struggles with Lyme disease. Yolandas illness kept her from being able to stay as active as Foster wanted to be. In 2019, the now-58-year-old began dating a new man, Joseph Jingoli. Although Yolanda prefers to keep her private life under wraps, she has shared shes very much in love with the construction company CEO. Why does Yolanda use the last name Hadid? Yolanda Foster Spends the Holidays with Gigi, Bella, and Anwar Hadid in Aspen https://t.co/fUbSCE5sbi pic.twitter.com/u0YWbQUFgT Bravo (@BravoTV) December 28, 2015 Although Yolanda has experienced two divorces, she still uses her first husbands last name. As she was splitting from Foster, the mother of three decided to return to using Hadid instead. According to Radar Online, a source explained that she chose the name to stay close to her children. It was very easy for Yolanda to make the decision to change her name back to Hadid, the source said. She wants to have the same last name as her three kids, Bella, Gigi, and Anwar. Yolanda even spoke to her ex-husband Mohamed about her decision. Although he wasnt legally required to allow her to change her name, he gave her his blessing. Yolanda seems happy with her new love. But she isnt sharing if they have any plans to get married. Even if they do, she may continue using Hadid as her last name. Presumably, Yolanda still wants to have that connection with her kids. Everyone seemed comfortable with her being known this way. RELATED: Fans Criticize Yolanda Hadid After Daughter Bella Hadid Admits to Nose Job at Age 14 The accused and the seized property were handed over to Choutuppal police for further investigation. (Image credit: Facebook) Hyderabad: Sleuths from Choutuppal police and revenue officials on Friday arrested two inter-state drug peddlers and seized a truck loaded with 700 kg of ganja worth Rs 1, 1,15,000 crore. Rajender Singh (28) and Arjun Singh Rawat (22) from Rajasthan were arrested while transporting the contraband from Atchutapuram, Rajahmundry district to Rajasthan via Ankireddy gudam, where on a tip-off, they intercepted the truck (GJ 37 T 5705). During interrogation the accused said that they had procured the material from a supplier Mukesh (absconding) of Atchutapuram. They were proceeding to Jaipur to deliver it to Purana Singh (absconding), said Mahesh Bhagwat, commissioner of Rachakonda police in a release. The total worth of 700 kilogram of ganja is Rs. 84 lakh, two mobile phones Rs 15,000 and a truck Rs 35 lakh. The accused and the seized property were handed over to Choutuppal police for further investigation. The story of Cherokee Nation citizen Ezekiel Proctor is explored in a new exhibit, Sovereignty on Trial: The Tragedy at Goingsnake, at the Cherokee Supreme Court Museum in Tahlequah. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Education is often thought of in very specific terms. Students attend primary and secondary education classes, with many going on to institutions of higher learning. Then, when all the courses are over, our learning is done. Dont tell that to the residents at Elim Park Place. For nearly a year, many of those residing at the retirement community in Cheshire have been attending classes on topics ranging from American presidential history to climate change science. The courses are taught by fellow Elim Park residents, all of whom have particular expertise in certain subject matter and a willingness to share their knowledge with the greater Elim community. Elim Park University began offering courses in May of 2021. Since then, the school has continued to grow, both in terms of the number of courses offered and the number of students wanting to participate. Weve had a wonderful response, said Wayne Detzler, founding member and Dean of Elim Park University. Weve had excellent attendance in all of our courses and terrific interest (from potential teachers). There is no cost for residents. The University looks to offer approximately 12 courses per semester, fall and spring. The number of students in each course can vary depending on the requirements of the curriculum. For instance, those courses taught in Nelson Hall, Elim Parks main auditorium capable of housing a sizable audience, can accommodate a large number of students, while other instructors ask for a smaller-sized class. One of our instructors teaches pottery and she has a waiting list (of students), explained Chuck Holder, chairman of the Elim Park University Committee. She requested a smaller class because she wants a more (intimate) setting, whereas someone who uses Nelson Hall, (class size) can go over 300. The course offerings are varied. During the spring semester, students can attend classes on everything from sketchbooking to a course entitled Demystifying the English Language. The classes can be interactive, such as a course teaching the basics of playing billiards, as well as ones that focus on more complex issues, such as Father John Williams course entitled New Patristics: An Introduction to the Early Christian Church. Williams is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford who has degrees in the humanities as well as having studied at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Likewise, Detzler, the Dean of the University, comes with a wealth of experience a retired professor of history, an author of several books, a former chairman of four colleges in Europe where he spent most of his career, and at one point the Dean at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Detzler mentioned that several individuals at Elim Park have a background in education, having taught at either the high school or the college level, so its been seamless for them to get back into the swing of instructing. However, Cheryl Sheehan, director of marketing and communications for all of Elim Park, insists that having a background in teaching isnt a requirement. You dont have to be a professor, said Sheehan. We have one person who is teaching billiards. Another person wants to cook, so she will be teaching a course on that. There really is such a range of courses and teachers. One of the reasons why the University has been so popular, according to Richard Albro, is that there is no pressure associated with attaining a degree. There are no exams to ace in order to earn a bachelors or masters degree, he said, meaning that residents can just enjoy the courses and learn about the subjects that interest them. Albro, who is a member of the University Committee, is a relatively new member of the Elim community, and taking these courses has helped both him and his wife with the transition. The (offerings) in general are pretty wide open, he said. You may get certain people who say, I dont want to paint, but I want to learn about science. Then other people might say, Why not try (something new)? Thats whats great about (the University). Fran Storm, like Albro, is a newer resident of Elim Park and shes already taking classes on everything from art history to a science course, which she described as absolutely fascinating. Shes also been a student in the American Presidential Leadership course, taught by Barry Tomlinson, a former high school teacher and adjunct college professor. I didnt know much about many of the Presidents he was (set to) talk about, but I enjoyed (the course) so much, she said. He knew such personal things (about the Presidents). I dont have a college education, she continued, so, learning new things to fill my time, it really appealed to me. Sometimes, the course offerings can be timely, such as last semester when Kathryn Ross, a former RN who worked in the field of epidemiology and infection control for over 30 years, taught a class entitled Infection: How It Occurs and What You Can Do About It. With everything thats been going on, that was obviously very important, said Detzler. However, the University is always looking for new things to offer, since they continue to see growth of interest in the program. The fact that our community is older, they dont have the requirements of a 9-to-5 environment, said Holder. This is really something that appeals to many (of the residents). 4 interesting facts about Easter: Disputed origins, different dates, religious significance of the egg Every year during the springtime, Christians worldwide celebrate Easter Sunday, the day commemorating when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. The modern holiday has both religious and secular aspects, with some focusing on worship and the Gospel, while others focus on candy, retail sales and the Easter bunny. Easter has often been thought of as having pagan origins, although the extent to which pagan influence actually enters the observance is a source of endless debate, online and offline. Here are four interesting aspects about Easter. They include disputes over the origins of the holiday, the different dates that people celebrate it, how it's also a whole season, and how the Easter egg holds religious significance. 1 2 3 4 5 Next Mark Wahlberg says 'Father Stu' reflects own path to faith, healing: 'Every sinner has a future' Mark Wahlberg is on a mission to share one important truth with the world: Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. It was this mentality that compelled him to produce, star in and even fund Father Stu, a film based on the true story of Stuart Long, a bad-boy boxer-turned-priest who lived out Gods calling on his life despite tremendous obstacles, including opposition from his family, the Catholic Church, and even his own health. In an interview with The Christian Post, the 50-year-old actor said that in his own life, hes seen how God uses the broken and battered to share His message of redemption and hope. [God is] looking for the people who have real experience and can appreciate being touched and given another chance, Wahlberg reflected. That's why Stu is so effective. He had an authenticity and credibility when he spoke to people; they knew that he had been in their shoes at one time or another. It's one thing to be book smart, another thing to have real street smarts and real-life experience. I've always found that invaluable when playing roles and trying to be as authentic as possible in my portrayal of parts that I've played. Not coincidentally, "Father Stu" opened in theaters on Wednesday during Holy Week, ending on Easter Sunday. Rated R, the film also stars Jacki Weaver and Mel Gibson as Stu's estranged parents. Wahlberg sees Stu's life as paralleling his own. The actor is the first to say he understands firsthand the power of redemption. Before becoming one of Hollywoods most sought-after actors, husband and devoted father-of-four, Wahlberg was a troubled teen who served 45 days in jail for assaulting two Asian men in an attempted robbery turned hate crime. The Boston native struggled with an addiction to cocaine and was, in his own words, an absolute trainwreck. The Academy Award-nominated actor, who today runs a foundation that helps troubled youth, is quick to credit his faith hes a devout Catholic with helping him turn his life around. All the real-life things that I have been through, I want to share, and I want to let people know that you know what, it's OK. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. So we're trying to encourage people and let them know that were not giving up on them. Nobody's beyond redemption. Despite its heavy religious overtones, Father Stu is not a faith-based movie; its rated R for language due to a heavy sprinkling of F bombs and other crude language. But its approach to suffering Stu is diagnosed with a debilitating illness, survives a devastating car accident and endures verbal abuse from his father reflects Romans 12:12 in a way few overtly faith-based films do. After years of opposition from the Catholic Church and his family, Stu was finally ordained. However, he was only a priest for four years before dying at an assisted-living facility in Montana in 2014 at 50. We shouldn't pray for an easy life, but for strength to endure a difficult one, Stu poignantly says at one point in the film. Wahlberg, who suffered the loss of his mother who died during the pandemic and when Father Stu was being filmed, said it was important for him to highlight the kind of sanctification that can only come through suffering. If youre lucky enough to get old, [suffering is] pretty inevitable, he said. There are difficulties, even if it's not something you're feeling physically, you're suffering a loss around you. I've suffered so much loss in a very short amount of time with my mom and my sister and many friends, especially during the pandemic and COVID. But it gives me hope that there is a better place. All of those things just give me comfort, and to see Stu handle all the things that he had faced with such dignity and grace is really inspiring. For Wahlberg, Father Stu was a passion project. He learned of Stus story seven years ago while having dinner with two priests. The project took six years to develop, and eventually, the actor decided to partially finance the film out of his own pocket to help get it off the ground. Though making the film was personally transformative, Wahlberg is the first to admit it was anything but easy. God works in mysterious ways, he said. [My faith was] was tested many times throughout the process because we were in the middle of COVID in a pandemic; I had never missed church for well over a decade and I couldn't go to church anymore. I was just dealing with things that I had never dealt with. But, he continued, once I got that opportunity to make the movie ... it just kind of reaffirmed what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. People always ask me why Im so disciplined and I keep this routine, and is it really necessary? It is necessary for me, it's necessary for me to stay on point and be focused on what I need to do both personally and professionally. Teresa Ruiz stars in the film as Stu's love interest, Carmen. Stu is initially drawn to church after meeting Carmen, a beautiful Sunday School teacher. It's her witness that in part inspires Stu to convert to Catholicism and become a priest. Ruiz, herself a devout Catholic, echoed Wahlbergs sentiment that even after his death, Stus life and testimony continue to impact those that encounter it. We started from a basic human experience that every woman can relate to. And then from there, went to all of the spiritual meanings and all of the larger themes of vocation and faith, she said. It made me feel more rooted after doing Father Stu, because I felt like it was a movie that sometimes you questioned [your faith] a little bit because it might be uncool, or the world out there preaches a lot of other stuff. And for me, doing Father Stu, having that community really helped me feel at peace with what I believe. And for Wahlberg, Father Stu isnt his first or last foray into the world of faith-themed filmmaking. In increasingly divided times, he said, he believes audiences need the kind of hope that only comes from the Gospel. I was just so excited to do something that really, really meant something to me, and I knew would impact everybody who saw it, he said, adding that in the future, hes going to create more content in the same vein. Hopefully, lots of great projects will come to me; I can help others get their stories out there. This is something that I'll definitely revisit. It was a wonderful experience; theres nothing better than to see a movie that really impacts somebody in a positive way, especially in these needy times where people are really struggling. People are questioning their own faith and losing hope, he added. And so, encouraging people not to give up on themselves and let them know we're not giving up on them either, its very important. Christians in India arrested during Maundy Thursday service Police in northern Indias Uttar Pradesh state arrested dozens of Christians celebrating Maundy Thursday in their Evangelical church after a mob of radical Hindu nationalists surrounded the building and locked the doors in retaliation for the alleged forced conversions of Hindus to Christianity. At least 36 Christians were arrested from a church belonging to the Evangelical Church of India denomination in Hariharganj area of Fatehpur City based on a police complaint under Uttar Pradesh states anti-conversion law filed by a member of the Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christians Concern reported. This is a perfect portrayal of Jesus suffering 2000 years ago. We know Jesus endured, and we will, ICC quoted a member of the congregation as saying. Maundy Thursday is an occasion when Christians gather to celebrate Jesus final Passover with His disciples, His commandment to love one another, and His service to others through the washing of feet. According to Indias PTI news agency, the arrests were made over allegedly illegal religious conversions of 90 people in the last 40 days in the [Fatehpur] district. Sadly, Uttar Pradesh is one of the harshest states in India regarding religious freedom violations, ICC President Jeff King said. When the Indian authorities validate the actions of a violent mob by jailing the mobs victims, they are sending a message that criminal activity is approved by the authorities whenever it targets religious minorities. This type of legal posture only worsens the religious freedom climate and further increases the vulnerability of Christians to more violence. The VHP, the group that filed the complaint, is known for attacking minorities, including Christians. Anti-conversion laws are inherently subjective, and perception-based, therefore completely restricting the rights of Christians to public expressions of their faith, King added. While Christians make up only 2.3% of Indias population and Hindus comprise about 80%, the countrys anti-conversion laws presume that Christians force or give financial benefits to Hindus to convert them to Christianity. Some of these laws have been in place for decades in some states. Radical Hindu nationalist groups frequently use the laws to make false charges against Christians and launch attacks on them under the pretext of an alleged forced conversion. For Indias Christians, 2021 was the most violent year in the countrys history, according to a report by the United Christian Forum, which recorded at least 486 violent incidents of Christian persecution in the year. The UCF attributed the high incidence of Christian persecution to impunity, due to which such mobs criminally threaten, physically assault people in prayer, before handing them over to the police on allegations of forcible conversions. Police registered formal complaints in only 34 of the 486 cases, according to the UCF. Often communal sloganeering is witnessed outside police stations, where the police stand as mute spectators, the UCF report states. Hindu extremists believe that all Indians should be Hindus and that the country should be rid of Christianity and Islam, an Open Doors fact sheet explains. They use extensive violence to achieve this goal, particularly targeting Christians from a Hindu background. Christians are accused of following a foreign faith and blamed for bad luck in their communities. DeSantis signs bill providing $25 million to help foster parents As part of Florida's stated mission of "putting families first," Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday to provide $25 million in additional support for foster parents. DeSantis praised lawmakers for passing Senate Bill 7034 with no opposition earlier this year. In a statement, DeSantis said, my administration is committed to supporting our most vulnerable children and Florida has already added 4,000 more licensed foster parents than we did in 2019. Not only does this bill allow us to expand our support for foster parents, but it also creates more opportunities for foster children, he added. Including our work on early literacy and fatherhood, Florida is a national leader in setting young children up for success. At a signing ceremony at Miami Dade Colleges Wolfson Campus Tuesday, DeSantis cited the legislation as an example of the states commitment to the proposition that every life counts." He added: "All these kids deserve an opportunity and were going to do what we can to make sure that their dreams and hopes and aspirations can become reality in a loving home. Florida Stands with Foster Parents and Kids https://t.co/h7QhcezD4B Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 12, 2022 The bill will allocate $19 million to stipends for relatives or family friends of foster children. It also delegates $25 million to give $200 in monthly payments to foster parents caring for children ages 5 and younger to help with childcare expenses. Through this funding, more than 7,000 parents and foster caregivers will receive this subsidy for the children that are in their care, the governor said. DeSantis added that the bill also increases the money foster children receive for room and board at state universities and tuition and fee waivers at colleges, universities and workforce programs. For foster parents taking care of children ranging in age from newborns to 5 years old, the bill increases the monthly stipend for room and board from $457.95 to $517.94. The monthly room and board rates increase from $469.68 to $531.21 for foster parents of children ranging from 6 to 12 years old and from $549.74 to $621.77 for foster parents of children between 13 and 21 years of age. DeSantis' signing of Senate Bill 7034 came one day after he signed a separate bill into law providing financial incentives to encourage fathers to take an active role in the upbringing of their children, which also received unanimous support from the Florida Legislature. That legislation authorizes $70 million in funding for mentorship programs for at-risk youth and grants for nonprofit organizations that help fathers meet their obligations. In a post on social media, DeSantis added: A commitment to pro-life policy does not end at birth, but shares equal vigor regardless of age, race, religion, or creed. While some of the initiatives listed in the graphic in DeSantis' post received unanimous support from the Florida Legislature, the votes on other bills reflected the partisan divide surrounding hot-button issues. Specifically, House Bill 5, a 15-week abortion ban that DeSantis signed into law Thursday, passed the state Legislature on a near party-line vote, with only one Democrat in either chamber joining Republicans in supporting the legislation. DeSantis is widely considered a candidate for the Republican Partys presidential nomination in 2024. A straw poll taken at this years CPAC, an annual gathering of grassroots conservative activists, found former President Donald Trump leading DeSantis by 59% to 28% in a hypothetical primary matchup. Should Trump decline to run, DeSantis would receive 61% among participants in the straw poll, finishing far ahead of other potential candidates whose support was measured in the single digits. Baby Tinslee is going home after moms yearslong battle with hospital to keep her on life support Tinslee Lewis, the prematurely born infant at the center of a highly publicized lawsuit over whether a Texas medical center could end her life-sustaining care, has been released from the hospital. Tinslee was born prematurely in 2019 with a heart defect, with Cook Children's Medical Center of Fort Worth officials initially concluding that continued treatment would be pointless. The pro-life group Texas Right to Life, which had been active in trying to save the life of Tinslee, released a statement Tuesday announcing that Lewis was released from the hospital and doing well. Tinslee is alive, thriving, and growing. A happy and strong toddler, Tinslees health has so steadily improved that the hospital released her to go home, stated Right to Life. Tinslee has received excellent care from Cook Childrens Medical Center. It is with their efforts that Tinslee will now transition to home health care. Right to Life quoted a statement from Trinity Lewis, mother of Tinslee, who said she was so thankful for everyone who pulled together to help my daughter, including the doctors at Cooks, Texas Right to Life, our attorneys at Daniels & Tredennick law firm, Joe Nixon, Kassi Marks, and Protect Texas Fragile Kids. We have been cherishing and enjoying Tinslee being home, and we appreciate everyone who stepped up to help in any way as well, she added. In November 2019, the Cook Childrens Medical Center attempted to remove life support from the baby, having concluded that she was not going to be cured of a serious heart condition. The hospital invoked the Advance Directives Act, which allows a hospital to give a family 10 days notice to find another medical facility that would be willing to continue treatment. If a family cannot find a new hospital by the tenth day, then all treatments are withdrawn unless a judge issues a court order requiring the hospital to continue life-sustaining care. Tinslees family filed suit against the hospital. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton showed his support for the baby and her family by filing an amicus brief on their behalf. One of the core principles provided by the U.S. Constitution is that no person should be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, said Paxton in a statement given to The Christian Post in 2019. In January 2020, a judge ruled in favor of the medical center, with the hospital releasing a statement in support of the decision, and again arguing that Tinslee had no chance of survival. This is an emotional and difficult situation for everyone involved, especially for this family who had high hopes that Tinslee would get better, stated the hospital. Cook Children's has been devoted to this precious baby her entire life, providing compassionate, round-the-clock, intensive care and attention since she arrived at our hospital 11 months ago Her body is tired. She is suffering. It's time to end this cycle because, tragically, none of these efforts will ever make her better. However, shortly after the decision, Texas Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth ordered the hospital to keep Tinslee on life-sustaining treatment pending the end of litigation. In January of last year, the Supreme Court declined an appeal from the hospital, allowing the lower court ruling temporarily blocking the medical center from ending Tinslees life to remain in effect. Parents of 5-y-o girl sexually assaulted on Palm Sunday at Sunday school settle with church The parents of a young girl who was sexually assaulted at the age of 5 on Palm Sunday in 2017 during a Sunday school session at the First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth in Michigan say they have reached a confidential settlement with the church but are still seeking the publics help in identifying their daughters attacker. Our lawsuit with the First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth (MI), Victoria Barkoff, and Lisa Williams, regarding the reported sexual assault of our daughter, has been settled and dismissed on confidential terms, the parents, identified as John and Julie Doe, said in a statement to The Christian Post late Wednesday. Barkoff, according to a 2019 lawsuit filed by the couple in Wayne County Circuit Court, was formerly the director of childrens ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth while Williams was director of the churchs Bridge midweek program. The young girl's parents, who marked the fifth anniversary of the attack on their daughter last Sunday, were represented by Monica Beck of The Fierberg National Law Group and former child abuse prosecutor Boz Tchividjian of Boz Law. When contacted on Thursday, an official at First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth told CP that a senior officer at the small-town church, which reportedly had 789 active members in 2017, could not comment on the case until the end of Holy Week. According to the complaint, the young girl identified as Jane Doe was allowed to go to a bathroom in the basement alone during a Sunday school session, allowing a predator to assault her in an area with no security cameras or adult monitor. The Doe family entrusted their daughter, Jane Doe, to the churchs Sunday School program and believed, based on the Churchs representations, that their daughter would be properly supervised and safe. Instead, Jane Doe was completely and dangerously unsupervised, the complaint said. The court filing states that the daughter left the classroom alone for about 20 minutes. During this time, an adult man wearing a cross "was able to target and accost" the girl and direct her into a bathroom where she was sexually assaulted. The perpetrator reportedly left DNA in her underwear. The young girl said nothing of the assault until she was with her parents later on the night after the assault. That night our brave girl told us what happened, even though the perpetrator instructed her not to. In doing so, she joined other survivors who courageously share their story of abuse occurring in their place of worship. If you have information regarding the assault or the perpetrator, we ask that you help protect other vulnerable children by contacting the Plymouth Police Department, the parents said in their statement. The complaint says that the parents quickly filed a report with the Plymouth Police as soon as they learned what happened to their daughter. A 17-month investigation was conducted, and the case was eventually closed because the church could not provide sufficient information to help with the investigation. Throughout the police investigation, the church leadership only minimally cooperated with the detectives, focusing instead on minimizing the incident and protecting itself, the complaint alleges. The church did not notify other parents in the congregation that the police were investigating reported sexual abuse during Sunday School until one month after the incident. During that time, parents continued to send their children to the Churchs Sunday School Program, unaware of the ongoing criminal investigation and potential danger to their children. The couple further claims that once the church informed parents of the report and investigation, their message was vague and referred only to an alleged incident. The only indication about what had happened was the churchs announcement of its new bathroom policy for its Sunday School program, the complaint said. Despite the churchs documented knowledge of the risk of child abuse and supposed concern about preventing child abuse in its Sunday School program, defendants failed to keep any accurate records of who attended Palm Sunday services that day, monitor who had access to the children participating in Sunday School in the basement, or maintain any policies or practices for increased supervision of children during high-attendance church events. The church released a statement in January 2019 contending that church leaders "immediately commissioned an investigation" once they were made aware of the incident. "The church has fully cooperated with, and provided information to, the Plymouth Police in connection with the police investigation," the church's 2019 statement reads. The couple and their daughter suffer from PTSD due to the sexual assault, according to the complaint. Children should be safe and feel supported in their place of worship," the couple said in their statement to CP. "Pastors, please believe and support children, and show them the gospel in your response to abuse suffered under your care. The role you play will impact a child's life and faith for a lifetime. Hyderabad: For the second straight year, parts of Hussainsagar have acquired a green tinge due to the growth of algae, in spite of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) claiming that it is carrying out bioremediation works on the lake. The civic body keeps trying out different methods to stop algal growth and improve water quality in the lake, and prevent it from emanating foul odour. However, the results have been obnoxious, year after year. According to an official from HMDA, the planning authority has been continuously carrying out bioremediation and the green tinge can be attributed to the increased summer temperatures. Bioremediation is used to treat contaminated water, soil and subsurface material by changing environmental conditions to aid growth of microorganisms and degrade target pollutants. Bioremediation has been going on continuously. Because of the rise in temperatures, some algal growth will occur only in the corners of the lake, not in the entire lake, pointed out an HMDA official. However, environmentalist Dr Subba Rao says though the lake gets more polluted during summers, bioremediation is supposed to address it. He said during the peak summer months of April and May, no fresh water flows into the lake. Only sewage flows in. It is high on nitrates and phosphates. The bioremediation being done is neither controlling the foul smell nor the formation of algae. It has become a way for the government and the contractor to collect kickbacks and beyond that, Dr Rao said. Last year, in March, the HMDA decided to use remediation to clean up the lake and invited global tenders for the Rs 10 crore project. However, for the second time, it roped in NACOF India Ltd, a Bengaluru-based firm, to carry out the bioremediation process. NACOF was given the project earlier too, but the contract was terminated in 2018 after the HMDA claimed that the firms work was less than satisfactory. The civic body had spent Rs 2.21 crore on the works last year. This Easter, Im remembering Jesus is who He says He is This month, we celebrate the greatest love story ever told. One of great sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice. Its a radical story of redemption in which we stake our faith: that Jesus gave His life for our sins and died, but rose again! As we celebrate Easter and the victory of Jesuss resurrection, those of us at the Dream Center are celebrating the men and women going through recovery. These are folks who are finding new life while overcoming addiction and the struggles that come with it. Easter is a time of renewal, a time of rebirth. It is a powerful reminder of hope that, like Jesus, victory over death is possible, and thus, victory over addiction is possible. With recovery comes transformation and a new outlook on life. And for my friend Johnny, his journey is nothing short of that. Johnnys life before coming to the Dream Center consisted of addiction and chaos. From sexual and physical abuse, to toxic relationships and drug abuse which ultimately led him to prison Johnny came into our recovery program hopeless and completely broken. Yet his great victory over the strongholds of addiction will inspire you. I had a traumatic childhood, Johnny told us. At six, I witnessed my mother being molested. I tried to stop the attacker but was not strong enough. Shortly after, I was taken from my parents and sent to live with my grandparents where I was sexually, physically, and verbally abused. If that wasnt enough, Johnny also told us that his own relationship took a turn for the worst and one day his girlfriend took their kids and left. I ended up using more drugs than ever before, he went on to say. Id also been committing a string of serious crimes and was eventually caught and sent to prison. After my release, I was doing well for a while, but sadly I ended up right back in my mess. But thank God for Johnnys mother. My Christian mother, encouraging me to seek God, invited me to a small church in downtown LA where they mentioned the Dream Center. I didnt want to come at rst, but the prayers of my mother softened my heart. Fast forward to today, and Johnny told us that calling the Dream Centers intake department turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Ever since Johnny got here he began to learn a lot about Jesus, he began to study Gods Word, and now he knows Jesus personally. In fact, Johnny said that with Him he finally has genuine happiness. His dream now is to complete his GED, become a firefighter, and share his story with young teens, in hopes of preventing them from making the same mistakes he did. Life is brighter for me now than its ever been, Johnny now says with a smile. I love hearing stories like Johnnys. They boost my own faith, proving that Jesus really did what he says he did, and that he is who he says he is. Because of what happened 2,000 years ago, my friends like Johnny are experiencing a newness of life after recovering from some of the worst traumatic experiences and crippling addictions. Theres an addiction epidemic on the rise here in Los Angeles. We are seeing more and more individuals who are in need of hope, encouragement, and a second chance in life. I honestly get overwhelmed and saddened sometimes when I realize what we're up against. But then I remember the crucifixion and the resurrection. I remember that the story is real, and that its power is tangible. And my fear and my sadness goes away, because I remember I dont have to fix these problems on my own. I remember that Jesus truly cares about each and every hurting soul, and He alone has the power to make them whole. 1 Peter 1:3 tells us, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Here in Los Angeles, were finding this passage to be as solid of a truth you could ever stand on. Jesus really is showering people with great mercy, and giving us a living hope unrivaled by any other solution youll ever find. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future. Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol Mother, grandmother weep over a 15-year-old killed in shelling of Kharkiv Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children. Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling. The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote. Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive. ___ WASHINGTON Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city. Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city. Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames. At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified. ___ VATICAN CITY In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. ___ MILAN Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. ___ LONDON In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week the week leading to Easter he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives. The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender. It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. ___ SOFIA, Bulgaria Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen. Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone. The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe. The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. ___ NEW YORK A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. ___ WASHINGTON Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation. He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Houston has received many nicknames over the years, but it officially adopted the Space City moniker in 1967 for being home to NASAs Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC). With the arrival of Space Center Houston in 1992, it's nickname became even more well known as the award-winning museum became one of Houston's top attractions. Today, the museum boasts 250,000 square feet of permanent and traveling exhibits and features more than 400 space artifacts including the worlds largest collection of moon rocks and lunar samples. And while a visit to Space Center Houston isnt complete without taking the NASA Tram Tour, there are a host of other exhibits and attractions you don't want to miss. Keep reading for 13 must-see exhibits and attractions at Space Center Houston. SpaceX Falcon 9 When you purchase Space Center Houston tickets, you gain access to the spectacular SpaceX Falcon 9 exhibit. The future of space travel entails reusable rockets and the Falcon 9 exhibit shows that SpaceX can launch, land and reuse a stage of a rocket. Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer By being displayed horizontally and 14 feet off the ground, visitors can walk underneath the core of Falcon 9 and get a unique view of reusable space technology. Find the exhibit near Independence Plaza. Starship Gallery The Starship Gallery showcases amazing treasures from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo eras (1958 to 1972, respectively) such as a moon rock that you can touch. Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer Get up close with a pumpkin suit (the official launch and entry suit) worn by Space Shuttle crew members from 1988 through 1994. The Lunar Roving Vehicle is another one of the many incredible artifacts to check out. On the last three Apollo missions, electric-powered Rovers touched down on the moons surface. To prepare for those missions, astronauts practiced on the Lunar Rover trainer thats displayed in this gallery. Astronaut Gallery Think of the Astronaut Gallery as mesmerizing collections of astronaut apparel and spacesuits. In fact, it contains the most comprehensive collection in the world. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer From training flights to cooling garments to Mark III suits (new spacesuits designed to handle longer, more challenging expeditions to build and maintain space stations, lunar bases or a base on Mars), theyre all equally impressive in this gallery. International Space Station Gallery Robotic interactive exhibits, space station artifacts like packaged astronaut food and interactive live shows are all part of the International Space Station Gallery. Space Center Houston Enhance your visit to the gallery by checking out New Perspectives, a 20-minute live show that shares information regarding day-to-day life on the International Space Station (ISS) and includes volunteer participation for stage demonstrations. The daily presentations conducted by Mission Briefing Officers take place Wednesday through Monday on the half-hour from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Tuesdays on the half-hour from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Space Center Theater, Destiny Theater and Mission Briefing Center If you want to learn more about the past, present and future of space exploration, head to the Destiny Theater where you can watch "Human Destiny," a historic film that chronicles the events leading up to the formation of NASA, missions to the Moon and more. The film begins 15 minutes after opening and plays continuously throughout the day. The Space Center Theater, the largest 4K theater in Texas, is the place to watch a variety of documentaries and films on space exploration. Check the website before you go to see what's currently showing. And if you want to see what's it like to journey to the International Space Station through the eyes of an astronaut, head to the Mission Briefing Center to watch "Down to Earth: The Astronaut Perspective." The documentary runs daily at 1 p.m. Space Expert Tour If you want to take your space exploration experience to the next level and get all of your questions answered, sign up for a Space Expert Tour. This guided adventure, led by expert tour guides, will take you through the center and the NASA facilities. Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The daily tours last approximately 90 minutes and are limited to 10 guests. Tickets are $69.95 and include general admission to Space Center Houston the day of your tour. Breakfast with an Astronaut Want to interact with astronauts and hear their exploration stories? On select Fridays and every Saturday from 8:30-9:30 a.m., visitors can sign up for Breakfast with an Astronaut. In addition to enjoying breakfast catered by Wolfgang Puck, hear from a veteran space explorer and enjoy a Q&A session after the presentation. Each breakfast participant will also receive a personalized photograph with the guest astronaut. Special tickets are required for this experience; general admission to the center is included in the fee on the day of the breakfast. Independence Plaza The interactive experience at Independence Plaza is not to be missed. Here, visitors can enter the shuttle replica Independence that is situated on top of the original NASA 905 shuttle carrier aircraft. Its magnitude is jaw-droppingand the 240-ton complex allows you to ascend in an elevator to the top of Independence Plaza. Visit the flight deck to see how astronauts piloted the orbiter, then descend one floor down to witness their cramped living conditions. Gary W. via Yelp The one-of-a-kind experience is included in your general admission ticket price. Mission Mars Explore life on the red planet through this captivating exhibit. Climb into a simulated Orion capsule, feel the texture of rock cliffs and experience a virtual Martian sunset. You can also discover what NASA hopes to achieve as a result of exploring Mars and what it takes for humans to potentially live there in upcoming decades. Nadine C. via Yelp NASA Tram Tour All aboard the most popular attraction at Space Center Houston. During a NASA Tram Tour, visitors get the chance to visit the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC)a 1,600-acre area of home base for the Apollo Mission Control Centerand get a behind-the-scenes look at human space exploration. Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer The NASA Tram Tour is included with your admission price, but youll need a boarding pass to hop on the tram. Download the Space Center Houston app to reserve a pass or visit the Guest Services desk when you arrive. George W.S. Abbey Rocket Park Another reason to book a tram tour: a stop at George W.S. Abbey Rocket Park. James F. via Yelp Here, get an up close look at a massive Saturn V rocket. Its only one of three on display in the world and the only one comprised of all flight-certified hardware. The other two rockets are made of flight hardware, mock-ups and test components. Grab your camera and get ready to be wowed by the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Astronaut Training Facility Tour The Astronaut Training Facility is another must-see attraction on the tram tour. NASA astronauts train for current missions here and it's where scientists and engineers work on the next generation of space exploration vehicles. Godytess M. via Yelp Since 1975, this facility has supported NASAs missions and it also houses prototypes and robotics projects. The facility has nearly 200 training courses that help astronauts learn about spacecraft to understand their systems and prepare for emergencies. Apollo Mission Control Whether you remember Neil Armstrong saying, Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed, or read about it in history class, Apollo Mission Control is the facility that monitored several lunar missions including the historic Apollo 11 trip to the moon. A boarding pass is required to visit Apollo Mission Control Center, but the pass is included in the price of admission. To get a boarding pass on the day of your visit, use the free Space Center Houston app or stop by the Guest Services desk. Boarding passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Space Center Houston 2101 NASA Parkway Houston, Texas 77058 281-244-2100 SALEM, Ind. (AP) The body of a young boy who may have died within the last week was found by a mushroom hunter in a wooded area in southern Indiana, and state police on Sunday asked for the publics help in identifying the child. Indiana State Police Sgt. Carey Huls said that the body of the boy, believed to be between 5 and 8 years old, was found Saturday night in the heavily wooded area of Washington County not far from a roadway. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers. The unrest happened just two days after clashes with Palestinians at the same site. Violence in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators a year ago escalated into an 11-day Gaza war. The hilltop compound housing the mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam, while it is the holiest place for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. The competing claims to the site have sparked numerous rounds of violence. This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the week-long Jewish Passover are all occurring at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the city after coronavirus restrictions have been mostly lifted. Israeli police accused Palestinians of defiling and desecrating a holy site, while Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to divide the sensitive holy site. What happened in Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous escalation, the repercussions of which are to be borne by the Israeli government alone, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Police said they entered the compound to facilitate the routine visit of Jews to the holy site. They said Palestinians had stockpiled stones and set up barriers in anticipation of violence. Amateur videos circulating on social media appeared to show police officers using batons to subdue arrested Palestinians and clear people from the esplanade, drawing accusations they were using excessive force. In one video, an officer clubbed an apparently unarmed man as he stood next to a child. Omer Barlev, the Israeli minister in charge of the police, said it was important to ensure freedom of worship but we will not compromise when violence and terror take place. The police cleared Palestinians out of the sprawling esplanade outside the mosque itself early Sunday, while dozens of Palestinians remained inside the building chanting God is Greatest. Video released by police showed small groups of youths throwing stones, as well as fireworks being fired from inside the mosque. Palestinians reported brief clashes with Israeli police just outside the mosque compound, while police said Palestinians had thrown stones at buses outside the Old City. Paramedics said five people riding in buses received treatment for minor injuries in the attacks. Police released a video showing a crowd of youths pelting a passing bus with stones just outside the Old City. Another video from the police, taken inside one of the buses, showed Jewish families sitting on the floor of the vehicle as it continued on its way. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered additional security on public buses going to the Old City after a situation assessment with top defense officials. We are working to calm things down on the one hand and are taking vigorous action against violent individuals on the other, he said. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including five people who were hospitalized. Israeli police reported nine arrests. By midday, witnesses said police had moved out of the compound. Jordan, which serves as custodian of the holy site, issued a statement condemning Israels actions, saying they undermine all efforts made to maintain the comprehensive calm and prevent the escalation of violence that threatens security and peace. Under longtime understandings, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount but are barred from praying there. For decades, Jews avoided worship there for religious reasons. Israeli authorities say they are committed to maintaining the status quo, but in recent years large groups of nationalist and religious Jews have regularly visited the site with police escorts, something the Palestinians view as a provocation. The number of visitors often rises during religious holidays. Palestinian officials said nearly 550 Jewish visitors entered the compound, compared to just a few dozen on most days. Such practices have fueled concerns among Palestinians that Israel is plotting to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or partition it. Israel strongly denies such claims, saying it is committed to protecting freedom of worship for all. Clashes erupted at the site before dawn on Friday after police said Palestinians had hurled stones toward the Western Wall, an adjacent Jewish holy site. Police entered in force and clashed with dozens of Palestinians shortly after dawn prayers. Israel captured east Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want a future state in all three territories. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and is building and expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank. Hamas controls Gaza, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group seized power there in 2007. A radical Jewish group recently called on people to bring animals to the site in order to sacrifice them for Passover, offering cash rewards for those who succeeded or even tried. Israeli police work to prevent such activities, but the call was widely circulated by Palestinians on social media, along with calls for Muslims to prevent any sacrifices from taking place. Israeli police accused Palestinians of spreading disinformation on social media, heightening the tensions. Schools across America are racing to make up for time they lost during the pandemic by budgeting billions of dollars for tutoring, summer camps and longer school days and trying to untangle which students need help most urgently after two years of disruptions. Many schools saw large numbers of students fall under the radar when learning went online for the pandemic. Many skipped class, tests and homework. Record numbers of families opted out of annual standardized tests, leaving some districts with little evidence of how students were doing in reading and math. Now districts are trying to address that lack of information by adding new tests, training teachers to spot learning gaps and exploring new ways to identify students who need help. In many districts, the findings are being used to guide the spending of billions of dollars in federal relief that's meant to address learning loss and can be used in myriad ways. New York City is adding three rounds of testing this year, hoping to pinpoint which students are behind. Similar tests are being used in Virginias Fairfax County, which is allotting larger shares of funding to schools with lower scores. Chicago is prioritizing students using a ranking system that factors in their grades and also rates of COVID-19 and violent crime near their homes. Understanding completely where students are and what those gaps or challenges might be for them that is going to be a challenge for us, said Debbie Durrence, the data officer for Gwinnett County, Georgia. Her team, which serves the 180,000-student district, has started tracking a new metric: missingness. In regular reports, the team aims to log what is known about each students learning progress, but also what is unknown. Schools have been asked to help fill in gaps, and students are being tested more frequently. For students, disruptions related to the pandemic are still reverberating. Now that Lorena Riveras twin daughters are back in the classroom in Boston, some of their teachers have quit mid-year or gotten sick with COVID-19. The 14-year-old twins struggled with virtual learning, feeling like they had nowhere to turn when they had trouble with math problems. There was a lot of giving up it was hard, Rivera said. Her daughters, Elizabeth and Amerie Allder, have since found support through a local tutoring program, Boston Partners in Education, but Rivera wonders whether their school knows how her daughters are doing. Im not sure because every time you meet with someone, they give you something different, she said. Some teachers say theyre doing great, others say they can do better. Early results of data gathering by some of the countrys biggest school districts confirm what many had feared: Groups of students that already faced learning gaps before the pandemic, including Black and Hispanic students and those from low-income families, appear to be behind in even greater numbers now. In Fairfax County, tests given this fall found that 68% of Hispanic elementary school students need intervention in math, up from 55% in 2019. Students learning English saw a similar increase. A quarter of white students were flagged for help, up from 19% in 2019. Last year, public schools in Houston found that 45% of Black and Hispanic students had at least one failing grade. That was up from 30% in 2019, and nearly three times the rate of white students. Similar inequities are turning up at schools across the country, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, a national research group. It suggests that longstanding inequities are widening, she said, which could translate to deeper learning and income gaps for generations to come. States have been raising alarms, urging schools to focus on students who spent more time away from school. Utahs education officials found that students who missed last years exams were far more likely to be Native American or Hispanic, prompting an urgent call to find those students and prevent them from falling into an academic spiral. Many bigger districts already had testing regimes and data systems to find students who are falling behind, while some are scrambling to catch up. But not all major districts are analyzing the data or making it public. New York City is spending $36 million on new testing, but officials said they dont have district-wide results. Instead, they said the tests are being used at the school level to help teachers support students. Schools in Chicago were encouraged to use a new screening exam, but a district spokesperson declined to provide the results. In Fairfax County, where more than 20% of students opted out of state tests last year, district officials attempted to fill in the gaps by giving students informal, low-stakes tests to measure their progress this fall. Weve been working to figure out which students need the most targeted support most quickly, said Amy Goodloe, principal of Rocky Run Middle School. Teachers have used test results to find concepts students struggle with and create plans to get them up to speed, she said. The results are also guiding the district as it divides $188 million in federal funding among nearly 200 schools. In many buildings, the money is being used to add staff who help students in small groups, or to hire tutors for more personal help after school. Testing increases in some districts have led to pushback from parents and teachers who say it takes away from valuable classroom time, but proponents say its a crucial step toward understanding the impact of the pandemic. In Texas, a law passed last year requires 30 hours of tutoring for students who did not pass state exams last year. It applies to students who failed tests but also those who didnt take exams. In Houston, the states largest district, officials are hiring more tutors but havent added new tests. Increasing the numbers of assessments isnt going to yield a different result, it just would impact the amount of instructional time we have as a district, said Margarita Gardea, who oversees elementary curriculum and instruction. Finding tutors, though, has been a challenge in many areas amid a sudden surge in demand. In Floridas Miami-Dade County, school officials created a new learning loss index based on assessments, attendance and state exams, and then ranked students based on need. The district brought back retired teachers to work as tutors on a temporary basis, and its expanding summer school, Saturday classes and other programs. So far, test results have shown some progress toward getting students up to grade level, but thousands of students are still behind. The bottom line is that we have such a loss that it will take some time, said Gisela Feild, administrative director of assessment, research and data analysis. You cant make up that kind of a loss in one year. The John Jay French House held its annual Easter egg hunt Saturday, its first in two years due to pandemic cancelations. Hundreds of families roamed the grounds, visiting with the Easter Bunny for photos, touring the historic homestead and joining in a spring planting craft before the main event got underway for children ages 4 - 11. For more than a half a century, the International Hospitality Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been helping international students find a family away from home. The International Hospitality Program, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019, is conducting a membership drive. The organization currently has 40 to 50 host families but needs more. New international students are invited to participate in the International Hospitality Program and sign up for a host family each term during orientation week. We take families from the Metro East and even some from St. Louis and describe the program to them, International Hospitality Program President Jodi Cox said. The orientation usually takes about 45 minutes over Zoom and its really easy. Its a friendship program and we match up students with families, and we ask the families to bring the students into their lives. The students dont live with the families, and they have their own place to live, but we ask the families to treat the students like they would their own kids. Ask them to dinner, family game nights and whatever holidays you celebrate and show them around St. Louis. The mission of the International Hospitality Program is to help international students make the transition to life on the SIUE campus and life in the United States, and to help make the transition more comfortable for them. The host families might offer the students advice on banking, shopping, laundry, automobile responsibilities, housing and health concerns. Some of these students come here and they get hooked up with their language groups someone that is easier for them to speak to and they dont get out of their bubble, Cox said. This is a way for them to experience American life. They have a lot of questions, and the host families can help to answer them. Most of the students are graduate students, although we do have some four-year students. They are usually the cream of the crop in their own countries, and they are big achievers. Cox noted that most of the new international students may not know anyone when they arrive on campus, and the International Hospitality Program helps them make the adjustment to college life in a new country. I served on a committee at SIUE, and I helped freshmen move in, and most of those kids have so much support, Cox said. Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters are helping them carry stuff to their dorm rooms. Most of these (international) students show up with just a suitcase and theyre here to start a life. Many of these students are looking for second-hand stuff for their apartments and Restore Decor in Edwardsville has been a great source for them, with stuff like twin-size beds, student desks and a small kitchenette table and chairs. We also direct them to places like Goodwill where they can get goods at a low cost. Due to a backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, SIUE is getting more international students than ever. We usually expect about 150 international students in the fall and maybe 80 students in the spring and not all of them sign up for host families (through IHP), Cox said. This past semester, we had 300 incoming students, which is a record. With 40 host families, even if each family takes three students, you cant place that many students. Plus, our membership is getting older and theyre not able to do as many things as they did before. Were looking to fill spots on the leadership team and were looking for new families. Cox, who is from Edwardsville, currently lives in Cleveland, where she manages a family-owned heavy equipment rental store. She attended SIUE for an undergraduate degree in German and a masters degree in public administration. She has been an International Hospitality Program member for about nine years and has been the president for more than three years, but her connection to the organization goes back to her undergraduate days at SIUE. My roommates were from Iran and one of them still lives in the St. Louis area, Cox said. They told me that (the International Hospitality Program) was a group of people I should get involved with, and thats how I got started. While much has changed at SIUE since the founding of the International Hospitality Program, Cox believes that the organizations mission as is important as ever. Weve been around since 1969 and we started initially because at that point, there wasnt a lot of housing for students, Cox said. The families back then actually took the international students in their homes for about four weeks until they could get their feet under them and were able to find an apartment. Theres much more housing now, but we wanted to keep the organization going. Its a great thing for community members, and if you talk to our families, theyll tell you they get more out of it than the students ever will. Its an opportunity to bring the world to your door. For more information about the International Hospitality Program, email Cox at jodi.olyseen@gmail.com or visit International Hospitality Program at SIUE on Facebook. A Texas parent caused a furor this week after handing out Easter eggs to kids at the Gullet Elementary School campus in Austin. Most of the eggs were filled with candy, but a handful were packed with unopened condoms. Parent Nathan Jensen, a professor at the University of Texas and a father of three, said he was initially concerned when the school informed him via email of the incident, taking to social media this week to tweet Not sure this is the Austin weird I signed up for. Jensen then took it upon himself to find out more. According to a text thread among Jensen and other parents at the school, it all seems to have been a mistake. Parents of the thread shared that the woman handing out eggs supposedly works as a pharmacist and had dressed up as a bunny while overseeing a safe-sex presentation at a nearby clinic. Jensen says she then went to pick up her second grader while still wearing the costume and ended up mobbed by students at the school, to whom she started handing out candy. Running out of supplies, she called her husband for help, and he accidentally grabbed the wrong eggs. Chaos ensued, Jensen says. Now, the Austin Independent School District is reevaluating its safety protocols following the incident, according to a report by M. Acosta of KXAN. The district told the news outlet that the parent was asked to leave, but simply moved to a public sidewalk and continued to give away the eggs. We are working to review our safety protocols to ensure this does not happen again, a district spokesperson told KXAN. It was an incredibly careless and inappropriate action of a parent. The schools principal also sent out a letter to parents explaining that the event was not planned or sanctioned by the school. Officials also spoke with the parent about the inappropriate nature of their activity," KXAN reported. Some politicians are seizing the opportunity to use the incident for their campaigns against discussions about sex in schools. Texas attorney general candidate George P. Bush shared KXAN's story to Twitter, calling the incident disgusting and unlawful. Radicalized leftist parents & school admins are out of control, attempting to exploit our children while in school, Bush tweeted. As AG, Ill hold school districts accountable for their failures to protect our kids. WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, April 16, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX 735 PM CDT Sat Apr 16 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Bandera, west central Kerr and east central Real Counties through 815 PM CDT... At 734 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Lost Maples State Natural Area, or 12 miles north of Vanderpool, moving east at 15 mph. HAZARD...Half inch hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Lost Maples State Natural Area. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 2980 9967 2997 9975 3005 9944 2978 9946 TIME...MOT...LOC 0034Z 255DEG 12KT 2991 9963 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather HYDERABAD: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president and MP A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday demanded stern action against the ruling TRS leaders and police officials whose harassment drove a young businessman Gangam Santhosh and his mother Padma to suicide in Ramayampet of Medak district. Revanth spoke to Anjaiah and Sridhar, father and brother of the deceased Santosh over phone. Later, following the instruction of AICC Telangana in-charge Manickam Tagore, Revanth Reddy, TPCC political affairs committee convener and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir and Medak District Congress Committee president Tirupati Reddy visited the residence of the victims in Ramayampet. Santosh and his mother Padma died by setting themselves ablaze in a lodge in Kamareddy on Saturday. The police also recovered a selfie video in which Santosh and Padma alleged harassment by the TRS leaders including Ramayampet municipal chairman Palle Jitender Goud, a police inspector T. Nagarjuna Goud and others. The Congress will not tolerate such harassment and fight against the TRS regime at all levels. We appeal to all the victims of TRS and police harassment that they should not resort to any extreme measures like suicide. Instead, they should approach the Congress leaders who would take up their fight seeking justice. People should not lose hope under any circumstances and fight bravely against the atrocities of the TRS government, they said. Meanwhile, Shabbir Ali spoke to DGP Mahender Reddy over phone and demanded immediate action and a fair probe in this case. He also asked the DGP to direct the police officials to stop working like TRS activists and perform their duties as per the law. He said the nexus between the ruling party and the police department was a dangerous sign for democracy. WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, April 16, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Austin San Antonio has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Bandera County in south central Texas... * Until 900 PM CDT. * At 753 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Lost Maples State Natural Area, or 7 miles north of Vanderpool, moving southeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Vanderpool and Lost Maples State Natural Area. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather 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 You might still be able to come to Canada with a criminal record. Visiting Canada in summer 2022? What you can do if you have a criminal record Visiting Canada in summer 2022? What you can do if you have a criminal record You might still be able to come to Canada with a criminal record. Visiting Canada in summer 2022? What you can do if you have a criminal record You might still be able to come to Canada with a criminal record. Visiting Canada in summer 2022? What you can do if you have a criminal record You might still be able to come to Canada with a criminal record. Daniel Levy Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A If you are thinking of coming to Canada this summer but a past criminal record is slowing you down, you might want to examine your options to overcome criminal inadmissibility. Although it is true that committing even minor crimes can render you inadmissible, it does not necessarily mean you will never be able to come to Canada. Depending on the crime, how long ago it happened, and how you have behaved since, you may still be allowed to travel to Canada. However, you need to demonstrate that you are not a threat to the Canadian public, or you meet the criteria to be considered rehabilitated. Here are some of the ways you can come to Canada with a criminal record. Schedule a Free Legal Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm Temporary Resident Permit A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), as the name suggests, is a temporary solution that may enable you to enter Canada. If you have a valid reason to travel to Canada, but you are inadmissible, you may be able to get a TRP. An immigration or border officer will decide if your reason for entering Canada outweighs the risks to Canadians. You may be able to get a TRP if it has been less than five years since the end of your sentence, or you have a valid reason to be in Canada. Applicants who wish to enter Canada for business or compassionate reasons are more likely to gain a TRP than those wanting to come to Canada for tourism. If you want to come to Canada as a tourist, you might want to apply for another option instead. Rehabilitation Criminal Rehabilitation, is a permanent solution to inadmissibility. If your application is successful, your criminal history will no longer be grounds for denying you entry into Canada as long as you do not commit another crime. You become eligible for rehabilitation five years after you complete your sentence. Fees to pay for the application will differ depending on the nature of your crime. The application fee is $200 CAD for non-serious criminality and $1,000 CAD for serious criminality. Under Canadian law, you may be deemed rehabilitated if at least 10 years have passed since you were convicted of a non-serious crime. You can be automatically deemed rehabilitated and not need to apply for criminal rehabilitation, but you may wish to consult a Canadian immigration lawyer in advance to get a legal opinion letter. Legal Opinion Letter In a legal opinion letter, a Canadian immigration lawyer provides a legal opinion on why you should not be considered inadmissible to Canada. It can also complement one of the previously-mentioned options since you can bring the letter with you to the border as additional proof you should be allowed into Canada. A legal opinion letter can be beneficial in a number of individuals, including but not limited to the following: 1) people who may be deemed rehabilitated; 2) people who have been charged but not convicted of a crime, such as those who received a deferral of adjudication or a Nolle Prosequi; and 3) individuals who have been convicted of an offence which does not have an equivalent in Canada. Schedule a Free Legal Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm CIC News All Rights Reserved. Discover your Canadian immigration options at CanadaVisa.com. A foreign policy independent of America is difficult for countries where the elite have parked their progeny in the United States. In Pakistan, this elite will gouge out Imran Khans eyes if his anti-Americanism persists. This elite is influential, but numerically small. Imran has decided to ignore this coterie and tap directly into peoples anger against decades of Islamophobia, particularly since the 9/11 wars. He has a role model in Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erodgan, who blocked American troops from passing through Turkey for Iraqs occupation in 2003. Anti-Americanism, simmering since the televised brutalities of the Bosnian war, flared up and Mr Erdogans rise became unstoppable. It wasnt a meagre feat. His popular ratings surpassed the founder of the Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The Army, the guarantor of the secular Ataturk constitution, was with steady strokes undermined by peoples power. Today, Turkey is just like any other Muslim country. Anti-Americanism is a sure-fire electoral trick in a Muslim country that nurses a deep grievance against the US. Pakistan was yoked by the US into the Afghan war, where it lost 80,000 lives. Did the winds from Ukraine fan the flames in Islamabad? That a regime change was instigated by America is Imran Khans chosen narrative. Does the predicament in which Imran finds himself have something to do with his official two-day Moscow visit starting February 24, the day the Russians invaded Ukraine. The high-stakes game the Americans were leading the West into made it important for them to prove that Imran was on the wrong side of history. The message was simple: Imran must wrench away from the Chinese-Russian embrace. This embrace impedes the world order being sketched and any US move in Afghanistan. It was galling for the US that the Kazakh adventure failed in January, ironically, as Russia intervened. It is a cruel admission to make, but this war isnt about Ukraine. Sadly, Ukrainian blood has been purchased with Western treasure in cash and arms. The amazing media management has been breath-taking bringing Volodymyr Zelenskyy live to every European Parliament, nay, even at the Grammy awards. Some of the Wests war aims are straightforward: to retain Anglo-American dominance in the world order; preserve Natos centrality to this order; keep Russia in focus as a weakened pariah in Ukraine for as long as possible. The West is having kittens as China and Russia have declared their friendship has no limits. They have to be separated; that is American policy. This mindset was on display even as Saudi Arabias late King Abdullah persuaded the Americans to end what was an existential threat to the House of Saud and Israel, namely Iran. To target Iran, the Shia arc Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas had to be dismantled. That is how the Syrian expedition began. Get out of the way, Assad secretary of state Hillary Clinton waved her hand imperiously. Has Assad gone? Does the US have a status of forces agreement with Iraq after the Stars and Stripes were cased on December 31, 2011? The ignominious Afghan exit in August wont be forgotten in a hurry. This after 20 years of occupation. So, its do or die in Ukraine. Is Liz Truss, UKs foreign secretary, cheerleader for democracy against autocracy, pleased with the election results in Hungary and Serbia, in Ukraines neighbourhood? Viktor Orban and Aleksandar Vucic are both self-proclaimed illiberals. The spectre of Marine Le Pen haunts France. At the other end of the world, a real-life theatre of the absurd produced and directed by the US and Britain is being played out. In a moment of pique bordering on desperation, Washington, unable to set aside or digest Venezuelas duly elected President Nicolas Maduro, floated a parallel presidency and picked 38-year-old Juan Guaido as President. Besides the US and UK, no European country is part of this sideshow. Evo Morales, the first indigenous, left-wing, anti-World Bank Bolivian President, was replaced by an ideological lookalike, Luis Arce. Was the success of 35-year-old socialist Gabriel Boric in Chile an improvement on military dictator Augusto Pinochet, whom the CIA installed after killing the popular Salvador Allende, a friend of one of the worlds greatest poets, Pablo Neruda? Colombia, nursed by the US as its pocket borough for decades, has come out of its suffocation. In irreversible lead is another socialist, a former guerrilla leader, Gustavo Petro. Perus President Pedro Castillo is called a far-left socialist. Is all this a march of democracy or autocracy? A battle royale is due in Brazil in October, where Lula da Silva will take on Jair Bolsonaro, known for ignoring the Covid-19 pandemic, burning the Amazon patch by patch and being chief guest at Indias Republic Day in 2020. One commends to Ms Truss the thought that she sees Edge of Democracy, a masterly documentary on how Lula, the countrys most popular politician ever, was dethroned by global corporate intrigue. How do the votaries of democracy in this format approach developments in Pakistan? The principal charge against Imran Khan was that he mismanaged the economy, his team selection was poor and he is self-righteous and arrogant. Those arrayed against him have proven cases of corruption against them. Obviously, these groups, with a possible signal from the Army, leavened their numbers with defectors, and asked for a vote of no-confidence. Imran Khan showed, on a selective basis, minutes of a conversation between Pakistans ambassador to Washington and Donald Lu, US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, which seems to suggest the US wants Pakistan to fall in line or else. Will this revelation eventually help Imran, or is it an albatross around his neck, given the hostile elite? Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Ask not what the United States does for India, ask what India does for the United States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ought to have paraphrased that famous line from John F. Kennedy during his recent interaction with US President Joe Biden. In media reports of the virtual meeting between the two heads of government and the 2+2 meeting between the defence and foreign ministers of both countries that followed, the focus has largely been on how the United States can and does extend strategic support to India. It is helpful to remind ourselves and the US every now and then that India too has long extended strategic support to the United States. Too much is made of the merchandise trade deficit of $23 billion that India enjoys with the United States. Former President Donald Trump and his administrations trade representative made quite a fetish out of quoting it. The US seeks to wipe this out by doubling its defence sales to India from the present level of $21 billion, at the expense of several rival suppliers, especially Russia. What the bilateral trade figures do not reveal is the transfer of wealth from India to the US through the export of highly talented Indian migrants. Indian brain power fuels the engines of education, research, innovation, corporate management and the services economy in the United States all fields that give the US a global edge over its rivals and peers. As recently as in 1990, the total number of Indian migrants to the US was estimated to be 450,000. By 2020, this was over 2.7 million. Till the turn of the century economists viewed this migration as a brain drain. Over the past couple of decades they have come to view the Indian global diaspora as a brain bank. Whatever form this brain power takes, the fact remains that this Indian talent has contributed positively to all the countries hosting it. This brain power is Indias investment in the development of those host countries. One need not take a moral or political view of this phenomenon, whether it is good or bad, but one must quantify it and understand in what way Indias society and economy have contributed to the development of the countries that are receiving such talent. In the 1950s, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited the Nobel Prize-winning American economist Milton Friedman to study India and offer his advice on its economic development. While Friedman made himself unpopular with Nehru by suggesting that the Planning Commission be wound up and the public sector be privatised, he made one prescient observation that ought to have been taken more seriously. The United States economy grew, Friedman wrote in a 1955 note to Nehru, because it had vast natural resources at its disposal and sucked in labour power from across the world. India has limited natural resources but a vast pool of people. Invest in your people, he suggested, and they will be for India what land and natural resources were for America. It is one idea that has failed to capture the imagination of successive generations of the Indian political and intellectual leadership. Of course, India has invested in its people and many of them fuel the engine of growth. But compared to the vast pool of people available, the educated and skilled remain a limited set. Worse, from this pool of talent, a sizeable number migrate to the developed world, mostly to the United States. It is, therefore, time for India to define the two-way relationship in a more balanced way, quantifying not just what the US does to support Indias rise but also what India and Indians do to support Americas global dominance. India certainly needs the United States, not just for the guns, ships and jets that it can sell and the intelligence it can share, but for all the new technologies it can give access too. The United States also needs India, not just as an ally against China and a provider of low-cost defence personnel and services in this part of the world, but as a source of highly talented manpower that can ensure Americas global dominance in information technology-enabled businesses. The US-India strategic partnership has often been viewed through the prism of third parties, and they are relevant to a certain extent. In dealing with the China-Pakistan axis, India has found its relationship with both Russia and the US to be helpful. However, the US-India partnership also stands on its own legs precisely because it is a two-way street. This fact is not adequately appreciated, indeed generally not recognised, because it has not been quantified. What exactly has been the contribution of 2.7 million people of Indian origin to sustaining US global power? Milton Friedman thought that population can do for India what natural resources did for the US. The irony is that the best of Indians are doing for the US what Friedman had hoped they would do for India. Of course, we in India must take full responsibility for this. The out-migration of talent has both a pull and a push dimension and there is no point blaming individuals. The question to ask is what can more India do to retain its talent so that it can fuel the countrys development. The problem of out-migration of talent has been accentuated in recent years by the shortage of opportunities at home as well as by domestic social and political trends. In my book Indias Power Elite: Class, Caste and a Cultural Revolution (2021) I show how the secession of the successful has accelerated in the past five years. The turn that domestic politics is taking may contribute to a further acceleration of this process. The beneficiaries will be the countries of the Anglosphere the United States, Britain Canada, Australia and other English-speaking countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. The government may be able to do very little to prevent this migration, and indeed it is doing a lot to make educated young Indians want to leave the country, but it can at least try and quantify it so that the host countries are aware of Indias generous contribution to their global dominance. Normally, the communal clashes witnessed in Madhya Pradeshs Khargone district on Ram Navami followed by the bulldozing of houses of alleged culprits (mostly Muslims) would have prompted the main Opposition party, the Congress, to hit the streets. But instead of taking on the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, there is radio silence in the Congress camp. Except for a tweet by former chief minister Digvijaya Singh, no state Congress leader has visited the site of the riots or taken up the cause of those whose houses were razed without any due process. Former state Congress president Arun Yadav, who contested elections from Khargone, was conspicuous by his absence. When told that instead of touring the state, he should visit his old constituency to show solidarity with the injured and those rendered homeless, his only response was that he was otherwise occupied with the ongoing wedding season. Former chief minister Kamal Nath also shrugged off a suggestion from agitated Congress leaders who wanted the party to extend legal help to the victims, saying such a move would prove to be a self-goal. It is obvious that the Bharatiya Janata Partys charge that the Congress indulges in minority appeasement has immobilised the Congress. It is almost two years since a group of senior Congress leaders, referred to as G-23, wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi pressing for internal elections and an organisational overhaul. While the process of party elections has been set in motion, the G-23 is not entirely happy with the way the party is functioning. The group is now planning to gather together at least 100 like-minded party colleagues for a brainstorming session in Delhi sometime in the coming months. The plan is to discuss the proposals they had put forth in the letter to Sonia Gandhi and chalk out the progress made on each of them. The proposed meeting will also seek inputs from the floor on the changes and improvements. Members would like the leadership to undertake to revive the party in the run-up to the next round of elections. Only time will tell if this meeting will succeed in mounting sufficient pressure on Sonia Gandhi to implement their suggestions. Although the Rashtriya Lok Dal won only eight of the 33 seats it contested in the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, its leader Jayant Chaudhary has not given up. While he got down to reorganising his partys state unit immediately after the declaration of election results, Jayant Chaudhary now has his eyes set on positioning himself as the future Jat leader. As a first step in this direction, Mr Chaudhary is planning to expand the RLDs footprint by contesting in the next Haryana Assembly polls. Since Haryana is a Jat-dominated state and borders Uttar Pradesh, Mr Chaudhary believes the RLD can create a space for itself here. However, it will not be easy as the RLD chief will be competing with Haryana deputy chief minister and founder of the Jannayak Janata Party Dushyant Chautala whose party surprised everyone by bagging ten seats in its first electoral foray. The young Chautala also sees as a future Jat leader especially since there is no other young leader from the community who has sufficient potential to take on the mantle of older Jat leaders like former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Is there a secret understanding between Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Bharatiya Janata Party leader and environment minister Bhupendra Yadav? At least, thats the buzz in Bihars political circles. The BJP minister, who was entrusted with several important assignments for the party before his induction into the government, was, at one point, in charge of Bihar. According to Janata Dal (U) insiders, whenever there is talk that a repentant Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is reaching out to RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav for an alliance, it is the BJP which prevails upon Tejashwi Yadav camp followers to rule out any tie-up with the Janata Dal (U). It is no secret that Nitish Kumar would like to end his partnership with the BJP as the saffron party has reduced him to a political pygmy. The Uttarakhand unit of the Congress is in turmoil after the party president appointed Yashpal Arya as the leader of the legislature party in the state Assembly. Mr Arya was among the Congress leaders who had joined the BJP but returned to the party shortly before the recent Assembly polls. Other contenders like Pritam Singh, who was the leader of Opposition in the governments last term, are predictably upset at being ignored. It is being speculated that the Congress leadership felt compelled to pick Mr Arya, a dalit, for this job as it is under pressure to drop Kumari Selja (also dalit) as Haryana Congress president. The party apparently wished to avoid any criticism that it had removed a senior dalit leader from a key party position and it, therefore, placed another dalit in a key role. Already under pressure, the Congress wanted to avoid any controversy at this juncture when it is chalking out a special plan to woo dalits to the party fold. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. NZ tech body joins Russia war condemnation Tech body IT Professionals New Zealand (ITPNZ) has joined the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) in condemning the actions of Russia in Ukraine. As an active member of IFIP, ITPNZ said it agrees with the sentiments of a statement the IFIP board released last month expressing its deep shock at the events in Ukraine. In its statement, IFIP said it has deep ties in Ukraine, with its last in-person General Assembly hosted in Kyiv in September 2019. IFIP is an umbrella organisation of computer and ICT professional societies worldwide, it has a formal consultative partnership with UNESCO, and it is recognised by United Nations and other world bodies. ITPNZ is represented at IFIP board level by Elizabeth Eastwood and on technical committees and working groups by more than 20 New Zealand academics. NZ intelligence agencies not blacklisting Russian software Government agencies and other New Zealand organisations are being left to decide for themselves whether to use software from Russian companies, such as Kaspersky. A spokesperson for the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has told Reseller News it does not prescribe systems or software or hardware to be used by government agencies. This comes after Lakes District Health Board (DHB) said it was working with the Ministry of Health and the NCSC to determine whether removal of Kaspersky antivirus software was a New Zealand government requirement. The DHB uses Kaspersky software to protect its clinical servers but said a replacement product will be installed if removing the Russian product was required. Kaspersky has been blacklisted by the US Federal Communications Commission. In 2017, Kaspersky software was banned for being used use in US federal information systems due to concerns about Kasperskys links to the Russian government. The NCSC does however recommend that nationally significant New Zealand organisations consider their security posture, exercise readiness, and monitor for relevant cybersecurity developments due to the potential for increased malicious cyber activity following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The message seems to be User beware!. AA announces new CTO The Automobile Association (AA) has appointed Phil Coster as its new CTO. Coster joins the AA after eight years as CIO of Mitre 10 and will officially take up the AA role within the next few months. With more than 25 years of IT experience, Coster was previously CIO at the Ezibuy Group, and has held various roles at Vector, ACP Media and Coca-Cola Amatil. While at Mitre 10 Coster led a programme of change to improve operational and organisational efficiency across its retail network. The AA said Costers ability to transform IT and business functions will deliver value for the association and improve the customer experience of its members. He is adept at focusing on the practical application of technology in areas such as insights, supply chain optimisation, cybersecurity, and digital transformation and holds a philosophy of leveraging technology to help people perform their jobs smarter not harder, said AA CEO Nadine Tereora. Vodafone New Zealand comes out top in benchmarking survey Vodafone New Zealands mobile network scored the highest overall in an independent mobile network benchmarking survey by Accentures mobile benchmarking unit, Umlaut. Vodafone achieved an overall score of 797 out of 1000, while 2degrees scored 760 and Spark 751, also outperformed its rivals in tests for the quality of data and voice services. Umlaut said it analysed the network performance of New Zealands mobile networks measuring smartphone voice and data performance based on extensive drive tests covering 6,700km across the country. This included major cities as well as smaller towns and connection roads. It also gathered data from crowdsourced-based tests, which it said covered 97.6 % of the countrys population areas. For voice services, Vodafone scored 240 out of 300, while 2degrees and Spark each scored 201. The scores for data performance were closer with Vodafones 356 out of 450, 2degrees 352, and Spark 340. However, Spark led on crowdsourced quality scoring at 210 out of 250. Vodafone scored the lowest at 201, with 2degrees achieving 207. Umlaut Accentures Umlaut mobile benchmarking unit scored mobile performance of New Zealands mobie carriers. Umlauts methodology focused on customer-perceived network quality. All mobile operators were notified of the certification window, but none were aware of the route the testers would take around New Zealand. 100% Website limericki.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: Boostrap. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 379859 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 138751 bytes (135.50 kb uncompressed) and 38424 bytes (37.52 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2022-04-17, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The Batman-villain-pre-being-dunked-in-acid that is California Governor Gavin Newsom is up to his veneers in legal turmoil this week. The great state of Californias number one export: entertainment (#2 is tree nuts) is an industry historically rife with gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Its not just movies that get in on the bad behavior, the gaming industry has terrible problems with discrimination as well. Heres a breakdown of how and why Newsom is involved with the industrys biggest drama. Shutterstock Big money, big stakes, big drama. Activision Blizzard, the gaming company that makes massively successful video game titles such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush, is being sued by Californias Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The suit came after years of allegations from employees that women were targeted, harassed, and discriminated against in the workplace. The workplace culture at Activision Blizzard, according to credible reports from many, many employees, has been astoundingly toxic. Even for an industry which is known for bad bro behavior, this stuff seems ripped right out of a poorly written 80s frat movie. The lawsuit alleges horrible stuff including rampant joking about sexual assault, drunken in-office Cube Crawls ending in groping and sexual harassment, and most tragic of all, an incident where a female employee who had been targeted with harassment took her own life. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FAIRFIELD While the pandemic has seen the price of houses skyrocket, often with bidding wars breaking out over homes, apartments are also seeing a corresponding rise in price, officials say. A desirable location to live and raise a family, officials say Fairfields apartment market is quite competitive. The question of whether that market is affordable though, is a subject of debate. Trey Bickers, a real estate salesperson with William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty, said the median price of a one-bedroom apartment in Fairfield right now is approximately $2,000 a month. A comittee member of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerces Fairfield Emerging Leaders Organization, he said the people who move into apartments in town are often young professionals such as himself. Bickers said the age range of people renting has expanded, as people sell their homes because of the hot housing market, but are waiting to buy elsewhere. In my apartment building, its a new building, and they have people there who never would have imagined themselves in an apartment building again, he said. They needed to live somewhere, but they wanted to unload the house. Carol Martin, the executive director of Fairfields Housing Authority, said the price of apartments in town has grown to a level where it is locking out many people on the lower level of the income scale. The market has just been really crazy, she said. Theres a huge demand and theres not enough supply. Both Bickers and Martin said they have seen an increase in the number of people looking for an apartment because the apartments they previously rented were in houses that were being sold to people who planned to live there. There are a lot of folks in Fairfield who want to stay in Fairfield because they have children, Martin said. Now theyre trying to find another apartment and are nowhere near the price range they need to be in. As Fairfield looks to build more affordable housing, but in a way not governed by state statute 8-30g, which allows developers to ignore certain local zoning rules if building affordable housing, officials say the apartment landscape has been changing. The average costs of an apartment Bicker said the median monthly cost of an apartment in town, from what he has seen, is approximately $2,000 although it varies by location and condition. He noted that his rent is approximately $2,300. But that also includes utilities except for electric, he said. Most rentals in town dont include that. Apartment buildings give you a little bit more as far as thats concerned. Bickers said a lot of the newer apartment buildings have other benefits included such as gyms and rooftop grills, which renters get in return for their cost. But, he said, rent prices are up compared to where they were before the pandemic. Some things are up $500 a month, not necessarily just a one-bedroom, maybe $500 or more over the past couple years, he said. Bickers said rent varies depending on the part of town, adding rent in the north part of Fairfield is going to be a little bit less than the beach area. The closer you are to shopping, commuting, amenities and the beach, the rent is going to go up, he said. Martin said the housing authority runs a voucher program, which subsidizes housing costs for people with low incomes. She said the vouchers allow the families she serves to be more competitive in the housing market, but the program has especially competitive since the pandemic started. The vouchers come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which set the amount their worth based on payment standards recommended to them by local housing authorities. Martin said they requested an increase of 150 percent, but noted HUD gave them 120 percent. If HUD regulates, that, and your market, like here in Fairfield, goes way above what those ceiling limits are that HUD sets, you basically have a piece that you cant use, she said. Martin said her organization has asked HUD to raise that ceiling in light of growing costs. She said they use a master listing service, which shows housing and apartment stock in any given area, to assess what the average costs of housing are. In 2021, Martin said, the authority requested a payment standard of $1,815 for a studio apartment, $2,190 for a one-bedroom and $2,745 for a two-bedroom. Notably, those figures are not the cost of rent, Martin said, but the maximum amount of subsidy HUD would contribute. She said people in the voucher program pay 30 percent of their gross adjusted income. Therefore, she said, if a landlord accepted an applicant with a voucher, the most they could charge is that number plus the 30 percent. The actual average costs of apartments in Fairfield, Martin said, are her payment standards plus hundreds of dollars. Martin said the payment standard data she was referencing was based on the zip code of her office, which is in the east side of town. She said the figures for places like the beach area or Southport are even higher. Of course, Martin said, a landlord could charge any price for the apartment, but if they charged more it would lock out a certain segment of the population. Can people afford it? The authority opened up the wait list for its housing choice voucher program for two weeks in the summer of 2020 the height of the pandemic. In two weeks, we got 7,600 pieces of paper for folks looking for housing, she said. If we were accepting it with people being able to do it from their phone, we would have gotten four times the amount. Martin said 250 applications were accepted for the wait list, adding that corresponds to the amount of vouchers the authority thinks it can put on the street in the next six or seven years. She said families with vouchers are having trouble leasing up apartments. Fairfield has become largely unaffordable for people of lower income, Martin said, adding that pre-COVID, it had a more robust rental market. But, she said, the pandemic has led to more people moving away from New York into Fairfield County, driving prices up. That supply shrunk up, so what happened to the rentals that were remaining? she said. Well, its your classic economics. The people that are still landlords looking to rent are increasing the rent because they can. The market will pay it. Martin said the rising costs means that people like the working middle class cannot afford to live where they are employed. Theyre having a hard time finding an affordable rent in town, she said, adding the pandemic has sort of ended the robust rental market. We are getting to be like Trumbull and Weston and Easton and Westport. Our rental market is shrinking. Bickers said most of the people he sees renting are young working professionals, which he considers a good thing as they might decide to buy a house in town. He said they generally come into town to be in a beach community with good schools, while still being in proximity to New York City. Fairfield exists as a sort of middle ground in terms of rent in the area, Bickers said, adding it is lower compared to Westport but higher compared to Bridgeport. When developers go through the process of applying to build apartment buildings, they often say the project would provide housing for Fairfields workforce, such as its teachers and police officers. Officials say many members of those professions can and do live in Fairfield. Bob Smoler, president of the Fairfield Education Association, said more teachers live in Fairfield than any other town in the state, adding that a third of Fairfields teachers live in town. You probably have a thousand educators overall that live in Fairfield, he said. Its about 300 something that work and live in Fairfield, but theres 120 teachers who live in Fairfield but work in Westport and another bunch that work in Trumbull. Smoler said Fairfield has a unique characteristic of being both affordable and having a good school system. He said it is largely affordable for teachers, although he is not sure how many of them are renting. A lot of teachers have their homes in Fairfield houses, he said. Fairfield police Lt. Mike Paris said traditionally, officers of the Fairfield Police Department have lived outside of the town, but he could not say for certain that it was because of affordability. Most recently, we have seen new officers rent in town for convenience, but it is kind of split down the middle, he said. I have not heard anyone specifically say that they cannot afford the rent in town. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BOSTON (AP) For many U.S. Christians, this weekend marked the first time since 2019 that they gathered in person on Easter Sunday, a welcome chance to celebrate one of the years holiest days side by side with fellow congregants. Notable events included a 6 a.m. sunrise Mass outdoors near the waterfront in South Boston, and a joyous, hug-filled service at St. Peter Claver, a historically Black congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota. Another mostly Black congregation, Watson Grove Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, had hoped for an outdoors service at a downtown park. But rain forced a last-minute change of plans, and about 700 mask-wearing worshippers met instead in the churchs sanctuary for what senior pastor John Faison said was by far their biggest indoor gathering during the pandemic. We hadnt seen a crowd like this for two years, Faison said. Eyes were lighting up. People just felt good. The pandemic erupted in the country in March 2020, just ahead of Easter, forcing many churches to resort to online or televised worship. Many continued to hold virtual services last spring after a deadly winter wave of the coronavirus and as vaccination campaigns were still ramping up. But this year more churches opened their doors for Easter services with few COVID-19 restrictions, in line with broader societal trends. Among them were Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston, which since last June has once again required most churchgoers to attend Mass in person though those with health risks may still watch remotely, and pastors have been asked to make space for social distancing in churches. MC Sullivan, chief health care ethicist for the archdiocese, said celebrating Mass communally is important to how Catholics profess their faith. Church attendance has been trending upward, and parishioners are excited to gather again to commemorate Christs resurrection. It has been quite wonderful to see how well-attended Mass is right now. ... It seems to have brought a lot of people back to the idea of whats important to them, she said. At St. Peter Claver in St. Paul, there was whooping, applause and exultant pounding on the wooden pews when the Rev. Joseph Gifford told more than 200 faithful that the churchs usual sign of the peace was back no more pandemic-era nodding or mild handshakes. The place just explodes, said longtime parishioner Lynette Graham. When he said we could do it, people were all over the church, hugging each other. Another highlight of the service: the first performance by its Cameroonian choir with its spirited drumming and West African melodies since the pandemic hit. Were back and Hes risen and its huge, choir director Brendan Banteh said. The ministry in our culture is very celebratory, being one in church the choir, the priest, the people. Not being able to come to church had created a disconnect that we had never experienced before. Purpose Church, a non-denominational congregation in Pomona, 30 miles east of Los Angeles, had held its Easter services virtually or outdoors the past two years because of the pandemic. On Sunday, nearly 4,000 congregants came in person to the churchs newly renovated sanctuary for three morning services, with many still watching virtually and others seated outside watching the proceedings on a 40-foot LED screen. This was also the first service in two years featuring the full 150-member choir, band and orchestra, said Tina Tong, worship producer for the 152-year-old church. Its a sweet homecoming in so many ways, she said. Were gathering in our new space, which is also special. A much smaller Southern California congregation about 25 people gathered on the beach in Pacific Palisades for a sunrise service conducted by Pastor Joe Ramirez, founder of Revive LA, an inclusive Lutheran congregation. We watched the sun come up, talked about the resurrection and shared the message that hope is alive, he said. Because of the pandemic, Our congregation has gotten used to being outside because people are more comfortable, and they can bring their pets, Ramirez added. We had three dogs at this mornings service. In Minnesota's Twin Cities, there were differing approaches to COVID precautions as Easter arrived. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, which became a community hub during protests over George Floyds killing in 2020, ended its mask requirement as of Palm Sunday and returned to shoulder-to-shoulder communion at the rail instead of in the pews. Ingrid Rasmussen, the pastor, said Easter attendance was expected to be similar to pre-pandemic levels but split between those in pews and those joining remotely. Christ Church Lutheran, an architectural landmark also in Minneapolis, was taking a cautious approach to loosening COVID protocols -- masks and social distancing measures remain in place. The gift of being in the same physical space for the first time in three years is so grounding and beautiful, said Miriam Samuelson-Roberts, the pastor. We do not take it for granted. Hundreds of people lit candles in the vast Cathedral of St. Paul after Catholic Archbishop Bernard Hebda blessed the fire and lit the Paschal Candle to open the Easter Vigil service late Saturday. The century-old cathedral echoed with the singing of the congregation as candles flickered in the darkness. Well past 8 p.m., wide-eyed children fascinated by the little flames and the cantors far outnumbered people wearing masks the archdiocese rescinded all COVID protocols on April 1, while allowing the faithful and individual parishes to retain precautions if they wished. In New York City, Middle Collegiate Church gathered for its first in-person Easter service since 2019, only not in their historic Manhattan church, which was destroyed by fire two Decembers ago. While they rebuild, theyre sharing space at East End Temple at a time when the synagogue is observing its own holy days of Passover. The Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Middle Collegiates senior minister, said attendance in the 190-person temple was being capped at 150. Those leading the service, plus choir singers and musicians, took rapid COVID tests. ___ DellOrto reported from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Bharath from Orange County, California. Also contributing were Associated Press reporters Luis Andres Henao in Pennsylvania and David Crary in New York. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Multiple fire departments across the state issued warnings on Saturday after scammers posing as members of a local fire department sent text messages to several people across multiple towns. Fire departments in Harwinton, Killingworth, Seymour and Newtown all posted warnings on their respective Facebook pages Saturday to warn about the scam, indicating the issue is statewide. It has come to our attention that folks are receiving text messages on behalf of Hawleyville Vol Fire Co No 1, fire officials in Newtown said in their statement. This is an unauthorized usage of our department representation and didnt come from our department. The Killingworth Volunteer Fire Department issued a similar statement Saturday afternoon, as did the Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department. We have had several reports from residents reporting solicitations for HVFD shirts. Ignore these, they are scams. We are not selling any type of merchandise. Other area Fire Departments have had the same thing happen to them. If you get any texts or E-Mails offering merchandise, it is advisable to contact the Department before ordering anything, fire officials in Harwinton said. The Great Hill Hose Company in Seymour posted a screenshot of one of these scam texts. It says the department is offering a discount on fire company merchandise, and provides an order now web link. Anyone who has received one of these text messages or emails is advised to not open the link or any attachments. These links and numbers are not associated with any local fire departments, and should be deleted immediately, fire officials in Seymour said in their statement. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) On the surface, all the familiar ceremonial trappings were in place for the event. The reading of proclamations announcing April 9 as Bataan Remembrance Day. The playing of taps. Speeches honoring the legacy of the New Mexicans who gave their lives fighting, struggling to survive, dying far from home in a campaign ringed with deprivation, starvation and torture. Still, Saturdays morning commemoration of the April 4, 1942, fall of Bataan the 80th anniversary was missing something. Bataan survivors. For the first time since the New Mexico National Guard began hosting the Santa Fe event in the mid-1980s, none of them attended, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Age, infirmity and death have taken their toll on almost all of the survivors. The New Mexico Department of Veteran Services believes there may only be about five of those men still living around the country. And the event was not held live over the past two years because of the health restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, watching the hourlong ceremony attended by about 100 people play out outside the Bataan Memorial Building, Fred Armijo, son of the late Bataan U.S. Army veteran Manuel Armijo, said he has no concern the legacy of those Bataan soldiers will be forgotten. I plan on keeping it alive, he said, adding, in a joking fashion, I plan to live to 100. The commemoration is held near a stone monument honoring the Bataan campaign, and Armjio said as long as that monument remains, people wont forget. He is well aware of his fathers role in keeping the history of Bataan alive. Manuel Armijo, a first sergeant with the 200th Coast Artillery, is credited with initiating the annual commemoration in the postwar years. Some sources say he started it in 1946, silently standing outside a downtown government building while holding a white flag in his hands. Other sources put that date at 1953. Regardless, the annual April 9 event has become something of a cornerstone military memorial event, a day to remember a generation of young New Mexicans some still teenagers who left the comfort of hometown America to wage war in some faraway place few had heard of. Little could they have known, having entered the military before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World War II, they would become part of one of the most violent and tragic stories of New Mexicos military history. The Battle of Bataan in the Philippines the first major military campaign of the Asian theater in World War II following the Pearl Harbor attack took a huge toll on New Mexico. Of the 1,800-plus New Mexican soldiers who fought in the battle, only half came home alive. And many of them, survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March and Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, came back physically, mentally and emotionally scarred. From Dec. 8, 1941, to April 9, 1942, those 1,800 New Mexico soldiers fought alongside Filipinos and other Americans to fight off Japanese invaders on the Bataan peninsula. On April 9, Bataans military commanders surrendered, though the soldiers wanted to fight on, despite a lack of weapons, food and medicine. Most of the American and Filipino defenders were killed, captured or forced to march 65 miles through the jungle. Japanese soldiers used their bayonets and bullets along the way to kill the weak, wounded and defiant ones on what became known as the Bataan Death March. Manuel Armijo, like so many of the men who survived that ordeal, did not like to talk about what he endured, his son said. But Vincent Lithgow, Manuel Armijos grandson, recalled as a child sleeping over at this grandparents home and hearing his grandfather erupt in pain at night. He screamed in English, he screamed in Spanish, he screamed in Japanese, said Lithgow, who also attended Saturdays memorial event. His daughter, Rachel Lithgow, only recalls her great grandfather as a little, wizened old man. It was hard to imagine him being young, she said after Saturdays ceremony. Its hard to imagine his incredible heartbreak. She, too, feels the Bataan story will be carried on long after the last descendants of any of the soldiers who fought it have died. Though she lives in Las Cruces, Lithgow said she visits the Bataan monument every time she comes to Santa Fe. It represents a deep rooted sense of connection to New Mexico history. Theres a lot of him here, she said as she looked at the monument. Manuel Armijo died in June 2004 at the age of 92, his son said. His mother, Frances Armijo, lived almost six more years, dying in April 2010. She died April 9, in fact. Heres my take on it, Fred Armijo said of that date. My dad came for her. CHICAGO (AP) A fire that roared through a prominent church on Chicagos South Side was sparked by a propane torch on the building's roof, the Chicago Fire Department said Saturday. The CFD Office of Fire Investigation has determined the fire at Antioch Church to be accidental and caused by work being done on the building roof using a propane torch, the department said on Twitter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD The Zoning Commission has unanimously voted down a text amendment that would have allowed developers to build multi-family housing on either side of a stretch of Broadbridge Avenue. The change would have repealed existing zoning code section 5.3 and re-written the measure to allow multi-family residential housing on both sides of Broadbridge between Emerald Place and Success Avenue, which is about three-quarters of a mile, up to a depth of at least 200 feet from the street. Town Planning and Zoning Administrator Jay Habansky said this could have had an impact on the Remington Woods property. Remington is owned by Sporting Goods Properties Inc., which is a subsidiary of Corteva Agriscience. Habansky said he has not heard anything from Sporting Goods Properties on what the company intends to do with the 70-acre portion of the Woods that is in Stratford. The state chapter of the Sierra Club put out a petition to voice its concerns with the development of Remington Woods and has garnered over 1,200 signatures from state residents. From a broader environmental perspective, protecting Remington Woods can help to cool city air, stabilize local climate, mitigate floods & storms, support biodiversity, stop soil erosion and so much more, Sierra Club Connecticut community outreach coordinator Jhoni Ada said in a letter to town Planning and Zoning officials in late March. One side of Broadbridge Avenue is zoned as single-family housing and the other, which includes part of the Remington Woods property, is light industrial, according to the towns zoning code. Ada said that Remington acts as the last lungs of the area and that wildlife does not know the difference between Bridgeport and Stratford the two localities that share the 422-acre property. The Bridgeport section of the woods was re-zoned from light industrial to residential office center in December. There is just so much of wildlife there that can be preserved, Ada said. But if folks arent interested in wildlife, theres a lot of human benefits that comes from saving this amazing piece of land. The commission denied it without prejudice, meaning Gold Coast Properties the firm that forwarded the proposal could come back to the commission again with modifications in the future. The commission did not receive a hard-copy text to vote on, members said. The proposed amendment did not include a requirement to deed restrict 15 to 20 percent of units for affordable housing. Stratford is currently shy of the state-required 10 percent housing affordability threshold in Connecticut General Statute 8-30g, which allows for developers to bypass local zoning regulations if a planned project is made up of 30 percent or more in affordable units. It should be noted that by not requiring an inclusive housing approach (requiring 15-20% be deed restricted per 8-30g), the Town would be widening the gap that needs to be crossed to reach a 10% affordable housing stock, Habansky wrote in his analysis of the proposal. The proposed amendment, which had over 20 clauses, had too many changes needed to be consistent with the towns Plan of Conservation and Development, he said. The state requires each municipality to create or amend its POCD every 10 years, otherwise the locality will be ineligible for state discretionary funding, according to state law. The commission also thought that the area text the amendment would cover was incomplete and poorly defined, members said. Board commissioner Harold Watson, who represents the third zoning district, asked that the Planning and Zoning office to begin drafting its own revisions of section 5.3, which has not been revised in over three decades, according to the zoning code. Watson said it is critical to include types of housing discussed in the housing partnership in the revised version of 5.3 two-, three- and four-family dwellings, town houses, courtyard apartments, cottage courts and live work units. Those are the types of housing we thought would meet the needs of Stratford above and beyond everything else, Watson said. Laura Dancho, who represents the fourth district on the town council, said she hopes to see section 5.3 revised by the Zoning Commission as intended in the POCD and not specifically to Broadbridge. Dancho also said she has spoken out in opposition of the text change, citing traffic and safety concerns. Corteva and attorney Barry Knott, representing Gold Coast Properties, could not be immediately reached for comment. mike.mavredakis@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STRATFORD Stratford resident and former AVCO engineer Charles Lautier spent his career working across the street from Sikorsky Memorial Airport, and he can see the benefits of local control should the town purchase it from Bridgeport. Still, he believes the town already is stretched pretty thin financially, and worries the airport would be a money pit and an added financial burden. On one hand, Id like to see Stratford control the airport, Lautier said. On the other hand, Im not sure that Stratford can afford it. Just like me, Id like to have a much nicer car than I have, but I cant afford it. The Connecticut Airport Authority, a quasi-state agency, declared its interest in buying the property for $10 million in early February. The CAA runs six airports in the state, including Bradley International Airport. Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick has expressed her desire to buy the airport. But do residents support spending millions on the airport, with an unknown ongoing financial commitment? Of the five residents Hearst Connecticut Media spoke to about the purchase, four supported the plan. Lautier, while not opposed to it, had reservations about the cost and said he thinks Stratfords focus should be more on developing projects, like the Army Engine Plant and Shakespeare Theater. He called for a public hearing and referendum. Two members of the Stratford state delegation, Rep. Joe Gresko and Rep. Phil Young, also support putting the issue to a vote. We should not jump into this with both feet without really looking at everything, Lautier said. Its just too huge of an undertaking in my opinion. Michelle Harvey, whose home overlooks one of the runways, said she thinks the town owning the airport would be a good idea. Her concern is what would happen should the state acquire it. It would be better for the town to acquire it and figure this out somehow, Harvey said. Because I dont believe the state of Connecticut is going to consider the residents of the surrounding communities in their decision-making. Harvey said flights coming in and out of Sikorsky sometimes cause her windows to shake and it is very loud. She worries an airport expansion of will affect the value of her home and the local salt marsh. She questioned the airports ability to compete with Tweed Airport in New Haven for a similar customer base, considering the proximity of the two airports to each other. Jessica Robbins, said she worries CAA will extend the runway or use eminent domain to expand the airport. She is concerned about the environmental effect of increased airport activity, including airplane engine emissions and the effect of plane deicing solution on waterways, along with potential increases in criminal activity, she said. Resident Kathleen Hamill said the state may have a different vision than the people of Stratford for the airport. It could really interfere not just with Lordship, but with the entire town, and so I do strongly believe that we should purchase it, Hamill said. Joanne Forte, another Lordship resident, said it would not be right if Stratford was not given a chance to purchase the airport. The airport rests solely within Stratford. I am very concerned about the state purchasing the airport and developing it further, Forte said. Not only is it a concern to me, and my neighbors, that there will be more flights, noise, soot, traffic, etc. if this happens, but what about the environment, our bird sanctuaries and our beaches? The Lordship Improvement Association, which is an all-volunteer, nonprofit dedicated to improving the areas waterfront, declined the take a stance on the airport, according to Hans Drenkard, secretary of the groups Board of Governors. The LIA Board of Governors has discussed the airport. As there is quite a diversity of thought, the board will take no stand on it, Drenkard said. We have faith that our elected officials will perform due diligence and pursue the best course for the Town of Stratford. mike.mavredakis@hearstmediact.com World experts congratulate China on success of Shenzhou-13 mission, expect further cooperation Xinhua) 10:01, April 17, 2022 In this combo photo, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu (from L to R) are out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. (Xinhua) China's Shenzhou-13 mission "spent a national-record six months in orbit," with Wang Yaping becoming "the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk," U.S. space and astronomy news website Space.com reported. The success of the Shenzhou-13 mission represents a major victory of China's plan to explore space, experts from different countries have said, calling for closer international cooperation on science and technology. Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency. China's Shenzhou-13 mission "spent a national-record six months in orbit," with Wang Yaping becoming "the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk," U.S. space and astronomy news website Space.com reported. The astronauts, or taikonauts, performed two spacewalks, conducted more than 20 different science experiments and delivered two live educational lectures in space, the report said. Students watch a livestreamed popular-science lecture given by Chinese astronauts from China's space station Tiangong, at No. 70 middle school in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Calling the success of the astronauts a major win for China's space exploration program, Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, pointed out that as a major developing country, China's stride in space science is an inspiration to the larger global south. By building its own space station, China will expand its scientific reach, Adhere said, adding that China's space exploration program is also open to other developing countries. For example, Beijing is working with African countries across a range of space exploration themes, the scholar noted. "Such exchange programs have significantly boosted capacity for space development programs on the continent." The return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship lands successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan) Lameck Odada, an economist at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, noted that China's achievements in space station construction and space exploration are extraordinary, and contribute to human efforts in space exploration. Odada expressed the expectation that China would share its breakthroughs in scientific research and technology and continue to strengthen cooperation with other countries. Saying the mission is "definitely a success," Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist and cosmologist at the Australian National University, told Xinhua that it is "important to move forward with a long-term space station and full operation." This mission has shown that China's astronauts "are capable of long-term space flight, which makes Earth's future goals and plans for the Moon and beyond exciting," Tucker said. (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) More than 50 days into Vladimir Putins brutal invasion, the Ukrainian peoples living nightmare remains as dark as ever. Almost every evening brings news of more appalling Russian war crimes. Yet as horrific as the war has been, the worst may be yet to come. In yesterdays Mail On Sunday, Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko paid a heartfelt tribute to readers who have donated to the Mail Force campaign, which is sending half a million food boxes to his beleaguered people. Yet more is needed, for his country faces one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in modern European history. As Mr Prystaiko noted, Ukraine has long been renowned as the breadbasket of Europe. A local resident prepares to cook at an entrance of a building damaged during fighting in Mariupol. Russian troops have been shelling farms, food warehouses, grain silos, shopping centres and supermarkets, and even stealing tractors and combine harvesters and driving them across the border. But the Russian invaders have pushed it to the verge of famine, shelling farms, food warehouses, grain silos, shopping centres and supermarkets, and even stealing tractors and combine harvesters and driving them across the border. In the ambassadors words, this appears to be a targeted campaign by Putin to try to starve innocent Ukrainian civilians. And tragically, it seems to be working. Already there are reports from eastern Ukraine of people drinking water from radiators and puddles, and even killing and cooking stray dogs to avoid starvation. And with the Russians planning a new offensive in the coming weeks, such stories are likely to become distressingly common. As Mr Prystaiko wrote, one of the horrible things about this is that its so familiar. The pages of Ukraines history are stained with suffering, but the darkest chapter of all is the story of the early 1930s, when at least four million men, women and children died in a famine directed from Moscow. Starved children during the 1930s famine, which looks intent on repeating, writes Dominic Sandbrook Ukrainians know this as the Holodomor, a crime of murder by starvation. Many historians see it as an act of genocide, planned and organised by one man the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin. Then as now, the roots of the famine lay in the Russians brutal contempt for their neighbours. A few years earlier, amid the chaos of the Russian Revolution, the Ukrainians had made an abortive bid for freedom, only to be crushed by the Red Army. Ever since, Stalin had regarded them with deep distrust. He had nothing but contempt for Ukraines language, culture and traditions, and was infuriated by its peasants reluctance to embrace his Marxist utopia. At the turn of the 1930s he decided to break the Ukrainians resistance by liquidating the richer peasants and forcing the rest into vast state-run farms, where they would toil ceaselessly for the greater Soviet good. But what followed was a tragedy on an unimaginable scale. A boy next to the body of his father after the man was shot for approaching a prohibited area of a farm while picking grain during the Holodomor. Dominic Sandbrook writes we must not let scenes like this be repeated As Stalins henchmen roamed the Ukrainian countryside, seizing grain that he could sell abroad, food supplies dwindled and families began to starve. By early 1932, the reports on his desk told of peasants fleeing their homes in search of food, children swollen with hunger, people living on grass and acorns, bodies in the streets of Ukraines cities. Instead of intervening, Stalin blamed Ukrainian nationalists for hiding grain supplies and ordered his thugs to tighten their grip. And so the death toll mounted from thousands to millions. The best work on these terrible years, Anne Applebaums prize-winning account Red Famine, is one of the most haunting books Ive ever read. In one of countless dreadful anecdotes, she describes a 15-year-old farm girl begging beside a queue outside a Communist-run bread shop. As each person passed, the girl asked for crumbs. Finally she asked the shopkeeper, who struck her to the ground. Get up, he said, kicking her. Go home and get to work! But she did not move; she was dead. At that, people in the queue started crying. Some are getting too sentimental around here, the shopkeeper said threateningly. It is easy to spot enemies of the people. Amid the horror, some families turned on one another. One man was so enraged by the sound of his children crying for food he smothered his baby in its cradle and killed two other children by smashing their heads against a wall. In the western Ukrainian province of Vinnytsia, another farmer tried to suffocate his starving children by lighting a fire and blocking the chimney. When they screamed for help, he strangled them with his bare hands. Applebaums most terrible stories are those of desperate people reduced to cannibalism. In one Ukrainian village, the police arrested a man who had gone mad after his wife died. A neighbour asked why he seemed better fed than everybody else. I have eaten my children, the man said, and if you talk too much, I will eat you. Later, in Stalins prison camps, a Polish woman met hundreds of unhappy, barefoot, half-naked Ukrainians, who had been sentenced for cannibalism. Their children, they said, had died of hunger. Maddened by grief and starvation, the parents had cooked and eaten them. But afterwards, when they came to understand what had happened, they lost their minds. Yet even as four million Ukrainians starved to death, Stalins Western admirers refused to acknowledge the truth. Here in Britain, Left-wing intellectuals maintained the famine was a myth, and hailed him as the architect of a new civilisation. One courageous exception was Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who travelled through Ukraine in March 1933 and returned to break the news of a catastrophic famine. Shamefully, however, the New York Times claimed Jones was lying. Its reporter Walter Duranty, a paid-up Stalin stooge, accused him of spreading malignant propaganda, and insisted that reports of the famine had been invented by the British government. For decades afterwards, discussion of the famine was suppressed by the Soviet regime. But the Ukrainians themselves did not forget. How could they? I was so frightened by what had happened, recalled one woman, who managed to escape after her emaciated body was mistakenly thrown into a mass grave for famine victims, that I could not talk for several days. I saw dead bodies in my dreams. And I screamed a lot. Local residents cook sitting at an entrance to their damaged apartment building in an area that Russian-backed separatists claim to control in the Ukraine city of Mariupol Was the famine genocide? The man who coined the term, Polish law professor Raphael Lemkin, certainly thought so. The famine, he wrote in 1953, was the classic example of Soviet genocide, designed to bring the destruction of the Ukrainian nation. In that respect, it failed. Today the famine is a central element of Ukrainian identity a spur to their sense of national distinctiveness, as well a terrible reminder of their suffering at the hands of Moscow. You probably wont be surprised to hear that its coverage in Russia is very different. Pro-Kremlin historians deny it happened, while others claim it has been exaggerated by the Ukrainians. Five years ago, Putin himself complained about the Western demonisation of Stalin. At the time, few people noticed. But perhaps we should have seen it as a sign of what was coming. History never repeats itself exactly. But in this case, the pattern of lies, propaganda, contempt and cruelty, masterminded from the Kremlin to punish the people of Ukraine, is only too familiar. This time, though, we must learn from the past. We cannot stand idly by while the Ukrainians starve. These brave people need all the help we can give them: not just food parcels to fight the famine, but helicopters, missiles, tanks and guns to fight the invaders. For in the long run, there is only one answer to their plight. Victory. Those unthinking critics of Western civilisation who claim that everything about it is reprehensible and nothing good has ever come out of it have developed a pattern with the extraordinary claims they make. Their technique is to zoom in on Western behaviour, remove it from the context of the time, set aside any non-Western parallels and then exaggerate what the West actually did. The result has been a stampede inside the West to rid itself of its own history. In recent years, universities and other public institutions have started to order historical audits of themselves to see whether they might have benefited from the slave trade or empire. The guilty verdict is always preordained. But precisely what should be done to make amends is never clear. Woke warriors target Churchill because he symbolises the West's finest hour (2020 protest) Why do Arabs get away with downplaying their 13 centuries of uninterrupted trading in human beings from sub-Saharan Africa?, asks Murray. Pictured are slaves in Zanzibar in 1873 In 2019, Cambridge University announced that it was going to carry out an audit over whether or how it may have benefited from the slave trade. It was then announced that St Catharines College had removed a bell it had on display because of suspicions that it may have been used on a slave plantation. It was shuttered off from public view pending further investigations into the inanimate object. At such moments, you can begin to wonder whether we are getting into the realms of Narnia-like magic. Do such items carry some sort of dark matter with them? Will the plantations come back if the bell is rung? The West's opponents slander Churchill in an attempt to sully all its heroes, writes DOUGLAS MURRAY A senior tutor at the college stated that it wanted to reflect on our commitment to diversity, inclusion and asking challenging questions. Fair enough, but when it comes to the issue of slavery, there only ever seems to be one prevailing perspective that all the historic blame falls on Britain and the West. What this ignores is that slavery has been a constant in almost every society since the dawn of recorded history. In antiquity, slaves came from Ethiopia and then farther afield. When the Muslim empires arose, they expanded the trade. As the Muslim empire spread across West Africa during the Middle Ages, it made possible the trading of black slaves across the Sahara. Some ended up in Muslim Spain and Portugal. But when the rulers of Spain agreed to 4,000 slaves being shipped across the Atlantic to the New World, they could have had no idea of the change they were bringing about. From the 1400s to the 1800s, somewhere between 10 million and 12 million Africans were transported there. These slaves not only suffered the indignity of being ripped away from their homeland and taken abroad without their permission, they suffered the additional hurt of having been sold by their neighbours and families. This alone tells us that the history of slavery is far more universally morally compromising than the current discussion is remotely willing to concede. For while historical attention is now almost exclusively interested in one direction of slavery, throughout the last millennium the horror went in every direction. And while huge attention has been paid in recent years to the trade in slaves that went West, very little has been expended on the trade that went East. Yet somewhere between 11 million and 17 million were traded East in the Arab-run slave trade. Whats more, they were systematically castrated after being brought from Africa. John McDonnell was happy to declare Churchill a villain, but waved Chairman Mao's red book Why is this so little focused upon? Why do Arabs get away with downplaying their 13 centuries of uninterrupted trading in human beings from sub-Saharan Africa? And why do English-speaking historians appear uninterested in researching the matter? Let us remember too the Barbary pirates (Muslim pirates mainly from North Africa) who between the 16th and 19th centuries carried out constant raids not just on European ships but against coastal towns and cities across Europe, including Britain. The people they captured would then be used for ransom or sold into slavery. As many as 1.25 million white Europeans are thought to have been taken from their homes in this way. Their plight is just one of the many bloody and brutal things that went on in the centuries before our own. Yet there is no movement to claim reparations for them and their descendants, as there is for Africans, and no European has seriously suggested trying to find out where any bill for compensation should be sent. If it were agreed that everybody did bad things in the past, then it would be possible to move on and even to move beyond it. Who wants to litigate a past in which nobodys ancestors were saints? But some people do, and they have decided that they can do so by re-framing the history of slavery through their own specifically anti-Western lens. Take one particularly vehement American anti-racism activist, writer Ibram X. Kendi. He acknowledges that other societies apart from America and European nations also engaged in slavery. But he then draws a distinction, arguing that those societies enslaved Africans, Arabs and Europeans alike, whereas what the West instituted was the exclusive trading of Africans. This made it racist and, in his mind, worse. But this is a strange standard to apply. Can a form of slavery that is diverse really somehow be better than the enslaving of just one racial group? It is also a moral retrofit, trying to fit the past into a narrative of constant Western racism. Other examples of bad-faith arguments can be found everywhere. For example, it is now common to hear the Atlantic slave trade being described as an act of genocide. Even on its own terms, this is a nonsensical argument. Appalling as it was, the transatlantic slave trade was dedicated to getting as many living people as possible from Africa into the New World. Though many died on the way, the aim was get them to the Americas alive so they could be put to work. That is a great wickedness in itself. But it is far from being a deliberate attempt to wipe out a people. Similar distortion of the facts has been attached to every aspect of empire and colonialism. It is claimed, for example, that the British deliberately starved the Indian population on the subcontinent, a claim that is not just without documentary proof but runs counter to a most obvious fact that the Indian population boomed under the period of British rule. Still, this argument, like others, is not enough for the Wests detractors. They ignore any question of balance, whereas in reality, the forgotten history of slavery, like colonialism, is not the history of what the West got wrong but what it got right. That Britain engaged in a trade in human beings was appalling. But Britain also led the world in its abolition, and not only abolished that trade for itself but used its Navy to seek to wipe it out in all parts of the world it could reach. Britains decision to abolish the slave trade in 1807 was unusual, but even more so was sending the Royal Navy around the world, establishing the West Africa Squadron based at Freetown and growing the fleet until a sixth of the ships and seamen of the Royal Navy were employed in the fight against the slave trade. Murray's new book, The War on the West, is published by HarperCollins on April 28 (20) Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 African slaves. They also lost a huge number of personnel themselves. More than 1,500 men of the Royal Navy were killed in action during this period. The bravery and selfless heroism of those men is worthy of some note, surely? Yet these efforts count for nothing in the retributive anti-Western game that is currently going on. Whats more, as the history of slavery in the West is obsessively pored over, the rest of the world is ignored. Independent Brazil continued to encourage the slave trade right up to the 1880s. The Ottoman Empire continued it even longer. Slavery persists today, in countries including Mauritania, Ghana and South Sudan. In recent years, Islamic State put thousands of Yezidi women and children into slavery, killing husbands and bartering wives and children in slave markets. Still today in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, black people are referred to as Abid, which literally means slave. In 2020, a Samoan chief in New Zealand was sent to prison for slavery after luring people from Samoa to New Zealand, where he would then bind and enslave them in order to enrich himself. In much of the world, the modern slave trade goes utterly unpunished. There are estimated to be more than 40 million people living in slavery at present around the world. That means there are more slaves in the world today than there were in the 19th century. I feel compelled to ask what might practically change for those people if we reapportioned even a fraction of the time that we focus on past slavery and directed it to present-day slavery. What might we then be able to do about this modern horror? TO SEE the full unfairness of the anti-Western game now being played out, just examine how one particular individual is now judged. And not just any individual but the greatest of them all, Sir Winston Churchill. Until the last few years, he was generally revered as one of the most admirable figures in Western history. Identifying the menace of Hitler early in the 1930s, urging rearmament and facing down the appeasers made him one of the great figures of any period in history, even before his conduct of the war. He was the 20th centurys greatest anti-fascist. But in recent years, there has been a slow but steady assault on him, one that is remarkable for how extraordinarily historically ignorant its proponents are. Zanzibar slaves on March 5, 1873, hours before the trade was abolished. But it's not only the West's fault Last year, a panel discussion took place at Churchill College, Cambridge, the college named after him. It was entitled The racial consequences of Churchill and the three panellists were united in their virulent hatred of him. None of the participants specialises in 20th-century history, but this didnt prevent them from acting as supreme judges on Britains wartime leader. Their lack of expertise showed itself in the most basic historical errors. One confused Ernest Bevin with Aneurin Bevan, two different Labour politicians of the time. Still, it was not in the details but in the vast, sweeping claims that these non-specialists levelled that something important could be discerned. For instance, Professor Kehinde Andrews made claims that the British Empire was far worse than the Nazis; that the war would have been won with almost anyone else as prime minister; that the Holocaust was not unusual in recent history. He said that, in any case, the victory of the Allies over Nazism was not especially significant because all we really did was shift from an old version of white supremacy to a new one. There were no depths to which the participants would not sink. At one point, one of them started to snark at Churchill for being a coward: I mean, was it Churchill out there fighting the war? Im pretty sure it wasnt; he was at home. You must wonder how hostile somebody must be to ask why a prime minister who, as a young man, saw action on four continents and volunteered to fight in World War I, should, in his 60s, have fought on the front line of the conflict like some medieval warlord. Although all these claims show a deep animus, most are essentially frivolous. But the most serious allegations made against him are accusations that have in recent years played out in public places. When the Black Lives Matter movement spilt out from America into Britain in the wake of the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, the statue of Churchill in Parliament Square in London immediately became a focal point for protesters. It was graffitied and defaced, a BLM banner was taped around it and the statesmans name was crossed out with black spray paint. Beneath Churchill were added the words was a racist. In reporting this protest, the BBC ran the headline 27 police officers injured during largely peaceful anti-racism protests. The statue was soon boarded up and then completely encased in a metal box so that protesters could not get at it, while a spokesperson for the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, promised that the status of the statue would remain under review. Nor were such attacks limited to the United Kingdom. In the heart of Churchill Square in Edmonton, Canada, a life-size statue of Churchill was covered in red paint. A local activist declared: Lets not celebrate, commemorate and otherwise memorialise warmongers and genocidal maniacs. Stick him in a museum where he belongs, with a proper chronicling of his views and atrocities. The mealy-mouthed reply from the local mayor was to talk about moving society along towards a more inclusive and uplifting future. Meanwhile, the BBC website started to insist on putting the case for the prosecution under any piece explaining such attacks on Churchills reputation. An influential American news magazine, Foreign Policy, allowed one of its authors to describe Churchill as an avowed racist, as if this were now a settled fact. The news network CNN ran a piece justifying the defacement of the statue in London with the headline Yes, Churchill was a racist. Its time to break free of his Great White Men view of history. The accusations against Churchill always boil down to the same few things. The first is that he occasionally expressed views which were 19th-century in their attitudes which, as he was a product of 19th-century England, is hardly surprising. But the other tactic against him is to seize something in his life that he got wrong or said wrong and use it to wipe away everything else. Much of this relies on outright lies. For instance, it has been claimed he advocated the gassing of Iraqi civilians in 1919. What such critics fail to realise is that it was not deadly mustard gas he was referring to but tear gas. Then there is the Bengal famine of 1943-44, in which upward of 1.5 million people died. Activists have built on the work of sloppy writers to claim that he wanted there to be a famine and even that he was gleeful that people starved so long, as they were Indians. The historical record tells a different story. The famine started when a cyclone destroyed the rice harvest and local officials failed to handle the problem, as did the viceroy and others. But Cabinet records show that in London, Churchill insisted that famine and food difficulties in the area be dealt with. His critics accuse him of failing to send sufficient grain to India, but the truth is that he personally saw to it that emergency grain supplies reached India from Iraq and Australia. Churchills most recent biographer, Andrew Roberts, has written: It is unrealistic to imagine that anyone else in his place could have given more attention to the famine than he did when a world war was being waged on multiple fronts. But nothing can ever satisfy Churchills critics the likes of former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who declared Churchill a villain with one word, Tonypandy. St Catharine's College, Cambridge (pictured) removed a bell with suspected 'ties to slavery' He was referring to South Wales in 1910, when Churchill, as home secretary, sent police in to deal with riots that had erupted over a miners picket line. One miner was killed. But events at Tonypandy are disputed, and nobody would seriously lay the death of that one miner at his hands. But even if they could, did nothing that Churchill achieved in the decades after 1910 make up for that? Does his central role in defeating fascism count for nothing against this? Remember, too, that while he was shadow chancellor, McDonnell was happy to praise Chairman Mao and wave his Little Red Book in the House of Commons, recommending its contents. During his life, Mao is estimated to have been responsible for the deaths of around 65 million people. Yet this fact can be brushed aside by Labour politicians such as McDonnell and former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, who once said that on balance Mao did more good than harm by leading his country out of feudalism. What accounting system is going on here? How can a Left-wing dictator kill tens of millions of people yet still be praised for great leaps forward in agricultural matters, whereas Churchill can help save the world from fascism yet be forever damned because of a Welsh miners death three decades before? If Churchills good points cannot outweigh any bad points, then no one can ever do enough good in their life. The attacks on him make all human endeavour seem futile. If Churchill's good points cannot outweigh the bad, all human endeavour appears to be futile (the wartime prime minister pictured at his desk on his 80th birthday) If even defeating the greatest evil in history will count as nothing, and you will not be lauded for it in your own country even half a century after your death, then what good deed could ever count for anything? Why does Churchill attract so much opprobrium? Why is his reputation smeared and sullied and his achievements so dishonestly assessed? What is really going on here? Since World War II, Churchill has been revered across the Western world more than any other figure. He is someone in whom the public still feel huge pride. The knowledge of him, and the memory of him, stirs them. His is a heroic story, demonstrating the greatness that mankind can aspire to and the heroism that men can achieve. Which is why he in particular must be assaulted. As long as his reputation stands, the West still has a hero. As long as his reputation remains intact, we still have figures to emulate. But if Churchill can be made to fall? Why, then one of the great gods of the West falls. And then? Well, anything might be forced upon a people so subjected and demoralised. Extracted from The War On The West: How To Prevail In The Age Of Unreason, by Douglas Murray, published by HarperCollins on April 28 at 20. A new book lifts the lid on the murkier side of social media including dubious cosmetic surgery companies, get-rich-quick crypto schemes and unethical fast fashion dressed up as couture. Get Rich or Lie Trying, by London-based journalist Symeon Brown, examines how unscrupulous companies can thrive on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, often flattering micro-influencers who are desperate to boost their following with unethical and - sometimes unsafe - offers they feel they can't refuse. Regulation of such platforms remains limited and the social media industry, said to be worth 10billion in 2021, up from 1.2billion just four years ago, has, Brown says, made it a glamorous shop window for influencers to be targeted by potential fraudsters. Speaking to FEMAIL, Brown explains that his book also looks at the pressures he believes are loaded onto young people, who see such platforms as a ticket to shrugging off an 'ordinary' life and becoming super rich. Society's latest generation, he says, 'has bought into the idea that they can expect to have this almost prestigious success'. Scroll down for video Journalist Symeon Brown's book Get Rich or Lie Trying investigates some of the less than salubrious schemes that are allowed to thrive on social media - and examines how notorious figures such as Simon Leveiv aka The Tindler Swindler (pictured) - who has denied being a con artist - are 'lionised' on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok This month Anna Delvey reached a million followers on Instagram after a Netflix series about her crimes was aired. Delvey, real name Anna Sorokin, spent ten months duping banks, law firms, hotels, fashion designers, a private jet company and supposed friends out of 211,000 after arriving in the U.S. in 2017 Referencing former Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague, 22, who currently has 6.2 million followers on Instagram and reportedly earns 400,000 a month for her work with fashion brand Pretty Little Thing, Brown says people often don't realise that only 'good fortune' has seen Hague go from being a lifeguard to a millionaire in a short space of time - and they think they can achieve similar levels of success. He explains: 'There's a lot of good fortune that has enabled Molly-Mae's success, and I'm not sure she recognises that - being shortlisted to be on Love Island, having a certain aesthetic. No-one is saying that she hasn't worked hard but different people working hard could have a very different result.' While the Love Island star may fit the archetypal influencer image, Brown says there are influencers in every field - from gaming to crypto currency - trying to generate income from social media-based attention or by creating a persona online. Social media platforms in 2022 fuel success by any means, he says: 'There is so much pressure on young people today to be successful, to live in luxury, to be wealthy, let alone to be attractive and good looking on the internet - there's a lack of recognition that not everybody is going to make it.' Idolised in spite of his crimes: The Tindler Swindler, who conned dozens of women out of money, looks set to earn millions from his notoriety - and always denied he's acted in a criminal way Jordan Belfort, aka the Wolf of Wall Street, has enjoyed a similar high profile status since he famously defrauded US banks (Pictured: Leonardo DiCaprio playing him in the 2013 film). He's the epitome of how 'mean culture' can be attractive to some on social media He attributes the 'huge boom' in mental health problems to such pressures, saying young people need to stop believing that 'if you are not affluent then that's a character failing.' And the age-old 'hustle' has never been more prominent than it is on a smartphone, the book suggests. Those who've earned notoriety for scamming people, including fake German heiress Anna Delvey are now 'lionised' in spite of their crimes. Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street, who pled guilty to stock market fraud in 1999 has more than two million followers online and Delvey and Leviev have followed in his wake. Delvey hit a million followers this month - following on from the Netflix series Inventing Anna, which detailed how she tried to scam her way to a billionaire lifestyle in New York. 'If people are bending over backwards to offer you a brand deal or monetisation, if you've got a million followers, you can be more selective over curating your choices. Lower down the food chain, there is less of that, there's a greater desperation,' says Brown Leviev, similarly the subject of a Netflix documentary, has seen his social media followers soar. Fake accounts in both of their names have also garnered hundreds of thousands of followers between them. Simon Leviev continues to deny that he 'conned' women out of money, telling Inside Edition this year that he was 'just a single guy that wanted to meet some girls on Tinder.' Says Brown: 'The scammer has almost become a hero to people who are hustling on the internet. Jordan Belfort was the original lionised scammer, who became a figure of herosim and the centre of 'mean' culture, and others have followed'. Cancel culture is a fickle phenomenon too, thinks the author, because we have short-term memories. When Molly-Mae was heavily criticised for 'tone-deaf' comments made about how she'd found fame and fortune via hard work earlier this year, it looked like her star might be about to fall...three months on and her profile is stronger than ever. Even when we're very angry, we're still prepared to participate, Brown says. Stars such as Molly-Mae Hague have inspired people to follow in their footsteps as an influencer 'There is a limit on cancel culture, the nature of the internet is that there is always an event - anger and outrage are a very prominent commodity on platforms such as Twitter. Very few people are genuinely cancelled, there's a short-term impact but then the eco-system bounces back, people win back the bases that built them.' The book highlights how platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have also become breeding grounds for exploitation, with young women often the target. Explains Brown: 'Surgery shape, for example, has been spread through micro influencers who are given free surgery if they sign up and promote it to their followers. 'Pop-up cosmetic surgery outfits recognise those women as being ripe for not only having the surgery but signing people up to it. Often these women will later not declare when they've had a botched procedure.' Influencing as a job is going to grow not diminish. We're becoming a content based media society and everyone in some capacity is a media worker... Symeon Brown The social media arena 'propels dishonesty' he says with regulation across platforms still not good enough to protect people. 'Fraud is at record levels and a lot of that is driven by social media. There are millions and millions of different advertisers of different scales - and that makes accountability far harder - regulators can't keep a breast of it. Nefarious companies take advantage of that and micro influencers who are trying to grow their followers have less agency. 'If people are bending over backwards to offer you a brand deal or monetisation, if you've got a million followers, you can be more selective over curating your choices. Lower down the food chain, there is less of that, there's a greater desperation.' The platforms have a responsibility to be better, says Brown: 'If they can respond quickly to concerns over copyright, then there's a question over how these economies are thriving, certainly when it comes to pyramid schemes, which are all over the platforms. 'Fraud is at record levels and a lot of that is driven by social media' says Brown, with pyramid schemes and crypto currency scams often using platforms to promote their disreputable businesses 'If the companies wanted to act, they certainly have the power to do that and have more than enough money to have the resources to do so. The regulations at present are not working and are not keeping people as safe as they could be. They're allowing this kind of behaviour to flourish.' Where will it end? It won't says Brown, at least not anytime soon, saying this is just the tip of the influencing iceberg. 'We're nowhere near the bubble bursting. Influencing as a job is going to grow not diminish. We're becoming a content based media society - everyone in some capacity is a media worker...we're migrating heavily online but we're still not there yet.' MailOnline contacted Instagram and TikTok for comment. TikTok pointed FEMAIL to its community guidelines. Get Rich or Lie Trying by Symeon Brown, published by Atlantic, is out now The co-founder of global swimwear brand Triangl has revealed how all of the fame, fortune and success associated with running the multi million-dollar brand with her ex-fiance led her into a spiral of depression. On Instagram Erin Deering's life running one of the hottest Australian fashion exports with the father of two of her children, Craig Ellis, was enviable: Holidays in the Maldives and Italy, a home base in Monaco, $300million deals on the table with venture capitalists and walls adorned with original Andy Warhol art. But behind the glamorous pictures Erin, who was then in her early 30s, was feeling more alone than ever before and was 'embarrassed' to tell her family and friends back home in Melbourne that things were not as them seemed. Speaking on the Peaches podcast with hosts Tori Clapham and Bec Chidiac, Erin detailed the personal cost of her success, saying goodbye to her business partner and ex-fiance and exiting from the label itself in 2018. On Instagram Erin Deering's (pictured today aged 37) life running one of the hottest Australian fashion exports with the father of two of her children Craig Ellis was enviable Originally from Melbourne the 37-year-old started Triangl alongside her ex-fiance and father of her two children, Craig Ellis, in 2012 (both pictured) The now 37-year-old started Triangl alongside Craig in 2012, developing the idea on their second date, which was at the beach. Erin struggled to find a swimsuit for the all-important date that was reasonably priced, stylish and well made without spending a fortune. After spending three hours on the shoreline talking about the inconvenient lack of two pieces the pair decided to sell their belongings and move to Hong Kong to launch a swimwear company. 'It was tough at the start,' Craig told FEMAIL in 2016. 'We had to sell all our stuff and borrow money from some friends to get by.' Eating tinned food on the floor of their tiny flat and trying to sell one bikini a day, they eventually stumbled on a style that was selling: the black binded neoprene number. Neoprene naturally curves around a human shape with ease, which Craig suspected is why it was so revolutionary at the time (pictured is one of their winning designs) The early days: It was at this point when sales increased dramatically and Triangl was selling 2,000 pairs of bikinis and making a $150,000USD/$197,000AUD a day profit 'We used social media to get the message out there because we couldn't afford billboards, PR agents and advertising. Similarly we went with neoprene instead of nylon or prints, which we also experimented with, because it seemed to be selling,' he said. Neoprene naturally curves around a human shape with ease, which Craig suspected is why it was so revolutionary at the time. It became so popular that model Kendall Jenner caught wind of the brand, asked for some samples, and before long was posting pictures of the designs on Twitter. 'The celeb endorsement really helped,' Craig said. 'But I think people can tell when that comes about organically and naturally, rather than us just pushing our product on people who we want to wear it. The couple at the time where living in Monaco and appeared to constantly be on vacation 'It doesn't mind what's going on in your physical outside world, if the inside is chaos nothing will matter,' she told the podcast hosts 'Plus the price point, which is under $150AUD, is the sweet spot. It's reasonable, but expensive enough to be good quality.' It was at this point when sales increased dramatically and Triangl was selling 2,000 pairs of bikinis and making a $150,000USD/$197,000AUD a day profit. But with great financial security came great discomfort for Erin. 'It doesn't mind what's going on in your physical outside world, if the inside is chaos nothing will matter,' she told the podcast hosts. 'I still feel quite detached from that period of time because I lost so much of me.' Erin's relationship with Craig fell apart and they parted ways. This coincided with her leaving the business. On March 15 Erin celebrated Triangl's 10 year anniversary with an Instagram post Eventually she went and saw a therapist, met her current partner Zachary Keane (pictured) - who has she two other children with - and began looking forward to a brighter future Eventually she went and saw a therapist, met her current partner Zachary Keane - who has she two other children with - and began looking forward to a brighter future. On March 15, Erin celebrated Triangl's 10 year anniversary with an Instagram post. 'A whole decade ago, Craig and I officially started Triangl. If you have listened to any of my podcasts, you'd know how much I struggled with my identity, self worth, and overarching mental health during those years,' she wrote. 'I have shared my most vulnerable moments during those times (and continue to do so), in the hope of helping others feel better about their struggles, internal battles, and life in general.' For many of us a hen party conjures up images of pink party sashes, L-plates and sparkly head boppers - but society brides have other ideas when it comes to celebrating the end of life as a single woman. From 'Cecil Beaton-approved costumes' to choosing the most exclusive of locations for your soiree, Tatler has revealed it's guide to organising the perfect high-society hen. Instead of rowdy holidays to Marbella or a night out at a packed club, the society bible suggests a yacht trip around the Greek coastline or perhaps a weekend in a ski chalet in the French Alps. When it comes to food and drink, the finest champagne must of course be served over prosecco, while guests should be treated to a hen party tablescape designed specifically for the occasion. Here, Femail reveals Tatlers top advice when it comes to planning the perfect upmarket hen party. EXCLUSIVE LOCATION Ivy Getty, 26. the great-granddaughter of oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty, celebrated her hen do in Mykonos over the weekend, ahead of her wedding which is set to take place in November Sir Sean Connery's granddaughter Saskia celebrated in Mykonos in August last year, the same month Made in Chelsea star Lucy Watson held her bachelorette party on the island The first thing to consider while planning your elaborate celebration is the location, with a standard local nightclub firmly off the cards for high-society brides-to-be. If looking for a sun-soaked getaway, the publication suggested a trip to Mykonos - where billionaire bride-to-be Ivy Getty and Sir Sean Connery's granddaughter Saskia celebrated their bachelorette parties. Other celebrities who have celebrated on the island include Made in Chelsea star Lucy Watson, who jetted off to Mykonos for a luxe hen party with her sister Tiffany and friends last year. Tatler pointed to Pippa Middleton, who ahead of her wedding to James Matthews in May 2017 spent a weekend at an exclusive ski resort in the French Alps before holding a lavish dinner at her townhouse in Chelsea. The Duchess of Cambridge's own hen party was reportedly a low-key affair held at a friends house in London. And if like Kate you're planning on celebrating in London, Tatler has previously revealed its pick of favourite private members clubs including Oswalds and Annabel's. FUN THEME Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer led the glamour at a lavish Legally Blonde-themed London hen party for society bride-to-be Lady Jemima Herbert For one evening of Jemima Cadburys' hen weekend, the group each dressed up as Britney Spears, with the heiress opting for a red leather bodysuit, reminiscent of the one worn in Britney's Oops I did it again video Lady Clara Paget was thrown a lavish do dubbed 'Claztonbury' by famous pals including Cara Delevingne, where guests donned retro fancy dress Having a theme is a must while throwing a high-society bash and guests are encouraged to dress as elaborately as possible. Earlier this month, confectionery heiress Jemima Cadbury celebrated ahead of her wedding to boyfriend David Tollemache with a Britney Spears-themed bachelorette party. For one evening of the hen weekend, the group each dressed up as Britney Spears, with the heiress opting for a red leather bodysuit, reminiscent of the one worn in Britney's Oops I did it again video. In July last year society bride-to-be Lady Jemima Herbert was treated to a Legally Blonde-themed London bash before tying the knot with insurance broker beau Hugo Davies. Over the weekend Lady Jemima was joined by her nearest and dearest including sisters Lady Alice and Lady Katie, and BFF Lady Kitty Spencer, the D&G model daughter of Earl Spencer. Keeping to the 90s theme, Lady Clara Paget was thrown a lavish do dubbed 'Claztonbury' by famous pals including Cara Delevingne, where guests donned retro fancy dress. Clara, daughter of the 8th Marquess of Anglesey, donned a bridal gown while Cara dressed as Alicia Silverstone in the film Clueless. PLANNED ENTERTAINMENT Ahead of wedding her retail millionaire fiancee Michael Lewis, Lady Kitty Spencer spent the days leading up to the ceremony travelling around the Florence region Booking out a venue and turning up in fancy dress isn't enough for the ultimate high-society bash, with the publication advising planned activities to keep your guests entertained. Ahead of wedding her retail millionaire fiancee Michael Lewis, Lady Kitty Spencer spent the days leading up to the ceremony travelling around the Florence region. Kitty and the girls hired a fleet of vintage bikes with sidecars and stopped off at family-owned Luiano winery in Chianti where they sampled the wine and were given a tour of the estate. Kate Moss' legendary hen party in 2011 saw the iconic supermodel send her wedding party to the Isle of Wight music festival in stretch pink Hummers full of champagne. Over the weekend, they reportedly drank their way through magnums of Cristal champagne, Grey Goose vodka, Tanqueray gin and 300 bottles of Mahiki rum, which were flown in by helicopter. LAVISH MEALS Along with delicious food, the evening's tablescape must be perfect with many society brides opting for luxury table design business LAY London run by Lady Jemima Herbert and her sister Lady Alice Pictured, hen party table favours created by Lady Jemima Herbert and her sister Lady Alice's luxury tableware company Lay London While hosting a glamorous hen party, food and drink must be flowing throughout the event, with the 'finest champagne and impressive canapes circulating the room' over prosecco and crisps ahead of the main meal. Hosts should ensure their mela is of the highest quality, with Pippa Middleton reportedly asking avant-garde chef Heston Blumenthal to prepare a lavish four-course meal for her guests. Supermodel Moss reportedly hired private chef to cater for her bridal party's every whim over her boozy weekend, including fish and chips and fry-ups for breakfast. The publication previously revealed their top picks of caterers, delis, restaurant deliveries which could be enlisted to provide delicious dining for your bachelorette party. Recommendations include East London Italian food shop and restaurant Eataly which can provide the perfect no-fuss antipasti platter and French delicatessen Colette for a selection of cheeses, pies and pastries. Along with delicious food, the evening's tablescape must be perfect with many society brides opting for luxury table design business LAY London. Lady Jemima Herbert and her sister Lady Alice are founders of the luxury table setting rental company, which provides hosts with everything they need for an exceptionally stylish dinner party. Fans of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were 'moved to tears' by Prince Harry's warmth towards Meghan Markle, after he used an affectionate nickname to address her on stage at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games. Royal watchers have admitted they were left 'swooning' by the Duke, after he uttered: 'thank you my love' following his wife's gushing introduction at the Zuiderpark stadium in The Hague. Taking to Twitter, one royal fan shared a short clip of Meghan, 40, who told the audience about her love for her husband before he joined her on stage with a kiss. Scroll down for video Royal fans have been left 'swooning' after Prince Harry (pictured) said 'thank you my love' to Meghan on stage during the Invictus Games The Duchess of Sussex spoke of her 'love and respect' for Prince Harry, then listed his accomplishments as a father and Afghanistan veteran. The audience erupted into applause as the he took the microphone from Meghan and she walked back to her seat. The Duke appeared emotional as he took awhile to clear his throat and said: 'thank you my love'. Royal fans were moved by the couple's brief interaction and took to social to media, with one writing: 'The eloquence of HRH Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex! Prince Harry saying 'thank you my love', after she introduced him made me swoon!' Alongside crying emojis, another said: 'Harry to Meghan: Thank you my love' Pls I'm a mess right now' A third added: 'I'm crying #HarryandMeghan #InvictusGamesNL #TeamUSA #SussexSquad 'thank you my love' #Prince Harry' A fourth commented: 'Meghan's introduction of her husband Prince Harry at The #InvictusGames Opening Ceremony. The best introduction and look at Harry at the verge of crying, Meghan was too at the end of her intro and the 'thank you my love' from Harry to Meghan' Meghan spoke about her 'love and respect' for Prince Harry before he joined her on stage to applause from the audience Royal watchers took to Twitter claiming they had been moved to tear by the exchange between Meghan and Harry Meghan looked effortlessly chic in a stunning cream off the shoulder Khaite bodysuit worth 620 paired with black trousers, while Prince Harry looked equally polished in a grey suit with a white shirt. The Duchess of Sussex tied her hair back into a low bun to reveal stunning emerald diamond earrings thought to be worth far more than her eye-catching Cartier necklace, with each noticeably larger than her 271,000 engagement ring. She spoke of her 'love and respect ' for Harry before mentioning their two young children and saying she could 'not be prouder of my husband'. Having thanked the veterans present for their military service, she continued: 'Now it is my distinguished honour to introduce someone who I think you'll be excited to hear from. Meghan looked effortlessly chic in a cream off the shoulder bodysuit paired with black trousers and diamonds 'He has spent many late nights and early mornings planning for these games to make them as perfect as possible for each of you. 'I could not love and respect him more and I know many of you feel the same because he is your fellow veteran having served two tours of Afghanistan, and ten years of military service and the founder of Invictus Games and the father to our two little ones, Archie and Lili. 'Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.' Harry took to the stage and kissed Meghan as he took the microphone out of her hand. He smiled broadly as she returned to her seat and said: 'Thank you my love'. Prince Harry went on to give a speech, revealing that their son Archie has a variety of career aspirations including to be an astronaut, pilot or Kwazii - a daredevil cat from the cartoon TV cartoon series Octonauts. Meghan said 'I could not love and respect him more' as she listed Harry's traits as a veteran and father to their two children He added: 'I remind him no matter what you want to be when you grow up it is your character that matters most and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today. 'You as a community have overcome immense challenges and you are healing and teaching the world as you go. 'You are people of resilience, and strength and of heart. You have the heart of Invictus.' Harry and Meghan's arrival came after national teams walked out to a live military band. They strolled hand in hand and interacted with team members, before taking their seats to hear a speech from Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. The Queen is turning to stalwart royals like Sophie Wessex and Princess Anne to bolster the monarchy's image after William and Kate's tour of the Caribbean, a royal branding expert has claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's intense eight-day long tour around Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas saw the couple face backlash after encountering tensions in the Caribbean nations. Their trip was plagued by public relations gaffes and protests about British colonialism, which led to the endeavour being branded 'tone deaf' to modern sensibilities. In the wake of the criticism, Her Majesty is reportedly turning to 'relatively scandal and misstep-free' royals to drum up support for the Royal Family ahead of the Platinum Jubilee. Royal branding expert Cele Otnes claimed that after failing to generate 'fervour' for the monarchy, the Queen is putting her trust in her children to 'help fulfil her roles and to build excitement for the Jubilee'. The Queen is increasingly relying on 'stalwart royals' like Sophie Wessex to bolster the monarchy's image, according to a royal branding expert. Her Majesty is pictured with the Countess of Wessex at Ascot in 2019 To celebrate the Queens historic 70 years on throne, the Princess Royal recently made an official visit to Sydney and Papua New Guinea, where the Her Majesty is still head of state. She is pictured with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence in Papua New Guinea The Cambridges endured a less than smooth Caribbean visit - with the use of a Land Rover in Jamaica meant as a tribute to The Queen's one-time mode of touring... but it was labelled a 'tone deaf' and a 'throwback' 'The Wessexes, along with Princess Anne and her family, have been relatively scandal and misstep-free', she told the Express. ' And it's significant that they are visiting the Caribbean so soon after William and Kate. 'I think that does display quite a bit of trust in them on the Queen's part.' Despite being five years over the official age of retirement, no-nonsense Princess Anne is annually one of the hardest working members of the royal family. To celebrate the Queens historic 70 years on throne, the Princess Royal recently made an official visit to Sydney and Papua New Guinea, where the Her Majesty is still head of state. Anne, 71, who travelled with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 67, impressed royal aides with her sense of duty, carrying out 20 engagements in just four days. The Duchess of Cambridge waves at children during a visit to Trench Town on day four of the Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour of the Caribbean in March this year Meanwhile, the Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines for a week later this month. Sophie, who recognised to be the Queen's favourite royal, will travel with husband Prince Edward, and is reportedly keen to learn from Prince William and Kate Middleton's 'missteps' on their Caribbean trip. Writing in The Telegraph, royal reporter Victoria Ward said: 'Palace officials desperate to avoid further PR pitfalls have been carefully studying the Wessexes itinerary ahead of their tour later this month of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Anne, 71, who travelled with her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, 67, impressed royal aides with her sense of duty, carrying out 20 engagements in just four days. She is pictured after arriving at Jackson International Airport in Papua New Guinea on Monday The Princess Royal addressing the opening ceremony of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales Bicentennial Sydney Royal Easter Show last Saturday 'While the Wessexes will certainly want to ensure the focus remains on the Queens historic seven-decade reign, any potential plans to echo their movements in Grenada by greeting the crowds in an open top car, as Her Majesty and Prince Philip did on their first visit to the country in 1966, will have been quietly shelved.' The Duke and Duchess faced calls to issue a public apology for slavery during the eight-day tour, with the barrage of criticism ranging from accusations Belize locals were not consulted about a royal engagement to calls for slavery reparations from the monarchy in Jamaica. The scrutiny came to a head when Prince William released an unprecedented end-of-tour statement addressing growing republican sentiment in the three countries - acknowledging it had 'brought into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future'. In the wake of the criticism over the 'colonial-era' optics of their tour, many have called for an end to similar overseas trips by members of the royal family. Sunday Times Royal Editor Roya Nikkhah believes the tour ignited a rethink of how the royal family plans overseas visits in the future. Sophie is widely recognised to be the Queen's favourite royal and is reportedly keen to learn from Prince William and Kate Middleton's 'missteps' on their Caribbean trip The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines for a week later this month. They are pictured at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in 2020 Speaking on the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, she said: 'I think it definitely will [spark a rethink] and to be honest I think that rethink had started before this tour got underway because I know that William thought long and hard about how to approach certain things. 'There have obviously been a few missteps. We had that extraordinary statement from him on Saturday night setting out the fact that he takes that on the chin and he wants to sort of look at things differently.' Asked if she felt there would be fewer trips overseas in the future, she added: 'I think thats definitely right and thats very much a legacy I suppose of the Queen who has been head of the commonwealth for so long and is the biggest, most travelled monarch of the modern age. 'I think we will see fewer tours, to places where I think probably the younger royals feel they can have more impact and its not just a case of going there because they feel they have to.' Kate Middleton seemingly paid homage to her late mother-in-law today by sporting a sky blue ensemble reminiscent of an outfit worn by Diana in 1983. The Duchess of Cambridge stepped out in a recycled coatdress by Emilia Wickstead, one of her favoured designers, as she joined other senior royals for an Easter church service at Windsor Castle. She debuted the bespoke piece on a visit to Luxembourg in 2017, however today styled the outfit with a blue headband by Jane Taylor - creating a look similar to one worn by Diana during a visit to Australia. Diana wore the pale blue Catherine Walker suit dress, paired with a John Boyd hat, as she visited Canberra with Prince Charles on their royal tour of Australia and New Zealand nearly 40 years ago. Scroll down for video Kate Middleton has seemingly paid homage to her late mother-in-law today by sporting a sky blue ensemble reminiscent of an outfit worn by Diana in 1983 Diana wore the pale blue Catherine Walker suit dress, paired with a John Boyd hat, as she visited Canberra with Prince Charles on their royal tour of Australia and New Zealand French-born designer Catherine Walker was a favourite of Diana's and is known for having supplied over a thousand garments to the royal. In March 1983, the newlywed royal couple and baby Prince William visited Australia's Northern Territory in the Princess of Wales' first overseas tour at the age of 22. She wore the outfit as she met the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and his wife Hazel outside Government House. Like Diana, Kate styled her outfit with pearl earrings - however kept the rest of her look simple, choosing not to pair the outfit with a necklace and keeping her accessories subtle. Like Diana, Kate styled her outfit with pearl earrings - however kept the rest of her look simple, choosing not to pair the outfit with a necklace and keeping her make-up minimal In March 1983, the newlywed royal couple and baby Prince William visited Australia's Northern Territory in the Princess of Wales' first overseas tour and first-ever trip abroad at the age of 22 Kate, 40, who was joined at the event by Prince William and their children George and Charlotte, recycled a headband by Jane Taylor while wearing her brunette locks in her signature half-up style. The Duchess' own dress was specially crafted from a double wool crepe fabric and featured a fitted bodice and full skirt with long sleeves, set-in waistband and peak lapels. She teamed the garment with a simple sky blue clutch bag and suede heels, opting for a glamorous make-up look featuring a dark smokey eye, touch of bronzer and a glossy pink lip. Kate, 40, who was joined at the event by Prince William and their children George and Charlotte, recycled a headband by Jane Taylor while wearing her brunette locks in her signature half-up style. And as Kate attempts to recreate Diana's timeless style here in the UK, Meghan was seen paying homage to her late mother-in-law by donning a bodysuit strikingly similar to one worn by the royal in 1997. Also in tribute? Meghan Markle looked chic in a cream off the shoulder bodysuit paired with black trousers and diamonds as she attended the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games alongside Prince Harry - some suggested the look was similar to Princess Diana's famous monochrome photoshoot with Mario Testino in 1997 before her untimely death For her last ever photoshoot with Mario Testino, shot for an article with Vanity Fair, Diana opted for a cream, off-shoulder dinner dress made of silk with ruched twist front. The gown was designed by Catherine Walker and ordered specifically for a 1993 state banquet honouring the King and Queen of Malaysia. Over the weekend Meghan, 40, donned a cream off-the-shoulder Khaite bodysuit strikingly similar to the dress' bodice as she attended the opening ceremony for The Invictus Games in The Hague. The Duchess of Sussex tied her hair back into a low bun to reveal stunning emerald diamond earrings thought to be worth far more than her eye-catching Cartier necklace, with each noticeably larger than her 271,000 engagement ring. Princess Margaret's daughter Lady Sarah Chatto was accompanied by her sharp-suited sons Arthur, 23, and Samuel, 25, for the annual Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle today. Lady Sarah, who is the daughter of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones, stepped out with her husband Daniel and their two sons at St. George's Chapel alongside more senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The 57-year-old opted for a timeless gold-and-white pinstriped midi-skirt paired with a cream cardigan and matching hat, finishing off the look with several strings of pearls around her neck. The mother-of-two was seen chatting with the Dean of Windsor alongside her son Arthur, who has won plenty of fans on social media in recent years thanks to his handsome looks and Royal Marine status. The Queens great nephew donned a slate grey suit for the occasion, paired with a white shirt and polka dot tie. Scroll down for video Lady Sarah Chatto, 57, the daughter of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl Snowdon, was seen chatting with the Dean of Windsor and her son Arthur after attending church service at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle The Queen's great-nephew Samuel, 25, stepped out to attend the Easter service at St. George's Chapel today. The artist wore a navy blue suit with animal print tie The Queen's great-nephews Samuel, 25, and Arthur, 23, are both stars on Instagram, where they boast thousands of fans each. Sarah's oldest son Samuel is an artist who creates pottery from his home studio in West Sussex, while Arthur was reportedly accepted to train as an officer in the Royal Marines last year. Lady Sarah Chatto was born in 1964 - the last royal baby born at a palace rather than a hospital - within weeks of cousins Prince Edward, Lady Helen Windsor and James Ogilvy. The Queen has been described as a 'surrogate mother' to the siblings and is particularly close to Lady Sarah, who is understood to remind Her Majesty of her late sister. Daniel Chatto appeared in high spirits after attending the annual Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle today One royal insider previously revealed: 'The Queen adores Sarah and seeks out her company as often as possible. She is her absolute favourite younger Royal. 'They are hugely at ease in each other's company. Much giggling can be heard when they are together. They share a sense of loyalty, fun, duty and the ridiculous.' The Queen, who has been experiencing mobility problems, did not attend the service at St. Georges Chapel on the castle grounds, a fixture in the royals calendar. Her Majesty cut back on public duties on her doctors orders since spending a night in hospital in October, and also had a bout of COVID-19 in February. The 95-year-old monarch cut back on public duties on her doctors orders since spending a night in hospital in October, and also had a bout of COVID-19 in February. Lady Sarah opted for a gold and white pinstriped midi-skirt paired with a cream cardigan and matching hat, finishing off the look with several strings of pearls around her neck She attended a memorial service last month for her late husband Prince Philip, and has continued to meet virtually with diplomats and politicians. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who represented the Queen at Thursday's Royal Maundy service at the same chapel, were also not in attendance at the Easter Sunday service. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were the most senior members of the Royal Family to attend and were accompanied by two of their three children: Prince George, eight, and six-year-old Princess Charlotte. The family appeared to co-ordinate their looks for the Easter Mattins Service, all wearing shades of blue. The couple's youngest child, Prince Louis, three, did not attend. Also in attendance were the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, with his wife Sophie and their children, and Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew. Sophie Wessex and her daughter Lady Louise Windsor were the picture of seasonal style in vibrant floral gowns as they stepped out for the annual Easter Sunday service in Windsor today. The Countess, 57, looked effortlessly chic in a 765 dress by Soler London as she joined daughter Louise, 18, son James, Viscount Severn, 14, and her husband Prince Edward at St George's Chapel. Matching her mother's spring theme, Lady Louise opted for a trendy midi-dress by Hush in pink which she paired with a cream headpiece and matching suede court heels. The Earl and Countess of Wessex were among the senior royals in attendance at the event as the Queen, who has been experiencing mobility problems, did not attend the service. Sophie Wessex and her daughter Lady Louise Windsor were the picture of style in vibrant floral gowns as they stepped out for the annual Easter Sunday service in Windsor today The Countess was effortlessly chic in a 765 dress by Soler London as she joined daughter Louise, 18, son James, Viscount Severn, 14, and her husband Prince Edward at St George's Chapel Sophie, 57, recycled a peasant-style dress from the British fashion house in a bold print featuring a frilled neckline, long raglan sleeves and a elasticised waist with matching belt sash. She was last seen donning the gown in March during a dinner in support of the Women in Finances Next Generation Initiative during a four-day visit to New York. The royal teamed her look with the 'Ginny' clutch in blue by Italian designer Sophie Habsburg, a favourite of Sophie's. The Countess finished off the look with a floral blue fascinator by Jayne Taylor, another favourite among the Royal Family, who also designed the headband worn by the Duchess of Cambridge at the service. Matching her mother's Spring theme, Lady Louise opted for a trendy midi-dress by Hush in pink which she paired with a cream headpiece and matching suede court heels Sophie, 57, recycled a peasant-style dress from British fashion house Soler London. The royal teamed her look with the 'Ginny' clutch in blue by Italian designer Sophie Habsburg, a favourite of Sophie's The Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor donned stunning vibrant gowns as they attended the annual Easter Sunday service in Windsor today Sophie's blonde tresses were elegantly tucked behind her ears and she opted for a bronzed make-up look with a touch of pink blush and subtle highlight. Meanwhile, Lady Louise donned a pink floral dress featuring a v-neckline and long sleeves, which she paired with a black belt and gold pendant. Sophie, who is widely regarded to be the Queen's favourite royal, was among the royal family members representing Her Majesty at the service. Her Majesty cut back on public duties on her doctors orders since spending a night in hospital in October, and also had a bout of COVID-19 in February. The 95-year-old monarch cut back on public duties on her doctors orders since spending a night in hospital in October, and also had a bout of COVID-19 in February. Sophie joined daughter Louise, 18, son James, Viscount Severn, 14, and her husband Prince Edward at St George's Chapel for the the annual Easter Sunday service in Windsor today The Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor were seen chatting together in the sunshine after leaving the annual Easter Sunday service in Windsor She attended a memorial service last month for her late husband Prince Philip, and has continued to meet virtually with diplomats and politicians. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who represented the Queen at Thursday's Royal Maundy service at the same chapel, were also not in attendance at the Easter Sunday service. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were the most senior members of the Royal Family to attend and were accompanied by two of their three children: Prince George, eight, and six-year-old Princess Charlotte. The family appeared to co-ordinate their looks for the Easter Mattins Service, all wearing shades of blue. The couple's youngest child, Prince Louis, three, did not attend. Advertisement Thousands of free-spirited Australians have celebrated the Easter long weekend at the Rabbits Eat Music festival in Queensland. The dreamy four-day camping event located among the gorgeous natural surroundings of Willowbank, 45 minutes south-west of Brisbane, allows attendees to escape their everyday life and retreat to a creative oasis. Guests can listen to live bands play, watch the talented fire breathers and acrobats perform, and participate in a yoga workshops. Festival-goers are encouraged to get creative with their outfits and many lived up to the hype, donning 70s-style prints, florals and baring skin to brace Queensland's humid climate. From Thursday April 14, thousands of Aussies flocked to Queensland for the whimsical Rabbits Eat Lettuce festival The dreamy four-day camping event located among the gorgeous natural surroundings of Willowbank, 45 minutes south-west of Brisbane, allows attendees to escape their everyday life and retreat to a creative oasis Festival-goers are encouraged to get creative with their outfits and many lived up to the hype, donning 70s-style prints, florals and baring skin to brace Queensland's humid climate Switching the Easter bunny for The Mad Hatter this weekend, doors opened on Thursday April 14 and attendees flocked to the festival between the trees. After entering the grounds, guests are transported to a world of arts, music and creativity to avoid using social media and embrace with their inner selves. Some opted to wear raunchy Easter-related outfits wearing rabbit ears, bikinis and boots while others chose matching two-piece sets. Two friends wore matching outfits of different colours and prints to showcase their 'tribe' while men chose to go completely shirtless. Others brought props such as umbrellas and cowboy hats to compete their looks - with one man sticking a Sesame Street Big Bird toy at the end of a stick to hold during DJ sets. One woman decided to recycle her Golden Circle apple juice boxes and create a headband to wear throughout the day. Friends wore matching outfits of different colours or prints to showcase their 'tribe' and men chose to go completely shirtless Others brought props such as umbrellas and cowboy hats to compete their looks One woman decided to recycle her Golden Circle apple juice boxes and create a headband to wear throughout the day (pictured) One man turned up wearing regular clothes and an Easter rabbit head, leaving others to question where he got such an item. Also spotted was s blonde woman wearing white knee-high boots, pink lace skirt, top and matching umbrella. Two friends wore floral pants with an exposed G-string paired with a matching umbrella. Others brought props such as umbrellas and cowboy hats to compete their looks with one man sticking a Sesame Street Big Bird toy at the end of a stick to hold during DJ sets (pictured) Men showed off their toned physiques by going completely shirtless throughout the festival The festival itself began in 2008 as a Tribal Easter party on the mid-north-coast of New South Wales. Since then it has become a place for many to reconnect, dance, socialise and share stories with others The festival itself began in 2008 as a Tribal Easter party on the mid-north-coast of New South Wales. Since then it has become a place for many to reconnect, dance, socialise and share stories with others. 'The event has grown a lot since its humble beginnings as a forest dance party but still holds the same essence of freedom and unique mystery it started with,' the website read. South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young took the weekend off during the busy election campaign to marry her 'best friend' in front of 80 guests. On Saturday Ms Hanson-Young, 40, and Ben Oquist, the executive director The Australia Institute, wed at Lobethal Road Wines - less than an hour north-east of Adelaide. Due to Covid border restrictions, the two families were unable to meet in person until the big day. South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (right) and Ben Oquist, the executive director The Australia Institute, (left) got married on Saturday in SA Ms Hanson-Young donned a stunning strapless lace dress by Adelaide designer Alexis George. Friends, family and colleagues attended the wedding, including Greens senate candidate Barbra Pocock, former Greens leader Bob Brown and member for Sydney Alex Greenwich. 'Because of Covid, my side of the family, the family who live in Victoria and Ben's side of the family who live in New South Wales haven't actually met until now, so it's a lovely bringing together of the two families,' Ms Hanson-Young told The Advertiser. Ms Hanson-Young donned a stunning strapless lace dress by Adelaide designer Alexis George 'We've been friends for a long time and as the pandemic was hitting we kind of fell in love and it just happened,' Ms Hanson-Young said. 'It was this beautiful transition from friendship into something more intimate and I feel like I am marrying my best friend. We just both feel so lucky.' Mr Oquist proposed earlier this year while the pair were celebrating Ms Hanson-Young's 40th birthday on Kangaroo Island. The political couple were dating for more than two years before announcing their engagement. Nearly half of men say they would refuse to take a male contraceptive pill if one became available, according to a new poll. In recent years there have been calls for a male version of the pill and British scientists began trials of a contraceptive gel in 2019. In previous surveys, women have pledged support for a male contraceptive but admitted they wouldnt trust men to take it. In the new study of 1,000 men by Lloyds Pharmacy, only 42 per cent said they would be happy to do so. About a third of women take the oral contraceptive pill, which prevents ovulation and is the most popular form of female birth control. Nearly half of men say they would refuse to take a male contraceptive pill if one became available, according to a new poll. [File image] However, they have been linked with side effects ranging from weight gain and skin problems to blood clots and an increased risk of breast cancer. Currently, contraceptives available to men are condoms, or a vasectomy, in which the tubes that carry sperm out of the testicles are surgically severed and tied off. The male contraceptive currently being studied by University of Manchester scientists uses a hormone which switches off sperm production in the testicles. Some results are expected next year. Acne patients could soon be treated using viruses instead of antibiotics. Doctors have long relied on antibiotics either in skin creams or swallowed as pills to treat bacterial infections such as acne. But the bacteria that causes acne, Cutibacterium acnes or C. acnes, is increasingly becoming resistant to the usual antibiotics. Researchers are now looking to bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria, as a potential solution. Acne patients could soon be treated using viruses instead of antibiotics. [File image] The theory is that adding bacteria-attacking viruses to acne treatments can kill-off the resistant bacteria, restoring the effectiveness of antibiotics. And results from animal studies have shown promise. After isolating eight types of bacteriophages, researchers at the Israeli Phage Therapy Centre in Jerusalem infected the skin of mice with acne bacteria and showed that applying the phages to their skin relieved symptoms. Researchers say that one of the reasons to develop a phage-based acne treatment is to pave the way for treating more serious infections in this way. AI predicts cancer risk Artificial Intelligence could be used to predict peoples risk of developing pancreatic cancer. US scientists asked a computer to analyse six million patient records, 24,000 of whom had developed pancreatic cancer, and it worked out which patterns of other health conditions were associated with an increased risk of the disease. It then picked up the patients who developed the disease 88 per cent of the time. The programme could lead to better screening for early detection of a disease that kills four out of five within a year of diagnosis. Middle-aged men are the most likely people to be identified as dislikeable, according to a new psychological study. A team from the University of Georgia asked almost 400 people to think of the biggest a**hole in their lives, to assess the traits that people associate with the term, such as being manipulative or aggressive, and when asked to identify the person, the majority whether former bosses, ex-husbands or estranged family members were middle-aged men. The study also found that most participants believed the unpleasant people in their lives were aware that their behaviour bothered people, but didnt care. Semi-retired microbiologist Andrew France has thanked The Mail on Sunday for helping him get back money he lost last year to an offshore cryptocurrency trading platform. Refund: Scam victim Andrew France Last week, he was told that his bank under instruction from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) would be repaying the 8,500 he had lost, plus interest at 8 per cent per annum. 'Thank you for all your help,' he said. 'I would not have got my money back without you.' Andrew, from Shrewsbury, saw his money disappear after trading crypto assets through InvestXE, a company incorporated in Dominica. Requests from him to close his account after being bombarded with texts from an InvestXE representative urging him to keep depositing more money fell on deaf ears. The platform's website implied it is regulated by the St Vincent & The Grenadines Financial Services Authority, but it is not. The authority does not grant licences to companies which trade foreign exchange or complex financial instruments. Andrew had asked his bank, Barclays, for a refund as it had failed to protect him from an investment scam. But it refused, arguing that his payments to InvestXE were done through a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange. The Mail on Sunday highlighted Andrew's case last year, publishing extraordinary text exchanges between him and InvestXE employee Joseph. 'Give me 10,000 only for this week,' Joseph said. 'Apply for a loan. We need that money.' Ten days later: 'I don't want to work more with you unless you prove to me and trust me another 10k in this business by Monday. Period.' In its letter to Andrew explaining the redress deal struck with Barclays, the FOS says the offer 'matches cases of this nature'. Warnings about investors being scammed by InvestXE are widespread on Trustpilot. In a warning notice, the consumer review website says the company has been posting fake positive reviews. Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. M.T. writes: In 2015, I invested 10,000 as a loan to help fund the making of a film, The Comedian's Guide To Survival. Turkey: The film with James Buckley bombed The contract guaranteed my money back after a year, and I was supposed to receive a further 2,500 plus a percentage of sale proceeds. The film bombed, and I have been trying ever since to get my money back. The makers gradually paid me 3,000 and agreed to make monthly instalments which have not been forthcoming. The last payment I received was in 2020. Tony Hetherington replies: This is no laughing matter, which of course was part of the problem with the film itself. Despite starring James Buckley of TV sitcom The Inbetweeners, movie industry reports say that when it opened in 2016 it raked in all of about 75 and no, that is not a misprint. You told me that apart from wanting to help the British film industry, you believed you were not taking a serious risk with your savings. You were not buying shares in the film company, The Comedian's Guide To Survival Limited, which would have exposed you to the risk of a complete loss of your money, just as much as it would have given you a share of any profits. Instead, you made a loan, and the loan itself was backed up by a guarantee issued by another film company, Green Screen Productions Limited. The problem is that the security of your loan was only as good as the film itself. And the guarantee was only as good as the company that issued it. And both companies were headed by the same man, the film's producer Alan Latham. The company bearing the film's name is not looking healthy. Its last accounts only go up to 2019. Accounts due last September have not arrived at Companies House, which is an offence. Officials started proceedings to dissolve the company, but action has been suspended. Typically, this means that creditors have objected or an investigation has begun. As for the guarantee company, it was shut down by the High Court five years ago for failing to pay taxes, so the guarantee is worthless. The Comedian's Guide To Survival Limited is based at Alan Latham's film studios in Selby in North Yorkshire. He told me that 'sadly it failed', and he added that yet another company that was selling the film itself went into liquidation. He explained: 'The road to hell was paved with good intentions. We did not set out to make a film that did not work.' Recovering your money might require divine intervention. Latham told me: 'If by some miracle we can sell the picture, he will get repaid.' As for his company's missing accounts, the movie maker said: 'We won't let it get struck off. This is just my inefficiency.' Putting money into any film is a risk, just because of the nature of the industry. But you should have been a bit safer by making a loan and getting a guarantee. You told me a few days ago that you still hope you may recover something, but you are not holding your breath. Sadly, that just about sums it up. It all reminds me of another film, made in 1991 with Danny DeVito as corporate raider 'Larry the Liquidator'. Explaining his commercial strategy, he proclaims that in business there is only one thing better than money, and that's Other People's Money. And that's a better, and funnier film too. Why is gym group billing me? R.B. writes: My Nationwide statement showed a direct debit for about 160 to the gym firm David Lloyd Clubs. I am not, and never have been, a member. I rang Nationwide, who were extremely sympathetic, cancelled the direct debit and refunded the money. 'Identity theft': R.B. has never been a David Lloyd member Then I tried to contact David Lloyd Clubs. Easier said than done. There seems to be no central number, and my nearest club, in Lichfield, could not help. Tony Hetherington replies: You thought you had sorted this out, but after Nationwide refunded your money, you received a letter from David Lloyd Clubs. It was sent to an address which does not exist, but which is close enough to your home for the postman to pop it through your door. The letter complained that Mr Trevor McDonald (not your name) owed fees to the David Lloyd gym in Dartford, which is 175 miles away from you. You rang and were told you would be called back, but never were, and next you received a threatening letter from the gym company's lawyers, claiming you owed 1,869. I asked David Lloyd Clubs to look into this, and staff told me that, 'It does appear there has been some sort of identity theft' as if this was not exactly what you had been telling them all along. They wanted you to report it to the police, so I explained that this would be pointless as you had lost no money. The real victim was the company itself. I pressed it to contact the police and eventually I was told: 'Yes, we will be looking to do this.' I hope they meant it. We're watching you A rip-off company that marketed an expensive and unnecessary domestic appliance repair scheme has been shut down by the High Court and ordered into liquidation. Premier Protect Holdings Limited, which also called itself Premier Protect 365, used high pressure phone calls to sell costly service plans for white goods and TVs. Its salesforce even persuaded elderly or vulnerable customers into giving their card details to renew plans they had never even taken out. The Mail on Sunday warned against the company in 2020, after a 95-year-old woman was charged 195 for repair cover on her washing machine. I found then that although it used a London address, the company was really based in Brighton. Neither the company nor its director Abdelhak Akayour cooperated with the recent investigation by the Insolvency Service. Chief Investigator Lynda Copson said: 'We have acted to ensure this appalling company has been shut down.' I reported in 2020 that Akayour had previously run Xmar keting Limited and Protect Your Bubble Limited. Both were compulsorily struck off by Companies House. He also ran Total Motor Aid Limited, which was shut down by the High Court for non-payment of taxes. Akayour's current company is Home Protect 365 Limited. It failed to file accounts legally due over a year ago and proceedings have begun to dissolve it. Akayour uses several addresses but my enquiries show he lives in Worthing in West Sussex, where I found three County Court Judgments against him, as well as judgments against two of his businesses. Surely it is time for him to be banned as a company director. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Sir Antonio Horta-Osorio could be stripped of more than 1million of his bonus and share incentives over the notorious HBOS Reading fraud. The former Lloyds Bank boss has had part of his package put on ice due to the soaring compensation bill for victims of one of the UK's biggest financial scandals in recent years. The bank's remuneration committee is deciding whether to punish the Portuguese banker for his role in the episode by clawing back a large chunk of his pay packet. Under the microscope: The bank's remuneration committee is deciding whether to punish Sir Antonio Horta-Osorio for his role in the episode Pressure is growing on the committee to conclude their deliberations swiftly. Victims' lives were ruined by the affair and many are furious over the compensation process which has been bedevilled by numerous delays. Hundreds of business owners are still out of pocket 15 years after the event. The Mail on Sunday also understands that a review into the scandal by Dame Linda Dobbs, which began in 2017, has been delayed yet again. Although the fraud happened before Horta-Osorio joined the bank, his handling of the aftermath has been criticised. Lloyds was forced to set aside another 790million for redress at its annual results in February, taking the total to 1.2billion. Horta-Osorio, 58, was paid nearly 60million in a decade at the bank during which he won plaudits for repairing its balance sheet after a taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. He was knighted in February. He left Lloyds last year and joined Credit Suisse, but was forced to step down as chairman for flouting Covid-19 lockdown rules to attend Wimbledon. Lloyds said that, pending 'further consideration, variable remuneration awards and vestings for 2022 will be frozen for former executive directors'. George Culmer, the bank's former finance chief and now chairman of insurer Aviva, has also had part of his package frozen, as has former chief operating officer Juan Colombas. Senior politicians and union leaders are demanding that the committee is prompt in taking an axe to Horta-Osorio's pay. Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking, said: 'He should've been sacked not just for the fraud but the delayed compensation scheme. He should not have his bonus. He should not even have had his salary for a few years.' The HBOS Reading episode has been a long-lasting stain on Lloyds' reputation. In January 2017, six people including two former employees of HBOS which had been rescued by Lloyds in the financial crisis were jailed for up to 12 years. They were convicted for conspiracy to corrupt, fraudulent trading and money laundering between 2003 and 2007. Threats and extortion were used to take control of customers' small businesses and to pocket fees and loans granted in their name. The six including Michael Bancroft, David Mills and Lynden Scourfield were jailed after they were found to have stolen 1billion to fund sex parties, yachts and luxury holidays. The independent investigation by Dame Linda Dobbs, a former High Court judge, is facing further hold-ups. Her team has ballooned from a handful of barristers to about 50. One source 'conservatively' estimated it is costing Lloyds 16million per year. Publication of Dame Linda's report has been delayed four times. Interviews of key witnesses are set to run on into the summer. Hollinrake added: 'If Horta-Osorio is named in the report he should be stripped of his knighthood and the Financial Conduct Authority should remove the possibility of him working for a financial institution ever again.' Mark Brown, general secretary of trade union Affinity, said Horta-Osorio should lose his share awards and his knighthood if the report concludes that issues relating to HBOS Reading were not properly investigated. In 2019, Lloyds took action to curb Horta-Osorio's pay, leading him to give up a bonus worth about 1 million. Colombas missed out on his own payout. A spokesman for Horta-Osorio said: 'These procedures are not new, they are not specific to Mr Horta-Osorio although he supports them and they are yet to be completed.' The battle to take over Boots is entering its closing stages with a final round of bids expected this month. Britain's biggest chemist has been up for sale since January as its owner, US giant Walgreens, looks to turn its focus to healthcare in the States. Battle: Britain's biggest chemist has been up for sale since January as its owner, US giant Walgreens, looks to turn its focus to healthcare in the States Four bidders have made pitches, including three of the world's biggest private equity houses Apollo, TDR Capital and Sycamore, which is also interested in Ted Baker. Last week, it emerged that India's richest man, billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is considering a bid. A source close to the deal said a winner is likely to be announced next month. It has been suggested that Walgreens may be facing a bigger loss than expected on the chain because it bought Boots for 9billion in 2014 and was hoping to fetch 7billion, but early frontrunners Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners were only prepared to pay 4billion. However, a source insisted the sale was proceeding 'as expected'. A London-listed tech firm could become the latest UK company to fall into the hands of a private equity predator as it weighs a 1billion takeover. Buyout firm Cinven is mulling a bid for software company Ideagen, which sells software to help businesses and governments comply with regulations. Its clients include Heineken, British Airways and the Bank of New York. Ideagen was set up in 2008 and then floated on Aim in 2014. Its stock closed last week at 2.53, valuing it at 743 million. Predator: Buyout firm Cinven is mulling a bid for software company Ideagen, which sells software to help businesses and governments comply with regulations But City sources said the average analyst valuation of the stock was 3.40, putting its price tag above 1billion. Cinven is one of Britain's largest private equity firms and its UK assets including testing business LGC, which has worked for the Government and police service. Its interest in Ideagen comes amid a wave of bids for British firms listed on the stock market from secretive buy-out firms that fund their bids with large debt piles. Many London-listed firms have caught the attention of the buy-out barons after their share prices collapsed following the stockmarket crash in March and April 2020. Last year, supermarket giant Morrisons and motoring firm The AA were bought by private equity firms. Cinven said it 'is in the early stages of considering a possible offer for the company. No approach has been made to the Ideagen board of directors. 'There can be no certainty any offer will be made, nor as to the terms of any offer'. Investors in Cineworld have been urged to vote against its pay policy after handing an 'extreme' package to its bosses despite receiving state aid. Concern: Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis urged investors to vote against Cineworld's pay policy The two brothers at the top of the debt-laden cinema chain have been handed share awards which could be worth 65million if the highest share price target is hit. It claimed nearly 33million in pandemic-related Government support. Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis urged investors to vote against the firm's pay policy at next month's annual meeting. It said it had 'severe reservations' about the stock awards given the 'depressed share price'. Glass Lewis said Cineworld's response to an investor rebellion over pay last year was 'inadequate'. Chief executive Mooky Greidinger also received nearly 1.48million last year, up from 830,000 in 2020. His pay was boosted by a 646,000 bonus, received despite the firm posting a pre-tax loss of 542million. Hargreaves Lansdown's lead equity analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said it was an 'extreme remuneration package for a company in so much trouble'. The brothers are yet to benefit from the shares, which will vest in 2024 subject to Cineworld's share price hitting a minimum of 1.30. To achieve the full award the stock must hit 1.90. The stock is currently at 32p. Cineworld declined to comment. Budget airline Wizz Air has boosted cabin crew wages and changed its salary structure amid the battle for staff in aviation. The London-listed Hungarian airline has raised wages by 12.5 per cent for cabin crew, who will now be guaranteed 70 per cent of their overall annual salary. Previously, flight attendants received just 35 per cent of guaranteed wages, with the rest made up of various elements, such as commission on in-flight sales. Boost: Wizz has raised wages by 12.5 per cent for cabin crew, who will now be guaranteed 70 per cent of their overall annual salary Airlines are battling to attract staff back to an industry that was forced to lay off thousands of workers during the pandemic. Wizz Air's UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said the change will 'give people confidence to work for an airline', adding: 'If there is a downturn then they still have a guaranteed salary that will help them go through a time of crisis.' Wizz Air is hiring up to 60 flight attendants. Online adverts show that mid-level cabin crew will receive a minimum basic salary of 20,480. British Airways is offering a welcome bonus of 1,000 to poach trained crew from rivals. Next has snapped up boutique kids' goods business JoJo Maman Bebe, marking its latest expansion. The retailer has a record of teaming up with rivals, such as a joint venture with Gap in the UK and a 25 per cent stake in Reiss, and it sells hundreds of third-party brands on its website. It has taken a 44 per cent stake in JoJo, with the remainder bought by asset manager Davidson Kempner. Next did not say how much it paid, but it will plough 16.3million into the brand. Expansion: JoJo Maman Bebe's 87 stores selling maternity wear and children's clothes will stay open and there will be no job losses The deal will keep the businesses separate, but JoJo will migrate to Next's 'Total Platform', which offers online sales infrastructure. The firm was founded by current chief executive Laura Tenison in 1993. In the year ending last June it made a pre-tax profit of 5.8million on sales of 63.5million. JoJo's 87 stores selling maternity wear and children's clothes will stay open and there will be no job losses. Tenison will be replaced by commercial director Gwynn Milligan. Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said his firm would be 'supporting JoJo on the next stage of its growth'. Lord Wolfson added: 'We are excited to see what can be achieved through the combination of JoJo's exceptional product with Next's infrastructure and Davidson Kempner as our investment partner.' Next said the deal would boost profits from next year. Telecoms bankers don't appear to be in a frenzy over the prospect of a sale of TalkTalk. The mobile firm has asked investment bankers at Lazard to manage a sale process. Vodafone and Sky have already been touted as possible buyers. Toscafund which took the company private last year and chairman Sir Charles Dunstone reportedly want 3billion. Talking tough: The mobile firm has asked investment bankers at Lazard to manage a sale process But analysts at Enders reckon that sum could not be reached without a bidding war. 'That's a barmy price,' sniffed one industry executive. What's more, credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded TalkTalk earlier this year. Bankers reckon Vodafone which has also been linked to a deal for Three is the frontrunner as TalkTalk could bolster its broadband business. That tie-up appears much more likely to be given the green light by competition regulators than Sky, BT or Virgin. Outsiders Shell Energy and CityFibre are thought to be highly unlikely to make a bid. Persimmon short positions closed Stocks to Watch revealed this year that feared US hedge fund Elliott was betting against housebuilder Persimmon. Elliott is a bedfellow of Jeff 'Moneybags' Fairburn the 75million former Persimmon boss at his new venture, Avant Homes. Elliott, and fellow hedgies Citadel and GLG, have now closed the short positions, pocketing a tidy profit after cladding cost concerns hit the share price. Handy. Positives for Hotel Chocolat despite Ukraine war Spare a thought for Angus Thirlwell. The Hotel Chocolat boss says he was hoping to enjoy his first Easter 'that was not going to be ruined by the pandemic' in three years. The chocolatier's share price had clawed its way back to pre-Covid levels. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pummelled markets of late and investors have sold the stock as consumers rein in their spending. Still, Thirlwell hails the silver lining as the nation tucks into treats today. He says: 'Families can choose to spend time together, which is a big positive to take out of it. 'We see our role as keeping the morale of the nation up. 'There is no doubt a bit of chocolate raises the spirit of the vast majority of people.' Hear, hear. Whitbread targeted by Share Action This paper last weekend broke the news that Whitbread boss Alison Brittain had given up her bonus. She had faced criticism over the deferred 729,000 potential payout after the Premier Inn owner claimed 370million of state Covid support. Now Whitbread is among a clutch of firms targeted by Share Action urging it to pay the Real Living Wage as staff face rising bills. This is what the average person is estimated to need for essentials 11.05 an hour in London, 9.90 across the rest of the UK. The investment charity hopes to quiz bosses at this summer's annual shareholder meetings. Contributors: Archie Mitchell, Emma Dunkley Household contacts of confirmed cases of the highly contagious Omicron strain are consistently managing to avoid infection despite living in close proximity to the virus. Several families have spoken to Daily Mail Australia about their confusion after repeatedly producing negative results despite living in the same house, and in many cases the same room, as someone with Covid. Jane, an admin assistant who works remotely, said she spent the evening at a friend's house and didn't catch it. 'We had dinner and watched TV together on the couch. We were probably one metre apart for hours,' the triple-vaccinated 42-year-old said. 'She tested positive the next day, so I thought I would have definitely contracted it. My RATs came back negative but I still had a PCR - and it came back negative as well. Australians are reporting numerous cases of household contacts avoiding Covid despite sharing rooms and even beds with infected people 'I feel really lucky because Omicron is meant to be super infectious and friends I know who are triple-vaccinated have still caught it.' Emily, a mother of three, said her son had been in the house for at least two days while infectious yet no-one else in the family had caught it. 'He developed a nasty cough and a RAT test came up with a faint line, so I took him to get a PCR,' the Melbourne mum said. 'It came back positive so he's been quarantined in his bedroom ever since. 'I didn't get it and my daughter and other son avoided it as well. 'I've had my booster and the kids are double vaccinated so that may have made a difference.' Another family of three saw 25-year-old Eli first contract the virus while sharing a small two-bedroom home with her parents in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Several families told Daily Mail Australia they were seeing people avoid the virus completely despite having the same level of vaccination Her mother and father initially continued to test negative, before Eli's dad George produced a positive RAT three days after her initial infection. His wife Belle, however, stayed negative throughout. 'Eli was the first one to go, she remained in her room most of the time and wore a mask and gloves when she came into the kitchen,' Belle told Daily Mail Australia. 'My husband then got it not long after. Despite us sharing a bed, I was never sick. He had some symptoms and didn't feel well but for whatever reason I remained negative.' The three were all boosted, but two of the three family members were still reasonably unwell. 'I didn't leave my bed for about 48 hours to start with, I was really sick,' Eli said. 'I don't want to think how bad it could have been if I hadn't been vaccinated.' The family have no idea how Belle managed to avoid infection, with Sydney's recent extreme weather meaning they weren't able to allow for considerable ventilation. 'Normally we'd have all the doors and windows open but with the rain we were all cooped up inside,' Belle said. 'I don't know how I didn't catch it, but I'm glad I didn't. I was really sick off the vaccine so I don't want to be getting the real thing if I can avoid it.' Professor Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia the phenomenon can be the result of a series of factors including previous infections, vaccination status and immune system strength. Covid cases have remained high around the country as different strains make their way through the community 'Omicron is more infectious but that doesn't mean it'll infect everybody. It comes down to the infecting dose and how much mixing there is,' the inaugural chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University said. 'Everyone's immunity is a bit different. We're a mix of vaccination status [and] even though vaccines are designed to give a different dose, some people will have different reactions.' Professor Bennett said people will have different responses as a result of the strength of their immune system, which can be as simple as different genetics. 'Some people will have health issues that will undermine their immune system. You might be exposed in the same way but if your immune system is primed, you're vaccinated and had a prior infection, you will see the system react differently,' the Deakin University chair said. 'One person may have an infection and didn't even know they had it, didn't have symptoms or pass it on but had their systems primed for Omicron.' Professor Bennett said people will have different responses as a result of the strength of their immune system, which can be as simple as different genetics She said asymptomatic cases of the virus are only picked up by 80 per cent of rapid antigen tests, which can see a lot of previous infections undiagnosed. The overwhelming advice however was that as the virus continues to mutate, boosters become more important as original doses of the vaccine provide little to no protection against Omicron. 'If you had Alpha, it didn't protect you from Omicron. It's everywhere and more infectious than anything. Delta doesn't give you much protection from Omicron,' Professor Bennett said. 'A booster is different, it has a different type of immunity. Omicron is so different, and the booster protects from that, and it might protect from the next variant.' After almost two years of Covid lockdowns, Sydney's nightlife has returned to its former glory as party-starved Australians dust off their dancing shoes and hit the streets. Thousands of revellers flocked to bars and clubs across the Harbour City on Thursday night to mark the beginning of the first Easter long weekend since 2019 without a raft of restrictions. Despite daily Covid infections still soaring - with 17,856 reported in NSW on Thursday before a drop to around 10,000 daily over the public holiday weekend - many believe it is time to learn to live with the virus now vaccination rates are high. Sydneysider Elissa, who hit the city over the weekend, started going back out around the start of this year as restrictions for venues began to ease. She is still yet to catch Covid, but believes the fear of contracting the virus should not stop people from living. Sydneysider Elissa told Daily Mail Australia she has been enjoying going out since restrictions were lifted earlier this year Thousands of revellers have hit bars across the country as Australians enjoy Easter celebrations 'Covid is Covid. You've got to learn to live with it,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Elissa and friend Michelle said the atmosphere in the city began to feel normal again about two months ago. 'It's been really good. It's been good to go out,' they said. For Sinead, Thursday was the first time she had been out with friends to have a drink in a bar since the start of the pandemic. 'We never went out before. We were really apprehensive [about getting Covid]. We didn't want to impact our family or work,' she said. 'But now everyone's vaccinated we feel at ease. It's great to be out. ' Alana and Jess said packed bars in the city appeared to be 'totally back to normal' with 'happy, positive vibes'. Sinead (right) enjoyed her first night out with friends in two years on Thursday after being extremely vigilant throughout the pandemic to protect family and people at work Alana (left) and Jess (right) said the city is back thriving after two years of lockdowns Sydneysiders poured into bars across the city for post-work drinks on Thursday night 'I was going out as soon as everything started opening up because I was so excited,' Jess said. Poll ARE YOU STILL WORRIED ABOUT COVID? Yes No Unsure ARE YOU STILL WORRIED ABOUT COVID? Yes 145 votes No 363 votes Unsure 24 votes Now share your opinion 'It's just good to see people out. It's so much fun. 'Once we'd had it [Covid], there were no worries [about having it again] at all.' Nat and Liz stopped into a packed bar in Sydney's CBD on Thursday night to have a drink. They started going out as 'soon as we could' and have been 'loving it'. Although the risk of catching Covid remains high, the pair said vaccinations made it safer for people to be out and about. 'I've had Covid, I'm invincible,' their friend, who wished to remain anonymous, joked. Nat added: 'I had it a few weeks ago, so now I'm fine. Everyone is vaccinated now, so if you go out, you risk getting it, but you're unlikely to get seriously ill.' Nat and Liz said they have been loving life after lockdown and eased Covid restrictions Dan and Mark have welcomed the return to pre-Covid normal, which has seen thousands pack into bars throughout the long weekend Dan joked that he was a 'degenerate' who has been going out since January. 'The rain has been more of a problem than lockdowns,' he said. 'This bar is closed when it rains.' His friend Mark had just arrived in Australia from Singapore, which only eased lockdown restrictions a few weeks ago. Mark believes the majority of people are no longer concerned about catching the virus. 'I think most people are comfortable with the idea that they are going to get it, or they have already had it,' he said. Kate went out on Thursday night for dinner to celebrate her 20th birthday with her friend Hannah. After lockdown lifted, the pair started going out 'heaps'. Bars across the Harbour City were teeming with revellers as the Easter long weekend kicked off on Thursday evening Kate (left), who turned 20 on Thursday, and Hannah (right) have started going out more since lockdown lifted, but mainly on special occasions as staying at home has become a large part of their new routine Heather (pictured left) was out on Good Friday eve to celebrate her birthday with friends playing Easter bingo However, they have found some of the lifestyle habits they formed during lockdown have stuck. 'We find now we're happy to stay home and get takeaway,' Hannah said. 'I feel like [lockdowns] have just opened up that door, and now we feel alright to stay home. Kate added: 'Yeah it made me a homebody. But it is nice now to be able to go out again, mainly on special occasions.' Friends Laura, Brooke and Georgie work for the same company in different offices in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. On Thursday, they reunited for the first time since May 2021 for a night out in Barangaroo after being kept separated by each state's varying travel restrictions. Friends Laura, Brooke and Georgie reunited in Sydney on Thursday for a night out after being separated across state borders for almost 12 months Laura, Emma, and Rachel headed out to an emo night at a Darlinghurst bar on Thursday A long line snaked outside of Frankie's in Sydney's CBD as partygoers flocked out for a night of fun 'It's great to go out. It's great to have our lives back,' they said. 'We haven't been able to see each other because we all live in different states. 'This is night one of five nights. Wish us luck!' Laura, Emma, and Rachel went to an 'emo night' on Thursday at the Burdekin Hotel, in Darlinghurst. 'They have an event there every month,' they said. 'So we have been going there since they opened after Covid.' Tahlia and Kirsten went to an event in Newtown before heading to Oxford Street for some late night drinks. They said there was a vibrant party atmosphere in the city and, after both having had Covid this year, they were not worried about catching it again. 'I got Covid when mask mandates were first removed for hospitality,' Kirsten, who owns a bar, said. 'Now I'm not worried about it because I already got it and it wasn't too bad.' Kirsten (left) and Tahlia (right) said there was a party atmosphere in the city on Thursday night and the majority of people do not seem concerned about catching Covid Tahlia said only a few people at the concert they attended were wearing masks. 'It seemed like a couple of people were worried, but the majority weren't.' Since mid-February in NSW, density limits and singing and dancing bans have been scrapped for hospitality venues as the state's double-dose vaccination rate for over 16s has soared above 90 per cent. Masks are also now only mandatory on public transport, planes and indoor at airports, aged and disability care facilities, correction centres, and indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people. Due to the highly-contagious and now-dominant Omicron strain, case numbers remain high hovering around 15,000 a day in NSW. But despite surging infections, hospitalisations rates have remained relatively low because the presiding variant causes less severe illness than its predecessor, Delta. Although many Australians are embracing pre-pandemic freedoms, some believe people should be more cautious when visiting busy public venues. Restaurants in Barangaroo were packed on Thursday night as families and young people enjoyed the start of the Easter long weekend Throngs of people queue outside a bar in The Rocks as the city returns to normal after two years of lockdowns A Perth woman slammed revellers for not wearing masks while mingling in clubs and bars One woman from Western Australia, where more than 95 per cent of over 16s are double vaccinated, has slammed clubbers for failing to wear masks. Under WA rules, residents aged eight and over are required to wear masks in all indoor public spaces. LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA FROM ACROSS AUSTRALIA: NSW: 9725 cases, six deaths, 1527 in hospital, 64 in ICU Victoria: 8153 cases, two deaths, 401 in hospital, 25 in ICU Queensland: 4850 cases, no deaths, 563 in hospital, 19 in ICU Western Australia: 5112 cases, eight deaths (seven historical), 220 in hospital, seven in ICU South Australia: 2675 cases, 225 in hospital, 12 in ICU Tasmania: 1212 cases, no deaths, 47 in hospital, one in ICU Northern Territory: 340 cases, 26 in hospital By AAP Advertisement 'The amount of people I've seen on Instagram and Snapchat stories not wearing masks in clubs this weekend is absolutely infuriating,' the woman wrote on Facebook. 'In Perth we're at a Covid peak. I know people my age don't take Covid seriously cause if we get it we're not gonna die but so many people have and will and you're putting others at risk. 'It's so selfish and makes me so mad.' The woman said people need to 'do better' and while 'wearing masks sucks', 'at the end of the day it keeps you and the people around you safe.' 'I've seen barely anyone wear them and it's so infuriating like at least use some common sense and put it on,' she continued. The post was quickly met with hundreds of responses, with many saying they are refraining from going out to avoid getting sick. 'As somebody with a 10 month old baby with underlying health conditions, it makes me anxious how much people have stopped caring and being worried about Covid,' one mother replied. 'I swear it's all I think about. I don't remember the last time I saw any of my friends or went to any event because I'm too scared that my baby will get sick.' Another said: 'I love wearing a mask. [It] makes me feel safer. I wish people wore them more (even without mandates).' 'Dude I work at a nightclub and we constantly had to tell people all the damn time to put a mask on when we had the mandate and they wouldn't,' a third person said. There were 9725 new cases reported in NSW on Sunday and six virus-related deaths. Infections were down 3876 from 13,601 recorded on Saturday. Across the state, 96.1 per cent of over 16s have now had one Covid vaccine, 94.7 per cent have received two, and 61.8 per cent are triple jabbed. Victoria added more than 8000 infections and two fatalities on Sunday, while there were 4850 new cases in Queensland, and more than 5000 in Western Australia. More than 41,000 new cases and 35 deaths were reported across the nation on Saturday, while net hospital admissions and those to intensive care were both up slightly. On Friday Beijing conducted a military exercise near Taiwan while US lawmakers were visiting the island on a Congressional delegation The meeting was supposed to take place in late March but was postponed Meanwhile ASEAN countries on the South China Sea are concerned about Beijing's rising aggression in the international waters North Korea test fired a pair of missiles near South Korea on Saturday, Seoul said The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been grappling with the violent political crisis in Myanmar President Joe Biden will host leaders from 10 Southeast Asian nations in Washington for a summit in May, the White House said Saturday. The gathering is meant to demonstrate the United States' commitment to being a partner with countries in the region, with the announcement coming two days after China said it conducted military drills near Taiwan while American lawmakers visited the island. Beijing's expansion of military patrols and exercises in the South China Sea has alarmed countries that also lay claim to waters in the area. Meanwhile, South Korea claims the North conducted another missile test on Saturday -- its twelfth of the year. The White House previously had announced that the summit would be held March 28-29, but the regional grouping of countries known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sought a postponement due to scheduling concerns among some of its members. The summit will commemorate 45 years of relations between the U.S. and the ASEAN nations. The gathering follows Biden's participation in an October 2021 summit where he announced $102 million in new initiatives to help these countries with COVID-19 and health security, climate change, economic growth and gender equality. President Joe Biden is inviting the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to the White House in mid-May The international organization is comprised of 10 countries in the Indo-Pacific 'It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Saturday in a statement. 'Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient.' ASEAN's 10 members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Its members have been at odds with each other over Myanmar, which has been wracked by violent unrest since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year. The meeting comes as concerns continue to grow over China's aggression in the Pacific and in the South China Sea in particular ASEAN is seeking to implement a five-point plan for Myanmar it reached last year stressing dialogue, humanitarian assistance and an end to violence. But Myanmar's ruling military council has delayed the plan's implementation even as the country has slipped into a situation that some U.N. experts have described as civil war. Myanmar's lack of cooperation led ASEAN last year to bar its leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, from attending its annual summit meeting, an unprecedented step for the body whose members traditionally have avoided public criticism of each other and have operated by consensus. It has applied a similar policy for subsequent meetings, saying that it would allow Myanmar to send only non-political representatives. Biden hosted Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, for talks last month in which the president tried to assure Singapore and other Pacific allies that the administration remains focused on the region even while working with Europe and other allies to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In one recent show of unity with allies in the Pacific, the U.S. military is conducting joint exercises with the Japanese Navy in the waters between Japan and the Koreas for the first time since 2017. The U.S. deployed a strike group based from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, coming roughly three weeks after Pyongyang test-fired what it says is its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) yet. North Korea fired new tactical guided weapon system in another effort to boost its arsenal on Saturday Leader Kim Jong Un attended the launch and was seen celebrating with military men North Korean state news media reported late last month that Kim Jong Un's government conducted the missile test at the dictator's personal order. It released the news a day after South Korea and Japan both flagged an ICBM test near the country's capital. The U.S. 7th Fleet and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force said Wednesday they conducted a joint naval exercise at the Sea of Japan on that day and the day before, in an apparent deterred to North Korea. Pyongyang's reported March ICBM launch was also its first long-range test since 2017. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that two smaller missiles were fired off North Korea's east coast on Saturday night and flew 68 miles. State media reported earlier that day that Kim Jong Un 'supervised' the launch of a 'new-type tactical guided weapon' but did not give details on the date or time. Meanwhile on Friday, Chinese state media reported Beijing sent fighter planes, bombers and military ships to the East China Sea near Taiwan, according to CNBC. That same day, Democrat Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and five other members of Congress were meeting with Taiwan's president. 'This operation is in response to the recent frequent release of wrong signals by the United States on the Taiwan issue,' Peoples Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Shi Yilu said in a statement. North Korea fired a new tactical guided weapons system over the weekend in another effort to boost its arsenal after testing a 'monster' nuclear missile last month. The report comes amid signs North Korea could soon resume nuclear testing, according to South Korean and U.S. officials, and after Kim Jong Un broke a self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing with a launch last month. On Saturday, South Korea's military said it had detected two projectiles launched from North Korea's east coast toward the sea, which flew about 68 miles with a a high point of 25 kilometers (15 miles) and maximum speed of under Mach 4, which is roughly 3,070 mph. 'The new-type tactical guided weapon system...is of great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes,' state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. North Korea fired new tactical guided weapon system in another effort to boost its arsenal on Saturday Leader Kim Jong Un attended the launch and was seen celebrating with military men He held binoculars and pointed out a window as they watched the launch KCNA did not say when the test took place and gave no details of the type of missile involved. Upon guiding the test, Kim 'gave important instructions on further building up the defense capabilities and nuclear combat forces of the country,' KCNA said. Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the weapon was likely a short-range ballistic missile and the North's first tactical nuclear weapons delivery system. North Korea has a domestic imperative to make and perfect weapons ordered by Kim Jong Un despite what the United States does or does not do, and the tests tell people that North Korea is strong, said Duyeon Kim, a North Korea expert at the U.S.-based Center for a New American Security. One reason for the timing could be to protest anticipated joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, she added On Saturday, South Korea's military said it had detected two projectiles launched from the North's east coast towards the sea, which flew about 68 miles with an apogee of 25 kilometers and maximum speed of under Mach 4, which is roughly 3,069mph The new system reportedly 'drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes' On Saturday, the US 2nd Infantry Division, based in South Korea, shared photos of troops test firing a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), though it was unclear when the drills took place. The live-fire exercises were to 'ensure we maintain our readiness here in support of the ROK-US Alliance,' the division said on Twitter, using the initials of South Korea's official name. US and South Korean officials have noted activities at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which could be preparations for a test, although the timing and nature of such a test were unclear. North launching an ICBM from an airport near capital Pyongyang in its first long-range test in March. The launch extended a barrage of weapons demonstrations this year that analysts say are aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions against its broken economy that has been further damaged by pandemic-related difficulties. The Hwasong-17, which was fired at a high angle to avoid the territorial waters of neighbors, reached a maximum altitude of 3,880 miles and traveled 680 miles during a 71-minute flight before landing in waters between North Korea and Japan, Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency said. The agency claimed the test met desired technical objectives and proved the ICBM could be operated quickly during wartime conditions. North Korea's launched a huge, new intercontinental ballistic missile state media reported in March North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March, one capable of hitting any part of the continental United States, while its Western rival has been focused on rising tensions with Russia amid the war in Ukraine The agency paraphrased Kim as saying that his new weapon would make the 'whole world clearly aware' of the North's bolstering nuclear forces. He vowed for his military to acquire 'formidable military and technical capabilities unperturbed by any military threat and blackmail and keep themselves fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the US imperialists.' The South Korean and Japanese militaries had announced similar flight details, which analysts say suggested that the missile could reach targets 9,320 miles away when fired on normal trajectory with a warhead weighing less than a ton. That would place the entire US mainland within striking distance. Believed to be about 82 feet long, the Hwasong-17 is the North's longest-range weapon and, by some estimates, the world's biggest road-mobile ballistic missile system. KCNA called the successful test a 'striking demonstration of great military muscle,' while Kim said it was a 'miraculous' and 'priceless' victory by the Korean people. Officials say Un could conduct another missile test in the coming weeks, according to the Guardian. Satellite technology has reportedly shown activity near Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, which the country said was demolished in 2018. Us Special Representative Sung Kim is due in Seoul on Monday for a five-day visit to discuss a response to the North's recent missile launches with his South Korean counterparts. The United States has said it is open to talks with North Korea at any time and without preconditions, but Pyongyang has so far rebuffed those overtures, accusing Washington of maintaining hostile policies, such as sanctions and military drills. The KCNA report also came shortly after North Korea celebrated the 110th anniversary of the birth of late founder Kim Il Sung on Friday, one of the biggest annual public holidays in the country, but without a military parade. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had an awkward encounter with a woman on the campaign trail. Mr Morrison was campaigning in a lolly shop in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill on Saturday when he was asked by a reporter if he was a 'sweet or sour kind of guy'. Mr Morrison was caught on camera replying awkwardly while winking at her. 'Oh you know me, I'm sweet as,' he cheekily said. The moment Prime Minister Scott Morrison winks at a woman when asked if he is a sweet or sour kind of guy. The encounter made the evening news across the country, and even drawn comparisons to another awkward wink former Prime Minister Tony Abbott gave. 'Scott Morrison showing his true colours. This is worse than Tony's wink,' one Aussie wrote on Twitter. In 2014 Mr Abbott, who was then the Prime Minister, was responding to questions from the public live on ABC radio. One of the callers, Gloria, was concerned about a new $7 fee on GP visits and the increased cost of medication. 'I'm a 67-year-old pensioner with three chronic incurable medical conditions two life-threatening. 'I just survive on around $400 a fortnight once I pay my rent and I work on an adult sex line to make ends meet. That's the only way I can do it,' she said. Mr Abbott seemed to forget that as well as being on the radio, he was also being filmed. When Gloria said the words 'sex line', Mr Abbott smiled and winked. The video went viral. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson Young was among the many not amused by Mr Abbott. 'Gloria tells her story of poverty and illness and the PM responds with a wink and a smirk. What a grub,' Ms Hanson Young tweeted. Realising it was not a good look, Mr Abbott later told Perth's 6PR radio that he was simply reacting to ABC host Jon Faine's facial expression. 'It was a reaction to Jon, really,' he said. 'Obviously it was an interesting call from someone who had an interesting story. 'Jon was smiling at me and I responded to him.' The Prime Minister was campaigning in the seat of Chisholm - which Liberal MP Gladys Liu holds on a margin of just 0.57 per cent - when he winked at the reporter. It remains to be seen if the wink will work out as sweet or sour for Ms Liu's effort to retain the seat. Michigan parents are outraged after a kindergartener brought in small bottles of Jose Cuervo margarita mix and gave them to several students during snack time. Five kindergarteners, aged five, at Grand River Academia in Livonia shared Dixie cups full of single-serve margarita mix on Thursday after a student - who later admitted she knew it was alcohol - gave it to them, telling them it was juice. The little girl reportedly brought in single-serve bottles in her backpack. The school said in a letter to parents that 'disciplinary measures' will be taken against the student. Dominique Zanders' daughter, who was not named, reportedly had four or five sips by the time the school called her mother and said her daughter 'felt woozy [and] a little dizzy.' 'The girl poured it in her cup and she drank it and the girl ended up telling her what it is, and she went and told the teacher there is liquor in this cup, and the teacher gave her a funny face,' Zanders told Fox 10. A bottle of the liquor was shown on parent's phone. The bottle appears to be half empty Five kindergarteners were served Jose Cuervo margarita by another five-year-old, who later admitted she knew it was liquor on Thursday at Grand River Academy The student reportedly bought in single-serve bottles in her backpack 'I had a small conversation with my daughter - nothing big - and she told me the girl knew it was liquor,' Alexis Smith agreed. 'If your child knows what it is, nothing wrong with it, but they should know not to touch it. That it's not for kids.' 'My daughter takes medicine,' she told Local 4 News. 'First off, no kid should be drinking, and you know, just the shock itself, it burns. Like how do you feel, like anything could have happened.' Smith said her daughter would not be returning on Monday. The school was closed on Friday. Parents want the student's parents to punished for the incident. They are also wondering how it could have been prevented, Fox 10 reported. 'I'm not sure if they are short-staffed or whatever, it shouldn't have happened,' Zanders told Fox 10. Grand River said they try to 'keep an eye on everything our students bring to school,' but it's 'simply not possible' to catch everything. Dominique Zanders (left) and Alexis Smith (right) both received calls from the school. Zanders was told her daughter took four or five sips of alcohol and said her daughter was 'woozy.' Smith criticized the school for allowing it to happen and said she was worried because her daughter was on medicine. She also said her daughter would not be returning to school on Monday 'Its unfortunate that these types of adult beverages can be easily mistaken for child-friendly drinks,' the school said in a statement. School employees did call poison control, as small children can easily experience alcohol poisoning. 'Childrens bodies absorb alcohol fast. This can occur in less than 30 minutes,' Fairview Health said. 'Small amounts of alcohol can cause symptoms in young children. Even inhaling rubbing alcohol can make a child sick.' Children who consume alcohol can experience seizures or coma. Even everyday products that contain alcohol - like mouthwash - can affect a child. All the students are reportedly doing fine. DailyMail.com attempted to contact Grand River Academy. The school released a letter to parents acknowledging the incident and said the student will be disciplined A worker at a pizza place near where suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was found said the man came into his establishment in the early morning hours the day after after he wounded 29 people in a barrage of gunfire - and was apparently 'crying like a little baby.' Gentrid Hasangjekaj, 21, told the New York Post that James visited Stromboli's Pizza at St. Marks' Place at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday while the manhunt was going on. James, 62, was crying, according to Hasangjekaj, as he came in and was asking for help. 'He was crying like a little baby,' said Hasangjekaj, who didn't recognize James until he later saw a photo and realized he'd met him. 'He says, ''Oh, I lost my family,'' this and that, and I felt bad. I thought, ''Whatever, let me help.''' Hasangjekaj said he tried to help the mystery man by giving him water and napkins at the time, and also letting him use his phone. A worker at a pizza place near where suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was found said James came into his establishment in the early morning hours Wednesday after he wounded 29 people in a barrage of gunfire Gentrid Hasangjekaj, 21, told the New York Post that James visited Stromboli's Pizza at St. Marks' Place at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday while the manhunt was going on 'I asked him three times, ''Where you from? How long you been lost?'' He didn't say nothing. It was like he wasn't hearing what I was asking him,' the employee told the newspaper. James reportedly didn't order any food and left about a half hour after he arrived. Apparently, he told the men eating outside Stromboli's that he was blind and asked to borrow a phone, according to the Post. Hasangjekaj later gave his phone to James, who called a number in Virginia Beach that was listed as having belonged to a man and woman, which is now disconnected. James claimed the woman was his wife. James also tried to message the woman on Facebook, according to Hasangjekaj, but she at no point responded to him. 'I'm talking to the guy who shot 10 people. I'm surprised. It's, like, ''Wow. It's crazy,''' Hasangjekaj told the Post. James ominously told cops 'I've been waiting for you' before officers arrested the then at-large gunman on a Lower East side street Wednesday, it was also revealed this week. The foreboding phrase, law enforcement sources told The Daily News Friday, was uttered by the 62-year-old suspect as officers responding to one of five tips as to his whereabouts approached James on St. Mark's Place at approximately 1:42 pm. When officers arrived on the scene, one lawman who spotted James walking down the crowded sidewalk called out 'Hey, Frank!' the newspaper reported. At that point, James slowly turned around and stared at the group of officers, and offered the hair-raising remark. James, who had evaded officers for nearly 30 hours before calling cops on himself roughly 12 minutes before his arrest at a First Avenue McDonald's, was subsequently cuffed and detained, and is being held without bail. The strange revelation was among several new details to emerge about the arrest Friday, as it was revealed the five tipsters who reported seeing James jaunt around Manhattan Wednesday will share Crime Stoppers' promised $50,000 reward for information leading to his capture, each getting $10,000. Suspected subway shooter Frank James ominously told cops 'Ive been waiting for you,' before officers arrested the then at-large suspect on a Lower East side street Wednesday, following multiple sightings of the suspect in Manhattan James, 62, spent the night after allegedly shooting ten people on a packed northbound N train at a Manhattan hostel, before waking up to take what amounted to a tour of the borough while cops frantically searched for the suspect, then a person of interest in the case Smartphones across the city lit up Wednesday as push alerts urged citizens to be on the lookout for James, who is accused of popping a smoke canister on a crowded N train as it approached 36th Street station in Brooklyn at 8:26 am Tuesday morning, before opening fire on those inside. Tips soon began to flood in, leading detectives on a manhunt throughout the five boroughs - with one of the tips even coming from James himself - with at least four of the five credible sightings coming in Manhattan. When James called the NYPDs Crime Stoppers hotline from the East 6th Street McDonald's, he truthfully told dispatchers he was in the East Village, and even offered them a detailed description, describing what he was wearing and that he was carrying a green backpack, sources said. An operator asked James for a number they could call him back on - to which he replied he didnt know it, because the phone was new. He then said that his battery was about to die, and told the operator he would be charging the phone at the fast food eatery or somewhere close by, the source said. Now on high alert, cops quickly mobilized to the area, but were still somehow unable to track down James, who had left the McDonald's before officers arrived. James was wearing Ugg-style slippers, black pants and a blue t-shirt when he was arrested on St. Mark's Place Wednesday Frank James is walked out of the 9th Precinct, Manhattan, New York. April 13 2022 James is transported into a police vehicle to be taken to a federal courthouse on Wednesday. He has been charged with carrying out a terror attack on mass transit At 1:42 pm, however, cops were able to finally put James in bracelets, as the suspect walked casually along bustling St. Marks Place, a couple of blocks from the McDonald's - thanks to Syrian-born security camera company worker Zack Tahhan, of Union City, New Jersey, who recognized the suspect and flagged down a passing police vehicle. James - who had been charging his phone at a LinkNYC city internet kiosk when Tahhan spotted him - was then cuffed and walked to the local police precinct, where he was pictured by a flood of photographers and press. When questioned as to why he called in the tip, 21-year-old Tahhan said: 'If you smoke one cigar, youre gonna want to smoke two cigars, you know? Like, this guy is gonna do it again if we dont catch him, and we catch him. Thank God!' Tahhan and two friends who also spotted James account for three of the five tipsters whose information led to James' capture. The five citizens will split Crime Stoppers' promised $50,000 reward. 'I just wanted to make sure everybody was safe and that America is safe before I even think about the money,' Tahhan told the News Friday. 'There were other people with me too. They helped.' Zach Tahhan, 21, was fixing a camera outside an East Village store when he spotted James in the street. The 62-year-old had just exited a McDonald's and was walking around casually, a day after shooting ten people on a northbound N train Tahhan told how he started yelling out that James was the shooter the moment he spotted him on Wednesday Another Good Samaritan to call in a James sighting was a Twitter user going by the name Jack Griffin, who at roughly 10:30 am, spotted - and photographed - the suspect walking along Canal Street and dining outdoors at trendy Chinatown eatery Dimes. Griffin shared two photos of the suspect to social media, with the caption, 'possible frank James sighting.' One of the photos posted by Griffin, at 10:29 am, showed a heavyset man matching James' description walking down Canal Street still dressed in black, while another showed him sitting at Dimes' outdoor dining area 'just staring into space,' Griffin told The News. The post from Griffin prompted a response from the NYPD's Crime Stoppers unit, who asked the Twitter to provide more details on the then-suspected sighting. Another Good Samaritan to call in a James sighting was a Twitter user going by the name Jack Griffin, who at roughly 10:30 am, spotted - and photographed - the suspect walking along Canal Street (at left) and dining outdoors at trendy Chinatown eatery Dimes (at right) In the 30 hours between the attack and his arrest, suspect Frank James (pictured Wednesday waltzing down Canal Street) was seen strolling around Manhattan, seemingly without a care in the world, as thousands of cops scoured the city in a frantic effort to track him down At roughly 10:30 am, the suspect was spotted - and photographed - dining outdoors at Dimes on Canal St., by a passerby who shared the two photos of the suspect to social media. He is one of five tipsters splitting a promised $50,000 reward Police have since confirmed that the man pictured in the photos was indeed James. The fifth person has not yet been identified, as Crime Stoppers reward recipients are offered the right of anonymity. James, who gave cops the slip by changing clothes following the brazen subway attack that saw a shooter fire off 33 shots, spent the night after the shooting at a Chelsea hostel steps away from a police precinct. Immediately after fleeing the scene at the 36th Street subway station, James - who donned a orange construction worker-style vest, hardhat, and gasmask during the attack - reportedly boarded a southbound R train for one stop, exiting at 25th Street. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is making the most of his Easter long weekend on a short getaway with his fiancee Vikki Campion and their two children. Joyce, 54, and Ms Campion, 37, were on the Queensland coast on Friday where they visited a water park in Gladstone with their sons, Seb and Tom. The National leader shared pictures in his trademark Akubra hat which sold later that afternoon at a charity auction for $6,100. Not a bad markup considering he bought it for about $245 in Alice Springs three months ago. Mr Joyce is travelling around the regions on his campaign for re-election at the polls on May 21 with the Nationals The couple and their two boys Seb and Tom (pictured) spent the day out at a water park The proceeds from the auction will go to Youngcare, a charity which provides supported housing for disabled youth. The hat blew the other auction items out of the water, with a limited edition Queensland jersey from the 2017 State of Origin going for the second highest price at $2,000. After the auction Mr Joyce and his family attended a Good Friday church service. On Saturday, Mr Joyce then went to the Paradise Lagoons horse show near Rockhampton. The major regional camp draft had a record of more than 300 riders and 2,400 horses nominated for entry into events to mark its 20th anniversary year. Some of the best horsemen in the country attend the annual event to compete for $145,000 in prizemoney and the coveted 'Gold Camp Oven' top trophy. Mr Joyce is almost 20 years Ms Campion's senior, who was one of his former staffers The pair reside together with their children in Armidale when Mr Joyce is not in Canberra The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development also announced funding for a new motorsports complex in Rockhampton. He had travelled to Queensland from Newcastle where he was touting a $55million upgrade of the Newcastle Airport. The Nationals are using their multi-billion dollar concessions for signing up to net zero emissions to springboard their election campaign in the regions. Mr Joyce offered his trademark Akubra hat for sale at a charity event in Rockhampton where it fetched $6,100 (pictured) Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion in Gladstone on Friday (pictured) The Coalition budget outlined a 'record' regional spend, including almost $18 billion worth of new land transport infrastructure investment. Mr Joyce has been traversing rural NSW and Queensland, plus the NT, turning sod on coal mines and launching major regional infrastructure projects. Mr Joyce's re-election proclamation has been to 'make Australia as strong as possible as quickly as possible' amid global uncertainty by boosting exports in sectors like mining and minerals. A 19th century park named after William Gladstone could be renamed 'Diane Abbott Park' after a long-running review into slavery links by a Labour-run council in the capital. Gladstone Park in north west London, named a year after the Prime Minister's death in 1898, could be rebranded after Brent Borough Council asked schoolchildren to choose its new name. Pupils were briefed on the killing of George Floyd and 'systematic racism' by a race expert, as youngsters as young as five suggested the 86acre park be named after Ms Abbott, 68. Other mooted ideas included calling the green space, which has loved by the public for 121 years, 'BAME park', 'multi-faith park' and 'diversity fields', the Telegraph reports. Left-wing councillors at Brent Council said they continuing 'engagement', pending a final decision on a new name for Gladstone Park, which has been running since the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. William Gladstone, a four-time Prime Minister who described slavery as the 'foulest crime' in history, was described by Brent Council as a 'historical figure whose views, in association with the slave trade, are inappropriate'. Gladstone Park in north west London, named after the 19th century Prime Minister following his death in 1898, could be rebranded after Labour MP Diane Abbott (above) after Brent Borough Council asked schoolchildren to choose its new name Other mooted ideas included calling the 86 acre green space in north London, which has loved by the public for 121 years, 'BAME park', 'multi-faith park' and 'diversity fields' Council documents show the pupils were shown a video message by Dr Inge Dornan of Brunel University, who told them: 'The Black community in Brent continue to be affected by inequalities. 'The council is talking to local people about what we can all do to address injustice, prejudice and racism. 'As part of this, Brent residents have asked the council to consider renaming Gladstone Park. This is because the Gladstone family were involved historically in the transatlantic slave trade.' Other suggestions proposed by the schoolchildren, aged between five and 13, under plans to address 'injustice, prejudice and racism', included 'Rainbow Park' and 'Peace Park of Equals'. Gladstone - the British prime minister between 1868 and 1894 and widely considered one of the country's most influential leaders - never owned slaves himself, but his family had links to the trade. William Gladstone's father, the merchant John Gladstone, owned more than 2,500 slaves and was compensated by the British Government when it abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1833. Even though William spoke out in favour of the rights of plantation owners early in his career, he later said the abolition of slavery was one of the great political issues on which the 'masses had been right'. Despite this, he had pushed for slave owners, such as his father, to receive compensation in the wake of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the 1830s - and they received approximately 90,000, or around 9.5m in modern day. Gladstone - the British prime minister between 1868 and 1894 and widely considered one of the country's most influential leaders - never owned slaves himself, but his family had strong links to the trade Brent Council's Tory representatives have slammed the attempts to rewrite history, and described efforts to change the park's name as an attempt at 'indoctrination'. Cllr Michael Maurice told the Telegraph: 'We seem to be living in a society where the innocence of children is being slowly taken away. This seems just one more bite at it. 'This is yet another example of left-wing infiltration into our everyday lives. The choices given to the children are all politically motivated and leaning quite heavily to them left of the political spectrum. 'To my mind this could be considered at best political indoctrination and at worst brainwashing. 'History must never be re-written, what happened in the past should be used to understand what and why it happened and to make sure it doesnt happen again.' A Brent Council spokesperson told MailOnline: 'There are no plans to change the name of Gladstone Park.' Early in his political career, Gladstone himself defended the rights of plantation owners in the West Indies and spoke out against the abolition of slavery in a speech in Parliament. But Gladstone later became more critical of slavery and advanced proposals to help secure the 'effectual exclusion of slave-grown sugar' from domestic markets. And towards the end of his life, Gladstone, who was from Liverpool, also named the abolition of slavery as one of the ten great achievements of the previous sixty years on which 'the masses had been right and the classes had been wrong'. Gladstone, who served as Prime Minister for four separate terms totalling 12 years in the late 19th Century, was also responsible for major progressive reforms including extending voting rights to millions of Britons and introducing the secret ballot. He also championed home rule for Ireland and working-class rights. An Australian woman has issued a warning to beachgoers after catching a genital infection after swimming in the ocean, caused by contact with polluted flood and stormwater that had flowed into the sea. Jade soon realised something was wrong after going for a swim in Byron Bay's Belongil Beach a week after heavy floods in the northern NSW region in February. 'The water looked OK, and other people convinced me it was fine, I but I felt a burning sensation so got out quickly,' she told ABC. Jade went to her doctor, who confirmed she had both ear and vaginal infections. On a clear day, when floodwater hasn't been pouring into the sea, Byron Bay Beach (pictured) is beautiful Byron Bay Beach (pictured) after a storm. The La Nina weather pattern gave NSW one of its wettest summers on record What happened to her was almost certainly related to the phenomenal amount of rain hitting Australia's east over summer, which then continued into autumn caused by the La Nina weather pattern. The heavy rainfall sends more stormwater than normal into drains, which is not treated - and might not even be filtered, before it flows into creeks, rivers and the sea. This causes creeks and rivers to overflow and turn what is usually dry land into a turgid brown muck often containing agricultural and industrial pollution along. 'Floodwater can contain hazardous substances, including raw sewage, chemicals and other contaminants,' said Paul Douglas, the director of the North Coast Public Health Unit in NSW. A woman is pictured enjoying Byron Bay Beach in northern New South Wales at sunrise Erosion is seen from large swell during high tide at Queenscliff Beach on the east end of Manly Beach, NSW on March 3, 2022 Grainne O'Malley, who lives close to Manly beach on the north side of Sydney, said she has been very careful with when she swims in recent months. 'I normally swim in Manly at least twice a week, but the storms and flooding have made me very cautious. 'Who knows what all that rain washes into the sea,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Swimming safety advice after floods Avoid beaches and waterways if they are affected by pollutants Heavy rain and flood waters wash pollutants from streets, including rubbish, bird and dog faeces, cigarette butts, leaf litter and oil into the stormwater system Heavy rainfall can also trigger discharges from waste systems Hazardous materials and unidentified items on beaches should not be handled If you are handling waste and debris, wear gloves to avoid direct contact with the skin and to protect from injury while using tools and Wear protective footwear that covers your skin to avoid direct contact with flood waste and debris Source: EPA NSW Advertisement 'I have been checking beachwatch and I go in when it gives the all clear. It all depends on the wind and the tide.' Pollution becomes diluted as flood and stormwater flows into the ocean, but can still make people ill. Enterococci or E. coli bacteria, which is found in the faeces of virtually all birds and mammals, including humans, can be present in water after floods. 'While Enterococci and E. coli are not typically a health risk in and of themselves, they're a useful indicator of faecal contamination in the water,' said Dr Craig Evans of the University of Newcastle. 'Faeces often contains other organisms that do represent a health risk.' Accidentally swallowing water while swimming can lead to bacterial or viral organisms in it causing diarrhoea-type illnesses. The NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) advices that the best thing to do is to 'use your common sense. 'If you can see signs of pollution in the water, like discoloured water or debris floating on the surface, don't jump in. 'Never swim in floodwater and avoid swimming near stormwater drains.' The EPA adds that, if you're unsure about the safety of swimming at your local beach or swimming spot, speak to the lifeguards on duty or call the local council. A police dog has mauled a man's legs during a tussle in dense bushland on the NSW Central Coast. The 27-year-old man, who was reported missing, was seen by motorists running in the southbound lanes of the M1 near the Sparks Road off-ramp at Bushells Ridge about 6pm on Saturday, police say. The injured man was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition while under police guard after the dog attack The driver of a Ford Ranger utility swerved to avoid hitting him, but grazed him with his mirror. The horrified driver notified police and the man ran into thick bush. Police launched a search for the man, before he was found by an officer from the Dog Unit in nearby bushland. A violent struggle between the officer and the man followed and the police dog attacked the 27-year-old, causing severe injuries to his legs. The injured man was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition while under police guard. The officer suffered minor injuries to his face. The man A critical incident team from Brisbane Water Police District have launched an investigation into the incident. The findings of that investigation will be subject to an independent review. Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Apple farmers fear a trade deal with Australia that allows their farmers' crops to be treated with banned pesticides could ruin their livelihoods. Australia signed the agreement in December and hopes to triple its apple exports to the UK. But health campaigners say the country allows the use of 33 hazardous organophosphates in agriculture compared with four in the UK and that an influx of 'cheaper' and 'sub-standard' produce may threaten British orchards. Barny Butterfield, of Sandford Orchards in Devon, said: 'Imported products sold as equivalent but produced to lower and dangerous standards will chill the price the British farmer can achieve and undermine the fruit market. Above: Stock image of a girl in an orchard. Barny Butterfield, of Sandford Orchards in Devon, said: 'Imported products sold as equivalent but produced to lower and dangerous standards will chill the price the British farmer can achieve and undermine the fruit market. 'It will also rightly cause a loss of confidence from the consumer that what they are buying is safe.' The Government's own impact assessment shows the post-Brexit trade deal with Australia will result in a 94 million hit to local agriculture, forestry and fishing. Much of the initial anger over the deal focused on the removal of tariffs and quotas on imports of Australian beef and lamb, but Pesticide Action Network UK says the same risk extends to apples as Australia hopes to triple its share of the British market to 15 per cent. 'These tariffs pose an economic threat to the future of UK agriculture,' said the campaign group's Josie Cohen. 'They threaten to undercut British farmers with a flood of imported crops grown more cheaply on a larger scale and to lower standards.' Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide used against spiders and beetles, has been linked to developmental and behavioural problems in children and is banned in the UK, US and EU. Australia does ban its use in areas where children or pregnant women could come into contact with it, but it is allowed on farms. Barny Butterfield: 'It will also rightly cause a loss of confidence from the consumer that what they are buying is safe' Current UK legislation does not permit food with detectable levels of chlorpyrifos to be sold, but campaigners believe such small quantities of imports are tested that if more Australian apples are eaten by British consumers, there is a greater potential risk to health. The pesticide malathion is used worldwide, including in the UK, and while toxic, it is safe in low levels. But campaigners say Australian apples contain 100 times more of it than those in UK orchards. A report by the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission said last week: 'The FTA (free trade agreement) is likely to lead to increased imports of products that have been produced at lower cost by using pesticides in Australia that would not be permitted in the UK.' Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour's spokesman for international trade, said Ministers must 'come clean' on the impact of the deal on farmers and consumers. Two years ago, The Mail on Sunday launched the Save Our Family Farms campaign to stop the import of inferior food into the UK. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said last night the deal with Australia would not infringe Britain's right to 'regulate the import of products which are produced using pesticides'. A spokesman added: 'No detectable levels of residues of chlorpyrifos are permitted on food sold in the UK, including apples from Australia, and this will not change.' Hundreds of sex offenders have managed to avoid criminal records by saying sorry for their depraved acts, it was revealed today. Around 870 cases, which include five instances of child rape, have been dealt with via 'community resolution' across Britain in the previous two years. Under the controversial measure, sex pests admit their guilt and apologise but are never given a permanent criminal record, reports the Mirror. The victims of their wicked acts are asked for their opinion on the punishment, but official guidance warns their views will 'not be definitive'. Normally reserved for the lowest level crimes such as shoplifting, community resolution orders allow criminals who show genuine remorse to escape the full force of the law. But in some police jurisdictions, the 'slap on the wrist' punishment is being used to settle rape, flashing and child grooming cases. South Yorkshire Police, which faced a barrage of criticism over their bungled Rotherham abuse scandal, has used the scheme in 78 instances where sex crimes were said to have been committed. Victims, such as Rotherham child sex abuse survivor Sammy Woodhouse, 36, have shared their fury at the controversial orders. Hundreds of sex offenders have managed to avoid criminal records by apologising for their depraved acts, it was revealed today. [File image] Victims, such as Rotherham child sex abuse survivor Sammy Woodhouse, 36, have vented their fury at the controversial 'community resolution' orders Other police forces across Britain have been caught using the 'community resolution' measure to deal with rape cases. Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall, Durham, Cheshire and Nottinghamshire forces used it to deal with cases involving the rape of girls aged under 13. Similarly, Merseyside officers saw a 'community resolution' order as appropriate after a girl aged under 16 was raped. Police in Norfolk reacted similarly when a young boy was raped, the Mirror reports. Since 2020, seven cases involving rape - five of which involved children, were resolved using a community resolution order, per Home Office data. 414 sexual assaults, the vast majority (349) committed on girls and women, 23 cases of grooming and 166 of exposure were resolved in this way too. Dr Alison Heydari, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'Community resolutions and other out of court disposals are used in around one per cent of sexual cases. 'They may be typically applied where schoolchildren share inappropriate images or in cases of sex between underage children. We have made it clear out-of-court disposals are not to be used in serious cases.' But campaigners and MPs have reacted with fury at the news. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: 'It is an absolute disgrace that under this government horrific crimes are going without punishment. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper blasted the decision to use community resolution orders for serious crimes as 'an absolute disgrace' Fiona Mackenzie, of women's safety campaign group We Can't Consent To This, said: 'There is no justice for victims and no protection for the public in letting offenders off if they say sorry. 'So-called 'minor' sexual offences can be a path for offenders who go on to commit more and more serious crimes.' And the policy has been blasted by Rotherham sex abuse survivor Sammy Woodhouse - who was abused by Arshid Hussain when she was a teenager. Sammy said: 'I am furious. It is just insane. Why on earth would you allow a sex offender to say sorry and not be criminalised? 'I think it's fine to use this scheme for something like shoplifting. But I am struggling to find words on how I feel about it being used for rapists. 'What kind of message is this to be sending out? It's suggesting to sex offenders there will be no real consequences for their actions.' Veteran TV stars Penelope Keith, Sian Phillips and James Bolam have been plunged into a bitter row over allegations of bullying and harassment at a crisis-hit actors' charity. The Actors' Benevolent Fund, of which Prince Charles is Royal patron, is now being investigated by the Charity Commission. Trustees including Dame Sian, of I, Claudius fame, and Likely Lads actor Mr Bolam were reportedly ousted from the charity over claims they were 'bullying' general secretary Jonathan Ellicott. At a board meeting in February, Dame Sian, 88, and Mr Bolam, 86, along with the charity's head, The Good Life star Dame Penelope, 82, were told their trusteeships had been terminated in what observers described as a 'coup'. The actors then issued a 'formal complaint and grievance' about Mr Ellicott, warning that 'governance is a significant concern' and 'the council is dysfunctional'. Penelope Keith (pictured), 82, is one of several actors who have been accused of being intimidating a secretary at The Actors' Benevolent Fund James Bolam, 86, had his trusteeship terminated this year in what was described as a 'coup', as he and two actresses were ousted from an actors charity The fund, established in 1882, has assets of 30 million and spends more than 1 million a year helping actors or stage managers experiencing hardship. A year-long dispute has spread rancour through the organisation, with Mr Ellicott accusing trustees of bullying him by making requests for detailed financial information. Dame Penelope, who has been president since 1990, and her fellow trustees argued it was their legal duty to quiz Mr Ellicott. His position was described as untenable but a motion to have him removed was unsupported. The row even prompted a lawyer trustee to resign in protest, claiming Mr Ellicott's conduct 'leads me to conclude that he is not an appropriate person to have the day-to-day responsibility for the administration of the fund'. But Mr Ellicott has received backing from younger council members, one of whom complained to Dame Penelope that a trustee had disrespected the general secretary by quizzing him over signing cheques and using a company credit card. Dame Sian Phillips, 88, the president of The Actors' Benevolent Fund, is accused of being 'upsetting, intimidating' Mr Ellicott is reported to have lodged his own grievance complaint, accusing Dame Penelope of being 'upsetting, intimidating, and undermining towards me' after she suggested bringing in an independent mediator. Mr Ellicott's claims were said to have been dismissed by an outside consultant and a specialist lawyer. He is reported to have then said he would be willing to quit for a 100,000 settlement. Records at the end of the financial year show Mr Ellicott left his role, but the terms of his departure were not specified. Dame Sian said she was 'looking forward to the conclusion of the Charity Commission investigation', adding that Private Eye, the satirical magazine which first reported the feud, had 'summed it up very well'. A Charity Commission spokesman said the case was ongoing, adding: 'We are assessing concerns reported to us about the charity's governance.' The restaurant that hosted JK Rowling's women-only lunch is facing a backlash over claims that staff questioned the absence of any males. The Harry Potter author organised the boozy gathering at the exclusive River Cafe in Hammersmith, West London, last weekend for campaigners who have also been targeted by the trans lobby. One of the guests, journalist Suzanne Moore, revealed in an article that Ms Rowling was asked 'No men?' when she called the restaurant to book a private room for ten women. JK Rowling organised the boozy gathering at the exclusive River Cafe in Hammersmith, West London, last weekend for campaigners who have also been targeted by the trans lobby Critics reacted furiously to the revelation on social media, with one writing on Twitter: 'I've often booked a restaurant table for a group that is only women and never been asked, 'No men?'. 'What kind of establishment is the River Cafe? Do they have an obligatory penis policy? Or are they trying to keep hen parties out?' Another added: 'I've literally never been asked the specific gender mix of any group booking I've made. The only thing I've ever been asked is if there's any children. Why would they even want to know the gender of everyone going?' And one asked: 'Why would the restaurant ask whether there were men coming or not when booking a table? When I book a table I don't expect to have to say it's for four men, or four women. It's a table for eight.' Ms Rowling has been targeted by trans activists and ostracised by a number of Harry Potter actors including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint since tweeting #IStandWithMaya in 2019 in support of Maya Forstater, who lost her job at a think-tank after saying that people cannot change their biological sex. Ms Forstater, who won an employment tribunal last year over the case, was among the guests at the lunch. One of the guests, journalist Suzanne Moore, revealed that Ms Rowling was asked 'No men?' when she called the restaurant to book a private room for ten women. Pictured: The River Cafe Others included Labour MP Rosie Duffield, previously criticised for tweeting 'only women have a cervix'; academic Kathleen Stock, who resigned her job at Sussex University following protests over her comments on transgender issues; and feminist campaigner Julie Bindel. A photograph posted on Twitter by Ms Rowling showed the party drinking red and white wine. Alongside it, she wrote: 'There was a lunch and I'm not saying I've only just sobered up enough to type this tweet but at the same time, I'm not not saying that', adding purple, green and white heart emojis and #respectmysex. The restaurant was founded by two women, Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray, in 1987 and won a Michelin star ten years later. Regular customers include Stella McCartney, Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow. Gin lovers have been given a tonic by conservationists who have turned the tide on a worrying decline in Britains native juniper bushes. It was feared the plant, a rare conifer that produces the fragrant berries used to flavour the spirit, was heading towards the brink of extinction after decades of overgrazing and changes to land use. But conservation project Plantlife hopes the number of juniper bushes will more than double in some southern counties thanks to its replanting efforts. It was feared the plant, a rare conifer that produces the fragrant berries (pictured above) used to flavour gin, was heading towards the brink of extinction after decades of overgrazing and changes to land use In recent years, the plants range across the country has fallen by nearly 50 per cent, also threatening the survival of more than 100 invertebrate and fungi species supported by it. Ten years ago, Plantlife set up special nursery sites for wild juniper seeds to germinate. Now, after a recent injection of government funds, new bushes are thriving at 14 locations in six counties. Gin lovers will be pleased to hear that Now, after a recent injection of government funds, new bushes are thriving at 14 locations in six counties Project areas in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire have been selected to repopulate juniper on a larger scale because they feature the southern chalk grassland where shrubs can most easily be re-established and grow in clusters. Ian Dunn, chief executive of Plantlife, said: Juniper was once a common feature of chalk downlands but is now facing extinction in southern Britain. There is one juniper bush on the Isle of Wight and just 14 in Dorset. This vital funding offers fresh hope to the beloved purple-berried beauty as it paves the way for Plantlife conservationists to work closely with landowners to expand on tried and tested methods to catalyse regeneration from seed. A 2019 letter signed by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that opposed the MTA's plan at the time to hire 500 more NYPD cops to patrol the subway system has resurfaced, as transit crimes skyrocket and the city grapples with the aftermath of a subway shooting that saw 10 injured this week. At the time, Ocasio-Cortez and several fellow progressives vehemently opposed an MTA plan to hire new cops to patrol the subways. Now, the letter is coming under scrutiny following a shooting rampage in a Brooklyn subway left at least 30 injured and caused widespread panic in its wake last week. 'In our view, desperately needed resources would be better invested in subway, bus, maintenance and service improvements,' the letter reads. 'We are urging the MTA to divest from this current model of criminalization.' The letter claimed that 'communities of color' would be unfairly targeted by the new officers. At the time, Ocasio-Cortez also shared the letter on Twitter, writing: 'Punishing the poor does not create a safer environment. Instead it threatens the very foundation of our community. 'That is why my New York colleagues and I wrote a letter to [New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo] asking him to help put an end to MTA's dangerous policing policy.' The letter - which was also signed by Upper West Side Rep. Jerry Nadler and former Bronx Rep. Jose Serrano, as well as State Sens. Michael Gianaris, Luis Sepulveda, Jessica Ramos, Julia Salazar and Alessandra Biaggi - warned of the 'historic racial disparities in enforcement.' Meanwhile, the number of crimes in the subway has jumped 55 percent from the same period last year, according to data. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks at a press conference about stock trading by members of Congress. Members of Congress Discuss Stock Trading in Washington, DC The 2019 letter, signed by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that opposed the MTA's plan to put 500 more NYPD cops to patrol subway system resurfaced on Saturday Page two of the letter signed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2019 In 2020, Ocasio-Cortez joined other top progressive Democrats in backing a growing movement to defund police departments in the wake of George Floyd's death. The congresswoman from the Bronx has voiced support for policy solutions aimed at combating police brutality and racial injustice. Ocasio-Cortez had said she's 'actively engaged in advocacy' for a 'reduction of our NYPD budget and defunding a $6 billion NYPD budget that costs us books in the hands of our children and costs us very badly needed investment in NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] and public housing.' DailyMail.com reached out to Ocasio-Cortez for comment. As of last week, workday ridership on the subway is still at about 60 percent of what it was before the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020 with 3.3 million riders using the system. In March alone, the number of crimes in the subway jumped 55 percent, from the same period last year, according to the latest NYPD statistics. There were 180 crimes reported in March of this year compared to 118 crimes for 2021. This week to date, there have been 39 transit crimes opposed to 15 the same time last year, making for a whopping 160 percent increase. There was a nearly 20 percent spike in felony assaults in the week through April 10, and almost a 45 percent increase in overall crime, as well. Law enforcement officials lead subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, 62, right, away from a police station and into a vehicle, in New York, Wednesday, April 13, 2022 Pictured: New Yorkers on their way to work treat victims of a shooting on the Manhattan bound platform of the 36th Street N, R and D station.36th Street Station shooting in Brooklyn Meanwhile, ahead of the shooting last week, it was revealed that New York City Mayor Eric Adams had been warned multiple times there were not enough cops on the subway. Only after 10 people were shot in the most recent attack to rock the city, did Adams vow to double the number of police out patrolling the system. The mayor pledged to ramp up the uniformed cops out and about as he spoke from Covid isolation. But it appeared to be too little, too late, as the suspect had been able to blast a carriage full of passengers and make off without cops grabbing him. New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during the news conference at Harlem Hospital after the shooting in Harlem on January 21, 2022, in New York Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attended an Easter Sunday church service with his family on day seven of the election campaign. Mr Morrison, his wife Jenny and daughters Lily and Abbey arrived at the Horizon Church in Sutherland, Sydney on Sunday morning. Two days earlier, Labor leader Anthony Albanese mingled with Mrs Morrison at the St Charbel Maronite Church in Punchbowl, south-west Sydney, for Good Friday. The Opposition Leader did a reading during that service with former prime minister Tony Abbot also in the pews, while Mr Morrison went to the Syndal Baptist Church in Glen Waverley, Melbourne. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, wife Jenny and daughters Abbey and Lily arrive for an Easter service at the Horizon Church in Sutherland (pictured) Mr Morrison has been a member of the Pentecostal church for years Mr Albanese sat in the front row of the congregation and across the aisle from Mrs Morrison and her daughters. He was all smiles as he mingled with Mr Abbott before approaching Mrs Morrison to say hello. The first week of the election campaign for both Mr Albanese and Mr Morrison has been particularly hard fought. In between church services, Mr Morrison visited Sydney's Royal Easter Show on Saturday. Despite Mr Morrison's recent interactions with the public - including an angry voter who confronted him at a Newcastle pub - his reception at the show went smoothly. The Prime Minister is in full campaign mode, having spent the day at the Royal Easter show on Saturday (pictured: Mr Morrison arriving at Horizon church) Mr and Mrs Morrison greet Horizon Church Pastor Brad Bonhomme and wife Alison Hundreds of punters got in on the action, battling the press pack to lay eyes on the man who has been running the country for the past three years. The Prime Minister was more than happy to oblige with handshakes, selfies, waves and high fives. Colleen, 57, from Sydney's Northern Beaches said while she wasn't going to vote for the Liberals in May, she still made a point of trying to see the prime minister when she realised he'd arrived. 'I think it's good to see (politicians) to know that they're meeting people and talking ... (but) I'm hoping to see a change at the next election,' she said. It was a sentiment shared by Matt, visiting from Canberra with his partner Raphael, who said meeting with the public was important. Mrs Morrison and her daughters Abbey and Lily were seated in the front row and not far from former Liberal leader Tony Abbott and were greeted by Anthony Albanese at a Good Friday service in Sydney (pictured) Opposition leader Anthony Albanese at the same Easter Service attended by Mrs Morrison and Mr Abbott Mrs Morrison also did a reading during the Easter service at St Charbel Maronite Church on Good Friday 'This is cool, everyone's excited to see him and obviously he's got security but I think this is one of the only countries in the world where you can get so close to a prime minister,' he said. But it wasn't all smiles and selfies for the prime minister. Mudgee-born Tiana, 30, told AAP despite the seemingly warm reception, she didn't think the visit would change the public's opinion on the past three years with him in the top job. Mr Morrison shakes hands with parishioners at the Syndal Baptist Church in Glen Waverley in Melbourne on Friday 'He still has a lot of issues, people in rural Australia would be aware of his positions on climate change and I doubt showing his face is changing their opinions,' she said. Anthony Albanese has also had a tough first week of his campaign, particularly on Monday where he couldn't state basic economic figures such as the cash rate and the unemployment rate. Mr Morrison jumped on the blunder accusing Mr Albanese of having 'no idea' about Australia's post-Covid economic recovery. The family of a British fighter who was captured in Ukraine has rubbished claims he is a spy and demanded the British government help to get him back on home soil. Russia's state TV channels broadcast suspect footage of former care worker Aiden Aslin being questioned by his captors after he was forced to surrender in Mariupol this week. Mr Aslin, 28, joined the Ukrainian marines four years ago. The former care worker has dual UK-Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian fiancee, yet Russia appears determined to brand him an enemy agent rather than a prisoner of war. But speaking from the family home in Balderton, Nottinghamshire today, his brother, Nathan Wood begged the Foreign Office to intervene after Aiden was branded a spy by the Kremlin - prompting fears he will be treated more harshly than a PoW. It comes as a second British fighter was yesterday captured by Russian forces in Ukraine and paraded on state television. Ex-British Army soldier Shaun Pinner, 48, was serving in the Ukrainian Marines. Looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds, he said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. I was captured in Mariupol. 'I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marine. I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People's Republic.' There is concern for his safety amid fears that he could treated as a spy by the Kremlin. Speaking from the family home in Balderton, Nottinghamshire today, Nathan Wood begged the Foreign Office to intervene after Aiden Aslin was branded a spy by the Kremlin - prompting fears he will be treated more harshly than a PoW Mr Aslin, 28, joined the Ukrainian marines four years ago. The former care worker has dual UK-Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian fiancee. He is pictured with his brother Nathan, above An image uploaded to his social media shows Aiden, 28, bruised, beaten and in handcuffs A second image, posted by a pro-Russia Telegram account, was closer to captured Aiden's cut 25-year-old Nathan told the Mirror: 'They are spinning it that Aidan's a mercenary and a spy but he is not, absolutely not. They have no proof. It's all lies. 'They have no evidence. They are trying to make an example of him.' His mother, Angela Wood, said she also had concerns for Aiden's safety if he was treated as a foreign spy. 'We have grave concerns and fears, especially if he is being treated as a mercenary and not a prisoner of war.' 'The Russian authorities will have had his documents when they seized him, they will know that he is a Ukrainian soldier fighting legitimately.' The Foreign Office, which has always advised Britons to not venture out to Ukraine as part of any 'Lads Army' effort, said: 'We are aware of the detention of a British national and have been in touch with their family to support them.' Yesterday, Pinner was shown on a military TV channel linked to war journalist Andrey Rudenko, who works closely with the Kremlin and also shot the footage of Aslin. He reportedly told the Russians that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'. Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee, it was announced today. Brit fighter Shaun Pinner has been captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol. He was paraded on Russian television looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds. He said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner' Shaun Pinner, 48, was known to have been serving as a 'contract soldier' with Kyiv forces, fighting side by side with Ukrainian marines to defend the key strategic port of Mariupol He reportedly told his Russians captors that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home' He was described as 'an English mercenary who served in the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Marines as a stormtrooper and is now in captivity. 'This is the second Englishman caught in Mariupol.' Pinner's friends expressed deep concern for his safety. Jayson Pihajlic, a UK-based friend, said: 'Another former comrade of ours has been captured. Social media seems to be the reason Aiden has not yet been executed. 'I hope the same for my brother Shaun Pinner.' His fate in the hands of the Russians and the separatist authorities in Donetsk remains uncertain. In early March, around a week after Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine, Pinner gave a hard-hitting dispatch from near the front line, describing the situation as 'chaos'.At the time, he said he had endured a 'week of intense fighting'. The 48-year-old, who previously served in the Royal Anglian Regiment, also confirmed a number of his squad had died in the early days of the war, saying : 'We've lost a couple of guys today'. Mr Pinner filmed the dispatch as Vladimir Putin's men laid siege to Kyiv and other major Ukranian cities. In the video he does not reveal his location for security reasons. Since then, Russian forces have pulled back from the Kyiv region to refocus their efforts on the east of the country. Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee, it was announced today Mr Pinner, who previously served in the Royal Anglian Regiment, said he now fought with the Ukrainian Marines The first British fighter captured in Mariupol was former care worker Aiden Aslin. Russia's state TV channels have broadcast suspect footage of Aslin being questioned by his captors after he was also forced to surrender in Mariupol. Mr Aslin, 28, joined the Ukrainian marines four years ago. He has dual UK-Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian fiancee, yet Russia appears determined to brand him an enemy agent rather than a prisoner of war. The distinction is significant as under Russian law, those suspected of espionage face interrogation and lengthy prison sentences. Whereas POWs are released at the end of hostilities, convicted spies may remain behind bars, perhaps until an exchange of agents can be arranged. Kremlin-approved TV reporter Andrey Rudenko said in a Russian news broadcast Mr Aslin was an English mercenary 'used [by the West] to perform various delicate tasks', adding: 'I am sure he will be able to shed light on the actions of Western intelligence agencies in Ukraine.' Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, was paraded on TV with his face bruised. It is thought he is being held in a military detention facility. Footage shows him being questioned by one of his captors off camera and he supposedly agrees with the suggestion that 'those who stood with you [in Ukraine], they are killers'. It remains unclear whether the recording was doctored for political purposes. But last night Mr Aslin's brother Nathan Wood said: 'People should not believe anything the Russians say or are making my brother say. He is being held against his will and forced to say whatever they tell him to. 'Anything that comes out of my brother's mouth now, and the mouths of his Russian captors, are lies.' Both Pinner and Aslin are believed to have been captured while fighting with Ukrainian soldiers to defence Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine. The city has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by seemingly indiscriminate Russian shelling. Russian forces have in recent days made advances in Mariupol with Moscow claiming on Wednesday that its troops had taken control of the final Ukrainian strongholds in the city including the Azovstal industrial complex, where Kyiv's forces have been holed up in a hellish last stand for several days. But Ukrainian marines who have teamed up with the Azov regiment to defend Mariupol yesterday appeared in a video to rebuff the claims as they denounced more than 1,000 fellow soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces on Wednesday and vowed to do 'whatever it takes' to protect the city. A view shows the gates of the Illich Steel and Iron Works damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 15, 2022 Over 20,000 civilians are believed to have been killed, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, and countless numbers have fled. It is one of a number of sites were international investigators believe war crimes have taken place - including the bombing of a maternity war and of a theatre sheltering hundreds of people. Amid fears that Mariupol could soon fall under complete Russian control, Ukraine said on Friday that it was still trying to break the siege of the city, as fighting raged around the city's massive steel works and port. If Moscow captures Mariupol, it would be the only big city to fall to the Russians so far. Russia's defence ministry said it had captured the city's Illich steel works. The report could not be confirmed. Ukrainian defenders are mainly believed to be holding out in Azovstal, another huge steel works. Both plants are owned by Metinvest. 'The situation in Mariupol is difficult and hard. Fighting is happening right now. The Russian army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city,' defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told a televised briefing, although he said the Russians have not completely captured it. Motuzyanyk said Russia had used long-range bombers to attack Mariupol for the first time since its Feb. 24 invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting on Friday with the country's military leaders and the heads of its intelligence agencies. 'The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,' Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation. A local resident crosses a street damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 15, 2022 On Friday, it was alleged that Russian troops in Mariupol are digging up thousands of dead civilians and burning their bodies in mobile crematoriums in a possible bid to destroy evidence of atrocities like the ones discovered in Bucha and other towns outside Kyiv when the Russians withdrew from the region. Mariupol's city council - in a post on Telegram - said Moscow's men were exhuming bodies buried in residential courtyards within the city and were assigning watchmen to each square to stop locals from reburying their dead friends and relatives. 'Why the exhumation is being carried out and where the bodies will be taken is unknown,' the council said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app. On Thursday, Mayor Vadym Boychenko warned corpses 'carpeted the streets' of Mariupol as he accused Moscow of incinerating tens of thousands of civilians killed during a siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water and heating. From the hellhole of Syria to the ruins of Mariupol: How British care worker accused by Putin of being a Western spy took up arms fighting ISIS... before joining Ukraine's marines to expel the Russian invaders By Jack Wright For Mailonline Defeated, beaten and bruised, with a swollen eye and a nasty gash across his forehead, Aiden 'Johnny' Aslin's worst fears that he would become a pawn in Putin's deranged 'bulls**t' propaganda if he was captured by the Russians tragically came true this week. The British former care worker was paraded on Kremlin-backed TV from an undisclosed location after surrendering when he ran out of ammunition in Mariupol, the besieged southern port city which for many has become the lasting image of Moscow's invasion. Aslin, who appeared to have been tortured, was described as a 'mercenary' who had 'fought on the side of the Nazis in Ukraine' by Rossiya 1 TV news presenter Andrey Rudenko, as he was asked a series of questions about his motives for taking up arms. Fighting with Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, who had themselves teamed up with the Azov regiment, a neo-Nazi unit of the National Guard of Ukraine which has allegedly committed war crimes in the east, Aslin was accused of 'shelling kids in Donbas for years', before he was forced to denounce his Ukrainian army comrades as 'criminals'. Now facing the nightmare possibility that Aslin will be bundled to Russia and executed, the 28-year-old's terrified family today insisted that he is not a mercenary, and begged Putin to abide by the terms of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war. They also pointed out that for Aslin who has lived in Ukraine for the past four years, has a Ukrainian fiancee and joint citizenship is not a volunteer, but a 'legit' marine who has made the former Soviet republic's fight for national survival his own fight. It is a surprising twist in the tale for those unacquainted with Aslin's tale from taking up arms against ISIS maniacs in one of the worst wars to have engulfed the Middle East in decades, to his struggle against the British state after it accused him of terrorism. Born in Newark, Nottinghamshire in 1994, Aslin worked as a care worker before deciding to join the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the US-backed militia which had spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria, to fight the jihadists in 2015. Having learned of the atrocities committed by ISIS and their abuse of Kurdish people, and convinced that Britain was not doing enough to bring about their defeat, he made the extraordinary decision to run towards the sound of gunfire. Aiden Aslin is pictured in military gear. Born in Newark in 1994, he worked as a care worker before deciding to join the YPG, the US-backed militia which had spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria, to fight jihadists in 2015 Aiden Aslin poses for a photo in military gear. He has lived in Ukraine for the past four years Aiden Aslin smiles for the camera. He was persuaded of Ukraine's cause against Russia and moved to the country in 2018 In an interview talking about his experiences of fighting Islamic State, using a different name for the terror network, Aslin said: 'I support UK air strikes against IS. Anyone who doesn't, feel free to come over and see for yourself the difference the air strikes make. 'Daesh is like a cancer. You leave it untreated and it is going to keep growing. Anti-war protesters have no idea what kind of people Daesh are. They can't be negotiated with.' That April, he bought a ticket at Gatwick Airport to fly to the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniya, where the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had its headquarters in the Qandil Mountains. But before he could board the plane, he was stopped by UK Border Police who questioned his claim that he was going there on a backpacking trip. He later described how he eventually admitted to officers that he was joining the fight against ISIS and was allowed to continue his journey. Aslin poses for a photo on a tour of Syria in 2015 Aslin spent about 10 months in the YPG's ranks in Syria, where he was linked to the Lions of Rojava unit and involved in the Coalition-backed offensive that expelled ISIS from al-Hawl. Before his arrest in Britain, Aslin described dodging artillery and incoming bullets as his unit played a key role in capturing enemy territory near Mount Sinjar to which tens of thousands of refugees headed after fleeing ISIS. The Lions of Rojava were taking on gunmen from ISIS in al-Hawl when Aslin's makeshift armoured car came under direct enemy fire. 'I was going towards IS fighters who were less than 60 metres away,' he said. 'I was in a home-made tank. I heard the bullets hitting the outside of the tank and waited for rocket-propelled grenades to hit. 'The village had a lot of improvised explosive devices too, so as well as looking out for Daesh, we also had to watch where we stepped. They also tried to counter-attack us using car bombs. 'But mainly, they were driven out of the area by air strikes. We were able to find the frequency for their radios and heard a conversation between Daesh commanders. Our female fighters translated this and said the enemy were running out of food and water.' It is thought that Aslin spent approximately ten months in the YPG's ranks before making his journey back to Europe. After negotiating with the British Consulate in Erbil because he had lost his passport, he landed at Heathrow on February 3, 2016, where he was arrested on the plane and taken to Nottinghamshire Police headquarters for questioning over a suspected terrorism offence all while his family had been waiting for him. Aslin was held for 30 hours while police quizzed him over claims he had allegedly 'engaged in the preparation to fight against Daesh' and 'possessed articles for terrorist purposes in Iraq/Syria'. He was then arrested and placed on bail before all charges were dropped in October 2016. Aslin's bail conditions meant he had to report to Newark Police Station three times a week and could not travel abroad. However, the YPG was not a proscribed terror group in the UK at the time, and his case attracted protests from the Kurdish community in the UK and national politicians including his then local Conservative MP Robert Jenrick. 'Mr Aslin took an extremely brave decision to fight with our allies,' Mr Jenrick crowed. 'It is now Home Office and police policy to arrest such individuals under counter-terrorism legislation on their return to UK. Even if, as is most likely, they are not charged, that will remain on their record and they will not be able, for example, to enter the United States for the rest of their lives.' Aiden Aslin is pictured circled left in this image taken from social media in Ukraine Aiden (circled) is pictured with Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, who fought with Azov in Mariupol Aiden Aslin is pictured with a shaven head in Ukraine. He has been fighting the Russian invaders The misery and desolation of Mariupol Smoke rise after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, March 4, 2022 Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling. Over 20,000 civilians are believed to have been killed, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, and countless numbers have fled. It is one of a number of sites were international investigators believe war crimes have taken place - including the bombing of a maternity war and of a theatre sheltering hundreds of people. Amid fears that Mariupol could soon fall under complete Russian control, Ukraine said on Friday that it was still trying to break the siege of the city, as fighting raged around the city's massive steel works and port. Russian forces plan to close access to Mariupol on Monday and ban movement within its districts in order to filter Ukrainian men, some of whom will be forced to fight against their own country, an advisor to the city's mayor has said. Petro Andryushchenko said today men in Mariupol would be 'filtered' by Moscow, meaning some would be made to clear rubble, some would be forced to join the Russian army, and those deemed 'unreliable' would be 'isolated'. The Mayor's advisor wrote on Telegram that the process had already reached 'maximum momentum', with Russian forces using filtration camps and checkpoints to determine which of the city's residents could still be of use to them. Those going through the filtration system were being subjected to 'interrogation, gadget testing and body examination,' he said. Andryushchenko also said that the Kremlin plans to shut off the besieged port city from April 18 (Monday) to anyone wishing to enter or exit. Russia is doing this, he said, because the Mariupol is no longer hospitable for the residents who have stayed behind since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Advertisement After his bail was lifted, Aslin thundered: 'No fighter should have to go through what I went through if it can be avoided. I feel vindicated. 'I have had nine months of being made to feel like a terrorist. I should never have been arrested. I should never have spent any time on bail. I should have been interviewed for any intelligence I might hold on ISIS and allowed to go free.' After his passport was returned to him by Nottinghamshire Police, Aslin then left the UK for a second time in January 2017 to join the battle to reclaim Raqqa from ISIS. That July, fearing that he would be arrested a second time if he went back to Britain, Aslin left the Middle East for Greece, where he said he was doing 'humanitarian work' teaching English at a Kurdish refugee camp. In a fascinating turn of events, he decided to go home on a flight on July 16, before changing his mind. It later transpired that armed police stormed the plane after it landed in the UK, only to find he was not on board. There appeared to be no love lost either between Aslin and Britain. 'I did my seven months [in Syria] and was just exhausted. So I came to Greece to do humanitarian work at a refugee camp for Kurds to help teach them English so they have a smoother time going though Europe and can better report exploitation and sexual harassment, missing family members and things like that,' he told his local newspaper. 'I'm probably going to live in Greece.' He added: 'I'm done with Britain's treatment towards us when I was in Rojava. I had met members of the US 82nd Airborne Division just outside the town of Jezra during the operation to take it and, for a few days, got to know them by joking around the fire and socialising. 'Over there we are allies, but when we return we are treated as the enemy.' In September 2017, Aslin ultimately decided to risk it by flying back to Britain. He was then arrested at Manchester Airport at around 2am under the Terrorism Act, as the Home Office had warned. It is not clear if any charges were brought against Aslin, but he then moved to Ukraine in 2018 after falling in love with a woman from Mykolaiv. While he had been fighting with the YPG in 2015, he had met Ukrainian volunteer who had fought against Russian forces in the Donbas. Whatever was said, Aslin was persuaded of Ukraine's cause against the Russian aggressor, and signed up for the regular military after moving to Kyiv. Two months of basic training later, Aslin qualified as a private in the Ukrainian marine infantry. He completed three tours of the Donbas frontline before Putin's armies burst through the border on February 24 this year. Aslin, who uses the nom de guerre 'Cossack Gundi', had been due to get married last week to his Ukrainian fiancee, who remains unnnamed. But as his unit, the 36th Marine Brigade, became surrounded by Russian forces bombarding the city of Mariupol, his communication with the outside world became increasingly sporadic. Aiden's younger brother previously told MailOnline the fighter's family had received little information about his whereabouts or his condition, and expressed concern he would be treated poorly by his Russian captors. It was to their horror that they then saw him paraded on Russian state television this week, appearing as if he had been tortured. Reports on Russian TV claimed Aslin was 'shelling kids in Donbas for years' and will 'face justice as a foreign mercenary', rather than treating him as a prisoner of war. In later video, Aslin was interrogated by his captors and forced to denounce his co-combatants as 'criminals'. He was supposedly asked on TV: 'You said [on social media] you came to protect Ukraine, but those who stood with you, they are killers.' He supposedly replies: 'I think you are correct. I said we must go home. If Ukraine really wants peace it would leave the Donbas. From day one in Mariupol I always said that we needed to leave, because Donbas is recognised as independent, Luhansk too.' He is also asked: 'Why did they [the Ukrainians] kill peaceful people?' Aslin supposedly replies: 'Because they are criminals, they killed people when people went for food. The Ukrainian army picked up all the food from supermarkets and forced people to carry water.' When Aslin is asked: 'What was your post?', he supposedly replies: 'I refused to fire. I told a commander I didn't want to fight. I spent all the time in a bunker because I was scared.' Rudenko, the TV reporter, then tells viewers: 'Aiden Aslin is a subject of Great Britain. He is an English mercenary and fought on the side of the Nazis in Ukraine. In my opinion he is not an ordinary mercenary but a person who was used [by the West] to perform various delicate tasks. 'And I sure he will be able to shed light on the actions of Western intelligence agencies in Ukraine.' So what of Aslin's plight now? Outside of further British diplomatic pressure, it is not clear what will happen to the prisoner of war. Aslin's anguished mother Angela Wood, 50, had told the Mail from Newark: 'I'm in bits. My son will be just as scared as we are. 'I now hold Vladimir Putin to the terms of the Geneva Convention.' Whether Putin will restrain himself remains to be seen. Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn is drawing heat for spending nearly $5,000 in taxpayer money on what was termed a 'legislative planning food and beverage' visit to a swanky resort in North Carolina. Cawthorn, 26, spent $2,950 on August 9 from his members representational allowance at Skylaranna, a getaway hotel and resort based in his hometown of Hendersonville, according to expense reports first obtained and analyzed by the Washington Examiner. Skylaranna claims to boast luxury accommodations for romantic dinners, weddings, and corporate events that run up to $329 a night in some rooms. Representative Cawthorn also billed taxpayers more than $2,000 that same week for trips to Chick-fil-A, Bojangles chicken, Joey's NY Bagels and non-detailed payments to his government Citibank card, according to the expense report. All were categorized as 'legislative planning food and beverage' expenses. The total for the week was just under $5,000 in planning expenses between the food and accommodations. Controversial Republican Representative Madison Cawthorn is drawing heat for spending nearly $3,000 in taxpayer money on what was termed a 'legislative planning food and beverage' visit to a swanky resort in North Carolina The Skylaranna claims to boast luxury accommodations for romantic dinners, weddings, and corporate events that run up to $329 a night in some rooms The Skylaranna is a luxury resort located in Cawthorn's hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina The Skylaranna was originally built in 1956 as a private estate but was bought in 2019 by its current owners That same week, Cawthorn had tweeted: 'Democratic politicians certainly love wasting your hard-earned tax dollars while forcing your businesses to shut down.' A spokesman for Cawthorn told the Examiner that the expenses were for what they termed a 'district retreat.' 'Our district retreat occurred on those dates; those expenses were for the district and D.C. staff on the retreat. Nearly every office on Capitol Hill has a district retreat and a budget specifically designated for one,' Luke Ball said. Members of the House of Representatives get an average $1.5 million allowance to pay for staff, offices and expenses. They're allowed two 'legislative planning sessions' per year in their home states but no funds that are 'primarily social in nature' can be spent from those allowances. Only one member of the House spent more on legislative planning events than Cawthorn - Texas Republican Kay Granger - while 286 reps spent $0 on the events, the Examiner reported. The news comes amid reports that Cawthorn's re-election campaign spent more than it raised in the first quarter of 2022 and entered April with just $242,000 cash on hand and debts of $127,000, according to a Friday FEC filing. Representative Cawthorn also billed taxpayers over $2,000 that same week for trips to restaurants like Chic-fil-A and Bojangles Cawthorn has spent his entire tenure in Congress as a lightning rod for controversy. Last month, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said the 26-year-old had lost his trust after admitting his claims about Washington were exaggerated, and he said he may take further action over the comments, which caused an angry outcry among Hill Republicans. Cawthorn was asked during an interview about how much D.C. resembles Netflix show House of Cards, specifically its elements of 'corruption, power, money and perversion.' The North Carolina Republican replied that the 'sexual perversion' and drug use is just like what people saw on television. 'The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington ... being kind of a young guy in Washington where the average age is probably 60 or 70, I look at all these people - a lot of them who I've looked up to throughout my life ... then all of a sudden you get invited to like, "well hey we're going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes. You should come," like, what did you just ask me to come to? 'And then you realize they're asking you to come to an orgy.' 'There's some of the people that are leading the movement to try and remove addiction in our country and then you watch them doing, you know, a key bump of cocaine in front of you and it's like wow, this is wild.' McCarthy said Cawthorn admitted he had exaggerated his claims. 'In the interview, he claims he watched people do cocaine. Then when he comes in he tells me, he says he thinks he saw maybe a staffer in a parking garage from 100 yards away,' McCarthy said. 'It's just frustrating. There's no evidence behind his statements. 'And when I sit down with him ... I told him you can't make statements like that, as a member of Congress, that affects everybody else and the country as a whole.' House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (pictured) plans to sit down with 26-year-old GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn to talk about claims he made including that he was invited to orgies and cocaine use was rampant in Washington, D.C. Cawthorn, 26, was asked during an interview with the Warrior Poet Society how closely his experience on Capitol Hill aligns with House of Cards, specifically its elements of 'corruption, power, money and perversion' Cawthorn said that he once heard a former president say the only thing that was unrealistic about the Netflix show was that Congress would ever be able to pass a piece of legislation that quickly, and he agreed with the sentiment Earlier this year, Cawthorn also suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an alcoholic. Cawthorn said of the California Democrat at a campaign event: 'I'll tell you I have to work with her every single day so please do pray for me. The theories of alcoholism are very true and it's very sad,' he said, according to video posted by Patriot Takes. His line got chuckles during the event. Pelosi, 81, doesn't drink, and hasn't for years. Her daughter Christine attacked prior slurs about her mom's alleged alcoholism in 2019, tweeting: 'Republicans and their conservative allies have been pumping this despicable fake meme for years! Now they are caught. '#FactCheck: Madam Speaker doesn't even drink alcohol!' Earlier this year Cawthorn also suggested at a campaign event (above) that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an alcoholic - despite the fact that she doesn't drink Cawthorn, a staunch conservative not known for his friends across the aisle, is seemingly accusing his fellow Republicans of the illicit behavior. He has recently sparked controversy for calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 'alcoholic' and Ukrainian President Zelensky a 'thug' Cawthorn in December announced the he and his wife of eight months were filing for divorce Then in March, a video surfaced showing Cawthorn calling Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky a 'thug.' He said his government was 'corrupt, incredibly evil' and 'pushing woke ideologies.' He appeared to be discussing the U.S. sending military aid to Ukraine before lashing out at leaders in Kyiv - who refused to flee the country despite reports that many are on a Russian 'kill list' including Zelensky and his family. But the freshman congressman doesn't seem close to any apologies, saying recently that he 'won't bow to the mob' amid a barrage of criticism from within his own party for the series of bombastic statements. 'The radical left, the establishment, and the media want to take me down. Their attacks have been relentless. I won't stop fighting. I won't bow to the mob. They want to silence the America First movement. I'm not going anywhere,' the 26-year-old North Carolina Republican wrote on Twitter, along with a new campaign video. Last year, in December, Cawthorn announced the he and his wife of eight months were filing for divorce. An NHS administrator who cannot wear a mask because it triggers memories of a horrific sex attack has been barred from returning to the office despite having no contact with patients. The mother-of-two has been forced to work from home for almost five months after telling her bosses that she found it traumatic to wear a mask while sitting at her desk. The woman, who works for the Solent NHS Trust, which has hospitals in Portsmouth and Southampton, was diagnosed last year with post-traumatic stress disorder after being gagged and raped 14 years ago. An NHS worker from near Southampton has had to work from home for almost five months, as her office requires her to wear a mask but doing so triggers horrific memories of a sex attack she suffered (stock photo) Despite a psychologist writing to her bosses to explain her legitimate exemption from their mask-wearing mandate, they have blocked her from entering her office. The woman, who lives near Southampton, said that being made to wear a mask while sitting at her desk for eight hours a day was 'incredibly traumatic'. She added: 'As soon as I have something over my face, it takes me right back to those awful moments when I was gagged and raped, but being forced to work from home is taking a huge toll on my mental health, too. 'I appreciate these are unprecedented times and keeping everyone safe is paramount, but I am triple-jabbed and do a lateral flow test twice a week. Our office is also open-plan and we are seated two metres apart. Why can't I come in?' She offered to sit apart from colleagues and wear a mask when moving around the office, but her bosses refused and insisted in emails that 'masks need to be worn'. The woman added: 'It's someone in their high chair saying 'That's my decision and it's final', irrespective of whether it makes sense or not. It's just ridiculous.' Her MP, Dr Julian Lewis (pictured in parliament), said the NHS Trust should not put the mental health and career of the woman at risk over not wearing a facemask The UK Health Security Agency recommends masks for healthcare staff but many trusts only apply the guidance for roles that involve working with patients. The woman said: 'There isn't a day that goes by that I don't receive emails from the NHS about their commitment to supporting mental health, yet here I am stuck at home feeling completely alone and dejected.' Her MP, Dr Julian Lewis, said: 'It's time for the Trust to face the reality of Covid as an endemic infection which should not and need not put at risk the career and mental health of my constituent.' The Mail on Sunday understands the woman declined an offer from the Trust to work in an individual office separated from the rest of her colleagues. Last night, a Solent NHS Trust spokesman said: 'We are in touch with our colleague and are ensuring we are doing everything we can to support her. 'We recognise mask-wearing exemptions and work closely with staff to make reasonable adjustments so they can continue in their work while keeping themselves, their colleagues, patients and visitors safe.' Sue Gray has been told she cannot publish her highly-anticipated Partygate report until all the related fines have been handed out - meaning it will likely not be released before next month's local elections. The former ethics chief wants to publish the potentially explosive dossier as soon as possible after April 26, when the House of Lords returns from its Easter break. But she is now locked in a row with the Metropolitan Police, who have said all the fines must be handed out first, in a process which could take weeks. The force previously delayed the report's publication because they said it could prejudice police interviews. But while investigations have concluded, officers are now claiming the 'investigation' period includes the handing out of fixed penalty notices (FPNs), reports the Telegraph. Sue Gray (pictured) is in a row with Met Police who have told her she can't publish her Partygate report until all the related fines have been handed out Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already received his fine of 50 from the police for breaking lockdown rules Prime Minister Boris Johnson was given a 50 fine for breaking lockdown rules at 10 Downing Street, on Tuesday he is expected to make a statement to MPs about the fixed penalty notice. MPs are expected to vote on Thursday on whether a parliamentary committee should look into claims that he misled Parliament over Partygate. Though the report which will shed light on the Downing Street parties could be delayed until after May 5, when local elections will be held in council areas across England and Wales. Gray's report will not be affected by 'purdah' rules that restrict Government announcements before elections. Following the fine, Sir Keir Starmer called on Conservative MPs to oust Boris Johnson for attending his own birthday gathering in June 2020. Several Conservative backbenchers have publicly said the Prime Minister should quit, including Nigel Mills and Craig Whittaker. After his expected apology on Tuesday it is understood he will try and regain some support from his party, by meeting Tory MPs that evening to 'clear the air'. The Metropolitan Police declined to comment. Having or selling rabbits in Queensland - where they are considered dangerous pests - carries penalties of up to six months in jail and a $44,000 fine, but it is far from Australia's only bizarre law. The rabbit ban, though, is a particular concern at this time of year when the Easter Bunny brings chocolate eggs and some children then ask parents if they can get a rabbit as a pet. Pity the mum or dad who has to explain that the bunny, though a welcome guest who brings eggs one day a year, is not allowed to stay on any day of the year. In March 2016, just before Easter, police officers from Springwood in south-east Queensland found a rabbit living in a cage inside a caravan after they were called to the address over another incident. Police said the owner tried to convince officers the animal was actually a guinea pig. But the officers were not fooled by that and the bunny was transported across the state line to a rabbit rescue sanctuary in NSW. Keeping rabbits, selling rabbits, releasing rabbits and introducing rabbits are offences under Queensland's Land Protection (Pest & Stock Route Management) Act 2002. A permit to keep a rabbit will be granted only if the animal is being kept for an approved purpose such as 'magic show and circuses' or 'scientific and research purposes'. Signs warning of the 'rabbit keeping penalty' of $44,000 are placed at main border crossings leading into Queensland, so saying you were unaware of the law will not work for bunny smugglers. Why are pet rabbits illegal in Queensland? Rabbits are Australia's most destructive agricultural and environmental introduced animal pest, costing up to $1billion annually. It is illegal to own a rabbit (pictured) in Queensland They cause severe land degradation and soil erosion and threaten the survival of many rare and endangered native species. Source: Queensland government Advertisement Domesticated rabbits arrived in Australia with the First Fleet. The first feral rabbit population was reported in Tasmania as early as 1827. On the mainland, Thomas Austin freed about a dozen on his property near Geelong, Victoria, in 1859. They reached the QueenslandNSW border by 1886 and covered most of their present range by 1910. This was despite the Western Australian governments 1,700km rabbit-proof fence, built between 1901 and 1907. So, while there is environmental logic behind Queensland's aversion to rabbits, it is far from Australia's only strange law. TALKING TO PIRATES In Victoria, under Section 70C of Crimes Act 1958, corresponding or doing business with pirates is illegal and can result in 10 years' imprisonment. It is also illegal to trade with pirates or furnish a pirate with 'munitions or stores of any kind'. The banning of 'corresponding' with pirates makes International Talk Like a Pirate Day a risky business in Victoria. WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS In South Australia, under the Summary Offences Act 7A, it is against the law to disrupt a wedding or funerals. Any person intentionally obstructing or disturbing a wedding ceremony or funeral - secular or religious - is guilty of an offence and could face a maximum penalty of a $10,000 or two years in jail. In South Australia, under the Summary Offences Act 7A, it is against the law to disrupt a wedding So think twice about interrupting an old flames' wedding in South Australia and begging them to come back to you. TOUCHING KOALAS In NSW, and most other states, it's illegal for a zoo or sanctuary to allow visitors to touch koalas. All those pictures you've ever seen of people holding koalas were taken in Queensland, possibly to make up for the lack of rabbits. OFFERING REWARDS In Tasmania, it's illegal to offer a reward for stolen property, especially if you add the words 'no questions asked'. Under Section 41 of the Police Offences Act 1935, 'A person shall not publicly advertise a reward for the return of any property which has been stolen or lost, and in such advertisement use any words intimating or purporting that no questions will be asked.' This ad offering a reward for a bike stolen in London would be illegal in Tasmania under Section 41 of the Police Offences Act 1935 So be very careful how you phrase your 'Has anyone seen my stolen bike' flyer in the island state. VACUUM CLEANER NOISE In Victoria, making unreasonable noise, such as with a vacuum cleaner after 10pm or before 7am on weekdays, and 9am on weekends, is an offence under Section 48A of the Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic) and Regulation 6, Environment Protection (Residential Noise) Regulations 2008 (Vic). In Victoria, making unreasonable noise, such as with a vacuum cleaner after 10pm or before 7am on weekdays, and 9am on weekends, is an offence Failure to stop after being told to do so by police or the council could lead to a fine of up to $18,655.20, with an additional fine up to $4,663.80 per day for continued violations. FRIDGE SELLING Maybe the most bizarre of all is that under Section 58B of South Australia's Summary Offences Act 1953 it is illegal for people to sell a fridge with a capacity of 42.5 litres or more. The only exemption is if the fridge was manufactured or imported into the state before 1962. The law is said to have been a product of a spate of 'fridge-related deaths' when buyers moved the appliance in the early 1900s. In South Australia it is illegal for people to sell a fridge with a capacity of 42.5 litres or more Smoking at train stations Smoking at train stations is illegal in most states of Australia. In Victoria, smoking is an offence in all areas of train stations. Adults will be fined $212 and children $72 if caught. Fines range from $300 to $550 in New South Wales for anybody caught smoking on metro, train, bus or ferry services - or at their designated stations. Queensland Rail and Western Australian authorities have also banned smoking at all train stations. In South Australia, laws prohibiting smoking at train and bus stops were passed in May 2012, while the Northern Territory have placed bans on all bus stops. Smoking at train stations is illegal in most states of Australia and can land someone a $550 fine (stock image) Having your feet up on the train Following on from smoking at train stations, people can also be fined in Australia for having their feet up on seats of the train. Each state has varying fines, ranging from $100 through to $261 for being caught with their feet on seats while travelling. Driving with an international licence - in some circumstances The laws surrounding driving with an international licence can get a little murky as people transition from holidaying in Australia to moving to Australia. Most states - other than the Northern Territory - allow foreigners who are spending three months or less in the country to drive using an international licence. For licences not written in English, the driver must carry a formal English translation or an International Driving Permit. Anybody who plans to live in Australia on a more permanent basis needs a local licence after three months - which is where some people tend to slip up. Not having a local licence after the three months has lapsed means a driver would be subjected to laws relating to being an unlicenced driver. Not locking your car door In an attempt to crack down on car thieves, some states have made it an offence to leave your car unattended without locking it. In New South Wales, drivers must lock their cars if possible if they are more than three metres away. The law states the driver must 'secure the windows if possible' and 'lock the doors immediately after leaving the vehicle'. In Victoria, it is illegal to leave 'motor vehicle unattended with keys in ignition, motor running, brakes not secured or doors unlocked.' Those who break the law face a $117 fine, which can be escalated to $360 if the driver is ordered to face a magistrate. Drivers in Queensland face an on the spot fine of $44 for not securing their car and removing the key from the ignition. Swearing in public Whether you agree or not, swearing in a public place can land you in a lot more trouble - and debt - than you expected. Even though it's become normal to drop a swear word when you get frustrated, it is actually considered illegal when visiting parks, beaches and restaurants, right across Australia. The Summary Offenses Act 1988 states: 'a person must not use offensive language in or near, or within hearing from, a public place or a school.' Anyone caught in New South Wales, can be fined up to $660 or might even be required to complete up to 100 hours of community service. In South Australia the maximum penalty is $1250 or three months imprisonment. Not registering your pet When moving to Australia, foreigners may not realise that they're required to register their dogs with local councils. The registration process alerts authorities to the presence of the dog, and is done to ensure safety and to keep tabs on your pet's whereabouts. Failing to register a dog or cat in New South Wales can result in a $330 on the spot fine. When moving to Australia, foreigners may not realise that they're required to register their dogs with local councils (stock image) Courts can choose to impose a maximum penalty of $5,500 or $6,500 if the breed of dog is considered dangerous. Fines in Queensland vary depending on whether there are additional offences, but generally begin at about $266 per offence. In Victoria, fines range from $83 to $413 for varying offences relating to owning animals. They each face up to 35 years in prison for the alleged crime, and if found guilty will be subject to lifelong parole and will have to register as sex offenders All three men were arrested Friday and taken to Monmouth County jail, where they await detention hearings in the county's Superior Court The pair were then able to call for a ride, and sought medical treatment for the female victim at a local hospital, investigators said At some point, prosecutors say, the woman was able to partially dress and flee the room, finding her friend and telling him they had to leave at once Three men from suburban New Jersey have been arrested after they allegedly tied up a woman they met in a bar and 'repeatedly' raped her, cops say, after luring her and a male friend to one of their homes. The suspects - Andrew Gallucci, Richard Gathy and Ronald Hondo, all 24 - allegedly took turns assaulting the unidentified victim two at a time, police say, while one of the three kept an eye on the woman's intoxicated friend. Prosecutors are calling the incident 'a disturbingly coordinated and predatory attack.' According to cops, the three defendants were at a bar in Manalapan Township when they met the unidentified adult victim and her male friend for the first time on April 2. Suspect Andrew Gallucci, 24, and his two alleged accomplices met the adult female victim in a bar April 2 before bringing her and a male friend back to his Marlboro home, where prosecutors say the trio tied her up and took turns raping her Sometime between that night and early Monday, a police affidavit revealed, the three men brought the woman and her friend back to Galluccis home in upscale Marlboro, roughly seven miles away. While at Gallucci's home, cops say, the male friend was given a drink by one of the suspects and suddenly became ill - at which point Gallucci and Gathy restrained the woman by tying her up in Gallucci's bedroom. Once the victim was restrained, the trio allegedly took turns raping her two at a time, while the third served as a lookout and kept watch on the womans friend, Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey said in a statement earlier this week. At some point, prosecutors say, the woman was able to partially dress and flee the room, finding her friend and telling him they had to leave at once, according to the affidavit. Surveillance footage obtained by cops from a residence near Galluccis showed the duo leaving the home early Monday. Richard Gathy, of Manalapan, also 24, helped tie up the unidentified victim, prosecutors say Ronald W. Hondo, of Monroe Township, 24, also participated in the April 2 assault, according to prosecutors - who called the alleged incident a 'coordinated and predatory attack' The pair were then able to call for a ride, and sought medical treatment for the female victim at a local hospital, investigators said. The bar was not named by prosecutors. 'This was a disturbingly coordinated and predatory attack,' Linskey said of the alleged assault Monday. 'We commend the courage of the victim in coming forward to report what happened to her, and we look forward to bringing those responsible to justice.' All three men were arrested Friday and taken to Monmouth County jail, where they await detention hearings in the county's Superior Court. It was not immediately clear what day the victim reported the alleged assault. The prosecutors office declined to comment beyond Monday's news release. Earlier this week, an attorney representing Gathy and Hondo, Staten Island-based Mario Gallucci, disputed prosecutors' account of the events to the N.J. Advance. 'Were conducting our own investigation,' Gallucci said. 'We believe the narrative being spun is far from the actual events that took place.' According to public records, Andrew Gallucci has a relative named Mario Gallucci, who own properties in both New Jersey and Staten Island. Andrew Galluccis attorney - Yan Katsnelson, also based in Staten Island - declined to comment to N.J. Advance if his client is related to Mario Gallucci. The attorney also declined to comment on the case. All three were arrested Friday and taken to Monmouth County jail, where they await detention hearings in the county's Superior Court. They face 35 years in prison for the alleged crime, and if convicted will be subject to lifelong parole and will have to register as sex offenders All three suspects face up to 35 years in prison if found guilty - 20 years for aggravated sexual assault charges, 10 years on sexual assault charges and up to five years for charges of criminal restrain, cops said Friday. They would also be subjected to lifelong parole and have to register themselves as sex offenders. Investigators are actively seeking additional information about the case. The trio's detention hearings are slated for next week. A chaotic fight which erupted on a busy nightclub strip in the Gold Coast has sent two police officers to hospital - with one being knocked out by an alleged coward punch from behind. Police were called to a disturbance involving five people outside a venue on Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise about 11:45pm on Saturday. As officers tried to contain the situation, a 21-year-old man allegedly punched a senior constable, aged in his forties, in the back of the head - knocking him unconscious. A wild night in the party precinct of Orchid Avenue on the Gold Coast (pictured) has seen two police officers hospitalised A second police officer, also in his 40s, suffered head injuries during the man's arrest. Both were transported to hospital for treatment and discharged on Sunday morning. The alleged offender from nearby Coomera has been charged with serious assault of a police officer and obstructing police. A second man, 43, also allegedly involved in the fracas was charged with obstructing police and being a public nuisance. Both men were issued official bans from the Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach 'Safe Night Precincts'. Both the charged men will appear in Southport Magistrates Court on May 3. Saturday Night Live opened its Easter episode with a star-studded holiday greeting from cast members impersonating stars and politicians, including former President Donald Trump, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Elon Musk. The sketch, titled 'A Message from the Easter Bunny,' was hosted by the titular rabbit, played by Bowen Yang. 'I may be not the most A-list holiday character but I am the freakiest. A man-sized bunny with no backstory, who is he?' The bunny then introduced a number of prominent figures to provide an Easter message, including Kate McKinnon reprising her role as Dr. Anthony Fauci. 'It's your boy, Fauci. I'm still here, turns out I'm like glitter, no matter how hard you try to get rid of me, I'm still in your hair and sometimes in your face.' SNL's opening sketch, titled 'A Message from the Easter Bunny,' was hosted by the titular rabbit, played by Bowen Yang The bunny introduced a number of prominent figures to provide an Easter message, including Kate McKinnon reprising her role as Dr. Anthony Fauci McKinnon's Fauci was followed by Cecily Strong as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, cocking a gigantic chocolate rifle After saying he wasn't there to give anymore Covid advice ('I'm not stupid enough to think you're actually gonna follow it') he suggested that Covid cases were like Jesus in that they were 'rising again.' 'Don't worry, if you get vaccinated, you're gonna be fine. And if you're not vaccinated, I'm not supposed to say this, but I honestly don't care what happens to you. Have fun!' McKinnon's Fauci was followed by Cecily Strong as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, cocking a gigantic chocolate rifle. 'Don't worry, this rifle's chocolate but the bullets are real.' The show then brought back Chris Redd, reprising his eccentric version of New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the wake of the subway shooting. 'This Easter, I got the best news of all New York. We got him, we got the shooter. Sure, it took 30 hours and the suspect turned himself in - but we got him. Case closed, subway's fixed, ride without fear. 'I'm not just holding a press conference either, I'm holding a parade, like we do whenever the Yankees win the World Series or the Mets finish a season.' The show brought back Chris Redd, reprising his lusty, eccentric version of New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the wake of the subway shooting Mikey Day's awkward Elon Musk threatened to buy Easter, saying he was buying it for 43 billion peeps, making sure to clarify stiltedly that 'that was a joke.' The show then rolled through more impressions, including Chloe Fineman's Britney Spears Kyle Mooney played Jared Leto, who joked that he was actually Jesus Christ and begging people not to review his new film, Morbius That was followed up by Mikey Day's awkward Elon Musk threatening to buy Easter, saying he was buying it for 43 billion Peeps, making sure to clarify stiltedly that 'that was a joke.' The show then rolled through more impressions, including Chloe Fineman's Britney Spears and Kyle Mooney as Jared Leto, who joked that he was actually Jesus Christ and begging people not to review his new film, Morbius. The big finish came from James Austin Johnson's idiosyncratic version of President Donald Trump busting into the sketch. 'Excuse me, I was told we were doing Easter wishes and I was not given my turn, this is very unfair. Another example of how whites are being treated horribly in this country.' Given a chance to speak about Easter by the bunny, he then rambled on a list of Trump's opinions regarding the holiday, as well as a digressing into a meeting with a 'rude' Cap'n Crunch at Count Chocula's 500th birthday, and saying he was the one who told Little Caesar to start saying 'Pizza Pizza.' 'And you know what? I would love to be bunny, I would be so good with bunny because I told America Covid would be over by Easter, I just didn't say which one!' The big finish came from James Austin Johnson's idiosyncratic version of President Donald Trump busting into the sketch The show then gathered the Easter Bunny and all of the celebrities for the tradition ending of 'Live from New York, it's Saturday night!' This week's episode featured Lizzo pulling double duty as both host and musical guest The show then gathered the Easter Bunny and all of the celebrities for the tradition ending the sketch with: 'Live from New York, it's Saturday night!' This week's episode featured Lizzo pulling double duty as both host and musical guest. Lizzo paid tribute to her mother and joked about her use of curse words in her monologue. The show's Weekend Update segment poked fun at President Joe Biden's infamous turn to seemingly shake hands with an invisible person after a speech this week ('She has a name, it's Kamala'), as well as poking fun at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. During the show's second commercial break, SNL announced it would return May 7 with second-time host Benedict Cumberbatch and musical guest Arcade Fire. Scott Morrison announced Anne Ruston will become his new health minister should the coalition win the May 21 election. Senator Ruston, who is currently the social services minister, will replace Greg Hunt, who is retiring from politics. Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume said she fully supported the Prime Minister's decision. Scott Morrison announced Anne Ruston will become his new health minister should the coalition win the May 21 election 'I am so pleased for her. She is a highly qualified and highly experienced member of our cabinet,' she told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program. 'She has dealt with the portfolio in social services as very successful minister there, dealing with what's important to millions of peoples lives. So I think she will be a terrific appointment.' She said it was important to have steady hands at the wheel in this portfolio when the country was still dealing with a global pandemic. Senator Hume, who is minister for superannuation and financial services, is reported to be Senator Ruston's replacement in social services, but she was coy on the issue. 'I am a treasury minister and very proud to be one and there is an awful lot of work to do in my portfolio,' Senator Hume said. Scott Morrison's government has invested more than $60 million in mental health and suicide prevention in Western Australia Meanwhile, more than $60 million is to be invested in mental health and suicide prevention in Western Australia, following a bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and West Australian governments. Mr Hunt says the deal will see the delivery of new health services for children and as well as support for people following suicide attempts and those with eating disorders. 'This landmark partnership ... will have a significant impact on the lives of many Australians across the state, including young Australians and children who have been impacted by the Covid pandemic,' he said. 'It will help save lives and protect lives.' However Anthony Albanese says the appointment of Anne Ruston to the health portfolio vacated by Greg Hunt is another sign that Australians should expect cuts to Medicare. The Labor leader noted Prime Minister Scott Morrison had chosen to make this major announcement on a day when it was agreed that it would not be a day of usual campaigning because of Easter. 'Anne Ruston has made it very clear that she wants to take the universal out of universal health care,' Mr Albanese told reporters after attending a church services in Cairns with shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers. Labor Anthony Albanese said Scott Morrison's new health minister only proves he is seeking major cuts to Medicare 'She has made it very clear that, if we have a election of the Morrison government, we will see more cuts to Medicare, more cuts to Medicare over the next three years.' Scott Morrison's government has also promised $270 million to make the treatment of type one diabetes more affordable. 'It means that for 130,000 patients around the country, they'll have access to continuous glucose monitoring and that will be subsidised with savings of up to $5000 a year from July 1,' Mr Hunt told the Seven Network. 'Continuous glucose monitoring is an immensely important technology that allows them to manage their insulin levels. It gives patients confidence and peace of mind and it helps save lives and protect lives.' Lifeline 13 11 14 The Justice Department's Special Counsel's Office has said that CIA data alleging a relationship between Donald Trump and Russia is 'not technically plausible.' In a court filing on Friday, Special Counsel John Durham asserted that the alleged relationship with the former President and Russia - which Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann concluded - was 'user-created.' Sussmann is accused of lying to the FBI in September 2016 saying he didn't work for the Clintons when he presented the 'purported data and "white papers" that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel' between former president Trump and Kremlin-tied Alfa Bank. Durham also alleged Sussmann gave the CIA information about Trump in February 2017. He said the agency concluded the information wasn't true. 'While the FBI did not reach an ultimate conclusion regarding the datas accuracy or whether it might have been in whole or in part genuine, spoofed, altered, or fabricated, [the CIA] concluded in early 2017 that the Russian Bank 1 data and Russian Phone Provider 1 data was not "technically plausible," did not "withstand technical scrutiny," "contained gaps," "conflicted with [itself]" and was "user-created and not machine/tool generated,"' he wrote in the court documents filed Friday. He did, however, say the Special Counsel's Office 'has not reached a definitive conclusion in this regard.' The Special Counsel said that regardless of if the information 'was actually unreliable or provided a motive' for the lie, any evidence concerning the steps the intelligence agencies took to 'investigate these matters is critical to establishing materiality.' He said the evidence will allow the jury to determine if Sussmann's alleged lie could have 'influenced or impaired government functions.' Durham also outlined the relationship between the lawyer and ex-British Intelligence agent Christopher Steele, who reportedly wrote the unaccredited dossier connecting Trump to Russia. Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign reported funded the dossier through the Perkins Coie law firm, according to Fox News. In Friday's filing, Durham said Sussmann and Steele met in 2016 at the law firm's office to discuss the Russian connection. After the meeting, Steele created the dossier. He accused Sussmann of 'representing and working for the Clinton campaign in connection with its broader opposition research efforts' and that he took steps to 'integrate' the Russia allegations into the dossier. He also said the evidence against Sussmann is 'high probative' because it indicates he was helping the Clinton campaign through the research and the FBI meeting was to 'further the interests of the Clinton campaign' and that Steele was hired to 'dig up dirt on Trump.' 'The fact that FBI headquarters received on the same date both sets of information involving the same political campaign (Clinton campaign), the same law firm [Perkins Coie] and the same investigative firm [Fusion GPS] makes Steeles involvement in these matters relevant,' Friday's court document said. Sussmann is scheduled to go to trial next month. Durham responded, in the filings, what evidence would and would not be permissible at the lawyer's trial. In February, Durham announced the government would establish the domain name system (DNS) internet traffic pertaining to 'a particular healthcare provider, Trump Tower, Donald Trump's Central Park West apartment building, and the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP)' as 'exploited.' He said it was exploited 'by mining the EOP's DNS traffic and other data for the purpose of gathering derogatory information about Donald Trump,' and said the information was used to cause an 'interference' and creating the narrative ties between the two parties. Sussmann, however, is attempting to block evidence concerning the 'gathering' of the domain data from Rodney Joffe, also known as 'Tech Executive 1.' However, Durham is 'a subject' of the investigation, because he 'played a critical leadership role' in the allegations, despite not being charged with a crime. Durham said the court will provide redacted communications between Sussmann and Joffe that pertain to the Clinton campaign. Durham said the data gathering was a 'necessary factual backdrop to the charged conduct.' Sussman has pleaded not guilty and has asked for the case to be dismissed, but a judge denied it. A high profile ABC presenter has faced criticism over two controversial lists on her personal Twitter account labelling critics 'Labor Trolls/Thugs' and 'Lobotomised sh**heads'. ABC Breakfast News presenter Fauziah Ibrahim's controversial lists were discovered on Saturday afternoon. Social media users who found themselves grouped in the two lists - which were made public on Ms Ibrahim's account - accused her of displaying anti-Labor bias. One person on the list contacted Ms Ibrahim through Twitter to say 'I see you've created a Twitter 'List' titled "Labor Trolls/Thugs" You have me on that list, why? ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim (pictured) is in hot water over two controversial lists on her personal Twitter acoount 'How is this in-keeping with ABC's social media policy? How can you report impartially now this is public?' Some on social media said Ms Ibrahim's account must have been hacked, but she has not said this was the case. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Ibrahim seeking comment for this story. An ABC spokeswoman said 'This is a private Twitter account, not an ABC account. We are investigating what has occurred.' Former Labor Senator Doug Cameron was one of those on the list. 'Thanks to those who alerted me I made the list of 'lobotomised sh**heads',' he said. Media commentator and former journalist Mike Carlton accused Ms Ibrahim of 'trashing the ABC impartially and blowing her own credibility' in a scathing tweet. Pictured is Labor leader Anthony Albanese. An ABC presenter has been lambasted on social media for allegedly having Twitter lists titled 'Labor Trolls/Thugs' and 'Lobotomised sh**heads' Many commenters were calling for Ms Ibrahim to be sacked over the lists which some critics claim expose an anti-Labor bias. 'If the ABC News has any credibility, they would immediately fire one of their on-air presenters who has compiled a "Labor trolls and thugs" list, or at least take them off air during the election campaign,' one said. ABC paid journalist Louise Milligan's (pictured) legal costs of almost $200,000 after she was sued by federal MP Andrew Laming over a series of tweets 'It's about the BLATANT BIAS we see from way too many ABC presenters.' Last August ABC published guidelines for the personal use of social media by its staff. This followed paid it paying journalist Louise Milligan's personal legal costs of almost $200,000 after she was sued by federal MP Andrew Laming over a series of tweets. The broadcaster's new policy makes clear staff risk being losing their job if they compromise ABC's independence or bring it into disrepute. Authorities are searching for a nuclear gauge that contains sealed, radioactive material and was stolen from a vehicle in Philadelphia. The gauge and the vehicle belonged to a local construction site and soil testing business called KAKS and Company. Officials for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the gauge was gone when the vehicle was found. Details remain unclear as to when or where both the gauge and the vehicle were stolen. Philadelphia police have yet to respond to requests for comment. 'It is critical for anyone who has information about the lost nuclear gauge to contact local authorities or DEP,' Bureau of Radiation Protection Director David Allard said. 'As long as the device is not tampered with or damaged, it presents no hazard to public safety,' he added. DEP officials have instructed anyone who finds the gauge to stay a 'considerable' distance from it and immediately call their Southeast Regional Office at 484-250-5900. A search is on after a nuclear gauge that contains sealed, radioactive material was missing from a stolen vehicle in Philadelphia The gauge is known as a Troxler Model 3440, serial number 31109. It is yellow and about the size of a shoe box, with an electronic keypad and a metal rod extending from the top surface The gauge has about 8 millicuries of Cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of Americium-241. That sort of radioactive material is in a double encapsulated source capsule within the device to protect its integrity, according to the DEP The gauge is known as a Troxler Model 3440, serial number 31109. It is yellow and about the size of a shoe box, with an electronic keypad and a metal rod extending from the top surface, according to a DEP press release. The gauge has about 8 millicuries of Cesium-137 and 40 millicuries of Americium-241. That sort of radioactive material is in a double encapsulated source capsule within the device to protect its integrity, according to the DEP. The EPA advises that exposure to low levels of radiation may not result in a health risk but can cause a small increase in the risk of cancer. High levels of exposure in a short period of time can cause nausea and vomiting. A political activist tried to talk to Scott Morrison about climate change at a Good Friday service before the prime minister walked away. Video on social media platform TikTok shows Mr Morrison being approached by campaigner Desiree Cai at a church service in Melbourne on Good Friday to ask him about Australia's 'climate crisis'. 'Prime minister, I'm a young person, I'm worried about my future but every year the climate crisis gets worse,' the former National Union of Students president says. Scroll down for the video. Political activist Desiree Cai (right), 24, approached Scott Morrison (left) and Local MP Gladys Liu (centre) at a church service in Melbourne on Good Friday at ask him about Australia's 'climate crisis' Mr Morrison then looks at the person filming and asks if they're taking a photo of him, Ms Cai and Liberal MP for Chisholm Gladys Liu, who is also listening. 'I'm happy to take a photo,' Mr Morrison says. Ms Cai is a campaigner and organiser with the Tomorrow Movement and was the former president of the National Union of Students The prime minister then walks away while being followed by Ms Cai who says young people are facing insecure work and a climate crisis, and that she'd prefer not to be there on Good Friday, before the video ends. Journalists weren't allowed inside the Melbourne church where Mr Morrison was attending a Baptist service. Ms Cai is involved with a group called the Tomorrow Movement which is linked to youth organisation YOUNG Campaigns. The subject of climate change has largely been untouched by the two major parties so far this federal election campaign, with Labor leader Anthony Albanese mentioning it at his press conference on Saturday. Labor is pledging a 43 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 as it aims for net-zero by 2050, with the coalition hoping for but not committing to a 30 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 based on no change in policy. The government has also made a net-zero 2050 pledge. It's a hot button issue for the government as a swathe of independents run in blue-ribbon seats campaigning on more action on climate. Scientists have warned neither party's 2030 targets go far enough and a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning desperately calling for nations to do more to prevent warning below 2C. Australia has been dubbed a "holdout" by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres for its failure to take stronger action. A woman has drowned and three other swimmers have been rushed to hospital after an Easter tragedy at a popular beach on the NSW south coast. Paramedics were called to Surf Beach, south of Batemans Bay, at about 2pm on Sunday after reports a group of up to 10 swimmers got into difficulty in the water. All swimmers had been dragged to shore by surf life savers and beachgoers by the time paramedics arrived. One woman, believed to be in her 40s, went into cardiac arrest and CPR was commenced by ambulance crews, including a critical care paramedic and a doctor. The woman was airlifted to Batemans Bay Hospital in a critical condition but was unable to be revived. A woman has drowned at Surf Beach on the NSW Coast near Batemans Bay Paramedics (pictured at the scene) commenced CPR on the woman but couldn't save her Three other swimmers were sent to Batemans Bay or Moruya Hospital in stable conditions. They included a man in his 40s, a second man in his 30s and a woman also in her 30s. Six other swimmers were assessed at the scene and did not require hospitalisation. The Westpac Rescue and Surf Life Saving Australia helicopters conducted aerial searches of the beach to ensure no other swimmers needed assistance. The beach was packed with beachgoers at the time, including young families as temperatures hit the high 20s. The incident happened at Surf Beach, south of Batemans Bay, at about 2pm on Sunday It's the second drowning tragedy that has occurred at Surf Beach in the last nine months Eight ambulance road crews and a rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene. 'Paramedics arrived to a very chaotic scene with a number of people requiring medical attention for various conditions,' NSW Ambulance Inspector Faye Stockman said. 'All of the patients were out of the water when ambulance crews arrived and three members of the public were attempting CPR on a female who had suffered a cardiac arrest. 'This is a timely reminder of the importance of knowing CPR and I praise those members of the public for doing everything they could under extremely challenging conditions.' 'It's truly heartbreaking to have lost a life here today, especially knowing this group of people was likely enjoying an extended break for the holiday weekend.' Located eight kilometres south of Batemans Bay, Surf Beach is described as very popular with both locals and visitors. It's the second drowning tragedy at Surf Beach in nine months, where a Canberra man died while trying to save his nine-year-old daughter from a rip last July. Multiple ambulance crews (one pictured) attended Surf Beach after a group of swimmers got into difficulty in the water Scott Morrison has stumbled during his election campaign by mistakenly referring to a journalist as 'Mr Speaker' three times while answering their question. The Prime Minister made the gaffe during a press conference on Easter Sunday when he was asked who the next social services minister would be if re-elected. In his response, Mr Morrison appeared to forget that he wasn't in Parliament as he awkwardly addressed the reporter as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Scott Morrison (pictured) has stumbled in his pre-election trail when he mistakenly referred to a journalist as 'Mr Speaker' three times while answering their question. The questions came about after Mr Morrison promoted the current social services minister, Anne Ruston, to the position of health minister following Greg Hunt's resignation. 'Of course Mr Speaker, all of these, foreign affairs, very important portfolios,' he said. The Prime Minister, unaware of the blunder, continued his attempt to deflect questions about who the next social services minister would be. 'I've been the social services minister, so I know that better than anyone. But I'm not going to get into the process of doing a full cabinet reshuffle in the middle of the election. I don't think that is appropriate. 'I think the health minister's role, particularly in the middle of a pandemic; it is entirely appropriate, with the retirement of an outstanding health minister, that we come forward to nominate who that health minister would be if we were elected.' He then referred to the same journalist as 'Mr Speaker' again - twice. 'And the issue, Mr Speaker...Mr Speaker,' Mr Morrison stumbled before joking: 'There we go, I'm back in Parliament!' Mr Morrison appeared to forget that he wasn't in Parliament when he awkwardly addressed the reporter as the Speaker of the House of Representatives At a press conference for the 2018 Wentworth by-election, the Prime Minister (right), who was joined by Liberal MP and Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma (left of Morrison), called a reporter 'Mr Speaker' during his speech It is not the first time Scott Morrison has clumsily addressed a journalist as 'Mr Speaker'. At a press conference for the 2018 Wentworth by-election, the Prime Minister, who was joined by Liberal MP and Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma, called a reporter 'Mr Speaker' during his speech. 'I accept and understand that anger and that outrage, Mr Speaker,' he said before he was interrupted by a heckling bystander standing next to the press. Scott Morrison's pre-election blunder comes after his opponent, Anthony Albanese, also had an embarrassing gaffe just six days earlier. Mr Albanese (pictured) was asked what Australia's unemployment rate and Reserve Bank cash rate were - both of which he couldn't answer - during a press conferences held on the first full day of the election campaign last Monday During a press conference in Tasmania on Monday, the Labor leader was unable to answer what the Reserve Bank cash rate was before he then wrongly guessed the unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent when it's actually 4 per cent. Journalists quizzed Mr Albanese on the figures at the conference in the marginal seat of Bass in northern Tasmania, a day after the election was called. The cash rate has been at a historic low of 0.1 per cent since November 2020 while the unemployment rate is four per cent, the lowest since 2008. In an effort to prove to voters he was willing to take responsibility for his mistakes, the opposition leader fronted reporters again to make amends for the error. 'I'm human. But when I make a mistake, I will fess up to it and I will set about correcting that mistake,' Mr Albanese said. 'I won't blame someone else, I will take responsibility.' The death of an 18-year-old who was fatally assaulted in Liverpool city centre yesterday has sparked a murder investigation into the incident, police said. Officers were called to an internet cafe on London Road in the evening, at around 5.50pm. The teenager was rushed to hospital by emergency services, where he was pronounced dead. An 18-year-old was assaulted and died in Liverpool city centre yesterday, sparking a murder investigation into the incident, police have said Detectives are now asking for any witnesses, especially anyone with footage, to come forward. The road would have been busy at the time of incident, the force added, so anyone who may know anything is asked to come forward 'as a matter of urgency'. Yesterday Detective Chief Inspector Terry Davies said: 'It is with great sadness that we confirm that an 18-year-old male has died following an incident in Liverpool city centre this evening (Saturday 16 April). The teenager was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police pictured outside Royal Liverpool University Hospital yesterday evening A teenager was assaulted and died after officers were called to an internet cafe on London Road at around 5.50pm last evening 'We are in the very early stages of the investigation as we seek to establish what has taken place and who was involved. 'At the time of the incident, London Road would have been busy with people so I would ask anyone who was in the vicinity this evening at around 5.30pm onwards that saw or heard anything suspicious, or may have captured anything significant on their mobile phone, dashcam and CCTV to contact us as a matter of urgency.' Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has information which could help us with our inquiries, is asked to DM @MerPolCC, message 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Facebook' or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 with reference 786 of 16 April. Boris Johnson addressed Ukrainians in his Easter message today, remarking that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other'. The Prime Minister, who is now banned from entering Russia following the Kremlin's sanctions on a dozen other British government members and politicians, told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart'. He added: 'Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption.' Boris Johnson addressed Ukrainians in his Easter message today, remarking that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other' The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky Moscow has meanwhile accused Britain, with Johnson making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week, of 'deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO' and threatened to expand its sanctions list 'soon'. The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky. It said: 'I updated my friend @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. 'The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught.' Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity. The Labour leader said, in his address to 'Christians around the world': 'I know you draw inspiration from the life of Jesus and the Easter story which is a message of overcoming adversity and of hope. Of light overcoming darkness. The Prime Minister told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart' Labour leader Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity 'And at this pivotal time, when Europe is at war and people are facing greater poverty at home, hope is more important than ever. 'Thank you and Happy Easter.' Yesterday Pope Francis called for 'gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war' in an Easter vigil homily in St Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. Ivan Fedorov was abducted and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic southern city. A man stands in a building with a collapsed facade after the site was hit by overnight Russian strikes, in the town of Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on April 15, 2022 Communal workers clear buildings destroyed following bombardment, killing two people and injuring eighteen others, in Kharkiv on Saturday Francis noted that while 'many writers have evoked the beauty of starlit nights...nights of war, however, are riven by streams of light that portend death'. He did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce in order to reach a negotiated peace. Francis also addressed Mr Fedorov and Ukrainian legislators Maria Mezentseva, Olena Khomenko and Rusem Umerov, who sat all together in the front row. He said: 'In this darkness of war, in the cruelty, we are all praying for you and with you this night. We are praying for all the suffering. 'We can only give you our company, our prayer.' Francis added that 'the biggest thing you can receive: Christ is risen'. He spoke the last three words in Ukrainian. The messages of hope come as Zelensky last night warned that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to bring a catastrophic end to its invasion of Ukraine. He urged the world to 'prepare' for the worst by stocking up on anti-radiation medicine and building air raid shelters. The comedian-turned-war time leader made the doomsday warning during an interview with national media, before sharing the clip via his Telegram channel. He made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. On Saturday Russia resumed missile and rocket attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond in a stark reminder that the whole country remains under threat. Today Ukraine and Russia failed to agree about humanitarian convoys for the evacuation of civilians from war-affected areas, Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said. 'We have not been able to agree...about ceasefires on evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today,' she said on her Telegram account. She added that the Ukrainian authorities have asked for humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and wounded Ukrainian troops from the besieged port of Mariupol. Public support for Labor leader Anthony Albanese has plummeted after a week of humiliating election blunders he'd rather forget. A surprising new poll has revealed support for Labor has dropped by four points from 38 per cent as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's popularity regains momentum. Primary support for the Coalition government rose by one per cent by 35 per cent as Mr Morrison's personal approval soared. He has retaken the lead from Mr Albanese as Australia's preferred prime minister and has seenhis popularly rise by two cent cent in the last fortnight to 38 per cent. Mr Albanese's popularity has plunged from 37 per cent to 30 per cent following a string of gaffes in recent days and now has five weeks left to change voters' minds. Support for Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie in the NSW far north coast town of Bangalow on Sunday) has plummeted in the last fortnight Up to 27 per cent of voters surveyed admitted they're uncommitted of who they'll vote for on May 21, a six per cent increase from a fortnight ago. The latest poll conducted by Resolve Strategic for Nine newspapers surveyed more than 1,404 voters. 'Every trend has gone the Coalition's way in this latest poll vote, leadership, policy, performance so the electorate is judging that the government won the first week of the campaign,' Resolve director Jim Reed said. 'The calling of the election has moved voters from judging the government's term to a choice between the parties and particularly their leaders. It was incredibly damaging for Albanese to trip up on critical issues at precisely that point.' Around 44 per cent of voters surveyed believed Mr Morrison was doing a good job as Prime Minister while 47 per cent rated his performance as poor. His performance rating of minus 3 points is a significant improvement on the minus 14 recorded two weeks ago. When asked about the Opposition Leader, 35 per cent said Mr Albanese was doing a good job while 44 per cent rated his performance as poor, which saw his net rating slump from minus four points to minus nine. It's been a week of embarrassing gaffes for Mr Albanese in the first seven days on the campaign trail. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's popularity is back on the rise as he and his wife Jenny greeted children at The Children's Hospital at Westmead The campaign got off to a bad start last Monday when Mr Albanese admitted to reporters he didn't know the current unemployment or the Reserve Bank cash rate. Several days later, he was forced to clarify that off-shore immigration centres would remain after he earlier declared he would turn back people smuggling boats. Mr Albanese spent Easter Sunday campaigning on the NSW far north coast and later received a rock star welcome from music fans at the Byron Bay Bluesfest. The Prime Minister attended church with his family before hitting the campaign trail in the marginal western Sydney seat of Parramatta, which included a visit to The Childrens' Hospital at Westmead. Airports will be allowed to relax counterterror checks on new staff to plug the shortages in the travel industry under new proposals to end travel chaos which has been stretching on for months. Staff are set to be trained in airports without security vetting but they will not be allowed to work with airside access to the planes and runways. Airlines and airports have been hit by a shortfall in the industry post-Covid due to a combination of sickness, staff shortages and more demand from the public which led to more delays at Heathrow, Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester. Currently, security vetting can reportedly take twice as long as the 14 and 15 weeks it is supposed to be completed by the Department for Transport (DfT) and industry. In a leaked letter, obtained by the Telegraph, Aviation minister Robert Courts said he will make these security changes in the coming weeks. The news comes as easyJet has claimed it is waiting for the DfT to give permission for around 100 new members of staff to start work. Passengers queue inside the departures area of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London, during the Easter getaway on Friday Birmingham Airport faced delays on Easter Friday amid travel chaos Chief executive of easyJet Johan Lundgren said the airline is waiting for the Department for Transport (DfT) to give permission for around 100 new members of staff to start work. Pictured: Airport chaos on Friday at Manchester Mr Courts blamed the legacy from the UK's former membership of the EU and said the legislation change will be put forward in parliament by end of April. He said: 'As the law on background checks was retained after the European Union exit, ministers do not have the powers to alleviate, as they do under other categories of aviation security regulation. He also stressed that staff will not be allowed airside under the plans and security will be maintained. 'I want to stress that while we are acutely conscious of the need to get more staff into your operations, we have to balance this against the risk of insider threat and other security factors. This will always be our primary focus.' A government spokesman said it is looking at ways to use 'post-Brexit freedoms' to 'speed up job reference checks'. He added: 'We will not allow people to work in the sector when they have not been subject to the appropriate enquiries.' Staff are set to be trained without security vetting but not allowed to work with access to the planes and runways. Pictured: Aviation minister Robert Courts Grant Shapps earlier this week blamed airports and airlines for the travel chaos ahead of his warning that the Easter weekend will be very 'busy'. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Grant Shapps said earlier this week: 'It is also the case for the very first time that Brits are able to travel much more freely that other nations because we don't have Covid restrictions now that other places have to travel. 'People want to travel. I'm very concerned the operators, the airlines, the airports, the ports, do ensure that they get back to strength and quickly. 'They have lost a lot of people during the pandemic, we have been warning them for a long time that they would need to gear up again. 'I'm very keen to ensure that they manage, what always is at Easter weekend, a very busy weekend on our transport network.' Consumer chiefs are also urging the Government to get tough on the airline industry, who they say must quickly fix the 'shambles' - which has been blamed on staff shortages and a sudden surge in demand in air travel. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said airlines, airports and the Government must make it a priority to learn from the disarray seen in recent days - ahead of the summer holiday rush later this year. Mr Boland said: 'Lessons should be learnt from the travel shambles this Easter. With many in the industry predicting a busy summer, the Government must work with airlines and airports to ensure they have the resources and capacity to handle increased passenger numbers, as there can be no excuse for a repeat of these failings.' Currently, security vetting can reportedly take twice as long as the 28 days it is supposed to take. Pictured: Travel chaos at the port of Dover Mr Boland also criticised the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport, arguing the Government should have handed the aviation regulator fining powers to punish airlines who fail to give compensation to delayed customers. He said: 'Airlines wouldn't be ignoring the law and their passengers' rights if the aviation regulator had some teeth,' he said. 'The Department for Transport can support consumers by equipping the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with direct fining powers. 'It should also drop its plans to change compensation rules for UK flights which are an important deterrent against passengers being treated unfairly.' Chief executive of easyJet Johan Lundgren said the airline is waiting for the Department for Transport (DfT) to give permission for around 100 new members of staff to start work. Grant Shapps, pictured, earlier this week blamed airports and airlines for the travel chaos ahead of his warning that the Easter weekend will be very 'busy' Mr Lundgren explained this is primarily due to high levels of coronavirus-related staff absences but also blamed the time it is taking for the Government to vet new recruits. He said: 'There's this delay of the clearance from the DfT (Department for Transport) for people to get their IDs. 'There's a backlog there and we're waiting currently for about 100 cabin crew to get their IDs. 'There's a three-week delay on that. That has had an impact. If that would have been on time, we would have seen less cancellations.' This demonstrates that the rise in coronavirus infections has 'impacted basically the whole of the UK', Mr Lundgren said. He went on: 'I understand the DfT and the ministers are doing what they can to accelerate and speed this up which we find very constructive but it definitely has had an impact.' Chief executive of easyJet Johan Lundgren, pictured, said the airline is waiting for the Department for Transport (DfT) to give permission for around 100 new members of staff to start work An easyJet spokesman stressed that earlier in the week flight cancellations were 'as a result of the unusually high level of Covid sickness amongst our crew and that DfT vetting was not responsible for any cancellations'. 'We do not blame the Government, on the contrary we, alongside our partners including DfT, have all been doing what we can to expedite the process so that we can get more crew onboard in the short term,' he added. Mr Lundgren insisted 'we don't have a shortage of crew' and it was 'absolutely not' fair to accuse the airline of selling flights it could not fulfil. 'We were having in some cases up to 20% of absence, and you wouldn't expect any airline at any point in time to be able to cover that,' he said. 'That is unfortunate for people who have been affected but I would like to reiterate that those cancellations were made pre-emptively. 'We're carrying up to 260,000 customers per day, so I think it's important to put that into context.' Advertisement Ukrainian soldiers vowed to 'fight until the end' after Russia issued a chilling warning to the final troops defending the besieged city of Mariupol - but Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Kremlin is trying to 'destroy everyone there'. Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die', urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 1:00pm, on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the urban area of the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. In a statement, the defence ministry said: 'The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 6am (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.' But with the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender and accept Russia's now-expired ultimatum, the Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told BBC News the last defenders will 'fight until the end'. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end.' Goncharenko referred to the continuing siege of Mariupol as 'a real genocide' and said it was considered that 'more than 20,000 people' have been killed in the port city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin 'is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there' and asked the West for more heavy weapons immediately to have any chance of saving the port city on the Sea of Azov as Russian air strikes continue. 'Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade,' he said, 'or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive.' Were it to fall, it would be the the first major city to be taken by Russian forces since the invasion began on February 24. In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. 'During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunitions factory near the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv region,' Russia's defence ministry said, the third such air strike near the capital in as many days. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol, which Moscow's forces claim to have brought under their control, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks. Earlier, Mr Zelensky had told Ukrainian journalists that the situation in Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the Azovstal steel mill, where tunnels allow the defenders to hide and resist until they run out of ammunition. The Russians already control what is left of the city after weeks of bombardment. Striking the steel plant to take the rest is part of Russia's preparations for the anticipated assault in eastern Ukraine. President Zelensky has admitted the situation in Mariupol remains 'extremely severe' and called on the west to provide the country with heavy weaponry Moscow gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die' by 3am GMT on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. Pictured: Illich Steel and Iron Works in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. Pictured: An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol Ukrainian fighters are putting up a hellish last stand in tunnels under an abandoned Stalingrad-esque Azovstal steel plant (pictured) in Mariupol as Russian forces close in on the besieged port city. Pictured: The Azovstal Steel and Iron Works facility Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases at the steelworks (pictured) hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers . Pictured: The view from inside the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works facility The Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko (pictured), told BBC News that the last defenders in Mariupol won't surrender to Russia. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end' But despite the offer, there have been no reports of soldiers laying down their arms with Kyiv yet to respond to the statement - as Russian air strikes continue on Mariupol, according to Ukraine's military Russian servicemen (pictured) on Tuesday secured Mariupol's Drama Theatre which was destroyed in a missile strike on March 16 At least 300 people died when Mariupol's drama theatre (pictured, Russian servicemen secure the destroyed building) was targeted in a Russian missile strike, despite being marked 'children' Mariupol's partially destroyed drama theatre which was hit on March 16 by a Russian airstrike as part of an intense campaign by Moscow's forces who are trying to take the city Service members of pro-Russian troops load rocket-propelled grenades into an infantry combat vehicle amid fighting near the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol Crosses are placed at a burial site of local residents killed in Mariupol as Russian forces continue a brutal siege of the city Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said on Telegram that despite Russia's '"surrender corridor" for the remaining troops' in the city, 'our defenders continue to hold the defence'. Andriushchenko added: 'During the fighting, the occupiers shelled private residential houses with heavy artillery again.' Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine, is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. The urban landscape of the Azovstal steelworks where Ukrainian forces, who took refuge at the site following reports Russia had used chemical weapons, plan to take on the invaders seems almost tailor-made for guerrilla warfare, with sprawling rail lines, warehouses, coal furnaces, factories, chimneys and tunnels. The maze-like area is a metal works complex, Azovstal, owned by Metinvest, which has been the focus of urban fighting in Mariupol, just like the nearby Azovmash factory which makes rail components, cranes and other large metal structures. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling. Over 20,000 civilians are believed to have been killed, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, and countless numbers have fled. It is one of a number of sites were international investigators believe war crimes have taken place - including the bombing of a maternity war and of a theatre sheltering hundreds of people. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland and the focus of the anticipated offensive. Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, said on Sunday that Mariupol's defenders have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described the city as a 'shield defending Ukraine' that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Ms Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and appeared to be preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. Meanwhile, scattered Russian attacks elsewhere in Ukraine were an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat from an invasion now in its eighth week. A view shows a residential building, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol A woman sits on a bench at a bus stop, which was damaged during a Russian assault in the southern port city of Mariupol People take belongings out of a residential building, which was destroyed during the conflict in the port city of Mariupol People walk past a residential building, which was destroyed during a Russian assault in the southern port city of Mariupol Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea Russia says it blew up a Ukrainian munitions factory near Kyiv overnight using cruise missiles fired from ships in the Black Sea (pictured being launched) Moscow says the factory was used to manufacture the same kinds of missiles that were used to sink the Moskva, its Black Sea flagship, on Thursday After failing to capture Ukraine's capital and the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command vowed to step up missile strikes on the capital, Kyiv. The Russians said they hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. He advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. 'We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital,' he said. 'If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it.' Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with 'air-launched high-precision long-range weapons'. Russia warns the US to stop arming Ukraine Russia told the US to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, warning of 'unpredictable consequences' if it continues to do do. The warning was delivered in the form of an official diplomatic note, which was seen by the Washington Post. It said that American and NATO shipments of the 'most sensitive' weapons were 'adding fuel' to the conflict, which is now nearing its second month. The two-page note was delivered after Biden had agreed to a new $800million delivery of military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and shells, helicopters and armoured personnel carriers. 'What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what weve been telling the world publicly that the massive amount of assistance that weve been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,' a senior US official said about the note. Advertisement The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling in eight regions across the country between Friday and Saturday. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported air strikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighbouring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the north-east, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. The workers said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. 'All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too,' recounted resident Valentina Ulianova. The day before, rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, killing a 15-year-old boy, an infant and at least eight other people in Ukraine's second-largest city, officials said. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Mr Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow - the first European leader to do so since the invasion began February 24 - said the Russian president is 'in his own war logic' on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Mr Nehammer said he thinks Mr Putin believes he is winning the war and 'we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine'. Mr Nehammer said he told Mr Putin what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and 'it was not a friendly conversation'. Mr Zelensky estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said on Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Ms Vereshchuk said on Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians 'without any conditions,' she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Russian Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried on Saturday in St Petersburg after dying in battle, Governor Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. It comes as the UK's Ministry of Defence gave an intelligence update on Sunday morning and said 'Russian forces continue to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine'. Russian missile strikes on military facility near Kyiv - linked to the production of missiles that hit Russian warship Moskva They wrote: 'Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country where Russia plans to renew its offensive activity. 'Though Russia's operational focus has shifted to eastern Ukraine, Russia's ultimate objective remains the same. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance. ' This comes as Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to bring a catastrophic end to its invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky warned last night - as he urged the world to 'prepare' for the worst by stocking up on anti-radiation medicine and building air raid shelters. The comedian-turned-war time leader made the doomsday warning during an interview with national media, before sharing the clip via his Telegram channel. He made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that desperate Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. The Russian strongman ramped up his offensive today, taking revenge on Ukraine for the downing of his Moskva warship on Thursday, by mercilessly shelling eight towns including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv. Elsewhere, a second British fighter was paraded on TV after being captured by Russian forces in Mariupol, while Russia lost its eighth top general in the latest blow to Putin's botched war. It comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN in a recent interview that Moscow would use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine in the case of an 'existential threat', while Russian military doctrine includes the 'escalate to de-escalate' principle of launching a small nuke to regain the initiative in war. Zelensky said tonight: 'We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use nuclear weapons... We must prepare for that.' Communal workers clear buildings destroyed following bombardment, killing two people and injuring eighteen others, in Kharkiv on Saturday Zelensky made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that desperate Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. (Pictured: Putin on a guided tour of guided missile cruiser Moskva, which sunk this week and may have been carrying nuclear weapons) A man stands in a building with a collapsed facade at the Vizar company military-industrial complex, after the site was hit by overnight Russian strikes, in the town of Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on April 15, 2022 There are fears that Russia's sunken Moskva cruiser (pictured) could have been carrying nuclear warheads when it was sunk on Thursday The neptune anti-ship missile believed to have sunk the Moskva this week A Russian military convoy moves on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol, Ukraine, on Saturday Service members of pro-Russian troops ride on armoured vehicles in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict on a road leading to the city of Mariupol An ambulance car is wrecked following a military strike by Russian forces in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk, on Saturday A Ukrainian soldier waits in position amid Russian attacks in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk on Saturday Ukrainian service members pictured Saturday as they rest on a street in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk A mother hugs her daughter as they wait for a bus to flee from Sloviansk city, in Donetsk district, to travel to Rivne , in western Ukraine, on Saturday Local residents Serhii and Liubov stand next to their house, destroyed during Russia's invasion in the village of Kukhari, in Kyiv region on Saturday Members of the Ukrainian military walk amid debris after a shopping center and surrounding buildings were hit by a Russian missile strike on April 16, 2022 in Kharkiv Damaged Ukrainian Army military trucks are pictured in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, on Saturday The gutted remains of vehicles are seen at Mariupol's Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second largest such business in Ukraine A Mariupol resident looks at a damaged apartment building following heavy fighting on Saturday Servicemen of Donetsk People's Republic militia walk past damaged apartment buildings in Mariupol on Saturday Mystery surrounds fate of Moskva crew as Russia claims they are safe and well in short video Mystery last night surrounded the fate of the crew of Russia's lost Black Sea flagship as Ukraine claimed they had all perished while Russia broadcast footage that it claimed was of the sailors safe and well. In a humiliation for the Kremlin and Russia's navy, the Moskva sank on Thursday shortly after being struck by two Neptune anti-ship missiles. It took the Kremlin a day to acknowledge that the guided missile cruiser had been lost, although it claimed the vessel went down as it was being towed to port after a fire broke out on board. Ukraine yesterday claimed the entire 510 crew of 12,500-ton vessel, including Anton Kuprin, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, had died. If true, it would represent the Russian navy's greatest loss of life at sea since World War II. Natalia Gumeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military forces, said: 'We saw that other ships tried to assist it, but even the forces of nature were on Ukraine's side because the storm made both the rescue operation and crew evacuations impossible.' The Russian defence ministry denied those claims and insisted the crew had been successfully evacuated and returned to their base in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Last night, a 38-second video emerged on social media that claimed to show the crew being greeted by Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander of the Russian Navy, in a military parade in Crimea. The veracity of the footage could not be verified and several dozen people were pictured on Friday holding a vigil in a town square in Sevastopol. A wreath left by a Russian navy monument bore the message: 'To the Moskva and its crew.' Advertisement Anti-radiation medicine and air raid shelters would be needed, he said, adding that the Russians 'can use any weapon, I'm convinced of it'. The interview was broadcast by six Ukrainian news websites. It came after a tough day of shelling from Russian forces as they sought revenge over the sinking of the Moskva flagship, which is believed to have seen most of the roughly 500 crew perish - although 54 were rescued by a Turkish vessel, according to Lithuanian authorities. It represented Russia's biggest single naval loss since 1945 - although Russia last night broadcast footage claiming the sailors were safe and well. Satellite images released Saturday showed the pride of Putin's Black Sea Fleet burning while other vessels are scrambled to rescue those onboard before it sank. Radar satellite imagery of the northern Black Sea on April 13 appears to pinpoint the Soviet-era Moskva warship, which Ukraine said was struck by two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries near the port city of Odesa. Other vessels are also seen in attendance, with reports suggesting they are rescue vessels. Naval News found the Moskva in satellite imagery that employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR), technology that can 'see' through clouds. The satellite which took the image passed over the area at around 6.30pm local time on Wednesday, the publication said. It pinpointed the coordinates of a ship matching the Russian vessel and its dire situation to 4510'43.39N, 3055'30.54E - a position east of Snake Island in the Black Sea, 80 nautical miles from Odesa and 50 nautical miles away from the closest stretch of Ukrainian coastline. 'Based on analysis by multiple people, we are confident that this shows Moskva's final hours,' Naval News said in its report. The sinking this week sparked a number of 'revenge attacks' by Putin's forces yesterday. Darnyts'kyi, a suburb in south Kyiv, was among the first to be hit before dawn, when a tank repair factory was blown up, killing one. Four cruise missiles were then fired on Lviv, which Ukraine intelligence says were shot down before they could inflict carnage. But another Ukrainian was killed and 18 injured when a warship-launched missile rocked Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet - the Soviet-era guided missile destroyer Moskva - has suffered heavy damage and may have sunk after Ukraine claimed to have shot it with two anti-ship cruise missiles Moskva could have been carrying warheads to fit into the tip of its Moskva's P-1000 supersonic cruise missiles, which are designed to take out American aircraft carriers Radar satellite imagery of the Black Sea on April 13 appears to pinpoint the Moskva warship, which Ukraine said was struck by two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries near the port city of Odesa. Other vessels are seen in attendance There was also a missile blitz on the port city of Mykolaiv, where a military vehicle workshop was destroyed, according to Russia, as well as intense shelling in Donbas, Mariupol and Luhansk, which is set to be the focus of Putin's fresh offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian troops had died in the war, with 10,000 injured. The United Nations said it had confirmed the deaths of 1,982 Ukrainian civilians, but that figure does not include those killed in blockaded cities such as Mariupol. It comes as a second British fighter was captured in the besieged city before being paraded on TV on Saturday. Ex-British Army soldier Shaun Pinner, 48, was known to have been serving as a Royal Anglian veteran with Kyiv's forces fighting off the Russian invasion. Looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds, he said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. I was captured in Mariupol. 'I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marine. I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People's Republic.' His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine. There is concern for his safety amid fears that he could treated as a spy by the Kremlin. Brit fighter Shaun Pinner has been captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol. He was paraded on Russian television looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds. He said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner' Shaun Pinner, 48, was fighting side by side with Ukrainian marines to defend the key strategic port of Mariupol He reportedly told his Russians captors that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home' Pinner was shown on a military TV channel linked to war journalist Andrey Rudenko. He reportedly told the Russians that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'. Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee, it was announced yesterday. 'This is the second Englishman caught in Mariupol,' the TV report added. His fate in the hands of the Russians and the separatist authorities in Donetsk remains uncertain. Meanwhile, Russia lost its eighth general Saturday since the start of the invasion. Major General Vladimir Frolov, deputy commander of the 8th Guards Combined Arms unit, was given a military funeral in St Petersburg yesterday. It's not known how or where he died, but the timing of his funeral suggests Frolov was killed in the past few days. His 8th Combined Arms Army was fighting in Kherson, near Crimea last month when commander Andrei Mordvichev was killed. Frolov was buried in St Petersburg today after being killed in an unspecified part of Ukraine Lt Col Miras Bashakov (left) is the 34th colonel killed in the war, while Denis Mezhuev (right) died last week Frolov 'sacrificed his life so that children, women and the elderly in Donbas would not hear bombs exploding again', the St Petersburg governor said as his friend was laid to rest. The general was from a military family and 'died the death of the brave in battle against Ukrainian nationalists', Alexander Beglov added. He was 'a true patriot, a brave and courageous man' who 'honestly and to the end fulfilled his military and human duty. 'People will not forget their heroes. Eternal memory to him.' Russia also lost its 34th colonel of the war, tank battalion commander Miras Bashakov, according to reports yesterday. He became the 42nd high-ranking officer known to have died in a war that has haemorrhaged Putin's top brass. The scale of the death toll invalidates Putin's claim that his 'special military operation' is going according to plan. It came after Zelensky had warned on Friday that the world should be worried about the threat Putin poses as he becomes increasingly desperate, echoing comments made by CIA director William Burns. Mr Burns said Thursday that Russia's battlefield setbacks raised the risk that Putin could deploy a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon. It came after the Kremlin said it had placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the assault began on February 24, although the US says it has not seen any sign of unusual nuclear movements. US President Joe Biden is 'deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which nuclear conflict becomes possible,' said Burns. Zelensky reportedly personally asked President Biden to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism a move with substantial implications for trade and sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons Biden did not commit on the subject, sources told the Washington Post. Such a designation would lead to economic sanctions on nations that continue to do business with Russia, as well as freezing Russian assets in the US. He spoke a day after Burns issued his warning in a speech April 14, in which he said: 'Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.' US officials have long warned that Putin could resort to increasingly reckless actions, particularly after major setbacks in its invasion, including the failure to take Kyiv or decapitate the regime, substantial troop losses and destruction of heavy armour. The US this week said it was not able to confirm Ukrainian claims that a Russian drone had dropped a chemical weapon on the besieged city of Mariupol due to distance from the alleged event. The Azov regiment said a 'poisonous substance of unknown origin' was released on Monday. Leaders have repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine The fears of a Russian use of tactical nuclear weapons comes after relentless conventional strikes on Ukraine Russia warned of 'unpredictable consequences' after the U.S. announced the latest in a series of aid packages for Ukraine this time including helicopters, 155 mm howitzer long-range artillery, and Switchblade drones as part of the $800 million effort. Russia's invasion, which began in late February, has already brought fears of a nuclear accident, after Russian troops seized and then later abandoned the Chernobyl nuclear plant after holding Ukrainian plant workers hostage for weeks. Russian forces also fired on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. And there are concerns Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, could have been carrying nuclear warheads when it was sunk this week. The Soviet-era guided missile cruiser, sank near the port of Sevastopol on Thursday after Ukraine said it hit the ship with two cruise missiles. Moscow claims it was due to a fire on board, and says it sank in part due to 'stormy sea conditions.' Pentagon officials said Friday the US assessment is that Ukrainian forces struck the ship with two Neptune missiles. Ukrainian rescuers put out a fire on a storehouse after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 13 April 2022. The city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has witnessed repeated airstrikes from Russian forces including satellite cities 'Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,' said Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns Russia then launched a series of cruise missile strikes on Ukraine overnight in revenge for the sinking saying it struck a factory near Kyiv that made the weapons used against Moskva. The strikes illustrated how Moscow can still launch rocket attacks on Ukraine even after withdrawing its forces that had sought to encircle Kyiv. Mykhailo Samus, director of a Lviv-based military think-tank; Andriy Klymenko, editor of Black Sea News; and Ukrainian newspaper Defense Express all warned that the Moskva could have been carrying two nuclear warheads designed to be fitted to its P-1000 'carrier killer' missiles. If true, the loss of the warheads into the Black Sea could spark a 'Broken Arrow' incident - American military slang for potentially lethal accidents involving nuclear weapons. 'On board the Moskva could be nuclear warheads - two units,' Samus said, while Klymenko called on other Black Sea nations - Turkey, Romania, Georgia, and Bulgaria - to insist on an explanation. 'Where are these warheads? Where were they when the ammunition exploded,' he asked. Today, the 17th of April, marks the anniversary of the independence of the French from Syria in 1946 and the announcement of the Syrian Republic. Today, after years have passed, Syria has returned to live not only a mandate state, but new occupations and a threat to the countrys future, after the March 2011 crisis. stage of independence My countrymen This is a day when the sun of shining freedom will shine on your homeland, only your knowledge will fail on it, and only your vision will rise on it This is the day of truth when his word resounds, and the day of independence is manifested, when falsehood sees how its state will disappear. and how his tour fades. This is the day of the great victory and the manifest conquest." With these words, the Syrian President, Shukri al-Quwatli, addressed the masses of Syrians at the time, congratulating them for the independence of Syria from French forces from it, after an occupation that lasted nearly 26 years. And at that time, the international circumstances after the end of World War II in 1945 helped the Syrians achieve their independence, as the United Nations supported the decision of the independence and unity of Syria, with the majority of its members. Thus, the Syrian government and people celebrated Independence Day for the first time on April 17, 1946 during the presidency of Shukri al-Quwatli . Post-independence period.. Spring did not last long But al-Quwatli and the Syrians, they did not know that what was to come to the country might be seen by some as worse than the period of French colonialism and more dangerous. A Syrian spring followed the independence stage, and political life began to appear in Damascus and the rest of the Syrian cities, and people in the Syrian Republic began to exchange political conversations among themselves in terms such as democracy, justice, freedom of expression and the parliamentary system. That it brings the Syrian people together and leads negotiations and revolutions. In 1947, parliamentary elections were held for a new parliament, following the parliament whose constitutional term had expired. During the electoral campaign, strong divisions occurred between the political groupings, and regional tendencies united in interests emerged. In the north, alliances took place, some of which are on the lookout for the Damascus alliance, and so on, to a lesser degree, in the rest of the provinces. The imposition of one nationalism changes the course of the Syrian Republic But this did not last long, as the National Action League contributed to laying the intellectual and organizational foundations for radical Arabism, as described by many experts, upon which the Baath Party developed itself after independence. As a result, the stage of revolutions began in Syria, leading to the Baath Party taking power. Later on, Syria gradually turned into a nation-state ruled by a single party. The national and sectarian mobilization practiced by the Baath Party in Syria, over time, led to the division of Syrian society, and despite the tight security and military grip, this did not prevent disobedience and uprisings, most notably the events of Hama in 1982, Palmyra prison, and the Qamishlo uprising in 2004 . These problems accumulated until in 2011, when the Syrian crisis began and the greedy countries exploited it on Syrian territory, Russia and Iran exploited the weakness of the Damascus government, while Turkey used the so-called Syrian opposition to occupy many Syrian lands. In memory of independence. . a lump and great pain The head of the Syria First Party, Salman Shabib, spoke about this, saying: Unfortunately, this national occasion comes and Syria is not in its best condition. It was assumed that all the Syrian people, with its various components and political and societal sects, would participate in the celebration, but the reality of the situation and the fall of dear parts of our Syrian land under the occupation, once again, makes this precious occasion, pass through and in our hearts there is a great deal of grief and pain. He added, "Certainly, the existing political authority bears a great responsibility for our arrival at this unfortunate stage, and it is not excused by some countries' insistence on us and their participation in conspiring against our country, some of which was revealed by former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim in his lengthy meeting with Al-Qabas newspaper." Political tyranny paved the way for the return of colonialism The Syrian politician laid out several reasons for the return of the occupation, saying: The chronic tyranny for decades, the desertification of political life, the monopoly of government and the suppression of national, progressive and even liberal forces, corruption that has become the norm that governs our economic life, and the absence of freedoms and democracy, all paved the way for the events that ravaged Syria. Since 2011 popular protests that raised legitimate demand slogans, a security solution was adopted to confront them, and the wave of extremist forces quickly intervened and opened the door wide to foreign conspiracies countries like Turkey and others, which brought precious parts of Syria under occupation. He explained in this context, "Certainly, the party that ruled Syria for more than half a century with an arbitrary national mentality that is not commensurate with the pluralism of the Syrian society, which includes various religious, sectarian and national components, bears the greatest responsibility for the social and ethnic tensions that preceded the outbreak of events." He added, "The one-party experience in the world failed and the Soviet Union and the socialist camp collapsed, but all of this did not take from it the existing political authority that has been ruling Syria for decades in the name of the Baath Party, lessons that could have spared our country the scourge it is experiencing, the most dangerous of which are certainly several occupations that brutally permeate on our land." The so-called Syrian opposition has exacerbated the Syrian tragedy The head of the Syria First Party placed the greatest blame on the so-called opposition, saying: "What has exacerbated the Syrian tragedy is the absence of a true national opposition that offers the best option for the Syrian people through national programs of action in line with the interests of the Syrians." And he added, "But what happened is that those who led the opposition scene. are groups of thieves, mercenaries, marginalists, and careerists who were assembled with some opposition figures by the Gulf states and Turkey with the blessing of the West, among other things. Institutions representing the Syrians were named, and the opposition national forces and figures were excluded. He added, "This made opposition put itself at the service of those who produced, adopted and nurtured it, disregarding the higher interests of the Syrian people, committed the public treason when it helped the Turkish greed to occupy the lands, cities and towns of its homeland, and raised the flag of the occupation, killed, raped, displaced and plundered those who are supposed to be its people who it represented them, and more than that, it accepted for itself to turn the Syrian youth into mercenaries fighting to serve the expansionist Turkish goals in Libya, Azerbaijan and others. The Turkish occupation is the most dangerous to Syria's unity and sovereignty Regarding which of the occupations is the most dangerous for Syria, the Syrian politician said: "Certainly, the Turkish occupation and the clear and declared Turkish ambitions in the Syrian land constitute the most dangerous threat to Syria's unity and sovereignty, and this is what we have affirmed with the Syria First Party, permanently and continuously through the means of communication or through the local media. And the Foreign Ministry, what would it benefit us as Syrians if Turkey signed dozens of statements confirming the unity of the Syrian land and issued hundreds of statements declaring its adherence to Syrias sovereignty, and it carried out daily, even hourly, practices on the ground that contradict these statements and undermine Syrias unity and violate its sovereignty. He added, "Turkish practices of demographic change, appending the Syrian areas it occupies to the Turkish administrative structure, establishing Turkish universities and schools, imposing Turkish identities and the Turkish language, dealing with the Turkish lira and others, confirm its ambitions and intentions to consolidate its occupation and turn it into a permanent state, and that it will not withdraw. I said on the day of the occupation Afrin and I was on Syrian state television that we will face the problem of a new Iskenderun Brigade." .. Damascus and the "opposition" made Syria face an existential threat for the first time in its history The head of the Syria First Party recalled the responsibility of the Damascus government and the so-called Syrian opposition for this, saying: "The existing authority with its repressive practices confronted the people's legitimate demands for freedom and democracy, and excluded all other political forces and worked to fragment and fragment them and denied the pluralism of Syrian society. respected or observed and fiercely fought against the moderate enlightenment currents, which gave way to extremism in all its forms to confiscate the minds of the Syrian youth, directing them to destructive choices and the opposition that came to the fore with all its national and moral deviations, and its acceptance to be a puppet in the hands of regional countries working to serve their projects and agendas in Syria and others far from the goals The Syrian people and their interests. He added, "These two parties contributed to Syria's arrival to this catastrophic state that it is going through, and made it face for the first time in its history this existential threat related to its present, its future, and even its survival as a united and sovereign state." The unity of the components of Syria is enough to end the occupations On ways to confront these challenges and risks, the Syrian politician said: "The great dangers threatening Syria require all national forces to give precedence to the language of dialogue and to start from Syrian national accounts away from any narrow factional accounts or interests." He added, "The unity of the Syrian people with all its components and forces within a true national partnership is the only way to liberate our occupied lands and formulate our project for a future Syria. Syria is a state of citizenship and law, a state of freedoms and democracy, a pluralistic and prosperous Syria with all its components with equal rights and duties away from any exclusion or marginalization." The Syrian politician sent a message to the Syrians, saying: We are living on the occasion of evacuation. We must remember the history that taught us that bullying the foreigner, especially the occupier, is not the right or useful option, and that under the roof of the nation, and in the language of serious and sincere dialogue between the sons of the country, balanced solutions can be reached for all issues. No matter how tricky it is." At the conclusion of his speech, the head of the Syria First Party, Salman Shabib, said: I have repeatedly said to the media and repeat it here that the success of the dialogue between the Syrian state, the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces can lay the foundations for the resurrection of the new Syria, and this is what every honest and patriotic Syrian awaits and aspires to reach. to him quickly. A ANHA A cold front bringing an icy blast will send temperatures plummeting in parts of southeastern Australia this week, with millions also bracing for showers and thunderstorms. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned Sydneysiders and Melburnians to expect the mercury to drop as low as 9C from Tuesday, after enjoying a sunny Easter weekend. The warning comes only weeks after the country's east was devastated by widespread flash flooding and torrential rain that submerged suburbs and destroyed homes. 'After a warm Easter weekend, a cold front will bring showers, rain areas and cooler temperatures to much of southern Australia early next week,' BOM said. Australia is set to experience wild wet weather once again including colder temperatures, rainfall and thunderstorms, according to the Bureau of Meteorology Weatherzone meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse told Daily Mail Australia the cold front is only expected to hang around until Wednesday in Sydney. However, Australians can rule out any beach days in the lead up to the weekend. 'The second half of the week there will be coastal showers developing, with hints of an inland trough next weekend,' she said. Parts of the southern and central inland regions of NSW will be drenched on Tuesday with up to 50mm of rainfall, according to the Bureau. 'Significant rainfall totals are likely in southern and central inland NSW on Tuesday, with the chance of thunderstorms,' BOM said. 'For some locations this may constitute the "autumn break". A cold front will also bring cooler temperatures to much of the state.' The Bureau of Meteorology warned on the Easter weekend that southern Australia is set to receive heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures next week while the north will experience thunderstorms. (Pictured: A woman keeps dry from the wet weather in Sydney) The Bureau of Meteorology for New South Wales revealed on Sunday that heavy rainfall will drench the southern and central inland regions of NSW Wagga Wagga is set for a max of 27C on Monday and a low of 13C, but that is is expected to drop to a low of 12C on Tuesday. The low will then fall to a chilly 9C on Thursday. Sydney's max temperature will be 26C on Monday with a low of 15C, while Tuesday and Wednesday will be similar. Melbourne can expect rain from Monday, with showers persisting until Thursday. It will be a much chilly week with a high of 19C on Monday. And it doesn't look like it will warm up with the mercury remaining below 20C all week. Sydney residents can rule out any beach days in the lead up to the weekend, with coastal showers expected and 'hints of an inland trough'. (Pictured: Sydney residents use umbrellas to keep dry from the heavy rain) The cold front is set to reach Victoria on Monday and last until Tuesday. (Pictured: Residents in Melbourne crossing a street with an umbrella) South Australia has showers moving in from the west, with heavy rain and possible storms expected around Adelaide on Sunday and Monday. According to the BOM forecast, Adelaide will be met with a max of 21C on Monday and a low of 15C. Tuesday will be colder with a max of 20C and low of 12C. Rains and thunderstorms are expected for parts of Queensland over the next couple of days. The Bureau says the front will bring 'rain over the next two days and drop max temperatures by up to 10Cfive from today's [Sunday's] highs' The wet weather will hit Cape York Peninsula on Sunday and Monday, according to the Bureau. Isolated showers are also set to saturate the North Tropical Coast and South East Coast. Brisbane is set for a max of 27C on Monday with a low of 17C, with similar temperatures expected on Tuesday. Darwin will see temperatures in the mid 30s for the entire week, while Hobart will see nighttime lows of 7C by Friday. A sexism row has erupted after a men-only farmers' group in Liverpool refused to let women join. The Liverpool Agricultural Discussion Society (Lads), founded in 1928, voted to continue banning females from attending their meetings on Wednesday April 6 arguing that they needed a safe space to discuss their mental health. Members were asked to ditch the clause in their rulebook which states: 'Membership shall be open to men actively engaged in agriculture and its associated activities, and men, who in the opinion of the committee would be an asset to the society'. When a motion to allow women into the society was put to the vote, between 60 and 70 members - about 90 per cent of those present - voted to keep barring them. Lisa Edwards, an arable farmer who chairs the National Farmers' Union (NFU) in Lancashire, lashed out on Twitter. She wrote: 'Very sad that Liverpool Agricultural Discussion Society voted to retain ban on women attending. 'Even in 2022 women in ag still face barriers to networking and learning in their local farming community. #discrimination #timeforchange.' Lisa Edwards (above), an arable farmer who chairs the National Farmers' Union (NFU) in Lancashire, lashed out on Twitter The foundations for Lads - originally known as Liverpool and District Junior Farmers Club - were laid at a meeting at 30 Great Homer Street in Liverpool on 20 February 1928 Mrs Edwards, who farms 900 acres of cereal crops and potatoes in Merseyside, also told The Telegraph: 'If they want to run a farm they should have equal opportunities. They shouldnt be discriminated against because of their sex. 'Networking is so important, especially at the start of your career, and we wanted to make sure women coming into the industry would have that opportunity to network with other young farmers. 'We thought they would vote to have women at least as guests, as a compromise. I didnt expect it to be 90 per cent against.' Mrs Edwards' tweet attracted a mixed response, with 'regenerative farmer' Anna Jackson saying 'I feel like a protest at their town hall where they meet would be very do-able.' Rachel Addyman said that her first reaction was 'what the heck?'. But when she started to think about all the female-only ag groups, she asked herself 'Is it so wrong?' 'TBH it's one of the reasons I've not joined Women in Dairy, although I am in Yorkshire Women in Farming. We could be in danger of having double standards,' she tweeted. She wrote: 'Very sad that Liverpool Agricultural Discussion Society voted to retain ban on women attending' Lads member Olly Harrison, a Merseyside arable farmer who was not at Wednesday's meeting and so did not take part in the vote, rejected any suggestions that the group was discriminatory. 'Having heard a presentation from the guy that started Andy's Man Club, who, like myself, lost a friend through depression, I believe the stigma around mental health is still quite strong. 'To discourage a club which is already set up and is exclusively for men would not be right, especially as other people are trying to set them up. 'The society meets six or seven times a year. I believe it is a good support network for males who often work in an isolated industry. Lads member Olly Harrison, a Merseyside arable farmer who was not at Wednesday's meeting and so did not take part in the vote, rejected any suggestions that the group was discriminatory 'I don't think that the institute is outdated, but maybe its name is outdated. 'Within the region, there are lots of opportunities for agriculture-based learning and topics provided by AHDB (the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) or NFU. 'There are also plenty of opportunities for female-only clubs such as Lady Farmers, the Women's Institute, Ladies in Beef and Ladies in Pigs.' Farmers Weekly quoted one society member, who did not want to be named, as saying 'Rightly or wrongly, it is a meeting place for men's support. Mrs Edwards' tweet attracted a mixed response, with 'regenerative farmer' Anna Jackson saying 'I feel like a protest at their town hall where they meet would be very do-able' 'It has been going since the 1920s and the rules state that attendees should wear a jacket and tie. 'The society meets around six to seven times a year. It's a focal point to meet up. 'If anything, the society name is no longer relevant and it should be changed, rather than the rules.' There has been growing concern in recent years at the high suicide rate among farmers, who have had a tough time with rising prices and lower incomes from milk and other produce. Rachel Addyman said that her first reaction was 'what the heck?'. But when she started to think about all the female-only ag groups, she asked herself 'Is it so wrong?' Experts say farmers and their workers often suffer mental health issues from having to work alone, day in and day out. The foundations for Lads - originally known as Liverpool and District Junior Farmers Club - were laid at a meeting at 30 Great Homer Street in Liverpool on 20 February 1928, when the motion, 'That a young farmers club be formed' was agreed. The prime mover in forming a club for the young farmers was Mr Frank Jones. The website for Lads says the president is the Earl of Derby. A Liberal Senator has copped a barrage of criticism on The Project after she leapt to the defence of a controversial party candidate. There are growing calls for Katherine Deves to be disendorsed as the Liberal candidate for the northern Sydney seat of Warringah over her previous anti-transgender remarks. She shut down her social media and was forced to apologise this week after historic tweets emerged of Ms Deves describing transgender children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised and compared lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust. Liberal Senator Jane Hume jumped to Ms Deves' defence when she appeared on The Project on Sunday night, sparking a fiery clash with program host Hamish Macdonald. Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves (pictured) has come under heavy fire for anti-transgender comments The senator conceded Ms Deves' comments were inappropriate but then said the candidate was a passionate advocate for fairness and equality in women's sport. Mr Macdonald accused the senator of coming up with excuses for Ms Deves. 'I'm asking you right now about whether you really believe this is a feminist campaign for sport, or something that dresses up what is ultimately about division and hate, that is bigotry dressed up as feminism?,' he asked. Senator Hume played down the question to fire a shot at Labor candidate for Hunter, Dan Repacholi who's also under heavy fire over old social media posts, including one where he dubbed India a 's***hole'. 'Isn't it extraordinary that nobody is talking about the Labor candidate for Hunter, who has also had to delete his social media and Facebook pages for vile and sexist comments, yet no-one seems to be talking about that,' she replied. Liberal Senator Jane Hume (pictured) faced backlash for her support of the controversial candidate on The Project Mr Macdonald said Labor would face a similar grilling about Mr Repacholi if they were on the program before repeating his earlier question. 'I'm asking you right now about whether you really believe this is a feminist campaign for sport, or something that dresses up what is ultimately about division and hate, that is bigotry dressed up as feminism?' he repeated. Poll Should Katherine Deves should remain the party's candidate for Warringah? Yes No Unsure Should Katherine Deves should remain the party's candidate for Warringah? Yes 491 votes No 98 votes Unsure 6 votes Now share your opinion Senator Hume replied: 'Surely, Hamish, you would agree that the idea of women and girls competing fairly and equally in sport is important. 'Now, we think, the government thinks, not Katherine Deves, the government thinks that sport should be inclusive. That it should be fair and that it should be equal. 'Were her comments correct? No. Were they acceptable? Absolutely not. Have they been deleted? Yes. Has she apologised for them and acknowledged that they were insensitive? Yes, she has done all of those things.' Earlier in the interview, Senator Hume also copped a grilling from respected veteran journalist Ray Martin who described Ms Deves' comments as a cruel attack. 'She described transgender children as surgically mutilated and sterilised and said lobbying against them was like standing up against the Holocaust,' he said. 'That's not a slip of the tongue. You've got to think that one out. 'Transgender children would be amongst the most vulnerable in our society. 'There's nothing positive about this. It's a cruel attack on children.' Senator Jane Hume's support for Katherine Deves sparked a war of words with The Project's Hamish Macdonald (pictured) Senator Hume agreed Ms Deves' comments were insensitive. 'Those were totally inappropriate comments and not ones that I agree with,' she said. 'However, I think we can safely say that Katherine is an advocate for something that is dear to many people's hearts, which is that women and girls can compete fairly and equally in sport. And that's what she was talking about. 'Did she say it in the right way? No, not at all. It was entirely inappropriate. But she's a passionate advocate for this issue.' Earlier on Sunday, minister for women Marise Payne was repeatedly asked on ABC's Insiders program whether Ms Deves should be dumped. She believes it's a matter for the NSW Liberals. 'It's a matter for the organisation in NSW,' Senator Payne told the program 'I need to get on with my job. That's what I'm doing. And I don't agree with the remarks that she made. I've made that explicitly clear.' Tory MPs have called the Archbishop of Canterbury's stinging intervention over the government's plan to send thousands of migrants with a one-way ticket to Rwanda 'clumsy'. Justin Welby told his Easter sermon congregation that the UK has a duty as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' after anyone who arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda under a new deal. Boris Johnson's government said it would help to break people-smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants across the Channel, which has faced immediate and heavy criticism from politicians and charities. Mr Welby said the 'serious' ethical questions' over sending asylum seekers abroad cannot 'stand the judgment of god'. He has been joined in his sentiments by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell who called it 'depressing and distressing'. While cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, a committed Catholic, said the government is not 'abandoning' migrants but taking on a 'very difficult responsibility' with the 'intention' of doing good' which he said is important within Christianity. Other Tory MPs John Redwood, Mike Wood and Tom Hunt also blasted Mr Welby's comments with Mr Hunt saying the Archbishop should be wary of 'clumsily intervening' into political issues. Mr Welby also called for a ceasefire in the Russian war on Ukraine and spoke of his concern for families struggling during the cost-of-living crisis and for those bereaved by Covid-19. The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured today) blasted the government's Rwanda plan for asylum seekers as the 'opposite of the nature of God' In his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Justin Welby said the UK has a 'national responsibility' as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' In his 8.10am sermon, the Archbishop said: 'The resurrection of Jesus is not a magic wand that makes the world perfect. 'But the resurrection of Christ is the tectonic shift in the way the cosmos works. It is the conquest of death and the opening of eternal life - through Jesus, a gift offered to every human being who reaches out to him. 'Not just for individuals but setting a benchmark for all of society because God is lord of every society and nation.' He will continue: 'Let this be a time for Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. 'This is a time for resetting the ways of peace, not for what Bismarck called blood and iron. Let Christ prevail. Let the darkness of war be banished. 'And this season is also why there are such serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas. 'The details are for politics and politicians. The principle must stand the judgment of God, and it cannot. It cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death. 'It cannot carry the weight of the resurrection that was announced first to the least valued, for it privileges the rich and strong. 'And it cannot carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values, because sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures on the cross.' He also said the love of god and hope triumphs over 'nightmares' and 'global power'. Migrants wait to disembark at the Port of Dover after being rescued while crossing the English Channel, in Dover, Britain, April 17, 2022 Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaking on Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme, said he disagrees with the Archbishop of Canterbury's interpretation of the Government's new immigration policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda Echoing Mr Welby over his thoughts on the migrant scheme, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said at York Minster 'we can do better than' the Rwanda scheme. Mr Cottrell said: 'It is so depressing and distressing this week to find that asylum seekers fleeing war, famine and oppression from deeply, deeply troubled parts of the world will not be treated with the dignity and compassion that is the right of every human being, and instead of being dealt with quickly and efficiently here on our soil will be shipped to Rwanda. 'We can do better than this. We can do better than this because of what we see in Jesus Christ, the risen Christ, with a vision for our humanity where barriers are broken down, not new obstacles put in the path. 'After all, there is in law no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. It is the people who exploit them that we need to crack down on, not our sisters and brothers in their need. We don't need to build more barriers and cower in the darkness of the shadows they create.' Echoing Mr Welby over his thoughts on the migrant scheme, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell (pictured) said at York Minster 'we can do better than' the Rwanda scheme The Member of Parliament for Ipswich Tom Hunt said Mr Welby's comments were 'wrong headed' and he should be wary of 'clumsily intervening' into political issues John Redwood, the MP for Wokingham, said could the Archbishop 'forgive and reconcile' instead of 'sharpening political divisions' Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaking on Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme, said he disagrees with the Archbishop of Canterbury's interpretation of the Government's new immigration policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. He said: 'I think he misunderstands what the policy is trying to achieve, and that it isn't an abandonment of responsibility, it is in fact a taking on of a very difficult responsibility. 'The problem that is being dealt with is that people are risking their lives in the hands of people traffickers, to get into this country illegally. 'Now, it's not the illegal bit of it, it is the encouragement of people traffickers that needs to be stopped.' He said '90% of people coming are young men who by coming via people traffickers are jumping the queue for others'. The Brexit opportunities minister also suggested the Government's immigration plan creates an 'opportunity for Rwanda'. He said: 'What is being done is providing an opportunity for Rwanda because it will provide Rwanda, a country that needs support and has gone through terrible troubles... and the Rwandan story is almost an Easter story of redemption, isn't it? 'Of a country that suffered the most appalling and horrific genocide and is now recovering and therefore the UK supporting it must be a good thing. 'It helps people come through legitimate routes and I think the aim of the policy - within Christianity intention is always very important - and the intention of the Government is to do good. 'It is to help those in genuine need of asylum and to make it harder for crime to prosper, and that I think, is fundamentally important.' The MP for Ipswich Tom Hunt took to Twitter to blast Mr Welby, saying: 'The leaders of the Church of England should be wary about clumsily intervening into complex political issues at the best of times.' Pictured: So what is the Archbishop's proposal on how to stop the lucrative and illegal trade by people traffickers? Why does he want to live with law breaking and dangerous voyages? And Mr Redwood also wrote: 'So what is the Archbishop's proposal on how to stop the lucrative and illegal trade by people traffickers? Mr Reese-Mogg had previously stated he 'took his whip from the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church rather than the [Tory party's] Whip's Office'. The MP for Ipswich Tom Hunt took to Twitter to blast Mr Welby, saying: 'The leaders of the Church of England should be wary about clumsily intervening into complex political issues at the best of times. 'To do so on Easter Sunday feels very wrong. Archbishop of York views particularly wrong headed. Claims hes in tune with majority of the public.' John Redwood, the MP for Wokingham, called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to 'forgive and reconcile' instead of 'sharpening political divisions'. He said in a Tweet: 'I thought the Easter message was love conquers all. We should forgive and reconcile. Could the Archbishop help do that instead of sharpening political divisions? And Mr Redwood also wrote: 'So what is the Archbishop's proposal on how to stop the lucrative and illegal trade by people traffickers? Why does he want to live with law breaking and dangerous voyages?' Mike Wood MP also told GB News: They were unwise comments This will help to reduce the tragic losses at sea that weve had. It comes as an exchange of letters published by the Home Office on Saturday night showed the department's Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft warned Home Secretary Priti Patel, pictured in Rwanda on Thusday, that although the policy was 'regular, proper and feasible', there was 'uncertainty surrounding the value for money of the proposal' It comes as an exchange of letters published by the Home Office on Saturday night showed the department's Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft warned Home Secretary Priti Patel that although the policy was 'regular, proper and feasible', there was 'uncertainty surrounding the value for money of the proposal'. But issuing a rare ministerial direction compelling the plans to go ahead despite the concern, Ms Patel said that 'without action, costs will continue to rise, lives will continue to be lost'. The Home Office insisted the UK has a 'proud history' of supporting those in need and that Rwanda is a 'fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers'. The policy has enjoyed some support from Conservative MPs, who say the issue of small boats crossing the Channel is high on the priority list for constituents. Ms Patel said she expects other countries to follow the UK's example, suggesting Denmark could be among those to reproduce the Government's 'blueprint', while the Home Office insisted its approach is not in breach of refugee agreements. Boris Johnson's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has today been slammed as an 'egregious breach of international law' and 'really unacceptable' by the United Nation's refugee agency. Pictured: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the command room at the 'Maritime rescue coordination centre' in Dover, Britain, April 14, 2022 Speaking about the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic, the Archbishop Mr Welby also said: 'In the UK we might be waking up to lighter mornings and warmer days. 'But families across the country are waking up to cold homes and empty stomachs as we face the greatest cost-of-living crisis - we have known in our lifetimes. 'And because of this, they wake up with fear. 'Further afield people are waking up to horrors they never imagined possible. 'Last month president Zelensky gave a speech in which he said 'the end of the world has arrived'. 'Ukrainians have woken up to the end of the world as they knew it. 'Now they are awakened by the noises of war and the sickening reality of terror. They wake up to mortal fear.' Reflecting, on Mary waking up when Jesus was crucified, he said she awoke 'grim' with 'anger' at disciples for running away and her 'misery' at the future. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby performs the Washing of The Feet ceremony during the Maundy Thursday service at the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in Kent, 'Be strong and have courage in your hearts': Boris Johnson addresses Ukrainians in his Easter message as he highlights triumph of good over evil and life over death By ELMIRA TANATAROVA FOR MAILONLINE Boris Johnson addressed Ukrainians in his Easter message today, remarking that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other'. The Prime Minister, who is now banned from entering Russia following the Kremlin's sanctions on a dozen other British government members and politicians, told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart'. He added: 'Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption.' Moscow has meanwhile accused Britain, with Johnson making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week, of 'deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO' and threatened to expand its sanctions list 'soon'. The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky. It said: 'I updated my friend @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. 'The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught.' Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity. The Labour leader said, in his address to 'Christians around the world': 'I know you draw inspiration from the life of Jesus and the Easter story which is a message of overcoming adversity and of hope. Of light overcoming darkness. 'And at this pivotal time, when Europe is at war and people are facing greater poverty at home, hope is more important than ever. 'Thank you and Happy Easter.' Yesterday Pope Francis called for 'gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war' in an Easter vigil homily in St Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. Ivan Fedorov was abducted and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic southern city. Francis noted that while 'many writers have evoked the beauty of starlit nights...nights of war, however, are riven by streams of light that portend death'. He did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce in order to reach a negotiated peace. Francis also addressed Mr Fedorov and Ukrainian legislators Maria Mezentseva, Olena Khomenko and Rusem Umerov, who sat all together in the front row. He said: 'In this darkness of war, in the cruelty, we are all praying for you and with you this night. We are praying for all the suffering. 'We can only give you our company, our prayer.' Francis added that 'the biggest thing you can receive: Christ is risen'. He spoke the last three words in Ukrainian. The messages of hope come as Zelensky last night warned that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to bring a catastrophic end to its invasion of Ukraine. He urged the world to 'prepare' for the worst by stocking up on anti-radiation medicine and building air raid shelters. The comedian-turned-war time leader made the doomsday warning during an interview with national media, before sharing the clip via his Telegram channel. He made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. On Saturday Russia resumed missile and rocket attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond in a stark reminder that the whole country remains under threat. Today Ukraine and Russia failed to agree about humanitarian convoys for the evacuation of civilians from war-affected areas, Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said. 'We have not been able to agree...about ceasefires on evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today,' she said on her Telegram account. She added that the Ukrainian authorities have asked for humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and wounded Ukrainian troops from the besieged port of Mariupol. Advertisement He added: 'Such a sense of helplessness will have been common this morning. 'Many will be awakened in refugee camps separated from loved ones on the front line, grieving for those missing, raped, abused or killed wondering how to cope. 'For many in this country, the news from Ukraine is terrible but the rising cost of power and fuel, of basic foods, will be the first and overwhelming thought of the day. 'For others it will be the continued deep sense of loss of someone from Covid, or during Covid, to whom they could not say a proper farewell. 'The news might move on but grief does not. 'Others will be struggling at work or feel a deep sense of injustice at the way they've been mistreated by friends, families or employers.' Reflecting on what the resurrection means for us as individuals, the Archbishop will say: 'In dying for us, [God] sees and knows the wounds that cause us so much pain. 'He hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, [and] he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. 'Closer to home, he sees the humiliation of the grandparent visiting the food bank for the first time, the desperate choice of parents in poverty and the grief and weariness of the pandemic.' On Saturday, a peer suggested that the Government's plan may breach the Geneva conventions, a peer has suggested. Former child refugee and Labour peer Alf Dubs said ministers would face opposition in the Lords over the plan unveiled by Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week. In an interview with The Guardian, Lord Dubs said the Government was attempting to 'ride roughshod' over international agreements. He said: 'I think it's a way of getting rid of people the Government doesn't want, dumping them in a distant African country, and they'll have no chance of getting out of there again. 'I think it's a breach of the 1951 Geneva conventions on refugees. You can't just shunt them around like unwanted people.' It comes as it was reported that Ms Patel took the rare step of issuing a ministerial direction to overrule concerns of civil servants about whether the concept will deliver value for money. As part of the plan designed to curb migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, those who are deemed to have entered Britain by unlawful means since January 1 may be sent to Rwanda where they will be permitted to apply for asylum in the African country. According to the Daily Telegraph, the claimed use of the ministerial direction by the Home Secretary was only the second deployment of the power within the Home Office in the past 30 years. The Home Office declined to comment on the matter when approached by the PA news agency. Speaking to Times Radio on Saturday, shadow prisons minister Ellie Reeves said: 'The UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) has come out really, really strongly condemning the Government's proposals, as have many organisations, and it seems the Government's own civil servants have expressed huge misgivings about the plans, which seem to be completely misguided.' The Labour politician said: 'The Government is going to be paying 120 million upfront before any asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda. 'Asylum seekers are saying it won't deter them from crossing the Channel. 'We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis so it doesn't seem the right way to be spending money on an unethical and unworkable scheme that won't deter people from coming over.' She later added: 'The whole system needs looking at again, so rather than making sweeping statements - these announcements that are completely unworkable and incredibly expensive - what the Government actually needs to do is get to grips with the system and put in place a system that actually works, increase prosecutions and clamp down on criminal gangs.' But Ms Patel said Denmark could be among those to reproduce the UK Government's 'blueprint'. 'There is no question now that the model we have put forward, I'm convinced is world class and a world first, and it will be used as a blueprint going forward, there's no doubt about that,' Ms Patel said. 'I would not be surprised if other countries start coming to us direct on the back of this as well.' The Home Secretary said Copenhagen was in talks with Rwanda as well, adding the Council of Europe 'have also basically said they are interested in working with us'. The Home Office denied its approach was in breach of refugee agreements. But Lord Dubs, who came to the UK from then Czechoslovakia on one of the Kindertransport trains in 1939, told The Guardian there would be legal challenges and opposition by peers. 'If (Ms Patel) says she'll get rid of the lefty lawyers' claims, well, I think she may have another thing coming. My understanding is that they're going to have real difficulties in getting this through anyway,' he said. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (left) carries a wooden cross during the Walk of Witness at St Mary's Church, Sellindge, Kent, as he carries out his Holy Week engagements Migrants travelling to the UK on small boats will be put on jets and sent to Rwanda while their applications are processed. Pictured: A map detailing the plan proposed by the Prime Minister On Friday, the United Nations also criticised the proposal as an 'egregious breach of international law'. Gillian Triggs, a UNHCR assistant secretary-general, said the agency 'strongly condemns outsourcing the primary responsibility to consider the refugee status.' Put to her that Australia had effectively deployed a similar tactic to cut migration numbers, Ms Triggs said: 'My point is, just as the Australian policy is an egregious breach of international law and refugee law and human rights law, so too is this proposal by the United Kingdom Government. 'It is very unusual, very few states have tried this, and the purpose is primarily deterrent - and it can be effective, I don't think we're denying that. 'But what we're saying at the UN refugee agency is that there are much more legally effective ways of achieving the same outcome.' She said attempting to 'shift responsibility' for asylum seekers arriving in Britain was 'really unacceptable'. A view of facilities at Hope House, a hostel in Nyabugogo, the Gasabo district of the capital city Kigali, in Rwanda - where migrants shipped from Britain will initially be taken Ms Triggs pointed out that Israel had attempted to send Eritrean and Sudanese refugees to Rwanda, but that they 'simply left the country and started the process all over again'. 'In other words, it is not actually a long-term deterrent,' she added. In response to the UNHCR, the Home Office insisted to the MailOnline that 'Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.' It noted that the UNHCR has previously sad the country is safe for refugees. 'Under this agreement, Rwanda will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws, and will ensure their protection from inhuman and degrading treatment or being returned to the place they originally fled,' the Home Office's statement said. 'There is nothing in the UN Refugee Convention which prevents removal to a safe country,' it added. More migrants arrive in UK on Easter Sunday despite risk they face being deported to Rwanda as Priti Patel slams 'synthetic outrage' at plan Ms Patel announced plans to deport failed asylum seekers to Rwands this week But a boat with around 20 migrants aboard was brought into Dover, Kent, today Men, women and young children were brought ashore wearing life jackets It comes a day after a further 252 migrants attempting to make the journey Home Secretary slammed 'synthetic hysteria' amid criticism of the new plans By Jamie Philips More migrants have arrived in the UK today, despite the risk of being deported to Rwanda - as Priti Patel slams 'synthetic outrage' at the plans. The Government announced this week it plans to provide failed asylum seekers, including those crossing the Channel in small boats, with a one-way ticket to the African country, where they will have the right to apply to live permanently. But a boat with around 20 migrants on board was brought ashore into Dover, Kent, on Easter Sunday after being intercepted by Border Force officers. Men, women and young children were all wearing lifejackets as they were brought into the port this morning to be processed. Windy conditions in the Channel are expected to prevent large numbers attempting the treacherous crossing today. It comes a day after the Royal Navy and Border Force intercepted a further 252 migrants attempting to make the treacherous journey. Despite choppy conditions in the 21-mile wide Dover Straits, seven flimsy dinghies made the dangerous voyage and were rescued in British waters. As of Saturday, the latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats. Men, women and children were brought ashore in Dover, Kent, by Border Force officials on Easter Sunday Three men are escorted off a boat on Sunday. Around 20 are understood to have been intercepted in the Channel Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured speaking to the media in Rwanda), has slammed 'synthetic outrage' at her plans A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel on Easter Sunday Latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats Young children were among the migrants intercepted as they tried to make the Channel crossing today The migrants were pictured in life jackets and wearing face masks as they were escorted off the boat by Border Force officers A woman and young child are helped off a boat after attempting to cross the Channel on Sunday How will the new Rwanda migrant scheme work? Cross-channel arrivals assessed and anyone deemed an economic migrant rather than a refugee is sent to Rwanda Initial agreement worth 120million over five years Failed immigrants urged to start new life in Africa Initially based at hostel in Kigali Hope House is currently being used as budget accommodation for tourists Privately owned, the East African nation's government is understood to be in negotiations to lease the property Memorandum of understanding (MOU) says Government will screen asylum seekers 'without delay' after arrival in the UK All requests will require approval from Rwanda before relocation Nation can refuse to take people with criminal records People who cross the Channel in small boats will undergo initial checks at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover Further checks at a processing site in Manston, Kent. Where their claim is deemed inadmissible, they may be removed to a 'third safe country'. Royal Navy to lead Channel policing role, helping Border Force from today PM attacked 'a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers' who have thwarted previous action PM: 'Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not. We can't ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.' Advertisement In 2021 that figure was not reached until July 10, while 1,713 people have been arrived this month alone. Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday slammed the 'synthetic outrage' over the Rwanda plans. She also accused political opponents of treating exploited migrants with contempt and slammed 'shameful' human rights lawyers for profiting from traffickers sending groups to the UK in flimsy dinghies, The Sun reports. Ms Patel said: 'All I've heard the last couple of days is a typical hysterical reaction from the Left, particularly through their social media echo chamber. 'All they have to offer is synthetic outrage. Labour doesn't have a plan. They don't care about Britain's interests or UK taxpayers who foot the bill. 'They are showing complete contempt for democracy and the wishes of the British people who have been crying out for years for action to fix our broken asylum system and tackle illegal migration.' A Government source told the Mail on Sunday that after striking a dramatic deal, the Home Secretary wants to spread the word internationally and let 'people know the rules have changed and if you arrive illegally to the UK, you can be deported to Rwanda'. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned that 'anyone entering the UK illegally, as well as those who have arrived illegally since 1 January, may now be relocated to Rwanda'. A 100,000 information campaign will use social media to reach people in 'source countries' in their own languages. Jacob Rees-Mogg also suggested today that migrants crossing the Channel in small boats are 'supporting organised crime'. The Cabinet minister, speaking on Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme, said he disagrees with the Archbishop of Canterbury's interpretation of the Government's new immigration policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. In his Easter sermon, Justin Welby earlier said 'sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God'. Reacting to the sermon, Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'I think he misunderstands what the policy is trying to achieve, and that it isn't an abandonment of responsibility, it is in fact a taking on of a very difficult responsibility. 'The problem that is being dealt with is that people are risking their lives in the hands of people traffickers, to get into this country illegally. Now, it's not the illegal bit of it, it is the encouragement of people traffickers that needs to be stopped.' He added that '90 per cent of people coming are young men who by coming via people traffickers are jumping the queue for others'. Mr Rees-Mogg continued: 'They are in doing so not only risking their lives but supporting organised crime. What we need to do is focus on legal routes into this country of which there are quite a number.' The new deal expected to be the subject of legal challenges was presented to Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday by Ms Patel and the Prime Minister. The Rwandan government will receive 120 million in investment from the UK with the cost of housing each migrant for three months estimated at 20,000 to 30,000. Ms Patel issued a ministerial direction, only the second in the department for 30 years, to force through the policy after objections from Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft. A man is escorted at a port in Dover after being intercepted attempting to illegally cross the Channel Senior Home Office civil servants have expressed dismay at the cost. One said: 'It will be astronomical. The legal bill alone will be huge.' Last night, the Home Office published an exchange of letters between Ms Patel and Mr Rycroft in which he called for a ministerial direction as he could not justify the policy's value for money. The package also includes a new immigration centre for 500 men at a former RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. Speaking after Saturday's crossings, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration Tom Pursglove MP said: 'The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. 'Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough. 'Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we're cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.' Advertisement Pope Francis has urged for peace around the world, with a spotlight on the violence in 'war-torn' Ukraine, for Easter today. The pontiff led the Catholic Easter Sunday mass at St Peter's Square at the Vatican, and his skullcap was pictured flying off from a gust of wind in a moment of levity during celebrations before his solemn plea against violence. He spoke to crowds of some 50,000 for his twice yearly 'Urbi et Orbi' address, saying 'we have seen all too much blood, all too much violence'. Francis also called for end to other situations across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America as he hoped the 'conflict in Europe make us more concerned' about suffering elsewhere which affects 'all too many areas of our world'. Marking an 'Easter of war', he urged leaders to hear the people's plea for peace in Ukraine and implicitly criticised Russia for dragging the country into a 'cruel and senseless' conflict. Francis said: 'In this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon appear! Let there be a decision for peace. 'May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. Please, please, let us not get used to war! 'Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets! Peace! May the leaders of nations hear peoples plea for peace.' Pope Francis in his sombre plea urged for peace around the world, with a spotlight on the violence in 'war-torn' Ukraine, for Easter today Francis tried to catch his skullcap, which flew because of wind, as he arrived to lead the Easter Mass at St Peter's Square at the Vatican Francis pictured on his Popemobile after celebrating the Easter Mass in St Peter's Square at the Vatican as excited crowds gathered Marking an 'Easter of war', Francis urged leaders to hear the people's plea for peace in Ukraine and implicitly criticised Russia for dragging the country into a 'cruel and senseless' conflict The pope also praised the refugee efforts across Europe, calling the 'numerous acts of charity' a 'blessing for our societies, sometimes degraded by so much selfishness and individualism, and help to make them welcoming to all'. He added: 'I hold in my heart all the numerous Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left alone, the broken lives and the cities razed to the ground. 'I have in my eyes the gaze of children who have been orphaned and are fleeing the war. 'Looking at them, we cannot help but hear their cry of pain, together with that of the many other children who suffer all over the world: those who are dying of hunger or lack of care, those who are victims of abuse and violence and those to whom it has been denied the right to be born.' Francis addressed crowds of some 50,000 in St Peter's Square for his twice yearly 'Urbi et Orbi' address, saying 'we've all seen too much blood, too much violence'. Francis greeted people as he rode in his Popemobile through St Peter's Square, after celebrating the Easter Mass at the Vatican today Pope Francis - on his Popemobile - drove through the crowd of faithful at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass which he led at St Peter's Square today The pope also reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, as he quoted from a declaration by scientists in 1955: 'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?' Among the conflicts cited by the pope were those in the Middle East. He exhorted peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He also cited Libya as well as Yemen, 'which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all'. Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St Peter's Basilica. As crowds gathered for Easter Mass at the Vatican, in public after two years, Francis waved and patted the head of a baby who was handed to him Francis greeted the faithful, waving and smiling at crowds as he rode in his Popemobile through St Peter's Square at the Vatican today Francis said, in his sombre address: 'In this terrible night of suffering and death let a new dawn appear. Let there be a decision for peace' Right after the end of Mass, Francis shook hands with prelates, then got aboard the white Popemobile to drive through the square and greet cheering well-wishers among the rank-and-file faithful. He waved and patted the head of a baby who was handed to him. The pontiff's smiles while greeting the crowd were a rare departure of late for the pope, who has used many of his appearances in recent weeks to issue sombre denunciations of the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, in London, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not 'blood and iron.' Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week - with Easter coming on April 24 - Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Welby also condemned the British government's recent plan to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda as going against God. Yesterday Pope Francis called for 'gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war' in an Easter vigil homily in St Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. Pope Francis greeted the crowd before reading his 'Urbi et Orbi' message from the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square, on Easter Sunday, at the Vatican Francis salutes Christian worshippers , pictured smiling and waving from the Popemobile car following the Easter mass at the Vatican today The pope also reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, as he quoted from a declaration by scientists in 1955: 'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?' Ivan Fedorov was abducted and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic southern city. Francis noted that while 'many writers have evoked the beauty of starlit nights...nights of war, however, are riven by streams of light that portend death'. He did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce in order to reach a negotiated peace. Political leaders also addressed the conflict in their Easter messages today, as Boris Johnson remarked that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other'. The Prime Minister, who is now banned from entering Russia following the Kremlin's sanctions on a dozen other British government members and politicians, told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart'. He added: 'Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption.' Moscow has meanwhile accused Britain, with Johnson making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week, of 'deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO' and threatened to expand its sanctions list 'soon'. The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky. It said: 'I updated my friend @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. 'The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught.' Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity. The Labour leader said, in his address to 'Christians around the world': 'I know you draw inspiration from the life of Jesus and the Easter story which is a message of overcoming adversity and of hope. Of light overcoming darkness. 'And at this pivotal time, when Europe is at war and people are facing greater poverty at home, hope is more important than ever. 'Thank you and Happy Easter.' Anthony Albanese has walked onto the stage at Bluesfest to a mixed reaction from the crowd, with many booing the Labor leader's sudden appearance. The opposition leader was brought onto the stage to introduce rock legend Jimmy Barnes at the festival in Byron Bay on Sunday night. Mr Albanese was initially met with deafening boos from revellers before receiving cheers as he promised a funding boost for the arts sector and got Barnes to the stage to perform. Anthony Albanese has walked onto the stage at Bluesfest to a mixed reaction from the crowd, with many booing the Labor leader's sudden appearance Mr Albanese initially came on stage to boos from revellers in the crowd at Byron Bay Blues Festival on Sunday The announcer introduced Albanese as 'the man that represents the working class people' as he asked festival-goers to give the Labor leader a 'world-class welcome'. Albanese approached the stage to boos, telling the crowd it was 'great to be at Bluesfest'. He then acknowledged the traditional owners of the land at Byron Bay. 'I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land in which we meet, pay my respect to elders past and present and what we want is to recognise First Nations people in our constitution.' The decry from revellers eventually quietened down before erupting into applause and cheers as Albanese hinted at arts funding if his party was elected into government and he brought Barnes onto the stage. 'Australians have been magnificent over the last couple of years, and what we want is a government that backs the arts sector. So ladies and gentlemen, welcome Jimmy Barnes!' The opposition leader later introduced rock legend Jimmy Barnes (pictured) onto the stage to perform The decry from festival goers eventually quietened down before erupting into applause and cheers as Albanese hinted at arts funding if his party was elected and he brought Barnes onto the stage The reaction to Albanese's appearance comes as public support for the Labor leader has plummeted following several election blunders. The surprising new poll revealed support for Labor has dropped by four points from 38 per cent as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's popularity regains momentum. Primary support for the Coalition government rose by one per cent by 35 per cent as Mr Morrison's personal approval soared. He has retaken the lead from Mr Albanese as Australia's preferred prime minister and has seenhis popularly rise by two cent cent in the last fortnight to 38 per cent. Mr Albanese's popularity has plunged from 37 per cent to 30 per cent following a string of gaffes in recent days and now has five weeks left to change voters' minds. Support for Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie in the NSW far north coast town of Bangalow on Sunday) has plummeted in the last fortnight Up to 27 per cent of voters surveyed admitted they're uncommitted of who they'll vote for on May 21, a six per cent increase from a fortnight ago. The latest poll conducted by Resolve Strategic for Nine newspapers surveyed more than 1,404 voters. 'Every trend has gone the Coalition's way in this latest poll vote, leadership, policy, performance so the electorate is judging that the government won the first week of the campaign,' Resolve director Jim Reed said. 'The calling of the election has moved voters from judging the government's term to a choice between the parties and particularly their leaders. It was incredibly damaging for Albanese to trip up on critical issues at precisely that point.' Around 44 per cent of voters surveyed believed Mr Morrison was doing a good job as Prime Minister while 47 per cent rated his performance as poor. His performance rating of minus 3 points is a significant improvement on the minus 14 recorded two weeks ago. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's popularity is back on the rise as he and his wife Jenny greeted children at The Children's Hospital at Westmead When asked about the opposition leader, 35 per cent said Mr Albanese was doing a good job while 44 per cent rated his performance as poor, which saw his net rating slump from minus four points to minus nine. It's been a week of embarrassing gaffes for Mr Albanese in the first seven days on the campaign trail. The campaign got off to a bad start last Monday when Mr Albanese admitted to reporters he didn't know the current unemployment or the Reserve Bank cash rate. Several days later, he was forced to clarify that off-shore immigration centres would remain after he earlier declared he would turn back people smuggling boats. More migrants have arrived in the UK today, despite the risk of being deported to Rwanda - as it emerges a top civil servant warned Priti Patel there was not enough evidence the plan would act as a deterrent. The Government announced this week it plans to provide failed asylum seekers, including those crossing the Channel in small boats, with a one-way ticket to the African country, where they will have the right to apply to live permanently. Ms Patel issued a ministerial direction, only the second in the department for 30 years, to force through the policy after objections from Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft. Mr Rycroft had warned that there was not enough evidence of the 'deterrent effect' of the plan and that he could not justify the policy's value for money. It comes as a boat with around 20 migrants on board was brought ashore into Dover, Kent, on Easter Sunday after being intercepted by Border Force officers. Men, women and young children were all wearing lifejackets as they were brought into the port this morning to be processed. Windy conditions in the Channel are expected to prevent large numbers attempting the treacherous crossing today. On Saturday, meanwhile, the Royal Navy and Border Force intercepted a further 252 migrants attempting to make the treacherous journey. Despite choppy conditions in the 21-mile wide Dover Straits, seven flimsy dinghies made the dangerous voyage and were rescued in British waters. As of Saturday, the latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats. Men, women and children were brought ashore in Dover, Kent, by Border Force officials on Easter Sunday Three men are escorted off a boat on Sunday. Around 20 are understood to have been intercepted in the Channel Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured speaking to the media in Rwanda), has slammed 'synthetic outrage' at her plans A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel on Easter Sunday Latest figures now mean 6,263 migrants have already been detained so far this year in 193 small boats Young children were among the migrants intercepted as they tried to make the Channel crossing today The migrants were pictured in life jackets and wearing face masks as they were escorted off the boat by Border Force officers A woman and young child are helped off a boat after attempting to cross the Channel on Sunday How will the new Rwanda migrant scheme work? Cross-channel arrivals assessed and anyone deemed an economic migrant rather than a refugee is sent to Rwanda Initial agreement worth 120million over five years Failed immigrants urged to start new life in Africa Initially based at hostel in Kigali Hope House is currently being used as budget accommodation for tourists Privately owned, the East African nation's government is understood to be in negotiations to lease the property Memorandum of understanding (MOU) says Government will screen asylum seekers 'without delay' after arrival in the UK All requests will require approval from Rwanda before relocation Nation can refuse to take people with criminal records People who cross the Channel in small boats will undergo initial checks at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover Further checks at a processing site in Manston, Kent. Where their claim is deemed inadmissible, they may be removed to a 'third safe country'. Royal Navy to lead Channel policing role, helping Border Force from today PM attacked 'a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers' who have thwarted previous action PM: 'Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not. We can't ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.' Advertisement In 2021 that figure was not reached until July 10, while 1,713 people have been arrived this month alone. Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday slammed the 'synthetic outrage' over the Rwanda plans. She also accused political opponents of treating exploited migrants with contempt and slammed 'shameful' human rights lawyers for profiting from traffickers sending groups to the UK in flimsy dinghies, The Sun reports. Ms Patel said: 'All Ive heard the last couple of days is a typical hysterical reaction from the Left, particularly through their social media echo chamber. 'All they have to offer is synthetic outrage. Labour doesnt have a plan. They dont care about Britains interests or UK taxpayers who foot the bill. 'They are showing complete contempt for democracy and the wishes of the British people who have been crying out for years for action to fix our broken asylum system and tackle illegal migration.' A Government source told the Mail on Sunday that after striking a dramatic deal, the Home Secretary wants to spread the word internationally and let people know the rules have changed and if you arrive illegally to the UK, you can be deported to Rwanda. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also warned that 'anyone entering the UK illegally, as well as those who have arrived illegally since 1 January, may now be relocated to Rwanda'. A 100,000 information campaign will use social media to reach people in source countries in their own languages. Jacob Rees-Mogg also suggested today that migrants crossing the Channel in small boats are 'supporting organised crime'. The Cabinet minister, speaking on Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme, said he disagrees with the Archbishop of Canterbury's interpretation of the Government's new immigration policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. In his Easter sermon, Justin Welby earlier said 'sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God'. Reacting to the sermon, Mr Rees-Mogg said: 'I think he misunderstands what the policy is trying to achieve, and that it isn't an abandonment of responsibility, it is in fact a taking on of a very difficult responsibility. 'The problem that is being dealt with is that people are risking their lives in the hands of people traffickers, to get into this country illegally. Now, it's not the illegal bit of it, it is the encouragement of people traffickers that needs to be stopped.' He added that '90 per cent of people coming are young men who by coming via people traffickers are jumping the queue for others'. Mr Rees-Mogg continued: 'They are in doing so not only risking their lives but supporting organised crime. What we need to do is focus on legal routes into this country of which there are quite a number.' The new deal expected to be the subject of legal challenges was presented to Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday by Ms Patel and the Prime Minister. The Rwandan government will receive 120 million in investment from the UK with the cost of housing each migrant for three months estimated at 20,000 to 30,000. Ms Patel issued a ministerial direction, only the second in the department for 30 years, to force through the policy after objections from Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft. A man is escorted at a port in Dover after being intercepted attempting to illegally cross the Channel Senior Home Office civil servants have expressed dismay at the cost. One said: It will be astronomical. The legal bill alone will be huge. Last night, the Home Office published an exchange of letters between Ms Patel and Mr Rycroft in which he called for a ministerial direction as he could not justify the policys value for money. The package also includes a new immigration centre for 500 men at a former RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. Speaking after Saturday's crossings, Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration Tom Pursglove MP said: 'The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable. 'Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough. 'Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, we're cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into our country.' 'It is the opposite of the nature of God': Archbishop of Canterbury delivers stinging Easter sermon attacking Rwanda migrant plan - and warns cost of living crisis has families 'waking up in fear' By Charlotte McLaughlin and Chris Jewers for MailOnline The Archbishop of Canterbury has delivered a stinging sermon to the government over its plan to send unlawful asylum seekers with a one-way ticket to Rwanda which he called ungodly and the cost of living crisis as he says families are 'waking up in fear'. In his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Justin Welby said the UK has a 'national responsibility' as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities'. Anyone who arrived in Britain illegally since January 1 could be relocated to Rwanda under the deal. Boris Johnson's government said it would help to break people-smuggling networks and stem the flow of migrants across the Channel, which has faced immediate and heavy criticism from politicians and charities. Mr Welby said the 'serious' ethical questions' over sending asylum seekers abroad cannot 'stand the judgment of god'. He has been joined in his sentiments by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell who called it 'depressing and distressing'. Mr Welby also called for a ceasefire in the Russian war on Ukraine and spoke of his concern for families struggling during the cost-of-living crisis and for those bereaved by Covid-19. And he said families are waking up in 'cold homes' with 'empty stomachs' as they face higher fuel and energy bills and food prices. The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured today) blasted the government's Rwanda plan for asylum seekers as the 'opposite of the nature of God' In his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Justin Welby said the UK has a 'national responsibility' as a 'Christian country' to not 'sub-contract our responsibilities' In his 8.10am sermon, the Archbishop said: 'The resurrection of Jesus is not a magic wand that makes the world perfect. 'But the resurrection of Christ is the tectonic shift in the way the cosmos works. It is the conquest of death and the opening of eternal life - through Jesus, a gift offered to every human being who reaches out to him. 'Not just for individuals but setting a benchmark for all of society because God is lord of every society and nation.' He will continue: 'Let this be a time for Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. 'This is a time for resetting the ways of peace, not for what Bismarck called blood and iron. Let Christ prevail. Let the darkness of war be banished. 'And this season is also why there are such serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas. 'The details are for politics and politicians. The principle must stand the judgment of God, and it cannot. It cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death. 'It cannot carry the weight of the resurrection that was announced first to the least valued, for it privileges the rich and strong. 'And it cannot carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values, because sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures on the cross.' He also said the love of god and hope triumphs over 'nightmares' and 'global power'. Echoing Mr Welby over his thoughts on the migrant scheme, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell (pictured) said at York Minster 'we can do better than' the Rwanda scheme Echoing Mr Welby over his thoughts on the migrant scheme, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said at York Minster 'we can do better than' the Rwanda scheme. Mr Cottrell said: 'It is so depressing and distressing this week to find that asylum seekers fleeing war, famine and oppression from deeply, deeply troubled parts of the world will not be treated with the dignity and compassion that is the right of every human being, and instead of being dealt with quickly and efficiently here on our soil will be shipped to Rwanda. 'We can do better than this. We can do better than this because of what we see in Jesus Christ, the risen Christ, with a vision for our humanity where barriers are broken down, not new obstacles put in the path. 'After all, there is in law no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. It is the people who exploit them that we need to crack down on, not our sisters and brothers in their need. We don't need to build more barriers and cower in the darkness of the shadows they create.' Boris Johnson's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has today been slammed as an 'egregious breach of international law' and 'really unacceptable' by the United Nation's refugee agency. Pictured: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the command room at the 'Maritime rescue coordination centre' in Dover, Britain, April 14, 2022 Migrants wait to disembark at the Port of Dover after being rescued while crossing the English Channel, in Dover, Britain, April 17, 2022 Speaking about the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic, Mr Welby said: 'In the UK we might be waking up to lighter mornings and warmer days. 'But families across the country are waking up to cold homes and empty stomachs as we face the greatest cost-of-living crisis - we have known in our lifetimes. 'And because of this, they wake up with fear. 'Further afield people are waking up to horrors they never imagined possible. 'Last month president Zelensky gave a speech in which he said 'the end of the world has arrived'. 'Ukrainians have woken up to the end of the world as they knew it. 'Now they are awakened by the noises of war and the sickening reality of terror. They wake up to mortal fear.' Reflecting, on Mary waking up when Jesus was crucified, he said she awoke 'grim' with 'anger' at disciples for running away and her 'misery' at the future. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby performs the Washing of The Feet ceremony during the Maundy Thursday service at the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in Kent, 'Be strong and have courage in your hearts': Boris Johnson addresses Ukrainians in his Easter message as he highlights triumph of good over evil and life over death By ELMIRA TANATAROVA FOR MAILONLINE Boris Johnson addressed Ukrainians in his Easter message today, remarking that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other'. The Prime Minister, who is now banned from entering Russia following the Kremlin's sanctions on a dozen other British government members and politicians, told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart'. He added: 'Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption.' Moscow has meanwhile accused Britain, with Johnson making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week, of 'deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO' and threatened to expand its sanctions list 'soon'. The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky. It said: 'I updated my friend @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. 'The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught.' Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity. The Labour leader said, in his address to 'Christians around the world': 'I know you draw inspiration from the life of Jesus and the Easter story which is a message of overcoming adversity and of hope. Of light overcoming darkness. 'And at this pivotal time, when Europe is at war and people are facing greater poverty at home, hope is more important than ever. 'Thank you and Happy Easter.' Yesterday Pope Francis called for 'gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war' in an Easter vigil homily in St Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. Ivan Fedorov was abducted and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic southern city. Francis noted that while 'many writers have evoked the beauty of starlit nights...nights of war, however, are riven by streams of light that portend death'. He did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce in order to reach a negotiated peace. Francis also addressed Mr Fedorov and Ukrainian legislators Maria Mezentseva, Olena Khomenko and Rusem Umerov, who sat all together in the front row. He said: 'In this darkness of war, in the cruelty, we are all praying for you and with you this night. We are praying for all the suffering. 'We can only give you our company, our prayer.' Francis added that 'the biggest thing you can receive: Christ is risen'. He spoke the last three words in Ukrainian. The messages of hope come as Zelensky last night warned that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to bring a catastrophic end to its invasion of Ukraine. He urged the world to 'prepare' for the worst by stocking up on anti-radiation medicine and building air raid shelters. The comedian-turned-war time leader made the doomsday warning during an interview with national media, before sharing the clip via his Telegram channel. He made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. On Saturday Russia resumed missile and rocket attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond in a stark reminder that the whole country remains under threat. Today Ukraine and Russia failed to agree about humanitarian convoys for the evacuation of civilians from war-affected areas, Ukraine's deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said. 'We have not been able to agree...about ceasefires on evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today,' she said on her Telegram account. She added that the Ukrainian authorities have asked for humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and wounded Ukrainian troops from the besieged port of Mariupol. Advertisement He added: 'Such a sense of helplessness will have been common this morning. 'Many will be awakened in refugee camps separated from loved ones on the front line, grieving for those missing, raped, abused or killed wondering how to cope. 'For many in this country, the news from Ukraine is terrible but the rising cost of power and fuel, of basic foods, will be the first and overwhelming thought of the day. 'For others it will be the continued deep sense of loss of someone from Covid, or during Covid, to whom they could not say a proper farewell. 'The news might move on but grief does not. 'Others will be struggling at work or feel a deep sense of injustice at the way they've been mistreated by friends, families or employers.' Reflecting on what the resurrection means for us as individuals, the Archbishop will say: 'In dying for us, [God] sees and knows the wounds that cause us so much pain. 'He hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, [and] he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. 'Closer to home, he sees the humiliation of the grandparent visiting the food bank for the first time, the desperate choice of parents in poverty and the grief and weariness of the pandemic.' On Saturday, a peer suggested that the Government's plan may breach the Geneva conventions, a peer has suggested. Former child refugee and Labour peer Alf Dubs said ministers would face opposition in the Lords over the plan unveiled by Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week. In an interview with The Guardian, Lord Dubs said the Government was attempting to 'ride roughshod' over international agreements. He said: 'I think it's a way of getting rid of people the Government doesn't want, dumping them in a distant African country, and they'll have no chance of getting out of there again. 'I think it's a breach of the 1951 Geneva conventions on refugees. You can't just shunt them around like unwanted people.' It comes as it was reported that Ms Patel took the rare step of issuing a ministerial direction to overrule concerns of civil servants about whether the concept will deliver value for money. As part of the plan designed to curb migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, those who are deemed to have entered Britain by unlawful means since January 1 may be sent to Rwanda where they will be permitted to apply for asylum in the African country. According to the Daily Telegraph, the claimed use of the ministerial direction by the Home Secretary was only the second deployment of the power within the Home Office in the past 30 years. The Home Office declined to comment on the matter when approached by the PA news agency. Speaking to Times Radio on Saturday, shadow prisons minister Ellie Reeves said: 'The UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) has come out really, really strongly condemning the Government's proposals, as have many organisations, and it seems the Government's own civil servants have expressed huge misgivings about the plans, which seem to be completely misguided.' The Labour politician said: 'The Government is going to be paying 120 million upfront before any asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda. 'Asylum seekers are saying it won't deter them from crossing the Channel. 'We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis so it doesn't seem the right way to be spending money on an unethical and unworkable scheme that won't deter people from coming over.' She later added: 'The whole system needs looking at again, so rather than making sweeping statements - these announcements that are completely unworkable and incredibly expensive - what the Government actually needs to do is get to grips with the system and put in place a system that actually works, increase prosecutions and clamp down on criminal gangs.' But Ms Patel said Denmark could be among those to reproduce the UK Government's 'blueprint'. 'There is no question now that the model we have put forward, I'm convinced is world class and a world first, and it will be used as a blueprint going forward, there's no doubt about that,' Ms Patel said. 'I would not be surprised if other countries start coming to us direct on the back of this as well.' The Home Secretary said Copenhagen was in talks with Rwanda as well, adding the Council of Europe 'have also basically said they are interested in working with us'. The Home Office denied its approach was in breach of refugee agreements. But Lord Dubs, who came to the UK from then Czechoslovakia on one of the Kindertransport trains in 1939, told The Guardian there would be legal challenges and opposition by peers. 'If (Ms Patel) says she'll get rid of the lefty lawyers' claims, well, I think she may have another thing coming. My understanding is that they're going to have real difficulties in getting this through anyway,' he said. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (left) carries a wooden cross during the Walk of Witness at St Mary's Church, Sellindge, Kent, as he carries out his Holy Week engagements Migrants travelling to the UK on small boats will be put on jets and sent to Rwanda while their applications are processed. Pictured: A map detailing the plan proposed by the Prime Minister On Friday, the United Nations also criticised the proposal as an 'egregious breach of international law'. Gillian Triggs, a UNHCR assistant secretary-general, said the agency 'strongly condemns outsourcing the primary responsibility to consider the refugee status.' Put to her that Australia had effectively deployed a similar tactic to cut migration numbers, Ms Triggs said: 'My point is, just as the Australian policy is an egregious breach of international law and refugee law and human rights law, so too is this proposal by the United Kingdom Government. 'It is very unusual, very few states have tried this, and the purpose is primarily deterrent - and it can be effective, I don't think we're denying that. 'But what we're saying at the UN refugee agency is that there are much more legally effective ways of achieving the same outcome.' She said attempting to 'shift responsibility' for asylum seekers arriving in Britain was 'really unacceptable'. A view of facilities at Hope House, a hostel in Nyabugogo, the Gasabo district of the capital city Kigali, in Rwanda - where migrants shipped from Britain will initially be taken Ms Triggs pointed out that Israel had attempted to send Eritrean and Sudanese refugees to Rwanda, but that they 'simply left the country and started the process all over again'. 'In other words, it is not actually a long-term deterrent,' she added. In response to the UNHCR, the Home Office insisted to the MailOnline that 'Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers.' It noted that the UNHCR has previously sad the country is safe for refugees. 'Under this agreement, Rwanda will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws, and will ensure their protection from inhuman and degrading treatment or being returned to the place they originally fled,' the Home Office's statement said. 'There is nothing in the UN Refugee Convention which prevents removal to a safe country,' it added. Lisa Wilkinson has unleashed her fury as she weighed into the debate over Rachelle Miller's taxpayer-funded compensation payout. The former staffer and mistress of embattled minister Alan Tudge is set to receive a reported a $500,000 payout from the federal government after alleged complaints about him and another Liberal MP. Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated on Sunday details of the payout won't be publicly released, despite Ms Miller releasing the federal government from being barred by confidentiality from speaking about a financial settlement. It sparked outrage from Wilkinson, who had tough questions for Liberal Senator Jane Hume in a fiery interview on Sunday night's episode of The Project. The program co-host believes Australians have a right to know more details about the settlement before heading to the polls on May 21, sparking a war of words with the senator. Former Liberal party staffer Rachelle Miller (pictured right with Alan Tudge) has released the federal government from being barred by confidentiality from speaking about her payout 'This is taxpayer money that is being paid out,' Wilkinson said. 'Shouldn't voters, as we head into this election, know who that other MP is (who's involved in the situation) and what's been alleged before they cast their vote at the ballot box?' Hume believed the details of the payout should remain private. 'My understanding Lisa, and I should make very clear that no minister, no member of the government is privy to any claims that are made to Comcare by anyone anything we say is simply speculation. 'It's really important that those conversations or any claim made with Comcare, which let's face it is a worker's compensation claim, remain private. And that's the way it should be.' Wilkinson's unimpressed co-hosts disagreed. 'Half a million dollars of taxpayers money, shouldn't we have the right to know?' veteran journalist Ray Martin asked. Senator Hume replied: 'Whatever the situation is that has given rise to those claims is between Comcare and between Rachelle Miller. No minister, no member of the government has any eyes in to what it is that that claim has been about.' The Project hosts' tough questioning sparked a fiery response from Liberal Senator Jane Hume The Project hosts refused to let the matter go. 'So the public doesn't deserve to know, we should vote at this election with no knowledge of who this person is what they did,' Hamish MacDonald asked. Wilkinson added: 'Which does cast a pall over all Liberal MPs who are standing right now.' Senator Hume fired back and described the questioning as unreasonable as the hostile exchange continued. 'We know the report has exonerated Alan Tudge of any wrongdoing,' Hume said. 'Whatever this claim is about is between Rachelle Miller and between her Comcare claim.' A defiant Wilkinson replied: 'And half a million dollars worth of taxpayer funds, senator -' Hume snapped back: 'This happens all the time, you know Lisa -' Wilkinson interrupted: 'Well that's really sad.' Senator Hume pointed out that other people also make Comcare claims. The Project hosts Hamish Macdonald and Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) believe Australians have a right to know more details about the compensation payout funded by taxpayers But Wilkinson was determined to have the last say. 'Except we're not voting for them to be in our federal parliament,' she fired up before quickly wrapping up the fiery interview. Mr Tudge was recently cleared of breaching any ministerial guidelines during his affair with former press secretary Ms Miller. Despite the investigation clearing Mr Tudge of breaching any rules, the Morrison Government finalised a financial settlement with Ms Miller, which included a massive payout and reimbursement of legal costs. It wasn't the only topic Senator Hume and The Project hosts clashed about during the fiery eight minute interview on Sunday night. The senator cam under fire for jumping to defence of a controversial party candidate Katherine Deves. The Liberal candidate for former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's Sydney Warringah's was forced to apologise this week after historic tweets emerged of Ms Deves describing transgender children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised and compared lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust. Senator Hume conceded Ms Deves' comments were inappropriate but then said the candidate was a passionate advocate for fairness and equality in women's sport, sparking anger from the program hosts 'I'm asking you right now about whether you really believe this is a feminist campaign for sport, or something that dresses up what is ultimately about division and hate, that is bigotry dressed up as feminism?,' Macdonald asked. A majority of Republican respondents to a new poll believe the January 6th attack on the US Capitol was an 'act of patriotism,' while both GOP and Democrat voters are concerned the other will act to overturn an election if it doesn't work out in their party's favor. Political divisions appear to remain at an all-time high with less than nine months until voters across the country decide which party will control Congress for the remainder of President Joe Biden's term. However, both sides agree the United States and its democracy are in a dire state, according to a poll published by The New Republic late last week that saw 74 percent of respondents say the American political system is 'threatened.' Fifty-seven percent of GOP voters believe the Capitol riot was an 'act of patriotism' rather than an 'insurrection,' more than a year after the day Donald Trump's supporters disrupted a Joint Session of Congress; 42 percent view it negatively. Democrats feel much stronger on the issue, with a whopping 88 percent denouncing the riot as an 'insurrection.' Just 12 percent called it 'patriotism.' A majority on both sides -- 64 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans -- are 'worried' about the trajectory of US democracy over the next decade or two. But voters on both sides of the aisle also appear to view the other as a threat to it. On a list of issues that survey respondents were asked to weigh in on being 'a serious threat to democracy in America,' a majority of Democrats and Republicans both said they view 'the possibility of political violence' in that light. A majority of Republican voters said January 6 was an 'act of patriotism' while 88 percent of Democrats called it an 'insurrection' Democrats, however, are widely concerned about 'Republicans make it harder for people to vote' by a margin of 85 percentage points to 15. A hefty 84 percent of GOP voters denied it was a problem for US democracy. Eighty-four percent of Republicans said they're worried about Democrats committing election fraud as a threat to democracy. Thirty-four percent of Democrats said the same about their own party, while 66 percent said it's not a threat. Seven in 10 Democrats reported believing that Republicans will work to overturn the results 'if the Democratic nominee is declared the winner of the next presidential election.' Even more Republicans, when asked the same about Democrats, said they'd try to overturn the race -- 79 percent. Both parties also remain split about Trump, who has dropped numerous hints that he's mulling a third re-election attempt in 2024. More than eight out of 10 Democrats think Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged in President Joe Biden's favor are a threat to democracy, compared to 19 percent of Republicans who said the same. By contrast, 81 percent of GOPers shrugged it off as 'not a threat.' November's races will also be a referendum on what voters want the future of the GOP to be, with key primary races in places like Alaska and Michigan seeing establishment incumbents facing Trump-backed challengers. According to the recent poll, less Republicans have faith in their fellow Americans in steering democracy than Democrats. When asked how much trust respondents have 'in the American people as a whole' in making judgements about democracy, 65 percent of Democrats said they had a great deal or a fair amount. Just 47 percent of GOP voters said the opposite. But both parties found some common ground on how to improve democracy. A bipartisan majority of respondents said strengthening border security and 'restricting illegal immigration' would help repair US democracy -- 61 percent of Democrats and 93 percent of Republicans. An overall majority also told pollsters they were in favor of term limits for the Supreme Court. Advertisement Clashes at a Jerusalem holy site between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators have left 17 people wounded in a bout of Easter Sunday violence. Just two days after unrest at the same site, Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City today to secure the way for Jewish visitors after they say Palestinians 'defiled and desecrated' the Al-Aqsa mosque, while Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to divide the sensitive holy site. This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the week-long Jewish Passover are all happening at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the city after coronavirus restrictions have been mostly lifted. 'What happened in Al-Aqsa mosque is a dangerous escalation, the repercussions of which are to be borne by the Israeli government alone,' said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Police said they entered the compound to facilitate the routine visit of Jews to the holy site, and found that Palestinians had stockpiled stones and set up barriers in anticipation of violence. They cleared Palestinians out of the wide open area outside the mosque itself early Sunday, while dozens of Palestinians remained inside the building chanting 'God is Greatest.' Video released by police showed small groups of youths throwing stones at buses outside the Old City, as well as fireworks being fired from inside the mosque. Clashes at a Jerusalem holy site between Israeli police and Palestinian demonstrators have left 17 people wounded in a bout of Easter Sunday violence, just two days after unrest at the same site. Pictured is Palestinian demonstrator being forced out of holy site by Israeli forces Just two days after unrest at the same site, Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City today to secure the way for Jewish visitors after they say Palestinians 'defiled and desecrated' the Al-Aqsa mosque, while Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to divide the sensitive holy site This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the week-long Jewish Passover are all happening at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the city after coronavirus restrictions have been mostly lifted Paramedics said five people riding in buses received treatment for minor injuries in the attacks. Police released a video showing a crowd of youths pelting a passing bus with stones just outside the Old City. Another video from the police, taken inside one of the buses, showed Jewish families sitting on the floor of the vehicle as it continued on its way. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including the five on the bus who were hospitalized. Israeli police reported nine arrests and by midday witnesses said police had moved out of the compound. The hilltop compound housing the mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam, while it is the holiest place for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. Police said they entered the compound to facilitate the routine visit of Jews to the holy site, and found that Palestinians had stockpiled stones and set up barriers in anticipation of violence They cleared Palestinians out of the wide open area outside the mosque itself early Sunday, while dozens of Palestinians remained inside the building chanting 'God is Greatest' The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including the five on the bus who were hospitalized The competing claims to the site have sparked numerous rounds of violence. Violence in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators a year ago escalated into an 11-day war in Gaza. Omer Barlev, the Israeli minister in charge of the police, said it was important to ensure freedom of worship 'but we will not compromise when violence and terror take place.' On Good Friday, 'dozens of masked men' marched into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound before dawn carrying Palestinian and Hamas flags, chanting and setting off fireworks, according to Israeli authorities. In response, Israeli forces entered the mosque compound where thousands of Muslims were gathered to perform prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Palestinian protesters then threw stones and fireworks at Israeli security forces, who returned fire with rubber-coated bullets and tear gas on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the mosque, leaving 67 Palestinians and three Israeli police injured. Israeli police reported nine arrests and by midday witnesses said police had moved out of the compound Another video from the police, taken inside one of the buses, showed Jewish families sitting on the floor of the vehicle as it continued on its way The hilltop compound housing the mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam, while it is the holiest place for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount The violence took place at Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, which is also home to the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It also comes at a time of heightened tensions when the Islamic holy month of Ramadan overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Passover. Jordan, which serves as custodian of the holy site, issued a statement condemning Israel's actions, saying they undermine 'all efforts made to maintain the comprehensive calm and prevent the escalation of violence that threatens security and peace.' The violence took place at Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, which is also home to the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It also comes at a time of heightened tensions when the Islamic holy month of Ramadan overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Passover Groups of Jewish settlers pictured being escorted by Israeli forces after the Al-Aqsa Mosque raid on Easter Sunday Video released by police showed small groups of youths throwing stones at buses outside the Old City, as well as fireworks being fired from inside the mosque Under longtime understandings, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount but are barred from praying there and for decades, Jews avoided worship there for religious reasons. In recent years large groups of nationalist and religious Jews have regularly visited the site with police escorts, something the Palestinians view as a provocation. The number of visitors often rises during religious holidays. Palestinian officials said nearly 550 Jewish visitors entered the Jerusalem holy site, compared to just a few dozen on most days. Such practices have fueled concerns among Palestinians that Israel is plotting to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or partition it. Israel strongly denies such claims, saying it is committed to protecting freedom of worship for all. Israeli forces entered the mosque compound - something Palestinians always view as a provocation - to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence An Israeli security forces member moves in position during clashes with Palestinian protestors at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque. Crowds reportedly hurled stones towards the Western Wall - considered the holiest site where Jews can pray. The number of visitors often rises during religious holidays. Palestinian officials said nearly 550 Jewish visitors entered the compound, compared with just a few dozen on most days. Such practices have fuelled concerns among Palestinians that Israel is plotting to take over the Al-Aqsa mosque compound or partition it. Israel strongly denies such claims, saying it is committed to protecting freedom of worship for all. Clashes erupted at the site before dawn on Friday after police said Palestinians had hurled stones toward the Western Wall, an adjacent Jewish holy site. Police entered in force and clashed with dozens of Palestinians shortly after dawn prayers. A militant British national claims that pro-Ukraine soldiers were oblivious of civilians in Mariupol as the Russian troops tightened the noose. When captured, Aiden Aslin, the Briton, contradicted the narrative that Kyiv was winning its offensive, and its forces were surrounded. Ongoing propaganda by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to show his forces are allegedly getting the upper hand, but Aslin's revelation casts doubt on it. Ukraine Soldiers Abandon Civilian Welfare The British captive from Mariupol said the city was under siege and was experiencing catastrophe, not from the Russian forces but Ukrainian units besieged in the area, reported the Daily Telegraph. Aslin was in the thick of the fighting with pro-Kyiv forces, according to a video that RT procured. He was with the Ukrainian marines, who surrendered to Russian units early in the week. In 2018, he joined the Ukraine military and assumed they were the good guys, based on his assumption then. Mariupol's shattered reality in the current situation became an eye-opener; he claimed he attempted to ask the marine leaders to leave. Instead, they opted to stay in Kyiv with the thought they wanted them to stay despite their situation. According to Aslin, the situation for all men in the unit was dangerous. The fix with trapped pro-Ukraine soldiers could be avoided by wanting to stay and fight. Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Children: Does the Ukraine President Have Kids? The unit's dire situation was because the Ukrainian leader told them to stay and fight great odds leading to the rout. Aslin said in the video that the situation was avoidable, and the war of Zelensky was not needed. In a week of intense hostilities, he took part in the city offensive that led to his conclusion about the conduct of Kyiv's forces on how they treated their civilians. Aslin reported the shocking soldiers' behavior, saying they allegedly stole food from supermarkets and ignored the civilians who needed them. Locals in the city were prevented from getting water for themselves based on Aslin's account of the citizen's ordeal, noted Hi India. At one point in the interview, the subject of the pro-Kyiv soldiers committing atrocities like killing civilians was raised. He called them criminals. His alleged account contradicts current reports of the hostilities at Mariupol, which the Ukrainians are winning. Aslin claims that he fought with the Kurds of Syria against the radical Islamic State, but after the event in Mariupol, he is going home to his family and not fighting for any country again. Russians Stormed Mariupol Entering Donbas on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the incursion after the failed implementation of the Minsk agreement. Plans to recognize Donetsk and Lugansk by the neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists against the republics prompted a special operation allowed by the Kremlin, mentioned Al Jazeera. One of the major reasons for the incursion was that Ukraine was asked to be neutral, which never happened, leading to this shooting war. The militant British national captured at Mariupol with pro-Ukraine soldiers admitted what they did against civilians was disturbing and shocked him enough to realize never to fight in a war again. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Calls Bucha Massacre Accusations False, Belarus Claims Evidence Was Staged To Discredit Russia @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Kentucky man who was fired for having a panic attack that his superiors saw as 'violent' when he was thrown a work birthday party against his wishes has been awarded $450,000 by a jury. Kevin Berling asked an office manager at the Gravity Diagnostics lab in Covington, Kentucky not to throw him a party because of his anxiety disorder in August 2019. When he found out that a party was planned for lunchtime, he spent the break in his car working on breathing techniques to quell his stress. The next day, he had another panic attack in a meeting with two supervisors who talked to him about his 'somber behavior,' according to the New York Times. He was fired via email three days later. The company says he had clenched his fists, turned red and ordered his superiors to be quiet during the meeting, leaving them 'shaken.' Berling's lawyer says the closed fists were part of a coping maneuver to deal with the tense situation. On March 31, a jury awarded Berling $150,000 in lost wages and benefits and $300,000 for suffering, embarrassment and loss of self-esteem after finding that he had been discriminated against for his disability. Gravity founder Julie Brazil, who does not appear to have been involved in the party planning, says she stands by her decision to terminate him 'for his violation of our workplace violence policy.' An attorney for the lab says the company will challenge the verdict and may file an appeal, according to local news website LINK nky. Kevin Berling worked at the Gravity Diagnostics lab in Convington, Kentucky for 10 months before he was fired for getting 'violent' during a meeting after an unwanted birthday party Gravity founder Julie Brazil says her employees were right to fire him days after his alleged outburst. 'My employees were the victims in this case, not the plaintiff,' she said Gravity Diagnostics is licensed in 'all 50 states' and serves 'over 1,000 customers from small private practices to universities, to Fortune 500 companies,' according to its website. Berling had been working at the Covington lab for 10 months when he asked not have a birthday party thrown in his honor - a request that would lead to his termination days later. His lawyer Tony Bucher says he had received 'outstanding' monthly reviews. The company itself said Berling was never given a bad review. Bucher points to the amount of money Berling could have earned at his job had he not been fired, given that the COVID-19 pandemic sent the lab's value soaring. 'Based on his employment records, where would he be?' Bucher told LINK nky. 'There are people whose income has gone up at least 50 percent during that time. He lost a nice opportunity with that company.' Bucher says the person responsible for scheduling the celebrations simply forgot to honor his client's request. 'She didnt do it to be mean. She said she would accommodate it and she just forgot,' he said. The lunchtime party was set to include wishes from coworkers and a banner decorating the break room, the New York Times reports. Gravity co-founder and CEO Tony Remington Berling spent the break in his car working on his breathing before heading back upstairs to finish his job. He was called into a meeting with the next day. 'According to my client, she started reading him the riot act and accused him of stealing other coworkers' joy,' Bucher said. Gravity lawyer John Maley says Berling clenched his fists, turned red and ordered his superiors to be quiet. 'They were absolutely in fear of physical harm during that moment,' Brazil, the company's co-founder, told the Times. 'They both are still shaken about it today.' Berling's attorney says the clenched fists are part of a coping technique that involve placing them 'up around his chest, sort of closed in, almost hugging himself.' He was sent home after the meeting. A couple hours later, he texted one of his superiors to apologize, according to a complaint filed in Kenton County Circuit Court. He was fired via email three days later. He filed a disability discrimination suit a month later, in September 2019. Gravity Diagnostics is licensed in 'all 50 states' and serves 'over 1,000 customers from small private practices to universities, to Fortune 500 companies,' according to its website 'Basically what the argument was is he was fired for having a panic attack,' Bucher said. 'They made assumptions that he was dangerous based off of his disability and not off of any evidence that he was violent.' Brazil says her employees made the right choice to protect their co-workers. She added that the case sets a dangerous precedent in other cases where a colleague may pose a threat to the workplace. 'My employees deescalated the situation to get the plaintiff out of the building as quickly as possible while removing his access to the building, alerting me and sending out security reminders to ensure he could not access the building, which is exactly what they were supposed to do,' she told LINK nky. 'As an employer who puts our employee safety first, we have a zero-tolerance policy and we stand by our decision to terminate the plaintiff for his violation of our workplace violence policy,' Brazil said. 'My employees were the victims in this case, not the plaintiff.' Berling was awarded $450,000 last month. The judge had not yet entered a judgment in the verdict. The company says it will file a motion to strike the verdict, arguing that a juror violated a court order about obtaining information outside the trial. Brazil said the company is challenging the verdict upon 'discovery of juror misconduct violating trial judge's orders, and then an appeal if necessary.' A top detective has warned that staring on the London Underground must be prosecuted and people should report incidents of unhealthy sexual behaviour. TfL (Transport for London) launched a campaign last month aiming to protect women and girls from 'common examples' of harassment, including upskirting, cat calling and exposing among others. As part of the initiative, posters were installed on trains, saying: 'Intrusive staring of a sexual nature is sexual harassment and is not tolerated.' Det Supt Sarah White (above), a senior British Transport Police (BTP) officer, warned that suspects who stare are 'starting to show behaviours that are unhealthy' TfL (Transport for London) launched a campaign last month aiming to protect women and girls from 'common examples' of harassment Det Supt Sarah White, a senior British Transport Police (BTP) officer, warned that suspects who stare are 'starting to show behaviours that are unhealthy'. 'Its human nature to stare at things. However, its very different when someone is staring, leering, or theres a sexual motivation,' DS White told The Telegraph. 'We want to know about that staring because that is the behaviour that suggests to me that someone is thinking about a sexual behaviour that supports that staring.' She added: 'We will record them as crimes and we will investigate them - and we have had successful prosecutions in that field.' As part of the initiative, posters (pictured) were installed on trains, saying: 'Intrusive staring of a sexual nature is sexual harassment and is not tolerated' In a statement released at the start of its campaign, TfL said: 'Sexual harassment is a form of violence, most often directed against women and girls in public places' In a statement released at the start of its campaign, TfL said: 'Sexual harassment is a form of violence, most often directed against women and girls in public places. 'The safety of women and girls is an absolute priority for TfL and this new campaign is one element of TfL's work to ensure everyone can travel with confidence. 'The campaign aims to challenge the normalisation and dismissal of this behaviour as "something that happens" to women and girls on public transport and in other public spaces, making it clear that it is never acceptable and that the strongest possible action will always be taken.' Rape cases soared to a new record last year in England and Wales while the number of reported sex offences hit the second-highest level ever. Rape cases soared to a new record last year in England and Wales while the number of reported sex offences hit the second-highest level ever There were 61,158 rapes recorded in the year to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was the highest ever recorded annual figure to date and included 17,285 offences between April and June - also the highest quarterly figure. The second highest number of sexual offences was also recorded in the 12 months to June (164,763), an 8 per cent increase compared to the previous year. This was driven by the highest ever recorded quarterly figure (48,553) for the same three-month period in 2021. Rape accounted for 37 per cent of all sexual offences recorded by police. Advertisement Christians across Ukraine have marked religious festivities across the war-torn nation despite the Russian invasion's threats continuing to tear apart communities as the president's office reported missile strikes and shelling in eight regions across the country between Friday and Saturday. Today marks Palm Sunday - the Sunday before Easter - for Orthodox Christians, a religion largely practiced by many Ukrainians, with services for the holy day held in the devastated cities of Bucha and Lviv. People in Ivano-Frankvisk, western Ukraine, were also pictured holding willow branches - the flower thought be symbolic of new life - to honour the day. It comes as religious leaders of those celebrating Easter today have urged for peace and called on world leaders to put an end to the 'cruel and senseless' violence in Ukraine. Worshippers in the country gathered in churches to attend mass and light a candle with some becoming visibly emotional. In Bucha, where Russian forces have been accused of atrocities including the rape and killing of civilians, believers gathered in a church yard for a mass and were sprayed with holy water. Some 50 people attended a service at the town's church, carrying willow and praying for the dead. LVIV: Christians across Ukraine have marked religious festivities across the war-torn nation despite the Russian invasion's threats continuing to tear apart communities BUCHA: Today marks Palm Sunday - the Sunday before Easter - for Orthodox Christians, a religion largely practiced by many Ukrainians, with services for the holy day held across the country BUCHA: Worshippers across the country gathered in churches to attend mass and light a candle with some becoming visibly emotional Russia denies targeting civilians and has called pictures of those killed in Bucha fake. Resident Evgeniya Lebedko said she 'just prayed today to stop crying' outside the church after the service. She added: 'We have survived these horrors and we are constantly crying. And I don't want those tears to fall but I go out every day and I smell it and I cry all the time.' In Lviv soldiers and civilians were pictured gathering at a church for a service, with many appearing sombre at a time of brutal conflict in their country. Meanwhile Pope Francis has urged for peace around the world, with a spotlight on the violence in 'war-torn' Ukraine, for Easter today. The pontiff led the Catholic Easter Sunday mass at St Peter's Square at the Vatican before his solemn plea against violence. IVANO-FRANKVISK: People in Ivano-Frankvisk, western Ukraine, were also pictured holding willow branches - the flower thought be symbolic of new life - to honour the day. He spoke to crowds of some 50,000 for his twice yearly 'Urbi et Orbi' address, saying 'we have seen all too much blood, all too much violence'. Marking an 'Easter of war', he urged leaders to hear the people's plea for peace in Ukraine and implicitly criticised Russia for dragging the country into a 'cruel and senseless' conflict. Francis said: 'In this terrible night of suffering and death, may a new dawn of hope soon appear! Let there be a decision for peace. 'May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. Please, please, let us not get used to war! 'Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets! Peace! May the leaders of nations hear peoples plea for peace.' BUCHA: Andriy Halavin, an Orthodox priest, sprays holy water on believers after a service marking the Orthodox feast of Palm Sunday, in the yard of the Church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints BUCHA: The Orthodox priest sprays holy water onto believers holding onto willow branches to mark Palm Sunday in the yard of the Church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints BUCHA: Galina Bondar, 63, who said her son, Olexander Bondar, 32, a territorial defence member, was killed by Russian troops, reacts as she attends the Palm Sunday mass at the Church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints Elsewhere in Ukraine, the country's soldiers have vowed to 'fight until the end' after Russia issued a chilling warning to the final troops defending the besieged city of Mariupol, with Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Kremlin is trying to 'destroy everyone there'. Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die', urging them to lay down their arms by 6.00am Moscow time (3am GMT) and to evacuate before 13.00pm today after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the urban area of the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. In a statement, the defence ministry said: 'The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 6am (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.' But with the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender and accept Russia's now-expired ultimatum, the Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told BBC News the last defenders will 'fight until the end'. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end.' Goncharenko referred to the continuing siege of Mariupol as 'a real genocide' and said it was considered that 'more than 20,000 people' have been killed in the port city. There have also been more reports today of Russian strikes around major popular centres. Local media reported an explosion in the capital Kyiv, though deputy mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air defence systems had thwarted Russian attacks. The mayor of Brovary city, close to Kyiv, said a missile attack had damaged infrastructure. Russia said it had destroyed an ammunition factory near the capital, according to the RIA news agency. LVIV: Ukrainian worshippers gather to attend a mass at Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul to mark Palm Sunday today LVIV: In Lviv soldiers and civilians were pictured gathering at a church for a service, with many appearing sombre at a time of brutal conflict in their country LVIV: Worshippers light candles as they gather to attend a mass at Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv today As clean-up operations continued in areas where the Russians retreated, Ukraine's human rights ombudswoman said almost all high-rise buildings in the town of Okhtyrka were unfit for occupation, while the State Emergencies Service said 41 bodies had been recovered in the town of Borodyanka. Despite the desperate situation in Mariupol, Ukraine said it was holding off Russian forces in other parts of the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Today Donetsk region police said that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces opened fire from tanks, multiple rocket launchers and heavy artillery on 13 settlements under Ukrainian control, killing two civilians. Luhansk governor Sehriy Gaidai said that since the start of the war, all but 20,000 of acting capital Sievierodonetsk's 130,000 residents had left the city. Meanwhile, in London, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not 'blood and iron.' Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week - with Easter coming on April 24 - Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. LVIV: Worshippers wearing military attire gather for a mass at the Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv today LVIV: A woman holds onto a willow branch as she attends a service at the Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv LVIV: A woman at a church service in Lviv holds onto a decorated willow branch - the flower thought be symbolic of new life - to honour the day Political leaders also addressed the conflict in their Easter messages today, as Boris Johnson remarked that 'Christ's message of hope the triumph of life over death and good over evil will resonate this year perhaps more than any other'. The Prime Minister, who is now banned from entering Russia following the Kremlin's sanctions on a dozen other British government members and politicians, told Christians around the world to 'be strong and have courage in your heart'. He added: 'Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption.' Moscow has meanwhile accused Britain, with Johnson making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week, of 'deliberately aggravating the situation surrounding Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the behalf of NATO' and threatened to expand its sanctions list 'soon'. The prime minister also tweeted out an Easter message in Ukrainian today, following a post yesterday in which he vowed to send more aid to Volodymyr Zelensky. LVIV: Ukrainian worshippers gather to attend a service today. Religious leaders of those celebrating Easter today have urged for peace and called on world leaders to put an end to the 'cruel and senseless' violence in Ukraine LVIV: A woman holding onto a willow branch becomes emotional at a mass at Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv today LVIV: Ukrainian worshippers, some wearing military uniform, gather to attend a mass at Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv, Ukraine today LVIV: Ukrainian worshippers gather to attend a mass at Church of the Most Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Lviv, Ukraine on April 17 It said: 'I updated my friend @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. 'The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught.' Keir Starmer's message also touched on the conflict and themes of overcoming adversity. The Labour leader said, in his address to 'Christians around the world': 'I know you draw inspiration from the life of Jesus and the Easter story which is a message of overcoming adversity and of hope. Of light overcoming darkness. 'And at this pivotal time, when Europe is at war and people are facing greater poverty at home, hope is more important than ever. 'Thank you and Happy Easter.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called for US President Joe Biden to visit his country, and said he believes the commander-in-chief will make the trip. The wartime leader also said his government had 'substantial evidence' that Russia's troops are committing genocide in Ukraine, as more and more western leaders accuse Moscow's autocrat leader Vladimir Putin of war crimes. Zelensky was asked by CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper about whether there are 'any plans' for Biden to come see the situation for himself. 'I think he will,' the Ukrainian president answered. He quickly added: 'It's his decision of course, and about the safety situation.' 'But I think he's the leader of the United States, and that's why he should come here to see.' Late last week Biden confirmed that his administration was discussing a possible Kyiv trip by a senior official and was 'making that decision now.' He told reporters that he wanted to go himself. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki backtracked on the president's comment just hours later during a taping of the Pod Save America Podcast. Psaki said it's true Biden was 'ready to go.' But, she added, 'we are not sending the president to Ukraine' -- a policy line that senior administration officials have held consistently through Russia's war. Zelensky said he understood there are concerns about the 'safety situation' but claimed the president of the United States should see the conflict firsthand Volunteers load bodies of civilians killed in Bucha onto a truck to be taken to a morgue for investigation. Zelensky said there is 'substantial evidence' of genocide there and other towns around Ukraine It comes after a slew of NATO leaders descended upon Kyiv in recent weeks, some even seeing the horrors found in the capital's suburbs after Kremlin troops' retreat firsthand. Multiple American leaders, including Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, accused Putin and his soldiers of 'genocide.' British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it 'doesn't look far short' of the heinous crime. 'I have the same opinion as President Biden, and I immediately saw what was happening here. Especially what happened in Bucha and in the east of our country,' Zelensky said in his Sunday interview. 'I speak about this because Russia calls it a military operation, and not a war. But look what happened in Bucha. It's clear that is not even a war -- it's a genocide.' Biden has on multiple occasions expressed interest in visiting Ukraine, though his officials have backtracked each time Scenes of devastation and carnage were revealed to the world as Russian troops retreated from Kyiv's suburbs, with western intelligence pointing to an aim of regrouping to take over Ukraine's east. 'They just shot people in the streets. People were riding bicycles, taking the bus, or just walking down the street. There were corpses lying in the streets. These were not soldiers. They were civilians,' Zelensky fumed. 'They bound their hands. They forced children to watch as they raped their mothers. Then they threw them in a well or in mass graves, children, adults, the elderly.' He continued, 'We have substantial evidence that points to this being a genocide, audio and video where they talk about just how much they hate us.' Zelensky said he was caught off guard by the magnitude of the hatred he felt. 'I did not even know that there was such hatred of the Russian military for the Ukrainian people,' Kyiv's leader said. 'They say they're going to destroy us. Just to steal a toilet and a washing machine from an apartment, they shot an entire family. That is genocide.' The heads of Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia took a train to Kyiv last week where they met with Zelensky. And earlier this month, the UK's Johnson stunned the world by appearing in Kyiv with Zelensky, after a secretly-planned train trip to the war-damaged capital city. The European Union's Ursula Von Der Leyen toured Kyiv and Bucha the day before. 'They just shot people in the streets. People were riding bicycles, taking the bus, or just walking down the street. There were corpses lying in the streets. These were not soldiers. They were civilians,' Zelensky fumed 'I did not even know that there was such hatred of the Russian military for the Ukrainian people,' Kyiv's leader said Ukraine's President Zelensky to @jaketapper, says he wants President Biden to come to Ukraine "I think he's the leader of the United states and that's why he should come here to see." https://t.co/APkpjZFG6O Jasmine Wright (@JasJWright) April 17, 2022 The recent spate of trips put renewed scrutiny on Biden, who said during a late March visit to Warsaw that 'they will not let me, understandably, I guess, cross the border and take a look at whats going on in Ukraine.' Last Sunday, both Psaki and Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were forced to repeat that a Biden trip to Ukraine was off the table. In addition to extending an invitation to the US president, Zelensky told CNN he would also like French President Emmanuel Macron to visit. Macron recently came out against Biden calling Putin's actions a 'genocide,' claiming it was a counter-productive 'escalation.' 'I talked to him yesterday,' Zelensky said of France's leader. 'I think he wants to take some steps to ensure that Russia engages in dialogue.' 'I just told him that I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. He will come and see, and I'm sure he will understand.' Zelensky also said Sunday that he was 'happy' with Biden's recent greenlighting of $800 million in weapons aid to Ukraine but 'of course we need more.' The interview aired on Sunday morning Eastern Time, as Russia's brutal and unprovoked invasion enters its fifty-third day. 'There will never be enough. Enough isn't possible. there is a full scale war ongoing today. So we still need a lot more than what we have today,' Zelensky said. He also admitted, 'It's been very, very difficult. Because there aren't many countries that have really helped us.' In the nearly two month-long invasion, more than 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes. The majority have been women, children and the elderly. Zelensky urged those vulnerable groups not to return yet, even as reports indicate some traffic headed back to Kyiv as people desperately look for what's left of their homes after Russia's retreat. 'I think not now. First of all, it's about women and children. They should come when the situation will be stabilized and when the war will finish, of course, because they will not help us now,' the leader said. In other places where Russians took over before many were able to flee -- like the besieged city of Mariupol -- Zelensky claimed as many as 5,000 Ukrainian children were forcibly deported to Russia. 'Several thousand, tens of thousands were forced to evacuate in the direction of the Russian Federation. And we do not know where they are. They have left no document trail. And among them are several thousands of children,' Zelensky said, 'We have information that perhaps 10,000 people have died there, all civilians who stayed. We're talking about civilian deaths, not military. About 5,000 children deported from this region to Russian side, because they didn't allow them to go to the Ukrainian side.' A giant container ship that was stuck in the Chesapeake Bay for more than five weeks is on the move again. The Ever Forward cargo ship reached the Annapolis area around 10am Sunday where it will remain anchored until it continues its journey to Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to WBAL-TV. The 1,096-foot boat had been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, off the coast of Gibson Island, since March 13. Its sister vessel the Ever Given infamously blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt for six days during March 2021. Although the ship, which traveled to the States from Hong Kong, was stuck for more than a month, officials told Bloomberg it has not disrupted trade. It was on a brief sailing from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia, when it got stuck on muddy ground, with 330 cargo containers since lifted off using barges to help refloat it more easily. The Ever Forward cargo ship reached the Annapolis area around 10am Sunday where it will remain anchored until it continues its journey to Baltimore The 1,096-foot boat had been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, off the coast of Gibson Island, since March 13 Video footage showed seven tug boats towing the Ever Forward boat under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge around 9.10 am Sunday. This was the third time crews had tried to free the ship. The Coast Guard is providing the Ever Forward with a security zone while the tug boats continue to transport the ship to a location south of the bay where officials will then assess the situation. Crews will need to set up a designated time slot to on-load the hundreds of containers that were removed from the ship this past week to lighten the ship and free it. Two barges were used to take the containers back to the Port of Baltimore. It is unclear when the on-loading will occur and the Coast Guard did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Video footage showed seven tug boats towing the Ever Forward boat under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge around 9.10 am Sunday This was the third time crews had tried to free the ship Guardsmen told WBFF high tides helped aide in their process to free the ship, which is owned by Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine. It was traveling from Baltimore to Norfolk when it turned out of a shipping channel and got stuck in the Chesapeake Bay. It is unclear what caused the freighter to aground. The Ever Forward was supposed to call at four east coast ports after departing China on February 2. The vessel had been carrying about 5,000 containers. Crews removed 500 containers and dredged about 20 feet of material on both of its sides to lighten the load and pull it back into the channel. As of 10.30am Sunday, the ship was traveling at a speed of 5.6 knots, according to tracking website MarineTraffic. Crews removed 500 containers and dredged about 20 feet of material on both of its sides to lighten the load and pull it back into the channel The Coast Guard is providing the Ever Forward with a security zone while the tug boats continue to transport the ship to a location south of the bay where officials will then assess the situation Although Evergreen Marine has been operating its for more than two decades, it is only recently that its U.S.-bound vessels ventured beyond the west coast. Diversions to the east coast came in the second half of 2021 amid peak supply-chain disruptions and issues at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. 'This is part of the growth out of the backlog of the supply chain,' Sal Mercogliano, a professor of maritime history at Campbell University in North Carolina told Bloomberg last month. 'To beat the backlog in L.A. and Long Beach, a lot more companies are using ships like Ever Forward to send their cargo directly to the East Coast.' The Port of Los Angeles does not expect to resume normal operations until the second half of this year and the number of ships traveling to the area from Asia has decreased from over 100 to 43. Last year, another ship operated by Evergreen, blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt for six days. Last year, MV Ever Given - another ship operated by Evergreen - blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt for six days The nearly 200,000 ton vessel became lodged in the canal during a sandstorm and created a tailback of 420 other ships and held almost $10billion in cargo The nearly 200,000-ton MV Ever Given container vessel was wedged in the canal during a sandstorm on March 23, 2021, blocking a passage from Asia to Europe that carries 10 percent of global maritime trade and pumps vital revenues into Egyptian state coffers. Egypt seized the ship after an urgent salvage operation and demanded compensation from Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha for lost canal revenues, salvage costs and damage to the canal. The Taiwanese-operated and Panama-flagged vessel was refloated on March 29, and tailbacks totalling 420 vessels at the northern and southern entrances to the canal were cleared in early April. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced in June 2021 that it had signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Japanese firm ahead of reaching a final deal. The SCA didn't disclose the amount of compensation to be paid, but final negotiations proceeded from a figure of $550million. In July, the Ismailia Economic Court ruled the seized ship with its crew on board was being released following a request from the SCA. New York City will require most companies to put a salary range on their job postings starting next month as major companies like Goldman Sachs, Pfizer and JetBlue push for a delay and warn that the rule would negatively affect hiring. The law, passed by New York City Council in December, requires companies in the city with four or more employees to post the lowest and highest wage they would pay for each position. It exempts employees with fewer than four employees as well as temporary staffing agencies. The disclosure is meant to address the gender pay gap and help employees learn what their work is actually worth on the market. In 2020, women earned 84 percent of what men did, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Companies are pushing back agains the bill, calling it 'burdensome' and wondering what it would mean for firms that have workers in various states, where similar legislation is popping up across the country. Some have also noted that they may have to start answering to current employees who make less than the ranges advertised for the role they're currently doing. Last month, city lawmakers proposed an amendment that would delay implementation until November and exclude companies with fewer than 15 employees, as opposed to the current four. A law set to take effect on May 15 will require all New York City employers with four or more workers to include salary ranges in their job postings The law is meant to address the gender wage gap and other forms of pay inequality. According to a Pew analysis, the gender wage gap has remained stable for the past 15 years The law, as it stands now, will take effect on May 15 after it was passed by City Council in December. It asks New York City employers to list a salary range on job posts. 'The range for the listed maximum and minimum salary would extend from the lowest salary to the highest salary that the employer in good faith believes it would pay for the advertised job, promotion, or transfer,' the text states. Supporters say it would help address the gender pay gap and help workers demand what they're worth. 'This is one of those laws where if you're doing the right thing, then you have nothing to worry about,' State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens, told Bloomberg. 'If there are companies that are highly concerned about this, well, then that's a red flag to me.' The law is part of a slew of legislation in New York City aimed at making work more fair. In 2020, a salary history ban took effect preventing all employees from asking about a candidate's previous salary. It also prevents employers from getting the information from other sources. According to a Pew analysis released last year, the gender wage gap has remained stable for the past 15 years, though it has improved from the 1980s. 'Women ages 25 to 34 earned 93 cents for every dollar a man in the same age group earned on average [in 2020]. 'This is one of those laws where if you're doing the right thing, then you have nothing to worry about,' said State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Democrat representing parts of Queens 'In 1980, women ages 25 to 34 earned 33 cents less than their male counterparts, compared with 7 cents in 2020. The estimated 16-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2020 was down from 36 cents in 1980.' Pew cited factors like motherhood, which can interrupt career paths and have a long-term effect on earning, as well as the overrepresentation of women in lower-paid jobs. It also mentioned difficult-to-measure factors like gender discrimination. Jeff Moriarty, executive director of the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University, told Fast Company magazine that the New York bill is good for employers and employees alike. 'If people don't know what others in their organization get paid for doing the sort of work they do, they won't have an opportunity to call out unjust pay disparities,' Moriarty said. 'Knowing what people get paid is good for employees who are discriminated against, as well as for companies themselves.' Companies say the law is difficult to follow and burdensome. 'Employers are trying to understand what this means and what their obligations are under this law,' Melissa Camire of the law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP told the Wall Street Journal. She's encouraging companies to make the necessary changes to their job posts even if the implementation date is delayed to November. 'May 15 is just a few weeks away, so you cant ignore that may be the date you need to start doing this.' City Council introduced an amendment to the law that would delay its implementation until November after pressure from business groups. Some companies worry about how to explain to current employees why they're making less than the maximum in the job posts Jeanne Stewart, who runs a human resources consulting firm, is also advising companies to change their postings starting now, recently telling one company to take down a half-dozen listings and put them back up with salary ranges. 'I'm just like, "Remove them, and were not putting them back up until we have good-faith ranges,"' she said. Hari Prasad, founder and CEO of Yosi Health, told the Journal that the new rule would be good for him, because can now compare his salary offers to those of his competitors. 'This is going to make the hiring process more efficient,' he said. Software company Workato Inc employs 850 people; 30 of them live in the New York area. Kerry Moore, the company's vice president of global talent and diversity, says human resources executives are likely to spend the next few weeks meeting with employment attorneys about how to implement the new law. Moore said the company will likely have to also explain that its salary range is just part of its compensation, not including bonuses and equity. She says her company will also have to prepare managers to answer questions from current employees who may be making less than what the new posts advertise. Kathryn Wylde, CEO of Partnership for New York City, called aspects of the law burdensome. Her group represents companies like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer and CitiBank 'There's just a lot of maybe downstream effects from this,' Moore told the Wall Street Journal. One group who opposes the law and is trying to delay its implementation is Partnership for New York City. It counts among its clients Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, CitiBank, JetBlue, Macy's, Morgan Stanley, PricewaterhouseCoopers or PWC, United Airlines, American Express, Bank of America, ConEdison, Deloitte, IAC, Etsy, Hearst and IBM, according to its website. City Council introduced an amendment last month after outcry from companies and business groups. The amendment would exclude businesses with fewer than 15 employees from putting salary ranges on job posts. It would also exclude posts that don't specify a position, as well as posts for remote jobs that can be done outside the city, according to Forbes. The proposed amendment is a sign that 'Council leadership is willing to listen to concerns of employers and reverse provisions of the salary transparency law that made compliance particularly burdensome,' said Partnership for New York City CEO Kathryn Wylde. PowHer New York, an organization that advocates for economic equality, says the proposal is the result of 'business pressure.' 'After hailing the NYC Salary Range Law as a critical next step in the fight to close the gender and racial wage gap, the NYC Council is now considering INT. 134 that tweaks the laws intention of providing pay equity for women of color, and other minorities,' said PowHer President Beverly Neufeld in a statement. 'Advocates are calling on the new progressive City Council, which for the first time in history has a majority female, to reject this attempt to let business pressure obstruct the needs of workers.' A salary transparency law went into effect in Colorado in January 2021. The state of Washington will require salary ranges on postings made my employees with 15 or more workers starting in January 2023. Lawmakers in California are considering a similar bill. The family of a British prisoner of war captured in Mariupol have pleaded with the Kremlin to secure his rights after he was seen being taunted by a Russian TV reporter. Ex-British Army soldier Shaun Pinner, 48, who is a Royal Anglian veteran, was today paraded on propaganda TV in Russia in a heavily-edited clip and was told his Ukrainian commanders wanted him to be killed as he fled a factory hideout in Mariupol. Now, his family have released a statement in response to his capture, explaining how he became involved in the defence of Ukraine against the Russian invasion while calling for Shaun's Russian captors to adhere to the Geneva Convention's regulations regarding the treatment of POWs. 'Shaun was a well-respected soldier within the British Army serving in the Royal Anglian Regiment for many years. He served in many tours including Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia,' the statement read. 'In 2018 Shaun decided to re-locate to Ukraine to use his previous experience and training within the Ukraine Military. 'Shaun enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life and considered Ukraine as his adopted country over the last four years. During this time, he met his Ukrainian wife who is very focussed on the humanitarian needs of the country. 'He progressed into the Ukrainian Marines as a proud member of his unit. At the end of 2022 his 3 year contract is due to end and he was planning to enter a humanitarian role within Ukraine.' The statement continued: 'We would like to make it clear he is not a volunteer nor a mercenary, but officially serving with the Ukrainian Army in accordance with Ukrainian Legislation. 'Our family is currently working with the Foreign Office along with the family of Aiden Aslin who is also being held by the Russian Army to ensure their rights as Prisoners Of War are upheld according to the Geneva Convention. 'Shaun is a funny, much loved well intentioned Husband, Son, Father, Brother and Friend to many. We are hoping for a quick resolution to allow Shaun and Aiden to return safely to their families and we ask for privacy at this difficult time. 'Our hearts go out to all those caught up in this horrific conflict.' Shaun Pinner, who served with the Royal Anglians and enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying a woman from the country, was captured by Russian forces while he was defending the besieged city of Mariupol The 48-year-old was interviewed by Andrey Rudenko (left) who is a pro-Kremlin journalist Pinner, who enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying his wife Larysa who is from the country, was told he could now be seen as an anti-Putin hero by the outside world. He is heard saying there was 'panic' as he was held after ending their siege in an industrial area of the blitzed city. His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine in the same trenches outside Mariupol as Pinner. 'We were in the factory area of Mariupol,' he said in a newly released clip of an interview made in captivity. 'It was Tuesday morning. It was decided we move from the factory, but we did not know exactly where. At about 4am we left the factory.' There was 'not much time to think,' said Pinner. After this, his words were subtitled in Russian but his original speech was not audible. Shaun Pinner, 48, was serving as a Marine in Ukraine, defending the key strategic port of Mariupol Pinner served with the Royal Anglians and enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying his wife Larysa (pictured right), who is from the country According to the subtitles, Pinner said: 'It was very dark. We took the injured with us. 'Mortar and artillery shelling began, military aviation worked. Panic began. Everyone started running in different directions. 'My commander seems to have disappeared. I still don't know what happened to those who were there with me.' Interviewer Andrey Rudenko - a well-known Russian war reporter on pro-Kremlin state TV - claimed without citing direct evidence that his Ukrainian commanders wanted him and others killed by Vladimir Putin's forces so they could be hailed as heroes in the propaganda battle against Moscow. 'The servicemen of the 36th brigade say their command specially sent them to be killed in order to make heroes out of them later,' Pinner was told. Rudenko told an exhausted-looking Pinner: 'You didn't have a single chance to reach this settlement Zachatovka, since Russian and DPR troops were everywhere.' In the event, he and other defenders were captured. He reportedly told his Russians captors that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home' During the interview, Pinner was told he could be seen as an anti-Putin hero by the outside world According to the subtitles, Pinner said: 'It was very dark. We took the injured with us. 'Mortar and artillery shelling began, military aviation worked. Panic began. Everyone started running in different directions' (Pictured: Pinner with his wife Larysa) Pinner is heard replying to the claim that his Ukrainian commanders wanted him and others fleeing the factory to die: 'I had no idea. You know more than me. I don't particularly know anything' The report also quoted Pinner as saying - though his words were not audible in this broadcast: 'I had no idea, we were abandoned. 'I do not know who took such a decision. I do not know anything about the fate of the injured, who were left there. 'I do not know what happened to the dead bodies.' In an earlier interview, Pinner had identified himself and said: 'I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. 'I was captured in Mariupol. I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marines 'I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People's Republic.' Brit fighter Shaun Pinner has been captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol. He was paraded on Russian television looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds. He said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner' In another clip suggesting he is caught up in Russia's propaganda campaign against Ukraine and the West, he reportedly said that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'. Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee. The committee is seen as an equivalent of the FBI and is run by Alexander Bastrykin, a university classmate of Vladimir Putin. 'This is the second Englishman caught in Mariupol.' His fate in the hands of the Russians and the separatist authorities in Donetsk remains uncertain. Prior to being captured in Ukraine, friends and family left well-wishes on Shaun's Facebook page, where he had snapped a selfie in which he was dressed in combat garb, adorned with the Ukrainian flag. 'Stay safe bro, love you,' read one comment from sister Cassandra. Other well wishers commented: 'Thinking of you brother and those with you,' while another one said: 'Respect matey, stay safe, move fast keep low.' His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine in the same trenches outside Mariupol as Pinner. There is concern for his safety amid fears that he could treated as a spy by the Kremlin. An image uploaded to his social media shows Aiden, 28, bruised, beaten and in handcuffs A second image, posted by a pro-Russia Telegram account, was closer to captured Aiden's cut In early March, around a week after Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine, Pinner gave a hard-hitting dispatch from near the front line, describing the situation as 'chaos'. At the time, he said he had endured a 'week of intense fighting'. Pinner also confirmed a number of his squad had died in the early days of the war, saying : 'We've lost a couple of guys today'. Mr Pinner filmed the dispatch as Vladimir Putin's men laid siege to Kyiv and other major Ukranian cities. In the video he does not reveal his location for security reasons. Since then, Russian forces have pulled back from the Kyiv region to refocus their efforts on the east of the country. The first British fighter captured in Mariupol was former care worker Aiden Aslin. Russias state TV channels have broadcast suspect footage of Aslin being questioned by his captors after he was also forced to surrender in Mariupol. Mr Aslin, 28, joined the Ukrainian marines four years ago. He has dual UK-Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian fiancee, yet Russia appears determined to brand him an enemy agent rather than a prisoner of war. The distinction is significant as under Russian law, those suspected of espionage face interrogation and lengthy prison sentences. Whereas POWs are released at the end of hostilities, convicted spies may remain behind bars, perhaps until an exchange of agents can be arranged. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. Pictured: An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol Service members of pro-Russian troops load rocket-propelled grenades into an infantry combat vehicle amid fighting near the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, was paraded on TV with his face bruised. It is thought he is being held in a military detention facility. Footage shows him being questioned by one of his captors off camera and he supposedly agrees with the suggestion that those who stood with you [in Ukraine], they are killers. It remains unclear whether the recording was doctored for political purposes. But last night Mr Aslins brother Nathan Wood said: People should not believe anything the Russians say or are making my brother say. He is being held against his will and forced to say whatever they tell him to. Anything that comes out of my brothers mouth now, and the mouths of his Russian captors, are lies. Both Pinner and Aslin are believed to have been captured while fighting with Ukrainian soldiers to defence Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine. The city has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by seemingly indiscriminate Russian shelling. Russian forces have in recent days made advances in Mariupol and issued a chilling warning to the final troops defending the besieged city. Russian servicemen (pictured) on Tuesday secured Mariupol's Drama Theatre which was destroyed in a missile strike on March 16 At least 300 people died when Mariupol's drama theatre (pictured, Russian servicemen secure the destroyed building) was targeted in a Russian missile strike, despite being marked 'children' Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die', urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 13:00pm, on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the urban area of the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. In a statement, the defence ministry said: 'The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 6am (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.' But with the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender and accept Russia's now-expired ultimatum, the Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told BBC News the last defenders will 'fight until the end'. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end.' It comes as there was deadly shelling in Kharkiv over the weekend, which led to five people being killed and 13 injured, according to regional health officials. An illegal rave that attracted more than 1,000 people has been dispersed 21 hours after police first ordered revellers to leave the site. The crowds descended on a site close to the village of East Lulworth at around half-past midnight on Sunday, Dorset Police said. The force cordoned off roads and ordered people to leave using powers under the Public Order Act, but by 1pm the party was still in full swing. The force issued a plea to revellers not to cross military training land in a bid to get to the rave. At 9pm, Dorset Police said the last of the partygoers and vehicles had left. Officers were aided by the Ministry of Defence, Dorset Council and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to break up the rave. A post about the event on Dorset Police's Facebook page received more than 1,000 comments on Easter Sunday - mostly telling the force not to ruin the party and comparing it to lockdown rule-breaking by politicians. One Facebook user commented: "Well, from what I've heard they were only there for less than 10 minutes, and it's a business meeting. "Boris can do what he wants, so they can too. Why not try and find some real criminal behaviour?" Another said: "They're just having a bit of cake for 10 minutes to polish off the cheese and wine! "When the people that govern our country don't even follow the rules how can you expect a few peaceful, happy, music loving ravers to do so." Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said on Sunday evening: "Throughout the incident we worked in partnership with other public sector and military agencies to achieve the positive resolution. "Police officers entered the site and directed people to leave the scene of the unlawful gathering using powers under the Public Order Act." She continued: "Due to the large scale of the event and the inherent impact of dispersing such a high number of people, this process took some time. "In our operations we always have to balance enforcement activities with the safety of our officers and all those involved. "Making sure that a site is cleared without any escalation or moving the risk to our road network is always a difficult process." The deputy chief constable added a police presence would remain in the area and thanked local residents for their patience. The force said previously it would be investigating any criminal offences with a view to prosecution. Anyone with any information is urged to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 17:29, or by calling charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Roads heading to the site had been blocked by police cordons in the quiet village of West Holme, instead leading some people trying to get to the rave by crossing Army training land. Disgruntled locals have described a sound like 'rolling tanks and gunfire' keeping them up throughout the night and have since complained of the subsequent traffic chaos on the narrow lanes as tourists flock to the coast during a sunny Easter Sunday. But that did not stop the revelers, who were spotted dumping their cars and walking straight past the blockade. Thousands of ravers descended on a site close to the village of East Lulworth, Dorset (pictured walking towards the rave site on Sunday morning) It is thought the rave was taking place on land belonging to the Ministry of Defence near Bovington military base. The thinly stretched police force, which was at a loss as to how to tackle the rave, issued a plea to the party-goers on Facebook, writing: 'Please leave and go home immediately.' Graham Hunt, a local photographer, said: 'There are just two police officers here. They've blocked the road but people are just parking up and walking down there. They park their cars outside the road block, then just walk past the police. 'This is Ministry of Defence land - there are signs up with warnings that it's a firing range.' Charlotte Stanton, who keeps ponies in the area, said: 'It makes me nervous how close they are because of the fallout of intoxicated individuals wandering too close to my ponies.' Dorset Police force said that by 1pm on Sunday they were still trying to get partygoers to leave the area with the help of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, Dorset Council and the Ministry of Defence. Local reports claim that the rave is set to continue on until tomorrow. Pictured, ravers at the site last night on a video shared online Grant Emms, who owns a nearby campsite, said: 'I thought it was the tanks [at Bovington] first. I could hear this rumbling. Then I thought I heard what sounded like gun fire. 'I thought, "that's odd - they're firing in rhythm". 'It wasn't until later that I realised it was music. Only yesterday guests were telling me how lovely and quiet it is here! 'The road closure is going to be a real kick between the legs for small business at Durdle Door - it's the first weekend of the summer and people can't get to them.' People in Wareham and East Stoke have been disturbed by the music, with one person saying they can hear it at Lytchett Fields - 11 miles away. Local reports claim that the rave is set to continue on until tomorrow. Roads heading to the site have been blocked by police cordons in the quiet village of West Holme, instead leading some people trying to get to the rave by crossing Army training land (Ravers walking back from the rave site) Dorset Police's deputy chief constable de Reya said the illegal event had caused 'distress and disruption' to local residents and also to livestock on surrounding farmland. Ms de Reya said: 'We are working closely together with partner agencies to assess all options to bring the incident to a safe conclusion and try to manage the considerable risks associated with a large-scale unauthorised gathering. 'It will come as no surprise that emergency services are already busy on a beautiful sunny Easter weekend and such irresponsible behaviour is adding to the demand. 'As there are Army training sites in the area, those attending the event are potentially putting themselves in danger by crossing these locations.' Officers have entered the site and ordered all those present to leave using powers under the Public Order Act. Disgruntled locals have described a sound like 'rolling tanks and gunfire' keeping them up throughout the night and have since complained of the subsequent traffic chaos on the narrow lanes as tourists flock to the coast during a sunny Easter Sunday (revelers who have been spotted dumping their cars, pictured, and walking straight past the blockade) Ms de Reya said: 'Due to the large scale of the event and impacts of dispersing such high numbers, this process can take some time.' She also warned ravers they are at risk of sparking wildfires if they light campfires or barbeques in the area. She added: 'We will be investigating any criminal offences and ensure those found to be responsible are prosecuted.' Officers are conducting vehicle checks on the site and the surrounding areas, gathering body-worn camera footage, drone footage and video from police helicopters, Ms de Reya said. 'Again, I would like to send a direct message to those at the event - you are trespassing, please leave and go home immediately,' she said. One woman, who wished to be known as Katherine, is staying with family nearby. She said: 'I was woken up at four this morning and it's still very, very loud now. 'There's a police helicopter circling and the army range road has been closed off. 'They have indicated to us that there are about 2,000 people on the site. 'It's Easter Sunday- I want to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. It's very out of place for this area.' Another resident added: 'I've been awake since three this morning. People in Wareham and East Stoke have been disturbed by the music, with one person saying they can hear it at Lytchett Fields - 11 miles away (the B3070 road through the Ministry of Defence training area closed off by police) 'The low frequency throbbing has permeated our modern insulated home all night and it's still going on. 'Once again, the minority spoil it for everyone else on this holy day.' A woman who works at a local hotel and wishes not to be named said they were 'inundated' with complaints from guests throughout the night. Annie Lovelass said: 'What can the police do? We only have 15 officers to cover the whole of this side of the county. 'They blocked the roads as soon as they became aware but have very few powers. 'Whoever organised this is an inconsiderate a**hole.' Others called for the police to 'pull the plug' on electricity in the area. Cherry Brooks, a local councillor, said: 'There's been a lot of reaction on Facebook since early this morning. 'It's disrespectful, especially because it's happened on Easter Sunday. Many people within the area have family visiting - and a lot of people couldn't get any sleep. 'It woke me up around 4am. During the early hours people didn't know what it was. It's thoughtless behaviour.' A spokesman for Dorset Police said: 'We have received a number of calls from concerned and upset residents who have had their sleep disturbed by the noise levels coming from the event. 'We would like to send a direct message to those at the event - you are trespassing, please leave and go home immediately.' Anyone with any information is urged to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 1729, or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Donald Trump is wishing his rivals a 'Happy Easter' in a pair of bizarre back-to-back holiday messages on Sunday morning, extending a message of good health to 'Radical Left Maniacs' and New York Attorney General Letitia James. However in their respective messages, the ex-president also accused the 'Left' of trying to 'destroy the country' and called James -- who is investigating him for tax fraud -- a 'racist.' It's not a new move for Trump, whose holiday messages while in the White House would frequently point out he was extending the well-wishes to 'haters' and 'enemies' as well as his supporters. 'Happy Easter to all including the Radical Left Maniacs who are doing everything possible to destroy our Country,' Trump's first statement read. 'May they not succeed, but let them, nevertheless, be happy, healthy, wealthy, and well!' Less than an hour later, a message from the former president's Save America PAC read, 'Happy Easter to failed gubernatorial candidate and racist Attorney General Letitia James.' 'May she remain healthy despite the fact that she will continue to drive business out of New York while at the same time keeping crime, death, and destruction in New York!' Donald Trump's second of two Easter statements specifically targeted Letitia James, who is investigating his family real estate empire for tax fraud James' office is investigating Trump and his family's real estate empire for possible tax fraud. She had previously thrown her hat in the ring for the next Empire State governor's race though she withdrew to instead run for her current role again. Earlier this month the state attorney general filed a motion to hold Trump in contempt for failing to turn over documents by a previously agreed-upon deadline, and asked a judge to slap him with a $10,000 fine for every day he refuses to comply. Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said its ongoing criminal probe into Trump's family business is forging ahead despite reports that it had ground to a halt after producing a criminal indictment against its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. James is investigating the Trump Organization for allegedly using false or misleading information to obtain loans and secure deals -- a practice James previously claimed went on for at least a decade. 'The judges order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,' James said in a statement. 'Instead of obeying a court order, Mr. Trump is trying to evade it. We are seeking the courts immediate intervention because no one is above the law.' Trump has previously lashed out at both Bragg's and James' investigations as politically motivated 'witch hunts.' The first statement took broad aim at 'Radical Left Maniacs who are doing everything possible to destroy our Country' Sent less than an hour later, Trump's second statement mocked James for withdrawing from New York's gubernatorial race His Easter Sunday statement comes after Trump endorsed Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance in Ohio's hyper-competitive Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Senator Rob Portman. 'This is not an easy endorsement for me to make because I like and respect some of the other candidates in the racetheyve said great things about Trump and, like me, they love Ohio and love our Country,' Trump said on April 15. 'Ive studied this race closely and I think J.D. is the most likely to take out the weak, but dangerous, Democrat opponentdangerous because they will have so much money to spend. However, J.D. will destroy him in the debates and will fight for the MAGA Movement in the Senate.' Sunday's statement wishing his rivals good 'health' is also the second time Trump brought the matter up in recent days. For seemingly the first time, the ex-president appeared to give serious thought to not running the re-election in 2024. Though he hasn't yet formally announced a third campaign, Trump's public appearances in recent months nearly always include some form of a tease over the next presidential cycle. But he told the Washington Post in an April 7 interview that advisers are considering his health in weighing another run. 'You always have to talk about health. You look like youre in good health, but tomorrow, you get a letter from a doctor saying come see me again. Thats not good when they use the word again,' Trump said. Though he added: 'I dont want to comment on running, but I think a lot of people are going to be very happy by my decision.' Nicola Sturgeon was reported to the police yesterday for allegedly breaking Scottish Covid laws. Video showed the First Minister without a face mask during an SNP local election campaign visit to a barber shop on Saturday. Strict rules north of the border were still in force making face coverings in hair salons mandatory. They will finally be relaxed today. If found to have broken the law, Miss Sturgeon would face a 60 fixed penalty notice. She has repeatedly called on Boris Johnson to resign following his fine for breaching lockdown rules. The SNP claimed Miss Sturgeon was without her tartan mask only momentarily. Now you see it: Nicola Sturgeon seen wearing a mask in the barber shop in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday. The legal requirement to wear a face mask in indoor settings in Scotland moves into guidance on Monday Now you don't! Ms Sturgeon without the covering as she poses for a picture with another customer First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been reported to the police after being seen not wearing a mask during a visit to a barbers in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday Facemasks are still legally required in Scotland. pic.twitter.com/9dxazpy3QI Jamie Halcro Johnston MSP (@jhalcrojohnston) April 16, 2022 Footage showed the First Minister without a covering during a visit to a barbers in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, while on the council elections campaign trail on Saturday. It shows Ms Sturgeon mingling with customers and patting the head of a man in a barber's chair while mimicking the sound of an electric razor. A spokesperson for Police Scotland said yesterday: 'We can confirm that we have received a complaint which is currently being assessed.' Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: 'The video clearly shows Nicola Sturgeon isn't practicing what she preaches on facemasks. 'She's happy virtue signalling for official photos but behind closed doors it's clear she doesn't believe in her own rules so why should anyone else. 'This is blatant hypocrisy from the First Minister who has now shown her true colours. 'The public, who have been under these legal Covid restrictions for over two years, deserve an apology for this rule break.' In an official video posted to her Twitter account, Ms Sturgeon was seen wearing a tartan face mask during a visit to the Iconic Gents Hair barbers shop while shaving a man's bears. A spokesperson for the SNP said: 'The First Minister was invited into the barbers during an outdoor visit on the street. A spokesperson for the SNP said the First Minister, pictured here during local election campaigning at Dundee Law on Friday, 'immediately put it on' upon realising she wasn't wearing her mask 'Within a few seconds, she realised she hadn't put her mask back on and immediately put it on.' It comes after Ms Sturgeon was forced to apologise when she breached Covid rules by taking off her face mask at a funeral wake in December 2020. She described it as 'a stupid mistake', and said 'I'm really sorry'. The Scottish Government said the incident on Saturday was an issue for the party. Primordial Earth's atmosphere was unlike the present one as new data shows that lightning was not present until later in the planet's history. If one could go back into this earliest stage, less lighting would be seen. Lightning Not Present on Ancient Earth Going back four billion years to a hot planet, there was no chance of survival due to no oxygen developed in the atmosphere yet, reported Science Alert. Along with no oxygen, there was less lightning activity in the atmosphere, which was believed to affect the earliest life's critical development, which is a stark difference. This might change any theories that imply lightning was involved in the emergence of life on our planet. The multitude of lightning strikes that happened when Earth was young 4 billion years ago may have unlocked the necessary amount of phosphorus to create the foundation for life, according to a new study https://t.co/uvDyux4A2v CNN (@CNN) March 16, 2021 These estimations are affected if lightning strikes were less frequent on the early Earth than initially anticipated, cited Phys Org. Studying streamer charges that started proto-lightning caused an electrified side effect that could explain how the dense atmosphere developed. Dense carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen were present in the early earth. Physicist Christoph Kohn, Technical University of Denmark; stated the nitrogen and carbon atmosphere these stronger electric fields were needed to jumpstart lightning activity. Electron avalanches are excited electrons accelerating and colliding that lead to streamer chargers. How the atmosphere affects electrical activity concerns scientists studying how lightning came to be, but there is a missing link. Hypotheses on Atmosphere of Primordial Earth Scientists don't know precisely what the primordial Earth was just like, which makes matters more confusing. The scientists used the hypothesis of geoscientist James Kasting on carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the ancient atmosphere, which he suggested in the 1990s, per Science Org. Read Also: Climate Change Influences Human Evolution Since the Days of the First Hominid Until the Existence of Modern Man A suggestion by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, first published in the 50s, says that the atmosphere was abundant with methane and ammonia in the first billion years of the proto-Earth. The two scientists said that lightning is a significant factor that began the chemicals of proto-life using gas-filled flasks. It is this that shifted the idea of atmosphere compression. Lightning Sparks Earliest Life on Earth Members of the study agreed that the Miller-Urey combination formation at lower fields and partly in Modern Earth than Kasting's mixture, suggesting that storms in Early Earth's atmosphere might be more challenging to plant the idea than previously thought. The process produces and builds probiotic molecules created via proto lightning in the early atmosphere but would not be valid if new ideas were correct. The study says there are too many questions about how lightning came to be in the early atmosphere, though it can impact how frequent they were then. Scientists who took part in the making of the hypothesis say that fine-tuning is needed in the study of the lightning strike process and what chemicals made up the ancient atmosphere. Kohn says if the lighting started the chain reaction of life on earth, then how it happened is crucial, like where the first chemicals came from. According to American Geophysical Union, this study regarding how primordial earth developed the first lightning in the ancient atmosphere kickstarting life on earth. Related Article: Argon Gas Trapped in Ice Core From Antarctica Found To Exist in Ancient Earth Atmosphere, Study Says &amp;nbsp;allowfullscreen&amp;gt; @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning the war in Ukraine according to Austrian leader Karl Nehammer, whose comments were published this weekend as more rockets rained down on Kharkiv on Easter Sunday. The latest barrage of missiles to hit the besieged city of Kharkiv has left at least five people dead and more than a dozen injured, Ukrainian officials have said. The bombardment of rockets slammed into blocks of flats and left broken glass, debris and the part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Firefighters and residents scrambled to douse flames in several buildings that caught fire. Maksym Khaustov, the head of the Kharkiv region's health department confirmed the deaths following a series of strikes that AFP journalists on the scene said had ignited fires throughout the city and tore roofs from buildings hit in the attacks. Like Mariupol, the north-east city of Kharkiv has been an ongoing target of Russian aggression since the early days of the invasion and has seen conditions deteriorate ahead of the eastern offensive. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met Putin last week in Moscow, said he thinks the Russian president believes the war is necessary for his country's security. 'I think he is now in his own war logic,' Nehammer said in an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press', portions of which were released Saturday. I think he believes he is winning the war.' Adding to tit-for-tat sanctions imposed since the invasion began, Russia said Saturday it was banning entry to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several other top officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning the war in Ukraine according to Austrian leader Karl Nehammer, whose comments were published this weekend as more rockets rained down on Kharkiv on Easter Sunday (pictured) Strikes in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv in the north east of the war-scarred country has left five dead and 13 injured The latest barrage of rockets which reigned down on the city of Kharkiv on Sunday has left at least five people dead and more than a dozen injured, Ukrainian officials have said. Pictured: Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at an apartment building Pictured: An injured woman lies on the sidewalk during a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine Pictured: Medics help a woman who is taken to an ambulance after being injured in a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv The foreign ministry accused London of 'unprecedented hostile actions', in particular referring to sanctions on senior Russian officials, and 'pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons'. Moscow's new entry blacklist includes Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Johnson paid a surprise visit to Kyiv a week earlier, and was filmed walking through the capital's empty streets with Zelensky. Britain has been part of an international effort to punish Russia with asset freezes, travel bans and economic sanctions, while several Western countries have supplied Ukraine with extensive weaponry. Russia warned the United States this week of 'unpredictable consequences' if it sends its 'most sensitive' weapons systems to Ukraine. Its defence ministry claimed Saturday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. Zelensky meanwhile issued a fresh warning about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons as the conflict wears on - echoing comments by CIA director William Burns this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told CNN that Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an 'existential threat'. Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers vowed to 'fight until the end' after Russia issued a chilling warning to the final troops defending the besieged city of Mariupol - but Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Kremlin is trying to 'destroy everyone there'. A city in ruins: Thick grey smoke rises over an apartment building after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Easter Sunday A man stands in a destroyed building in the residential area that was hit by the Russian artillery shelling, in Kharkiv A damaged apartment in the residential area that was hit by the Russian artillery shelling in Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen run for cover as explosions are heard during a Russian attack in downtown Kharkiv Russia gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die', urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 1:00pm, on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the urban area of the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. In a statement, the defence ministry said: 'The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 6am (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared.' But with the last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol refusing to surrender and accept Russia's now-expired ultimatum, the Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko, told BBC News the last defenders will 'fight until the end'. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end.' Goncharenko referred to the continuing siege of Mariupol as 'a real genocide' and said it was considered that 'more than 20,000 people' have been killed in the port city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin 'is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there' and asked the West for more heavy weapons immediately to have any chance of saving the port city on the Sea of Azov as Russian air strikes continue. 'Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade,' he said, 'or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive.' Pictured: Firefighters work to extinguish fire at an apartments building after a Russian attack in Kharkiv on Easter Sunday Pictured: A man runs back into his burning building after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv on Easter Sunday A medical worker with men carry a body of a killed civilian to an ambulance in the area that was hit by artillery shelling Were it to fall, it would be the the first major city to be taken by Russian forces since the invasion began on February 24. In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. 'During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunitions factory near the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv region,' Russia's defence ministry said, the third such air strike near the capital in as many days. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol, which Moscow's forces claim to have brought under their control, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks. Earlier, Mr Zelensky had told Ukrainian journalists that the situation in Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the Azovstal steel mill, where tunnels allow the defenders to hide and resist until they run out of ammunition. The Russians already control what is left of the city after weeks of bombardment. Striking the steel plant to take the rest is part of Russia's preparations for the anticipated assault in eastern Ukraine. President Zelensky has admitted the situation in Mariupol remains 'extremely severe' and called on the west to provide the country with heavy weaponry Moscow gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die' by 3am GMT on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. Pictured: Illich Steel and Iron Works in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine A view shows a residential building, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol A woman sits on a bench at a bus stop, which was damaged during a Russian assault in the southern port city of Mariupol Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine People walk past a residential building, which was destroyed during a Russian assault in the southern port city of Mariupol People take belongings out of a residential building, which was destroyed during the conflict in the port city of Mariupol People take belongings out of a building, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the port city of Mariupol A man walks near a residential building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Pictured: A man rides a bicycle near a destroyed tank during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. Pictured: An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol Ukrainian fighters are putting up a hellish last stand in tunnels under an abandoned Stalingrad-esque Azovstal steel plant (pictured) in Mariupol as Russian forces close in on the besieged port city. Pictured: The Azovstal Steel and Iron Works facility Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine , is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases at the steelworks (pictured) hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers . Pictured: The view from inside the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works facility The Ukrainian MP for Odesa, Oleksiy Goncharenko (pictured), told BBC News that the last defenders in Mariupol won't surrender to Russia. He said: 'I spoke with them yesterday, and I know that they're going to fight until the end' But despite the offer, there have been no reports of soldiers laying down their arms with Kyiv yet to respond to the statement - as Russian air strikes continue on Mariupol, according to Ukraine's military Russian servicemen on Tuesday secured Mariupol's Drama Theatre which was destroyed in a missile strike on March 16 At least 300 people died when Mariupol's drama theatre (pictured, Russian servicemen secure the destroyed building) was targeted in a Russian missile strike, despite being marked 'children' Mariupol's partially destroyed drama theatre which was hit on March 16 by a Russian airstrike as part of an intense campaign by Moscow's forces who are trying to take the city Service members of pro-Russian troops load rocket-propelled grenades into an infantry combat vehicle amid fighting near the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol Crosses are placed at a burial site of local residents killed in Mariupol as Russian forces continue a brutal siege of the city Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said on Telegram that despite Russia's ''surrender corridor' for the remaining troops' in the city, 'our defenders continue to hold the defence'. Andriushchenko added: 'During the fighting, the occupiers shelled private residential houses with heavy artillery again.' Experts say the fall of Mariupol, seen as strategically vital for Russian plans to attack eastern Ukraine, is inevitable. But holdouts in their underground bases hope to make conquering the Sea of Azov port as hard as possible for the attackers. The urban landscape of the Azovstal steelworks where Ukrainian forces, who took refuge at the site following reports Russia had used chemical weapons, plan to take on the invaders seems almost tailor-made for guerrilla warfare, with sprawling rail lines, warehouses, coal furnaces, factories, chimneys and tunnels. The maze-like area is a metal works complex, Azovstal, owned by Metinvest, which has been the focus of urban fighting in Mariupol, just like the nearby Azovmash factory which makes rail components, cranes and other large metal structures. Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, has seen the worst fighting of the seven-week-long war. Home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion, the city has been reduced to rubble by Russian shelling. Over 20,000 civilians are believed to have been killed, tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, and countless numbers have fled. It is one of a number of sites were international investigators believe war crimes have taken place - including the bombing of a maternity war and of a theatre sheltering hundreds of people. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland and the focus of the anticipated offensive. Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, said on Sunday that Mariupol's defenders have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described the city as a 'shield defending Ukraine' that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Ms Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and appeared to be preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. Meanwhile, scattered Russian attacks elsewhere in Ukraine were an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat from an invasion now in its eighth week. In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea Russia says it blew up a Ukrainian munitions factory near Kyiv overnight using cruise missiles fired from ships in the Black Sea (pictured being launched) Moscow says the factory was used to manufacture the same kinds of missiles that were used to sink the Moskva, its Black Sea flagship, on Thursday After failing to capture Ukraine's capital and the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command vowed to step up missile strikes on the capital, Kyiv. The Russians said they hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. He advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. 'We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital,' he said. 'If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it.' Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with 'air-launched high-precision long-range weapons'. Russia warns the US to stop arming Ukraine Russia told the US to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, warning of 'unpredictable consequences' if it continues to do do. The warning was delivered in the form of an official diplomatic note, which was seen by the Washington Post. It said that American and NATO shipments of the 'most sensitive' weapons were 'adding fuel' to the conflict, which is now nearing its second month. The two-page note was delivered after Biden had agreed to a new $800million delivery of military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and shells, helicopters and armoured personnel carriers. 'What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we've been telling the world publicly that the massive amount of assistance that we've been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,' a senior US official said about the note. Advertisement The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling in eight regions across the country between Friday and Saturday. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported air strikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighbouring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the north-east, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. The workers said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. 'All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too,' recounted resident Valentina Ulianova. The day before, rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, killing a 15-year-old boy, an infant and at least eight other people in Ukraine's second-largest city, officials said. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Mr Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow - the first European leader to do so since the invasion began February 24 - said the Russian president is 'in his own war logic' on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Mr Nehammer said he thinks Mr Putin believes he is winning the war and 'we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine'. Mr Nehammer said he told Mr Putin what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and 'it was not a friendly conversation'. Mr Zelensky estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said on Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Ms Vereshchuk said on Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians 'without any conditions,' she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Russian Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried on Saturday in St Petersburg after dying in battle, Governor Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. It comes as the UK's Ministry of Defence gave an intelligence update on Sunday morning and said 'Russian forces continue to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine'. Russian missile strikes on military facility near Kyiv - linked to the production of missiles that hit Russian warship Moskva They wrote: 'Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country where Russia plans to renew its offensive activity. 'Though Russia's operational focus has shifted to eastern Ukraine, Russia's ultimate objective remains the same. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance. ' This comes as Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to bring a catastrophic end to its invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky warned last night - as he urged the world to 'prepare' for the worst by stocking up on anti-radiation medicine and building air raid shelters. The comedian-turned-war time leader made the doomsday warning during an interview with national media, before sharing the clip via his Telegram channel. He made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that desperate Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. The Russian strongman ramped up his offensive today, taking revenge on Ukraine for the downing of his Moskva warship on Thursday, by mercilessly shelling eight towns including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv. Elsewhere, a second British fighter was paraded on TV after being captured by Russian forces in Mariupol, while Russia lost its eighth top general in the latest blow to Putin's botched war. It comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN in a recent interview that Moscow would use a nuclear weapon on Ukraine in the case of an 'existential threat', while Russian military doctrine includes the 'escalate to de-escalate' principle of launching a small nuke to regain the initiative in war. Zelensky said tonight: 'We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use nuclear weapons... We must prepare for that.' Communal workers clear buildings destroyed following bombardment, killing two people and injuring eighteen others, in Kharkiv on Saturday Zelensky made a similar announcement on Friday, when he said it could not be ruled out that desperate Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would use tactical nukes, as his war against Ukraine continues to stall. (Pictured: Putin on a guided tour of guided missile cruiser Moskva, which sunk this week and may have been carrying nuclear weapons) A man stands in a building with a collapsed facade at the Vizar company military-industrial complex, after the site was hit by overnight Russian strikes, in the town of Vyshneve, near Kyiv, on April 15, 2022 There are fears that Russia's sunken Moskva cruiser (pictured) could have been carrying nuclear warheads when it was sunk on Thursday The neptune anti-ship missile believed to have sunk the Moskva this week A Russian military convoy moves on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol, Ukraine, on Saturday Service members of pro-Russian troops ride on armoured vehicles in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict on a road leading to the city of Mariupol An ambulance car is wrecked following a military strike by Russian forces in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk, on Saturday A Ukrainian soldier waits in position amid Russian attacks in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk on Saturday Ukrainian service members pictured Saturday as they rest on a street in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk A mother hugs her daughter as they wait for a bus to flee from Sloviansk city, in Donetsk district, to travel to Rivne , in western Ukraine, on Saturday Local residents Serhii and Liubov stand next to their house, destroyed during Russia's invasion in the village of Kukhari, in Kyiv region on Saturday Members of the Ukrainian military walk amid debris after a shopping center and surrounding buildings were hit by a Russian missile strike on April 16, 2022 in Kharkiv Damaged Ukrainian Army military trucks are pictured in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, on Saturday The gutted remains of vehicles are seen at Mariupol's Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second largest such business in Ukraine A Mariupol resident looks at a damaged apartment building following heavy fighting on Saturday Servicemen of Donetsk People's Republic militia walk past damaged apartment buildings in Mariupol on Saturday Mystery surrounds fate of Moskva crew as Russia claims they are safe and well in short video Mystery last night surrounded the fate of the crew of Russia's lost Black Sea flagship as Ukraine claimed they had all perished while Russia broadcast footage that it claimed was of the sailors safe and well. In a humiliation for the Kremlin and Russia's navy, the Moskva sank on Thursday shortly after being struck by two Neptune anti-ship missiles. It took the Kremlin a day to acknowledge that the guided missile cruiser had been lost, although it claimed the vessel went down as it was being towed to port after a fire broke out on board. Ukraine yesterday claimed the entire 510 crew of 12,500-ton vessel, including Anton Kuprin, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, had died. If true, it would represent the Russian navy's greatest loss of life at sea since World War II. Natalia Gumeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military forces, said: 'We saw that other ships tried to assist it, but even the forces of nature were on Ukraine's side because the storm made both the rescue operation and crew evacuations impossible.' The Russian defence ministry denied those claims and insisted the crew had been successfully evacuated and returned to their base in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Last night, a 38-second video emerged on social media that claimed to show the crew being greeted by Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander of the Russian Navy, in a military parade in Crimea. The veracity of the footage could not be verified and several dozen people were pictured on Friday holding a vigil in a town square in Sevastopol. A wreath left by a Russian navy monument bore the message: 'To the Moskva and its crew.' Advertisement Anti-radiation medicine and air raid shelters would be needed, he said, adding that the Russians 'can use any weapon, I'm convinced of it'. The interview was broadcast by six Ukrainian news websites. It came after a tough day of shelling from Russian forces as they sought revenge over the sinking of the Moskva flagship, which is believed to have seen most of the roughly 500 crew perish - although 54 were rescued by a Turkish vessel, according to Lithuanian authorities. It represented Russia's biggest single naval loss since 1945 - although Russia last night broadcast footage claiming the sailors were safe and well. Satellite images released Saturday showed the pride of Putin's Black Sea Fleet burning while other vessels are scrambled to rescue those onboard before it sank. Radar satellite imagery of the northern Black Sea on April 13 appears to pinpoint the Soviet-era Moskva warship, which Ukraine said was struck by two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries near the port city of Odesa. Other vessels are also seen in attendance, with reports suggesting they are rescue vessels. Naval News found the Moskva in satellite imagery that employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR), technology that can 'see' through clouds. The satellite which took the image passed over the area at around 6.30pm local time on Wednesday, the publication said. It pinpointed the coordinates of a ship matching the Russian vessel and its dire situation to 4510'43.39N, 3055'30.54E - a position east of Snake Island in the Black Sea, 80 nautical miles from Odesa and 50 nautical miles away from the closest stretch of Ukrainian coastline. 'Based on analysis by multiple people, we are confident that this shows Moskva's final hours,' Naval News said in its report. The sinking this week sparked a number of 'revenge attacks' by Putin's forces yesterday. Darnyts'kyi, a suburb in south Kyiv, was among the first to be hit before dawn, when a tank repair factory was blown up, killing one. Four cruise missiles were then fired on Lviv, which Ukraine intelligence says were shot down before they could inflict carnage. But another Ukrainian was killed and 18 injured when a warship-launched missile rocked Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet - the Soviet-era guided missile destroyer Moskva - has suffered heavy damage and may have sunk after Ukraine claimed to have shot it with two anti-ship cruise missiles Moskva could have been carrying warheads to fit into the tip of its Moskva's P-1000 supersonic cruise missiles, which are designed to take out American aircraft carriers Radar satellite imagery of the Black Sea on April 13 appears to pinpoint the Moskva warship, which Ukraine said was struck by two Neptune cruise missiles fired by one of its batteries near the port city of Odesa. Other vessels are seen in attendance There was also a missile blitz on the port city of Mykolaiv, where a military vehicle workshop was destroyed, according to Russia, as well as intense shelling in Donbas, Mariupol and Luhansk, which is set to be the focus of Putin's fresh offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian troops had died in the war, with 10,000 injured. The United Nations said it had confirmed the deaths of 1,982 Ukrainian civilians, but that figure does not include those killed in blockaded cities such as Mariupol. It comes as a second British fighter was captured in the besieged city before being paraded on TV on Saturday. Ex-British Army soldier Shaun Pinner, 48, was known to have been serving as a Royal Anglian veteran with Kyiv's forces fighting off the Russian invasion. Looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds, he said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. I was captured in Mariupol. 'I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marine. I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People's Republic.' His capture comes after Russia seized 28-year-old former care worker Aiden Aslin on Tuesday. He had also been fighting in Ukraine. There is concern for his safety amid fears that he could treated as a spy by the Kremlin. Brit fighter Shaun Pinner has been captured by Russian forces after surrendering in Mariupol. He was paraded on Russian television looking clean-shaven with no visible wounds. He said on the broadcast: 'I am Shaun Pinner' Shaun Pinner, 48, was fighting side by side with Ukrainian marines to defend the key strategic port of Mariupol He reportedly told his Russians captors that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home' Pinner was shown on a military TV channel linked to war journalist Andrey Rudenko. He reportedly told the Russians that 'he doesn't want war and wants to go home'. Pinner now faces interrogation by the Russian Investigative Committee, it was announced yesterday. 'This is the second Englishman caught in Mariupol,' the TV report added. His fate in the hands of the Russians and the separatist authorities in Donetsk remains uncertain. Meanwhile, Russia lost its eighth general Saturday since the start of the invasion. Major General Vladimir Frolov, deputy commander of the 8th Guards Combined Arms unit, was given a military funeral in St Petersburg yesterday. It's not known how or where he died, but the timing of his funeral suggests Frolov was killed in the past few days. His 8th Combined Arms Army was fighting in Kherson, near Crimea last month when commander Andrei Mordvichev was killed. Frolov was buried in St Petersburg today after being killed in an unspecified part of Ukraine Lt Col Miras Bashakov (left) is the 34th colonel killed in the war, while Denis Mezhuev (right) died last week Frolov 'sacrificed his life so that children, women and the elderly in Donbas would not hear bombs exploding again', the St Petersburg governor said as his friend was laid to rest. The general was from a military family and 'died the death of the brave in battle against Ukrainian nationalists', Alexander Beglov added. He was 'a true patriot, a brave and courageous man' who 'honestly and to the end fulfilled his military and human duty. 'People will not forget their heroes. Eternal memory to him.' Russia also lost its 34th colonel of the war, tank battalion commander Miras Bashakov, according to reports yesterday. He became the 42nd high-ranking officer known to have died in a war that has haemorrhaged Putin's top brass. The scale of the death toll invalidates Putin's claim that his 'special military operation' is going according to plan. It came after Zelensky had warned on Friday that the world should be worried about the threat Putin poses as he becomes increasingly desperate, echoing comments made by CIA director William Burns. Mr Burns said Thursday that Russia's battlefield setbacks raised the risk that Putin could deploy a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon. It came after the Kremlin said it had placed Russian nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the assault began on February 24, although the US says it has not seen any sign of unusual nuclear movements. US President Joe Biden is 'deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which nuclear conflict becomes possible,' said Burns. Zelensky reportedly personally asked President Biden to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism a move with substantial implications for trade and sanctions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons Biden did not commit on the subject, sources told the Washington Post. Such a designation would lead to economic sanctions on nations that continue to do business with Russia, as well as freezing Russian assets in the US. He spoke a day after Burns issued his warning in a speech April 14, in which he said: 'Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.' US officials have long warned that Putin could resort to increasingly reckless actions, particularly after major setbacks in its invasion, including the failure to take Kyiv or decapitate the regime, substantial troop losses and destruction of heavy armour. The US this week said it was not able to confirm Ukrainian claims that a Russian drone had dropped a chemical weapon on the besieged city of Mariupol due to distance from the alleged event. The Azov regiment said a 'poisonous substance of unknown origin' was released on Monday. Leaders have repeatedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine The fears of a Russian use of tactical nuclear weapons comes after relentless conventional strikes on Ukraine Russia warned of 'unpredictable consequences' after the U.S. announced the latest in a series of aid packages for Ukraine this time including helicopters, 155 mm howitzer long-range artillery, and Switchblade drones as part of the $800 million effort. Russia's invasion, which began in late February, has already brought fears of a nuclear accident, after Russian troops seized and then later abandoned the Chernobyl nuclear plant after holding Ukrainian plant workers hostage for weeks. Russian forces also fired on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. And there are concerns Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, could have been carrying nuclear warheads when it was sunk this week. The Soviet-era guided missile cruiser, sank near the port of Sevastopol on Thursday after Ukraine said it hit the ship with two cruise missiles. Moscow claims it was due to a fire on board, and says it sank in part due to 'stormy sea conditions.' Pentagon officials said Friday the US assessment is that Ukrainian forces struck the ship with two Neptune missiles. Ukrainian rescuers put out a fire on a storehouse after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 13 April 2022. The city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has witnessed repeated airstrikes from Russian forces including satellite cities 'Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,' said Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns Russia then launched a series of cruise missile strikes on Ukraine overnight in revenge for the sinking saying it struck a factory near Kyiv that made the weapons used against Moskva. The strikes illustrated how Moscow can still launch rocket attacks on Ukraine even after withdrawing its forces that had sought to encircle Kyiv. Mykhailo Samus, director of a Lviv-based military think-tank; Andriy Klymenko, editor of Black Sea News; and Ukrainian newspaper Defense Express all warned that the Moskva could have been carrying two nuclear warheads designed to be fitted to its P-1000 'carrier killer' missiles. If true, the loss of the warheads into the Black Sea could spark a 'Broken Arrow' incident - American military slang for potentially lethal accidents involving nuclear weapons. 'On board the Moskva could be nuclear warheads - two units,' Samus said, while Klymenko called on other Black Sea nations - Turkey, Romania, Georgia, and Bulgaria - to insist on an explanation. 'Where are these warheads? Where were they when the ammunition exploded,' he asked. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff appear to have served wine produced in Israel's West Bank settlements for their Passover seder -- despite the Biden administration's opposition to the annexed territory. It was the first known time the Jewish holiday dinner was hosted at the Vice President's residence. Emhoff posted a photo of the couple and their aides gathered around a traditionally-set table late on Friday night, writing on Twitter: 'Tonight, @VP and I were honored to celebrate Passover with our hardworking staff by holding a Seder at the Vice Presidents Residence.' 'Whether youre celebrating with your family, your work family, or the family you have chosen, we wish you all a Happy Passover!' But of two bottles of wine on the table, the label on one appears to be similar to that of Psagot Winery's Malbec red wine. Psagot Winery is located just outside of the West Bank settlement of Psagot, and was the site of a controversial visit from then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in November 2020. It even has a wine named after him in a show of appreciation. Such settlements in the West Bank, however, are viewed as illegal under international law. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff posted an image of the first known Passover seder celebrated at the Vice President's residence on Friday night One bottle of wine on their table appears to have come from the West Bank-based Psagot Winery DailyMail.com reached out to the vice president's office to ask for confirmation and was referred to a Saturday night statement by Harris spokesperson Herbie Ziskend. 'The wine served at the Seder was in no way intended to be an expression of policy,' Ziskend wrote. The detail was first pointed out by Jewish news wire service Jewish Telegraphic Agency. If the wine came from Psagot, as the label appears, Harris and Emhoff's choice would be a departure from President Joe Biden's staunch opposition to Israeli settlements. The State Department sharply rebuked an announcement from Tel Aviv late last year about a further expansion into the West Bank -- territory that Palestinians want to retain for a future state. 'We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution,' State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in October. It's a departure from the Trump administration's embrace of its ties with Israel, to the outrage of Palestinians and the greater international community that feared the US strongly backing Israel could destabilize the fragile peace in the region and jeopardize hope of a two-state solution. During his time in office Donald Trump officially recognized Israel's capital as Jerusalem, and Pompeo's visit to Psagot as well as Golan Heights was widely seen as legitimizing Israel's claim to the West Bank. Pompeo contradicted years of US policy when he claimed those settlements did not run afoul of international law. The label for the winery's Malbec variety (second from left) looks similar to the one on Harris' and Emhoff's table The winery is not far from the settlement community of Psagot. Such settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, something Israel disputes The former Trump official criticized a 2019 ruling by the European Court of Justice that ordered products from Psagot Winery and other goods made in illegal Israeli settlements to have their origin labeled. The court decided the products could no longer be said to have been 'made in Israel' and consumers deserved to make 'informed choices' when shopping. In return for the statement, Psagot Winery named a red variety after Pompeo that it still sells on the company site. 'The [Trump] administrations message is extremely important and strengthens our ongoing fight against the boycott and hypocrisy campaign that the European Court of Justice has given,' Psagot CEO Yaakov Berg said in a 2019 statement. 'The support the winery has received in the United States and the many efforts the winery put into this matter has contributed to the publication of this message. We will continue this just and moral struggle.' Pompeo even went back for a visit as recently as October 2021, the Jerusalem Post reports. The winery has a bottle named after Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his condemnation of a European Court of Justice ruling that required goods produced in the West Bank to be marked as such. He spoke there as recently as October 2021 (pictured) He said during the trip that Israel had the right to build on the territory Psagot Winery sat on and said Israel was 'not an apartheid state.' Hours before Harris appears to have had the controversial wine at her dinner table, Biden released his own statement marking Passover and using it to extend thoughts to the Ukrainians currently grappling with a brutal Russian invasion. 'Together again, we will commemorate the Exodus of the enslaved Israelites from Egypt. And we will retell a timeless story about that most human quest for freedom. Redemption. Faith. Hope. And, ultimately, deliverance,' Biden said. 'A story that has brought solace and a sense of promise to Jewish communities throughout their history as they endured acts of persecution, pogroms, and even genocide.' He later went on, 'This Passover, we hold in our hearts the people of Ukraine and those around the world whose heroic stand against tyranny inspires us all. 'The enduring spirit of this holiday continues to teach us that with faith, the driest desert can be crossed, the mightiest sea can be split, and hope never stops marching towards the promised land.' Emmanuel Macron's official photographer has released a series of behind-the-scenes pictures ahead of the second round of voting for the presidential election. Mr Macron can be seen in one photograph in an unbuttoned shirt, with his chest - along with noticeable chest hair - facing towards the camera. The casual image of the French president has him with one arm lazing across the back of a mustard yellow sofa, and his other arm with a slightly rolled sleeve. Mr Macron can be seen in one photograph in an unbuttoned shirt, with is chest towards the camera In the candid pictures, the French president bears a resemblance to Bond actor Sean Connery and star Burt Reynolds - both known for their bountiful chest hair. Social media users also compared the French premier to fuzzy-chested Roger Federer. Mr Macron is running hoping to beat far-Right politician Marine Le Pen in the election. To do so, he will need to galvanise some support from the young who has surprisingly warmed to Marine Le Pen compared to her previous runs. With 12 candidates in the first round whittled down to two, now they must seek to appeal to the circa 50 per cent of voters who had other first-choice preferences. In past elections at national, regional and municipal levels, left- and right-wing voters have historically united to block the far right from power, a phenomenon known as a 'republican front'. Analysts say the left-wing vote could likely be split, with a third going to Macron, a third going to Le Pen and a third abstaining. The pair going head-to-head is a repeat of the 2017 presidential election, when the first-round results were 24.01 per cent for Macron, and 21.03 per cent for Le Pen. Macron then went on to beat Le Pen with a resounding 66 per cent in the second round. In the candid pictures, the French president bears a resemblance to Bond actor Sean Connery and star Burt Reynolds - both known for their bountiful chest hair But experts say this election will be very different with voters disillusioned after five years of the centrist president's globalist and pro-European policies, with Le Pen seeking to unite voters with her anti-Macron message. Ms Le Pen was popular with young voters in a poll earlier this month that suggested many felt aligned with her concerns on the cost of living crisis. Others found comfort in her other policies, which include strong views on the French identity, and Islam. Earlier this week, Mr Macron said that Ms Le Pen has a secret 'Frexit' plan to follow Britain out of the European Union and create a right-wing alliance with Poland and Hungary. The head of state made the claim in the middle of an election campaign that could see Ms Le Pen taking his job within two weeks. Social media users also compared the French premier to fuzzy-chested Roger Federer 'She wants to leave but dare not dare say so, and that's never good' said Mr Macron, as he discussed his bitter rival's policies towards the EU at a rally in eastern France. 'She says that she wants an alliance of nation states, but she is going to find herself in a corner and she is going to try to come up with an alliance with her friends.' Mr Macron said French voters were too loyal to Europe to accept a 'Frexit', and so Ms Le Pen would attack the bloc from within after teaming up with the populist governments 'in Poland and Hungary'. 'It would be a strange club,' said Mr Macron. 'I don't think it is a club that would be good for France. I don't think it would be good for Europe.' Mr Macron is a passionate Europhile who once described Brexit as 'a crime' delivered by dishonest politicians. A pair of Arizona diversity, equity and inclusion 'experts' have been blasted for falsely accusing an African-American DJ of wearing blackface at an event. Jill Lassen and Stuart Rhoden, who advocate for diversity at the Scottsdale Unified School District in various capacities, wrote scathing letters of complaint after DJ Kim Koko Hunter appeared at a PTA event, and they mistook him for a white man. Stuart and Rhoden have since apologized, with some noting the irony of 'diversity and inclusion' activists rushing to such false conclusions. But Rhoden also sought to double down on his initial allegation, and speculated as to whether Hunter may have used cosmetic products to make his skin appear darker. 'When you are so hell bent on pointing out everyone as a racist, only to uncover yourself as the racist,' one person tweeted. The PTA at Hopi Elementary in Phoenix hired Hunter to entertain the crowd at its largest fundraiser of the year on April 9. It was a success, and drew in over $300,000 for 'essential programs and services' that are not paid for by the Scottsdale Unified School District. But Lassen and Rhoden decided to take umbrage with Hunter's skin-tone, after mistaking him for a white man in a racist outfit according to the Arizona Daily Independent. The pair complained about the apparent racist incident to the school's principal and the head of the PTA, who quickly clarified that Hunter is actually a black man. Hunter, the Scottsdale school district and the Hopi PTA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DailyMail.com. DJ Kim Koko Hunter (second from right) was hired to play at a fundraiser for Hopi Elementary's PTA in Phoenix on April 9 The DJ, who has 1,500 followers on Instagram, posted video from the 1970s-themed event showing him rollerskating in a shiny gold shirt and sunglasses Stuart Rhoden and Jill Lassen, who advocate for diversity at the Scottsdale school district, complained about Hunter's appearance to the school's principal and PTA head Kim Koko Hunter played at the Hopi Elementary PTA's 'Hopi Night Fever' fundraiser on April 9. The event brought in more than $300,000, according to Scottsdale schools activist Amanda Wray. The DJ has 1,500 followers on Instagram, where he posted videos of himself in 1970s, Disco-inspired attire at the event, complete with roller skates and a shiny, gold shirt. The irony of the diversity advocates' rash judgement was mocked on social media After the fundraiser, Stuart Rhoden reportedly emailed the principal complaining about Hunter. Rhoden is an instructor at Arizona State University who also serves on the Scottsdale school district's Equity and Inclusion Committee. He questioned the PTA's acceptance of blackface, wherein a person, usually white, paints their skin to portray a black person. The practice has roots in early 19th century American theater and is now widely considered racist. In a Facebook post last week, he apologized to 'dude' for the mistake, only to then double-down and suggest that Hunter was wearing makeup to make himself look darker. 'Let me be clear, a Black man, apparently in Black face is an entirely different discussion than a White person. However I did not state that the person was White. 'It was assumed that was my intent, and perhaps it was, but nonetheless, looking on his FB page (photos below), it seems at the very least he is in darker make-up if not "Black face" or I am completely mistaken and it's the lighting of the patio,' Rhoden said. 'So here's what I want to say. I apologize to dude for the implication, but the sentiment still stands, Black face by anyone, in this day and age is problematic. I also apologize to folks who reposted and made other statements based on my assumption.' In a Facebook apology, Rhoden suggested that Hunter was wearing makeup to make himself look darker Hunter played at the Hopi Elementary PTA's 'Hopi Night Fever' fundraiser on April 9. The event brought in more than $300,000, according to one public schools activist Rhoden wasn't the only one who took offense to Hunter's appearance. Jill Lassen, co-chair of the Scottsdale Parent Council's diversity, equity and inclusion committee, also sent out an email complaining about the incident, according to the Arizona Daily Independent. PTA head Megan Livengood responded, 'I am deeply offended by this email even with the included apology. 'The Scottsdale Parent Council is an organization that claims to encourage diversity and inclusion; accusing the Hopi PTA and myself a hiring a DJ that participated in racist behavior is absolutely against your mission.' Livengood added: 'The DJ that the Hopi PTA hire was, in fact a Black man.' Lassen apologized profusely in a follow-up email. 'You are right, we should've reached out and inquired before making such accusations. I cannot fathom the hurt, anger and frustration you felt after you and others volunteered countless hours on your event,' wrote Lassen, who describes herself as an 'ardent community volunteer, activist, and ally to the LGBTQ+ community.' 'Again I truly apologize. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and not harbor resentment towards SPC.' The accusations have garnered some ridicule on social media, with one person tweeting: 'More DEI. It's working.' The fundraiser was meant to raise money for 'essential programs and services' at Hopi Elementary (above) that are not paid for by the Scottsdale Unified School District Amanda Wray, the school activist, says the pair's apologies aren't enough. 'When these community activists were informed that their accusations were wrong, they didnt apologize, they doubled-down,' she told the Independent. 'The SPC is so intent on finding racism they will go so far as to accuse a member of one of the communities they claim to advocate for of reprehensible behavior.' Wray is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by the father of a Scottsdale school board member. The father, Mark Greenburg, says she invaded his privacy and defamed him by sharing the contents of a Google Drive he created without his consent, according to the Arizona Republic. Wray runs the group SUSD-CAN, which 'is dedicated to propagating anti-mask policies, anti-vaccine policies, anti-LGBTQ policies, and anti-Critical Race Theory policies within the Scottsdale Unified School District,' according to Greenburg's filing. In her remarks against Rhoden and Lassen's blackface accusations, Wray made sure to include some jabs at the Scottsdale Parent Council, which Lassen is part of. 'SPC invoices every Scottsdale Unified School District PTO/PTA/APT for dues each year and then uses those funds to attack community members,' Wray said. 'This same organization and its leaders, President Emmie Cardella, accused me of violating the code of ethics last year for questioning the Districts misuse of tax payer dollars and violating AZ Open Meeting Laws, while they knowingly violating their own bylaws.' Vladimir Putin could consider striking a NATO base in order to halt the transfer of arms to Ukraine, a former British security chief has warned. Lord Ricketts, the Government's first national security adviser, said yesterday that Mr Putin is becoming 'increasingly desperate to choke off the flow of arms' to Ukraine. He may even do this by attacking aircraft or convoys headed to the country from NATO, Lord Ricketts suggested. Lord Ricketts, the Government's first national security adviser, said yesterday that Mr Putin is becoming 'increasingly desperate to choke off the flow of arms' to Ukraine Lord Ricketts fears the conflict is moving towards 'an angry stalemate, where Russia will hold on to quite a large part of the country' He fears the conflict is moving towards 'an angry stalemate, where Russia will hold on to quite a large part of the country' and Ukraine will not agree a settlement deal, he told the BBC. He also warned that the conflict could continue for 'years and years to come' as a guerrilla war like an 'open wound in the middle of Europe'. 'I suppose what President Putin wants us all to fear is that he might want to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, which would be a momentous escalation and ensure Russia was isolated around the world,' he said. 'More likely, I think what they're looking at is some way of preventing or limiting this flow of arms into Ukraine, keeping the Ukrainian Armed Forces going. 'So we may see attacks on convoys or aircraft bringing the arms in from the west. 'I think what they're looking at is some way of preventing or limiting this flow of arms into Ukraine, keeping the Ukrainian Armed Forces going,' he warned. Above, President Vladimir Putin Ukrainian servicemen load a truck with the FGM-148 Javelin, an American man-portable anti-tank missile provided by US to Ukraine A Ukrainian serviceman holds the FGM-148 Javelin at a checkpoint, where they held a position near Kharkiv last month Russia warns the US to stop arming Ukraine Russia told the US to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, warning of 'unpredictable consequences' if it continues to do do. The warning was delivered in the form of an official diplomatic note, which was seen by the Washington Post. It said that American and NATO shipments of the 'most sensitive' weapons were 'adding fuel' to the conflict, which is now nearing its second month. The two-page note was delivered after Biden had agreed to a new $800million delivery of military aid to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and shells, helicopters and armoured personnel carriers. 'What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what weve been telling the world publicly that the massive amount of assistance that weve been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective,' a senior US official said about the note. Advertisement 'At worst, possibly, some kind of missile strike on a base in NATO, where the arms for Ukraine were being prepared. 'And that will certainly pose the NATO countries with a real dilemma.' Lord Ricketts said that the Kremlin is becoming 'increasingly desperate to try and choke off the flow of arms' and that an attack on a NATO base is 'not impossible'. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky said that it is important for Russia not to win any territory in the Donbas region. 'This is why it is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle... it can influence the course of the whole war,' he told CNN. 'I don't trust the Russian military and Russian leadership. 'That is why we understand that the fact that we fought them off and they left, and they were running away from Kyiv -- from the north, from Chernihiv and from that direction ... it doesn't mean if they are able to capture Donbas, they won't come further towards Kyiv.' The president has also urged the West to prepare for a nuclear attack from Mr Putin. He said that the Russian leader may consider tactical attacks if his war stalls any further. 'We shouldn't wait for the moment when Russia decides to use nuclear weapons We must prepare for that,' he said. 'Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That's why. 'We should think not be afraid, not be afraid, but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world.' Moscow gave Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to 'surrender or die' by 3am GMT on Sunday after the Russian Defence Ministry claimed their troops had cleared the city - with only a small unit of Ukrainian fighters remaining in the giant Azovstal steelworks in the south-eastern port. Pictured: Illich Steel and Iron Works in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine Rwandan genocide orphans say they are going to have nowhere to live, after the UK's new Rwanda migrant scheme will use the hostel they have lived in for years. Home Secretary Priti Patel's plan to send all asylum seekers in the UK to the central African nation will force more than 20 residents in the country out of their accommodation. A total of 22 residents will be kicked out of Hope House hostel, based in capital city Kigali, when people who tried to find asylum in the UK are flown to Africa. The civil war orphans have been living in the shelter for eight years, but were only given two weeks notice to leave the hostel. The victims of the 1994 conflict are now in their late 20s, but are without money, savings or family and many still struggle with the trauma they faced. British Home Secretary Priti Patel's new migrant scheme will force Rwanda genocide orphans The 22 orphans have been living at Hope Hostel (pictured) for eight years, but were given only two weeks notice to leave One of the residents of Hope Hostel (pictured) was born only weeks before her parents were killed, when up to 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered in the 1994 Rwandan genocide A view of facilities at Hope House, a hostel in Nyabugogo, the Gasabo district of Rwanda's capital city Kigali, where the first arrivals are likely to be housed Migrants travelling to the UK on small boats will be put on jets and sent to Rwanda while their applications are processed Priti Patel visited Rwanda (pictured) and went around Hope Hostel, but did not meet any of the orphans who have to leave to make space for migrants Speaking to The Mirror, a woman who has lived at the shelter for years said: 'I barely know any other home. 'I was only told about moving out a few days ago. I have not figured out where I will go.' The Home Secretary made a visit to Rwanda earlier this month and walked around the hostel, but residents weren't given the chance to meet her Officials briefed the press that the 50-bed building was a privately owned former tourist hostel and not currently in use. A resident added: 'It is not a guest house. It has been a hostel, our home, for the last eight years.' Hope House was built in 2014 and is run by a local good cause called the Association des Etudiants Et Eleves Rescapes Du Genocide AERG. It once housed more than 190 orphans, most have moved on after finding work and homes of their own. Priti Patel and Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta signed an agreement on 'Migration and Economic Development Partnership Agreement' in Kigali, Rwanda The plan to fly asylum seekers 4,000 miles to Rwanda has faced heavy criticism, but the first flight is expected to leave before the end of next month and the scheme will be back-dated to cover all those who have arrived in the UK since the start of the year. How will the new Rwanda migrant scheme work? Cross-channel arrivals assessed and anyone deemed an economic migrant rather than a refugee is sent to Rwanda Initial agreement worth 120million over five years Failed immigrants urged to start new life in Africa Initially based at hostel in Kigali Hope House is currently being used as budget accommodation for tourists Privately owned, the East African nation's government is understood to be in negotiations to lease the property Memorandum of understanding (MOU) says Government will screen asylum seekers 'without delay' after arrival in the UK All requests will require approval from Rwanda before relocation Nation can refuse to take people with criminal records People who cross the Channel in small boats will undergo initial checks at the Western Jet Foil facility in Dover Further checks at a processing site in Manston, Kent. Where their claim is deemed inadmissible, they may be removed to a 'third safe country'. Royal Navy to lead Channel policing role, helping Border Force from today PM attacked 'a formidable army of politically motivated lawyers' who have thwarted previous action PM: 'Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not. We can't ask the British taxpayer to write a blank cheque to cover the costs of anyone who might want to come and live here.' Advertisement The government wants tens of thousands of people moved within the next few years, but some experts are warning of a surge of Channel crossings before the policy comes into effect, the Times reports. Simon Hoare, one of only three Tory MPs to vote against the plans, told the paper: 'All this will do is mean we'll see a vast amount of people trying [to cross] now before this comes in'. People smugglers would be encouraging people to cross with a 'must end soon' sale, he added. Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: 'The proposal was shocking enough but to now be evicting Rwandans is appalling. Instead of opening safe and legal routes for asylum seekers, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have reverted to cruel, heartless tactics.' Conservative former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said the plan was 'immoral' and involved 'eye-watering' costs. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The Government is quite rightly trying to break the smugglers' sordid and deathly model, and so I am absolutely behind them in doing that. 'The problem with the scheme that they have announced is that I don't think it will work. It is impractical, it is being condemned by churches and civil society, it is immoral and, above all for conservative advocates, it is incredible expensive.' Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Sunday Mirror revelations about Hope House are the latest problem showing why civil servants could not endorse the plan. 'Incompetence and waste are hallmarks of this government. Britain deserves better than this chaos.' Dave Penman, of the FDA, said: 'Civil servants' choice is to implement, or leave. That could mean elsewhere in the department, another department or leaving the Civil Service.' The Public and Commercial Services union labelled the scheme inhumane. It is understood the AERG, who currently run the hostel, will not benefit financially. Its co-ordinator Emmanuel Muneza said: 'We had plans to make the orphanage a guest house and raise money to support our members. 'But the plan has changed. We are negotiating the way forward.' The Home Office did not comment on orphans, but said: 'Rwanda will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention and ensure protection from inhuman and degrading treatment.' Warring factions within the Republican Party could push the GOP into 'troubled waters' with less than seven months until the November midterm elections, a retiring lawmaker said on Sunday. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) was the fourth House GOP lawmaker to drop his re-election bid out of 10 who voted to impeach Donald Trump for the Capitol riot. Upton announced his retirement earlier this month. Speaking to NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday, the veteran lawmaker suggested the growing influence of far-right voices in Congress was the most significant he's seen since taking office. 'Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Green, and Paul Gosar, is that a different element than you've ever seen before?' host Chuck Todd asked. Upton answered, 'I don't think we've had as many folks in that sort of wing of the party elected as we have before, but I think they're very popular back at home.' Pressed on what that meant for the party, the Michigan congressman said, 'Troubled waters I guess you could say.' But that same day, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave a far sunnier outlook on the GOP's chances in the midterm elections. 'I've never seen our party more united. We're not focused on individual. We're focused on the country first, and the policies,' he said on Fox News Sunday. Longtime Michigan Rep. Fred Upton is retiring at the end of this year. He's the fourth GOP lawmaker who voted for Trump's impeachment to retire while facing a primary challenger backed by the ex-president 'Our problems are too big to fight among ourselves and think so small, and that's exactly what we're doing -- putting this country first to solve our problems.' During a wide-ranging interview on Fox's Sunday news program, the House Republican chief flatly denied reports of party infighting -- and that he himself was facing challenges to his leadership role. Asked if he intends to run for Speaker of the House should Republicans take back the majority, McCarthy avoided answering directly. 'That's an opportunity. The first and foremost responsibility is to take that House back, but we will be prepared to govern,' he said. McCarthy currently oversees a caucus that appears divided over the future of the GOP. Conservatives and establishment Republicans are attempting to woo voters on traditional issues like the economy and border security, while a growing number of lawmakers who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump call on the party to look back and investigate the race. Still, another narrowing list of lawmakers are still adamant Trump critics who are clinging to their seats, though many face Trump-backed primary challengers. Upton is one of those representatives who dropped out after the former president endorsed another Republican. However on Sunday he blamed redistricting for the decision. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed Republicans will hold Biden accountable and claimed they have never been 'more unified' despite reports of infighting He still believes his party will flip enough Democratic seats to govern as the majority in 2023 -- albeit Upton warns it will be 'very difficult' to do so without a decisive majority, given the current divides. Host Todd asked, 'Can Kevin McCarthy both represent you and Marjorie Taylor Greene?' 'He can if he gets the margin. That's why this over/under number is so important. Are we going to be over or under 230?' Upton answered. 'It will be very hard to govern for Republicans if we're under 230, knowing that we've got the MTG element that's really not a part of a governing majority,' he added, referring to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). So far 31 House Democrats have announced they are leaving their seats to retire or run for another office at the end of this year. Just 18 Republicans are doing the same. That, combined with Democrats' low poll numbers and failure to pass President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda are factors that election watchers say will set up for a red wave in November. On Sunday, McCarthy vowed Republicans would hold the president 'accountable' once they take back the majority. When asked about far-right members of Congress like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (left), Lauren Boebert (right) or Paul Gosar, Upton said their growing numbers mean 'troubled waters' for the GOP He dodged a question on whether moderates like Upton's retirement are a negative statement on the GOP. 'Well, if you look at who's retiring in Congress, there's 31 Democrats retirement, that's the highest number since 1992. There's a reason why -- because they're not even agreeing with their own policies,' McCarthy said instead. 'What we find in the Republicans that we will have a very clear common sense alternative.' But Upton believes that like Democrats, whose infighting between moderates and progressives helped tank key points of BIden's agenda, the lack of a decisive majority could hinder Republicans' ability to get work done. After voting to impeach Trump after January 6, Upton again crossed party lines when he voted in favor of Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure compromise. He later revealed he and his family were getting death threats after the bill passed. Upton admitted on NBC Sunday that he's never seen the level of threats that he's gotten this past year, and expressed concern that such a climate could discourage qualified candidates from running for office. 'Yeah, well, death threats, I mean, they never were like we had this last year. But it was pretty crazy,' he said. Upton continued, 'It's going to be a detriment getting good people to run. It really will be.' 'It puts you at risk, particularly when they threaten not only you and I like to think Im pretty fast but when they threaten your spouse or your kids, or whatever, that's what really makes it frightening.' Texas Governor Greg Abbott is plotting a White House run - and his new policy of bussing illegal immigrants to DC is part of his plan to woo GOP voters, analysts believe. Gov. Abbott was praised by fellow Republicans after he sent two buses full of Latin American asylum applicants to the U.S. Capitol last week. He has vowed to continue to do so as border states brace for a huge influx of migrants from next month when President Biden brings a Trump-era law that guaranteed immediate expulsion to an end. Party insiders allege Abbott's 'audacious' response to the border crisis is a first step towards a presidential bid, which they allege has been well received by an 'already amped-up base'. 'Like so many Republicans, Gov. Abbott is increasing his name ID and pushing on issues important to the base and thereby putting himself in a position to run,' GOP strategist Doug Heye told the newspaper. 'Hopefully this gets liberal elites and the Biden administration to actually care about the millions of illegal aliens who are streaming across our southern border,' Sen. Ted Cruz said on Wednesday, The Hill reported. 'They're going to see, with all these people invading Washington, D.C., like they've invaded our border states, and it may make them realize how bad it is,' Rep. James Comer told Fox News on Thursday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (pictured April 6) has sparked speculation that he may be considering a run for president as his plan to bus illegal migrants to Washington D.C. proved to be popular among GOP voters Abbott drew nationwide attention last week after he sent several busses full of migrants from Venezuela, Columbia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico who crossed into the U.S. illegally to D.C. As of Saturday morning, four busses had arrived in the capital city. Texas-based GOP strategist Brendan Steinhauser, who is also a member of the Texas State Guard unit that was deployed to help set up the migrant bussing operation, said Abbott's controversial move has been favored in the polls. 'I think so far it's playing well with Republicans because they clearly want their elected officials to be tough on illegal immigration. They want to make sure that security comes first,' he said. 'From the people I've talked to, from the polling I've seen, from just anecdotal evidence of where the activists are, where the voters are, they just want to see the governor and the president and future elected leaders, Congress, get tough and take action and put security first. Steinhauser added: 'And so I think they look at this and say, "He's doing what he should be doing on that.'' Heye, however, noted that although the party seems to be supportive of Abbott, the governor will likely not make a formal campaign decision until former President Donald Trump decides whether he will run. 'It still remains a waiting game for all of those Republicans until Donald Trump decides what he will do,' Heye alleged. 'They're all jockeying for a race they ultimately may not run.' Trump will likely not indicate his plans until well into 2023, with the former president facing possible stiff competition from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is viewed by many Republicans as a lawmaker who can push the same policies that made Trump so popular among conservatives, but without the divisive personality that scared swing voters and moderates away. Abbott was praised by fellow Republicans after he sent two buses full of Latin American asylum applicants to D.C. last week. The above map shows where the bus unloads the migrants in relation to the location of the U.S. Capitol Building Abbott, who has used a wheelchair since being paralyzed by a falling tree in 1984, has not publicly indicated if he plans to run for president in 2024. When asked about a potential presidential bid during an interview with KXAN in November 2020, the governor said he was focused on winning re-election in Texas, but hadn't tossed the idea out. 'You know, one thing that you know about me, I take one step at a time,' Abbott said at the time. 'The first step is to win re-election and after that, well see what happens.' His political consultant, Dave Carney, told The Hill on Saturday that Abbott is 'solely focused' on his reelection. 'I think it shows that [President] Biden and [Vice President] Harris and the Democrats could have done something like this in January of last year,' Carney said of Abbott's policy. 'But for politics, what they thought at the time was a winning issue, is going to kill them.' Abbott will face off against former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat, in his bid for a seat in the states highest office. Party insiders allege Abbott's 'audacious' response to the border crisis is a first step towards a presidential bid, which they allege has been well received by an 'already amped-up base'. Migrants are pictured being dropped off in front of the U.S. Capitol The migrants chose to come to Washington D.C. and were not simply forced to get on a bus and travel 1,500 miles The first bus of migrants is seen arriving in D.C. on Wednesday, brining 23 people to the capital Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to give willing migrants a free one-way ticket to D.C. for willing in an effort to show President Joe Biden the scale of the problem, and 'take the border to him'. A first bus carrying 23 people arrived on Wednesday with a further 14 arriving on Thursday, another 30 on Friday and 10 on Saturday. The bussing operation comes in response to the Biden administration's move to rescind the public health order, known as Title 42, enacted during the pandemic that made it easier to expel migrants. Initially, The White House dismissed the bus journeys as a it as a 'publicity stunt,' with many assuming the governor would not follow through. Abbott has continued to state that the bussing operation was set up as a result of Biden's mishandling of the border crisis as to the scale of the problem. He had recently issued an order for state troops to step up truck inspections at the U.S.-Mexico border, which sparked controversy and led to extensive traffic and protests. The order has since been repealed. The governor says more than 1.6 million have crossed into the country over the Texas within the last 15 months. Migrants from Texas are seen having an intake done by members of the the Central American Resource Center in the food court at Union Station in D.C. The bussing operation comes in response to the Biden administration's move to rescind the public health order, known as Title 42. Migrants are pictured arriving to D.C. on Saturday Abbott drew nationwide attention last week after he sent several busses full of migrants from Venezuela, Columbia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico who crossed into the U.S. illegally to D.C. However, Republicans speculate the publicity of the controversial operation may be beneficial for Abbott, especially if he seeks a seat in the White House. 'I think it's hard to separate politics and government. I mean, in everything that happens, whether it's foreign policy or domestic policy, politics and government go hand in hand. Public relations is a key aspect of governing. So I don't see this any different than anything else,' Steinhauser said. 'There's always a selling, a marketing side of it. There's always a communications plan. And there clearly has been one on this. But I also think that it's just one of the many things that the state of Texas is doing to try and deal with this problem.' The move has also been somewhat well-supported by his colleagues, including by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who warned the migrants on the bus not to enter his state after some of them allegedly said they hoped to travel to Miami. 'Life will not be easy for you, because we are obligated to uphold the immigration laws of this country, even if our federal government and other states won't,' DeSantis' office told Fox News on Wednesday. However, not every member of the GOP has been pleased with Abbott's recent decisions. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the truck inspection policy was 'misguided' and 'political theater.' 'Instead, this policy will hurt Texas and American consumers by driving up already sky rocketing food prices, worsening ongoing supply chain disruptions, causing massive produce shortages, and saddling Texas and American companies with untold losses,' Miller penned Wednesday in a letter to Abbott. 'Buses, and trucks, and demagoguery, oh my,' moderate GOP commentator Charlie Sykes mocked. 'Texas's Greg Abbott has simultaneously (1) manufactured a massive snafu at the border, and (2) shocked even some conservative allies with the crassness of his immigrants-on-a-bus stunt.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pictured after he signed a border security agreement with Chihuahua Gov. Maru Campos Galvan in Austin, Texas on April 14, 2022 The second group of undocumented migrants who volunteered to take a charter from the Texas border to Washington D.C. on a bus provided by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott arrived in the nation's capital Thursday morning Immigrants are seen exiting the bus in D.C. on Saturday Title 42 was enacted by Trump to try and protect US from COVID Title 42 was enacted by then-President Donald Trump in March 2020, as COVID began to surge across the United States. The policy allows border patrol agents to deny entry to migrants without considering their asylum claims if they have been in a country where a communicable disease such as COVID is rife. It has been used more than one million times during Donald Trump's and Joe Biden's presidencies, with its continuation under the Biden administration infuriating left-wing Democrats. Already deeply controversial, the policy was lambasted by top Democrats when it emerged Ukrainian refugees fleeing their war-torn country to Mexico were being turned away at the US southern border under Title 42, despite Biden's promise to welcome them 'with open arms'. But immigration experts told DailyMail.com that although Title 42 has left thousands of refugees in danger in Mexico, there is no plan for an effective and fair replacement system meaning a pileup of tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers at ports of entry is likely in border cities like Tijuana, south of California and Reynosa, across the border from Hidalgo, Texas. Advertisement On Friday, Abbott said that his team had received multiple calls from communities in the Rio Grande Valley requesting buses to transport the migrants. 'Overnight there were multiple communities in the Rio Grande Valley asking us to provide buses for them, maybe even planes,' said Abbott. He told Fox News: 'When they come across the border, it's not like they want to stay in the Rio Grande Valley. 'They are moving across the entire country. What better place to go to than the steps of the United States Capitol - they get to see the beautiful Capitol, and get closer to the people making the decisions.' The scheme has been condemned by Democrats, with Sheila Jackson Lee, whose constituency encompasses parts of Houston, calling it an 'act of hysteria and grandstanding'. She added: 'Those are not problem solving. They are adding to the grand march of hysteria.' But Abbott insisted that it was legitimate. 'Biden has refused to come to the border to see the chaos that he has created by his open border policies,' he said. 'So we are going to take the border to him by transporting the people that he is dropping off in these local communities in the state of Texas, and sending them to Washington by plane or by bus. 'What is happening is there is an increased number of people coming across the border. They, the federal government, are processing them and letting them loose. 'What has been happening so far is that these people are getting on buses and going to San Antonio, or Houston, or other places like that. So I think they just need longer bus rides.' Abbott said the scheme had 'been happening for weeks if not months now.' He added: 'We know the process works. It's just a matter of relocating the drop off point.' Since Biden took office in January 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol 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 next month. A Mexico government official fears there will be chaos at the U.S. border unless Biden's administration comes up with a clear plan on how to handle the onrush of nearly 140,000 migrants seeking asylum once Title 42 is lifted. As many as 4,000 migrants are currently staying at shelters in the border town of Tijuana while about 1,500 are housed in shelters in Mexicali as the clock ticks down toward May 23 - the date when the controversial policy imposed by Trump is lifted. 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 next month Tens of thousands of additional migrants are in Chiapas near Mexico's southern border city awaiting humanitarian visas from the country. Enrique Lucero, director of the Direction of Attention to Migrants of the Municipality of Tijuana, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that the Biden administrations plan to suspend the measure raises many unknown variables on both sides of the border. 'We hope that the United States is very clear about how it will receive all those asylum applications once Title 42 is eliminated because it is not clear whether they will do it in person at the border or if they will do it online,' Lucero said. 'If they do it in person, there will be chaos at the border because everyone will want leave the shelters and arrive at the border and stand in line. So that's going to create chaos for them and us.' More than 1.6 million migrants mostly single adults - have been expelled from the United States since March 2020, when Trump enacted Title 42. The measure, which dates to a CDC public health law instituted in 1944, provides Border Patrol agents the authority to turn back migrants without allowing them the opportunity to apply for asylum because they were deemed a threat to spread COVID-19 in the country. 18 more states have signed onto a lawsuit to stop Biden's administration from lifting Title 42 public health order at border - above asylum-seeking migrants walk out of the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves into border patrol There are concerns of a surge of migrants crossing the border after Title 42 is lifted in May - above a caravan of migrants headed to the U.S. from Mexico The 21 states suing Biden over lifting of Title 42 on border Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas Florida Georgia Idaho Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Utah West Virginia Wyoming Advertisement Twenty-one states have signed onto a lawsuit against Biden's administration to stop it from lifting the order. Originally filed by Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri, the case, in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Louisiana, was amended on Thursday to add the other states, bringing the total to 21. The lawsuit names several federal agencies and officials as defendants, including CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky; the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland; the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; and the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Xavier Becerra. Even some Democrats have objected to the Biden administration lifting Title 42. The issue also caused a delay in additional COVID funding when Republican senators demanded to hold a vote on an amendment that would keep the Title 42 restrictions in place as part of $10 billion covid funding bill that President Biden wants passed. Republicans prevented the measure from moving forward in the legislative process with every GOP senator voting against it in an early April vote. 'There'll have to be an amendment on Title 42 in order to move the bill,' Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said at the time. 'We'll need to enter into some kind of agreement to process these amendments in order to go forward with the bill.' The White House slammed Republicans for stopping the legislation. 'It is disappointing that Senate Republicans voted down consideration of a much-needed bill to purchase vaccines, boosters, and life-saving treatments for the American people,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement hours after the vote. 'As we have repeatedly said, there are consequences for Congress failing to fund our COVID Response. 'The program that reimbursed doctors, pharmacists and other providers for vaccinating the uninsured had to end today due to a lack of funds.' The issue has been punted until early May after Congress returns from its two-week Easter recess. Would-be President of France Marine Le Pen was tonight at the centre of a major criminal fraud enquiry after she and senior colleagues were accused of stealing more than half-a-million pounds from the European Union. EU investigators have accused Le Pen, 53, and her own father Jean-Marie Le Pen, 93, of embezzling some 620,000 (513,000) on behalf of their party, the far-Right National Rally. The allegations were made public on Sunday exactly a week before Ms Le Pen goes head-to-head against Emmanuel Macron to choose France's new president. Le Pen, pictured at a rally on Thursday, is said to be 'dismayed' by the timing of the fraud probe 'Marine Le Pen is dismayed,' said her lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, who said the timing of the release appeared to be deeply political. Mr Bosselut accused Olaf, the EU's anti-fraud agency, of dragging up 'old facts that are more than ten years old'. He added: 'Marine Le Pen contests this. She contests it without having had access to the details of the accusations. It's a manipulation, and unfortunately, I'm not surprised.' It followed Mediapart, the Paris-based investigative news outlet, publishing the 116-page Olaf report into the fraud claims. Jean-Marie Le Pen, 93, pictured at an EU court in 2017, has been accused of misuse of funds They are accused of diverting 517,000 in EU funds to their party and own causes (file image) They accuse Le Pen of personally diverting some 114,00 (137,000) of EU funds taken illegally during her time as an MEP, between 2004 and 2017, into party coffers. Her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen who founded the National Rally as the National Front in 1972 is also implicated. So too is her former boyfriend Louis Aliot, now the Mayor of Perpignan, who also denied any wrongdoing on Sunday. Le Pen has also been under investigation for 'breach of trust' and 'misuse of public funds,' in relation to the alleged illegal use of EU cash to pay RN staff. She is said to have used thousands to pay a former French Army paratrooper to be her personal bodyguard, for example. Opinion polls published in France over the weekend point to Macron winning next Sunday's election by as many as 10 points. In 2017, Macron beat Le Pen with 66 per cent of the second-round vote, compared to 34 per cent for Le Pen. New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday blamed woke progressive policies for the city's soaring crime rates - as he called for repeat offenders to be locked-up. In an interview with ABC This Week host George Stephanopoulos, the mayor said former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton was 'right' when he said on the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast last week that progressive policies have led to an increase in crime in Democrat-run cities. He affirmed Bratton's beliefs after the former commissioner's comments were read back to him. Speaking to Bloomberg, Bratton said: 'The scales right now are tipped very heavily in favor of the reforms of the progressive left.' Those policies, he noted, are 'well intended, some needed, but a bit too far, and what we have as a result is this growing fear of crime, this growing actual amount of crime in almost every American city.' Adams told Stephanopoulos on Sunday that he agreed with Bratton's assessment, noting that the former commissioner 'understood what we had to go through from the mid-80s to the early 90s when we had to transform policing.' Since then, the mayor said 'major mistakes' have been made 'that destroyed the trust that the police commissioner is talking about. We have to rebuild that trust. 'But we can't rebuild that trust by allowing those who are dangerous and that have a repeated history of violence to continue to be on our streets,' an apparent jab at the state's bail reform laws. As he spoke, his police commissioner, Keechant Sewell nodded, adding later: 'We believe the system has to be fair and balanced, but when we lose sight of the victims of crime, we are not doing hat public safety is intended to do.' New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday said that he agreed that progressive policies have led to an increase in crime in Democrat-run cities The mayor was responding to former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, who told the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast that the 'reforms of the progressive left' have led to an increase in crime Adams was elected last year after vowing to fight the Big Apple's growing crime problem. He had vowed to reinstate the NYPD's controversial anti-crime unit, and has been pushing for state lawmakers to allow judges to consider the 'dangerousness' of defendants before deciding to release them under the state's woke bail reform laws. Those have been blamed for repeatedly freeing serial criminals onto the street to commit further offenses - including multiple murders. But state Democratic leadership has repeatedly resisted the mayor's request, and said they will not act on changing the law, according to the New York Post. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signaled plans to toughen up the act as part of her latest budget, although victims' advocates say she should go even further. Adams has 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. And since being elected, Adams has fulfilled his promise to reinstate the anti-crime unit, and has deployed 1,000 more officers to the subways. But crime continues to rise throughout the Big Apple, with the New York Police Department reporting that the crime rate is nearly double what it was at the same time last year. Rapes in the city are up 17.4 percent compared to the same time last year, and felony assaults are up 19.6 percent, according to NYPD data. Burglaries and robberies are also up, 31.7 and 48.4 percent, respectively, while grand larcenies have doubled from April of last year and grand larcenies from automobiles are up a whopping 77.2 percent - from 175 reported at this time in 2021 to 248 reported so far in 2022. Shooting incidents are also up 8.4 percent, with 9.3 percent more victims. Frantic commuters were seen trying to run for the exits after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway station on Tuesday morning One man was seen apparently injured in the shooting as officers and a Good Samaritan tried to help him Just last week, the city made national headlines when a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway stop. Prosecutors say Frank James, 62, staged a premeditated attack when he shot ten people and injured others on the northbound N train at around 8.25am on Tuesday during rush hour. Videos from the scene showed hundreds of commuters frantically running for the exits as shots were fired. What ensued was a nearly 24-hour long manhunt for James, who was ultimately arrested while strolling down the street on Wednesday. In court documents the next day, prosecutors detailed how more ammunition was found in James' rented Philadelphia apartment, including an extended round magazine that was fit for a semi-automatic rifle. No such firearm has been found yet in connection with the suspect. His 9mm handgun was found at the 36th Street subway station on Tuesday, after the attack, along with spent shell casings, fireworks, and a key to his U-Haul. Police have also searched a storage unit in Philadelphia, where he was keeping more ammunition, a torch and a gun silencer. There was a propane gas tank in the U-Haul when police swooped in on it on Tuesday afternoon. James dumped the truck five miles from the 36th Street subway. He was filmed walking away. James' motive remains unknown. Subway shooting suspect Frank James, 62, was arrested on Wednesday after he was spotted walking down the street amid a citywide manhunt for him James is being held without bail as investigators look into his hate-filled YouTube videos James had a criminal history extending back to 1992, when he pleaded guilty to attempted petit larceny and was known to the FBI's Guardian Program, which tracks terror threats and suspects, over an incident in New Mexico in 2019. At the time, he was cleared of wrongdoing. But in a YouTube video posted just one day before the attack, James said he wanted to harm people. 'I can say I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die,' he said. Other videos featured James ranting about discrimination and complaining about white people. They are now being closely examined by law enforcement as James is being held without bond. Mayor Eric Adams has suggested that it was the responsibility of YouTube to monitor the videos and report them - an idea he repeated in the interview on Sunday after Stephanopoulos asked if there needs to be a better way to track potential threats like Frank James, who Stephanopoulos said was 'hiding in plain sight.' 'There's a corporate responsibility hen we are watching hate brew online,' Adams said. 'We can identify [hate] using artificial intelligence and other methods to identify those who are talking about violence.' Sewell also noted that crime was down in the subways compared to pre-pandemic numbers, but added: 'We recognize that people need to see a visible presence of police in the subway, and we're endeavoring to make sure that happens.' Chinese vice premier stresses high-quality construction of Xiong'an New Area Xinhua) 11:03, April 17, 2022 Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province, April 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) XIONG'AN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has stressed high standards and quality in building the Xiong'an New Area, which is expected to help relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the country's capital. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while inspecting the area in north China's Hebei Province on Friday. "In the past five years, the planning and construction of the Xiong'an New Area has achieved major progress in the initial stage under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and with the concerted efforts of relevant parties," Han said. He urged new progress in building the area, and underscored adherence to the target of relieving Beijing of functions that are not essential to its role as the capital when building the city and making plans for bringing in projects. Efforts should be made to prioritize ecological conservation and boost green development in building the area, Han said. China announced its plan to establish the Xiong'an New Area on April 1, 2017 to advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspects the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province, April 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) Pope Francis denounces the cruelty and the darkness of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an Easter vigil Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The head of the Roman Catholic Church attended the ceremony, but he did not preside, most likely due to the 85-year-old pontiff's recurring leg pain. The Pope suffers from sciatica, which causes pain in one leg and results in a pronounced limp. The Catholic News Agency reported that the religious leader has recently suffered from "acute knee pain" that affected his movement and prompted him to cancel some events. The rite, which included a procession in near-total darkness across the central nave of Christendom's biggest church, was led by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who substituted the Pope as the primary celebrant. Sitting at a large white chair at the front of Saint Peter's Basilica, the Pope seemed alert and rose during the gospel reading portion of the mass, which drew 5,500 people, He delivered his homily while sitting and stood to baptize seven adult Catholic converts. Message Of Compassion In his Easter message, Pope Francis talked about the significance of Jesus Christ as the light amid the "horrors" of war, "through acts of kindness and peace efforts. The pontiff urged the faithful to welcome the resurrected Christ in their everyday lives by practicing "acts of reconciliation amid broken relationships, acts of compassion towards those in need, acts of justice amid situations of inequality ... and of truth in the midst of lies." Pope Francis also encouraged everyone to pray for Ukraine. "All of us pray for you and with you. We pray because there is so much suffering. We can only give you our company, our prayers and say to you 'courage, we accompany you,'" Francis emphasized, as per Reuters report. Among the attendees of the mass was Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, who was detained by Russian soldiers last month and then released in a prisoner swap. Before the Mass, Francis met privately with the Ukrainian delegation that included three parliamentarians, according to the Vatican. Read Also: Russia Expresses Irritation, Warns of 'Unprecedented Consequences' if US Keeps Helping Ukraine in War Forgiveness For Rebellious Hearts On Good Friday, Pope Francis was able to preside over the Way of The Cross ritual held at the Colosseum in Rome, attended by around 10,000 faithful. Families offered meditation for each of the 14 Stations that reflect their sufferings and hopes as they recollect the passion and death of Christ. The meditations on the Way of the Cross were written by 15 families involved with Catholic volunteer organizations, and they explored various components of the hardships and tragedies that families face around the world. The 13th Station was the climax of the meditations, with two ladies carrying the cross together: Albina from Russia and Irina from Ukraine. Silence, rather than the prepared meditation, spoke louder than any words, The Vatican News reported. The two women, who were friends and both nurses in Rome, embraced the cross and exchanged glances that seemed to convey both the anguish of fighting brethren and the unwavering hope of peace and reconciliation. In his final prayer for the event, the Pope prayed for forgiveness for "rebellious hearts" and let the light of God's Word shine in the hearts of all families amidst the joys and sorrows in the world. Related Article: Pope Francis: 5 Interesting Facts You May Not Know About the Pontiff @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tender love letters have emerged that show the devotion of a British pensioner to the wife he is accused of murdering. David Hunter, 74, is due to stand trial in Cyprus today after the alleged mercy killing of his terminally-ill wife of 56 years, Janice, 75, last year. UK lawyers have written to the islands attorney general asking prosecutors to reduce the charge to assisting suicide amid family pleas to show some compassion but have received no reply. Mr Hunter will die in prison if found guilty of murder. David Hunter (right) poses on holiday with wife Janice (centre) and their daughter Lesley (left) The Daily Mail has seen the last anniversary cards the couple wrote to each other months before Mrs Hunters death, in Paphos, on December 18. They prove the familys insistence Mr Hunter was deeply in love with his wife and would never do anything to harm her. On the envelope of his card, the retired miner wrote: When I look up and see you, my world is filled with pleasure. Tear-jerking letters exchanged by the pair proving their devotion were passed to the Daily Mail Through all the years weve shared, you have been my greatest treasure. Inside, another poem he penned reads: I love you today as I have from the start, and Ill love you forever with all of my heart. In a message to her husband, Mrs Hunter writes: Another year for being with the best husband in the world. Love you forever, Janice xxx. Mrs Hunter had been suffering from leukaemia since 2016 and her health deteriorated rapidly in the months before her death. She was losing her sight, couldnt eat or drink and had constant diarrhoea that meant she needed nappies but was only given paracetamol by doctors. Mr Hunter allegedly suffocated her before trying to take his own life by overdosing on sleeping medication in an apparent suicide pact. Another moving letter from David to Janice says: 'I love you today as I have from the start' He has since told his daughter, Lesley, 49, that his wife made her wishes to die clear and talked about it every day in the last six weeks of her life. To begin with, he tried to dissuade her, then he said he would go with her, she said. He loved her so much... Im horrified they were so desperate they thought that dying together was the only way out. Lesley, who works in financial advice, is appealing for the charge to be downgraded through UK-based law firm Justice Abroad. The Cypriot parliament is discussing whether to legalise euthanasia, a taboo subject among the majority Greek Orthodox community of the island. But even prison guards have taken pity on Mr Hunter who retired to the island from Northumberland with his wife and privately told his daughter that they believe he should not be facing murder charges. It comes after Cypriot prosecutors charged a British woman with making up a rape claim there. The 21-year-old went from victim to accused after police coerced a confession, but she was acquitted this year after pressure from the UK media. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/help-bring-david-home Easter's not just for bunnies! A video posted on Twitter Sunday showed just how excited a baby kangaroo became after staff members at the San Antonio Zoo in Texas gave him some colorful eggs to play with. The 33-second video, posted online by the San Antonio Zoological Society, starts with Mako the kangaroo sniffing and pawing at a yellow egg, apparently trying to figure out what to make of it. Soon, though, Mako is seen jumping excitedly around the yellow egg, which he also apparently tried to grab and lift over his leg. But in Mako's excitement, he accidentally landed on the yellow egg, causing it to crack open. An adorable video posted to Twitter on Sunday showed just how excited a baby kangaroo became after staff members at the San Antonio Zoo gave him Easter eggs to play with After examining a yellow egg for a while, the joey happily started jumping around it Unfortunately, in Mako's excitement over the egg, he landed on it and crushed it But Mako didn't seem to mind, as he quickly turned his attention to another pink egg laying nearby. He was seen in the video once again pawing at it and apparently trying to lift it. The video has now been retweeted more than 30 times, and has garnered over 100 likes. The San Antonio Zoological Society captioned it: 'Mako's reaction to Easter eggs has us in stitches!' But Mako wasn't completely distraught as he soon discovered there was another pink egg laying nearby The Daily Mails crusade to feed starving Ukrainians won widespread praise yesterday. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed our readers and said they should be proud of their wonderful help to send food to desperate families in the war-ravaged nation. After the mission was launched in yesterdays Mail on Sunday, urgently needed parcels of supplies are on their way across Europe, and a parade of lorries will follow every day, each packed with non-perishable items. Boris Johnson and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky endorsed the ambitious Mail Force crusade. A woman prays on Easter Sunday at an Odessa cathedral Mail Force is using 4million of the astonishing 11million raised by kind-hearted readers to help send 500,000 aid boxes east with the assistance of the Ukrainian embassy in London. The embassy is matching the 4million, and the joint effort has already seen 20 tons of food from the UK reach a secure depot in Poland. From there, the boxes will be loaded on to freight trains and transported to the east of Ukraine where the Kremlin is waging a cruel campaign to starve innocent civilians, according to Ukrainian officials. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss heaped praise on Mail readers yesterday, writing on Twitter: Your vital donations will help save lives and support Ukrainians in the face of Russias barbaric invasion. Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured in Kyiv last weekend, endorsed Mail Force Mr Zelensky has thanked the newspapers readers for your generous support, adding: These food boxes will help those in desperate need. Mr Johnson, who met the president in Kyiv earlier this month, said the generosity of readers was humbling, adding: Your phenomenal kindness will support the most vulnerable in Ukraine as they needlessly suffer at the hands of Putins barbaric war. Sir Keir said: Mail readers have demonstrated the great generosity of the British people when faced with the horrific images that are coming from Ukraine. 'We must call this Russian aggression out, cripple the Putin regime with sanctions and support the brave Ukrainian people with military equipment and humanitarian support such as that which has been so wonderfully provided through the Mails food boxes campaign. Sir Keir added: 'Mail readers have demonstrated the great generosity of the British people' Labour MP Sarah Champion, the chairman of the Commons international development committee, added: The Mails campaign enables us to directly help the people of Ukraine. I urge you to contribute and know that your donations will be going to those who need it most. 'I would like to thank every Mail reader who has helped the people of Ukraine your generosity really will help save lives. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: The kindness of Mail readers is truly heartwarming, it shows the tremendous support the British public have to offer to Ukrainians fleeing Putins war. When it was launched shortly after the war began, the Mail Force appeal became the fastest newspaper fundraiser in the world, kick-started with a 500,000 donation from the Mails parent company DMGT at the personal request of Lord and Lady Rothermere. When we asked the Ukrainian embassy in London where help was most needed, the answer was direct: food. Taras Krykun, counsellor for economic affairs, said the No 1 priority was to avoid his people starving to death. Along with Ukraines ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, Mr Krykun has been co-ordinating an operation to create food boxes crammed with enough items to feed one person for a week. Baked beans, tuna, dried pasta and biscuits are among the 14 items in each box, and nutritionists have been consulted to ensure the right mix of ingredients required to provide healthy meals for refugees forced to flee their homes. Weighing 17lb (8kg), each box will provide about 12,000 calories, or 1,700 calories a day. The boxes are being assembled in a Leicestershire depot run by Oakland International, one of the countrys top packaging and distribution firms. The Confederation of British Industry and consultants Accenture have sourced millions of food items from manufacturers and supermarket giant Morrisons. None of those involved in the project will make any profit. It comes as the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, warned food shortages caused by the conflict could lead to a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe. One mother sells her sons beloved bicycle to make sure he is fed, while another scrabbles around for supplies in between Russian shelling. Natalya Shablevskaya and her family have spent the past four weeks cowering in a cramped, freezing cellar, barely the size of a double bed, living off whatever food they could get their hands on. Their four-bedroom house in the tiny village of Vaslikiv, close to Mykolaiv a strategically important city 70 miles north-east of the port of Odessa was regularly rocked by the reverberations of Russian bombing. She would wait for a lull in the bombardment before clambering upstairs in the early morning to fetch food for her ten-year-old son Danil, mother Olga, 63, and father Peter, 72. We got used to eating very little because we were gripped by fear, says Miss Shablevskaya, a post office clerk, who has now reached the relative safety of Odessa. Natalya Shablevskaya, 42, with her ten year old son, Danil, age 10, and her mother, Olga, 63, who fled from Vasilkiv, a village in the Mikoliav region occupied by Russians You never knew when the next explosion was coming. We had just a few basic supplies that the Russians had given us, but most of it was out of date. They were disgusting. They were not fit for humans. We had no other choice. The Russians were preventing Ukrainian aid from arriving to our village and blocking all humanitarian corridors. The 42-year-old single mother has no doubt about who is the architect of this policy. She says Vladimir Putin is absolutely trying to recreate the Ukrainian famine of 1932-33. Ukrainians call it the Holodomor, or hunger extermination, a horrifying event that killed at least four million people. Now Miss Shablevskayas mother Olga describes the horrors inflicted by Russia in this latest attack. We had to decide who got what. We gave most of what we had to Danil and Peter. Peter, a former farmer who suffers from a severe form of Parkinsons disease, is bedridden and barely able to communicate. He desperately needs supplies of insulin to ease his condition. To make matters worse the family had no gas, no electricity and no running water for more than a month. On the very rare occasions they managed to get the ingredients for a hot meal, they burned some of their books to start a fire. Olga Kisilyova, 39, with her son Alexander, 12, who fled from Russian occupied Kherson, now safely in Odesa, Ukraine The worst thing was the damp and the cold, says Miss Shablevskaya. We wrapped ourselves in whatever blankets we had but the temperatures dropped close to freezing at night. The Mail met the family at a shelter in the southern port that has been welcoming displaced Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression in other parts of the country. They left Mykolaiv at 4am yesterday after a volunteer with good military contacts managed to offer them a way out. But the conflict is never far away. As dawn broke in Odessa on the day of their arrival, air raid sirens blared out across the city amid unverified Russian claims that Putins forces had shot down a Ukrainian military plane nearby. And Miss Shablevskaya says her son still has nightmares about the constant explosions that became a daily routine back at home. Earlier he heard two bangs and asked if we were still safe, she says. The family plans to move to Poland, where they have relatives who form part of the now four-million strong Ukrainian community in the country. For now, all of them are packed into a tiny bedroom with one bunkbed and two single beds. Scattered across the room are the few possessions that they managed to grab before running for their lives. We have been wearing these same clothes for the past month, Olga says. Among them are some of Danils Lego bricks, which he takes with him everywhere. I want to go to England one day, he says in perfect English. It is such a beautiful language. In the room next door is another child refugee, 12-year-old Alexander Kisilyov. His mother Olga Kisilyova, 39, explains how she had to sell her sons toys and belongings, including his cherished bicycle, so she could put food on the table in their one-bedroom, first-floor flat in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson. Rescue workers still searching through the rubble at the Mykoliav Regional State Administration building after it was hit by a Russian missile, Mykoliav, Ukraine The food shortages started a month ago, she says. We had to get up at 4am to queue up in the freezing cold outside the supermarkets. Supplies were not getting through, so everything cost more. Prices of food had quadrupled by the time we left three days ago. Russias shelling of Kherson meant Mrs Kisilyovas husband of 12 years, Vladimir, lost his job as a construction worker, compounding their misery. We had to dip into our savings to buy basic things such as bread, milk and sugar, says Mrs Kisilyova, a nursery school teacher. Alexander, who is also known as Sasha, is a keen wrestler who used to eat meat or pasta before taking part in his competitions. I skipped meals so that he had enough food, Mrs Kisilyova explains as she hugs her son tightly. I was acting like any normal mother would. They were among the 45 people who scrambled on to a 20-seat minibus to escape Kherson, leaving Vladimir behind. We heard the sounds of shelling everywhere as we left, she says. I was praying to God to save me and my son. Mrs Kisilyova and Alexander made it to Odessa on Good Friday. And yesterday, on Easter Sunday, worshippers packed into the 19th-century Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Catholics in the city celebrated the festival - Orthodox Christians will celebrate next week. Addressing his congregation, Bishop Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk had a message of hope: Despite the war, let us pray for peace this Easter. One woman in her late 20s fell to her knees and made the sign of the cross. The unidentified body of a little boy who died within the last week was found by a mushroom hunter in a wooded area in southern Indiana. Indiana State Police have asked for the public's help in identifying the child, believed to be between five and eight. He was described as black, four-feet-tall, with a slim build and short hair. The remains were found around 7:30 p.m. Saturday by a mushroom hunter in the heavily wooded area of Washington County, two hours away from Indianapolis. The area resident called 911 and the Washington County Sheriff's Department and detectives with the Indiana State Police in Sellersburg responded to the scene. The body was found not far from a roadway, Sergeant Carey Huls with the State Police said. Huls declined to confirm the exact location or what the boy was wearing when his body was found, citing concerns that it could interfere with the investigation. He said it appeared the boy died within the last week. 'It was a very disturbing, very shocking, very sad event... We need your help to bring justice to this young boy who didn't deserve [this],' Huls said at a press conference Sunday. Sergeant Carey Huls with the Indiana State Police has asked for the public's help in identifying the body of a child - believed to be between five and eight - found in a wooded area in Washington County The little boy was described as black, four-feet-tall, with a slim build and short hair. The remains were found around 7:30 p.m. Saturday by a mushroom hunter The State Police said in a Facebook post that investigators have not released an official time or cause of death as an autopsy is pending. Huls also appealed to the public to provide any information about the boy, saying somebody knows who the child was or knows the names of his parents or guardians. 'There's somebody at an Easter table this weekend that maybe has somebody that's not there and were expecting to come,' Huls said. 'There's family members, friends, somebody from school perhaps, that knows maybe there were issues, that thinks this could possibly be that child... He deserves answers, he deserves our help.' The body was found not far from a roadway in Washington County. Huls declined to confirm the exact location or what the boy was wearing when his body was found, citing concerns that it could interfere with the investigation (File photo) The State Police said in a Facebook post that investigators have not released an official time or cause of death as an autopsy is pending Police have contacted state and local agencies but said pending missing child reports do not match the description of the little boy found Saturday. At the moment there is not an ongoing murder investigation, but authorities said that could change after obtaining the autopsy results. Investigators have asked anyone with information to call the Indiana State Police in Sellersburg at 1-812-248-4374 or 1-800-872-6743. Empty shops will be given a new lease of life under a radical plan to revitalise high streets, the Daily Mail can reveal. Landlords will be forced to let out retail units that have been vacant for longer than six months under the Governments new plans. It will allow community groups and small businesses to take over boarded-up properties that blight once thriving town centres, hopefully returning them to their former glories. The new powers will be introduced as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which will be announced in the Queens Speech next month. The number of empty shops has soared since the pandemic with many that were shuttered during lockdowns failing to get back on their feet as the shift towards online shopping accelerated. Fashion retailers have been among the hardest hit, with the closure of brands such as Debenhams and Topshop contributing to vacancies. New Government plans will allow them to force landlords to let out retail units which have been vacant for more than six months, in a bid to rejuvenate high streets (pictured: empty shops in Tunstall Stoke) (pictured: residents passing boarded-up closed businesses) Across the country, one in seven shops is sitting empty according to latest figures from the British Retail Consortium. The north-east of England has the highest vacancy rate, with one in five closed. Blight of boarded up ghost towns Tunstall High Street in Stoke-on-Trent was once a bustling high street with an array of big-brand stores but now with half of its shops deserted, it makes for a depressing picture. The 2,400sq-ft shop once occupied by Dorothy Perkins is still empty after the fashion retailer closed in 2019. The latest data shows that Stoke has the highest rates of vacant shops in England with almost 30 per cent lying empty. A similar picture is emerging in high streets across the country. The once-thriving high street in Weston-super-Mare has also struggled to fill units left by long-term traders. This includes a large hole left by Marks & Spencer when it closed its store three years ago after more 110 years of trading in the Somerset seaside town. Advertisement Under the new plan, local authorities will be able to force landlords to rent out commercial property on high streets through a Compulsory Rental Auction. After a short grace period for landlords to fill the shop, local authorities will be able to instigate an auction, inviting bids from interested parties. Ministers hope this will reduce the number of boarded-up shops while creating new opportunities for local small businesses and community groups and helping increase footfall and spending in town centres. A government source told the Mail: The Governments mission to level up will breathe new life into these great towns and end the scourge of boarded- up shops sucking the soul out of once-bustling high streets. Business leaders and campaign groups rallied behind the plan last night. Charlie Mullins OBE, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, said: We cannot keep having our high streets looking like the day after the apocalypse. This will spark much-needed life back into our towns and cities. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of industry body UK Hospitality, said: We welcome these new proposals to rejuvenate empty properties, which can blight an area, stimulate innovation and accelerate economic growth and recovery. Greater Manchesters night time economy adviser Sacha Lord said: Funding to repurpose empty outlets into retail, leisure or hospitality premises will not only aid town centre recovery but will encourage the public to shop local. This regeneration strategy has already worked in countless areas of Greater Manchester and Im pleased that the Government has recognised that much-needed action is now required to support our high streets. Campaign group Save The High Street, which launched in 2015, also backed the plans, saying they will turn the vacancy crisis into an opportunity for positive change. Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin thinks the Government also needs to focus on tax equality for businesses Wetherspoons chief executive Tim Martin welcomed the plan but called for further support for high streets, urging the Government to address the tax imbalance between hospitality businesses and supermarkets. Mr Martin said: Unless the Government grasps this nettle, its high street initiatives will be doomed to failure. Tax equality is the elixir that will encourage people to convert boarded-up shops into tax-paying employment-generating businesses. Ministers are under pressure to show how they are improving town centres, particularly in the former Red Wall seats, traditionally held by Labour but won by the Tories in 2019. The Conservative Partys general election-winning manifesto in that year said its focus would be levelling up every part of the UK and the term has since become a key slogan for Boris Johnsons Government. The strategy also aims to close the gap between rich and poor areas by 2030 through improving services such as education, broadband and transport. Britain has agreed to take refugees in from Rwanda under Priti Patels landmark deal, it has emerged. Those who fled war or persecution and were granted asylum status by Rwanda will be able to come to the UK under a reciprocal scheme signed by the Home Secretary last week. The crucial detail in the agreements small print which could lead critics to reappraise the agreement emerged only after Miss Patel returned from the East African nation on Friday. It states: The participants will make arrangements for the United Kingdom to resettle a portion of Rwandas most vulnerable refugees in the United Kingdom, recognising both participants commitment towards providing better international protection for refugees. Those who fled war or persecution and were granted asylum status by Rwanda will be able to come to the UK under a reciprocal scheme signed by the Home Secretary A Home Office source said it would apply to a number in the tens, not hundreds of people who have already been granted refugee status in Rwanda. However, the agreement states no limit. The refugees who are brought to this country are likely to be those with the most complex needs, it is understood, such as those with physical or mental health problems. Details set out in a memorandum of understanding between the UK and Rwanda reveals that victims of modern slavery and trafficking could be sent to Rwanda under the scheme. After a migrant arrives in Britain and is selected for transfer to Rwanda, the Home Office will provide them with a travel document if they do not have a passport, the deals small print adds. This aspect could be vulnerable to legal challenge, it is thought. But the Home Offices top civil servant claimed in a letter to Miss Patel that the Rwanda scheme is entirely appropriate given the scale of the crisis. Matthew Rycroft, the departments permanent secretary, said it was regular, proper and feasible for this policy to proceed. The seafront Strand Hotel on the Grand Parade at Eastbourne is housing migrants and refugees who have crossed the English Channel Best Westerns flagship establishment, The Midland in Derby, is being used to house some of those who have crossed the Channel A government spokesman said: Rwanda is leading in supporting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees... and as its partner, the UK will support this effort by resettling a portion of the most vulnerable refugees currently in Rwanda. Under the agreement made last Thursday, asylum seekers who arrive in Britain through irregular routes such as across the Channel in small boats will be removed on Home Office charter flights to Rwanda. The scheme will apply to everyone who has arrived illegally since January 1. Downing Street hopes the first removal flights will take place by the end of next month. Figures released yesterday showed 255 migrants arrived from France on Saturday. Overall, 6,266 migrants have made it to Britain so far this year a figure not reached last year until July. Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg yesterday told Radio 4s The World This Weekend that the plan would benefit the East African nation. What is being done is providing an opportunity for Rwanda... a country that has gone through terrible troubles. The Rwandan story is almost an Easter story of redemption, isnt it? Earlier, Miss Patel condemned the Lefts synthetic outrage at the scheme. All Ive heard... is a typical hysterical reaction from the Left, she told The Sun. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is defiant in his position that he did not break coronavirus rules according to his closes allies, despite being slapped with a fine from the Met Police for his involvement in the Partygate scandal. Mr Johnson has been accused of misleading the Commons over the lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street after he was fined for attending a birthday party thrown in his honour in the Cabinet Room in June 2020. The Prime Minister apologised and declared he would soon 'set the record straight' after having previously told MPs that no rules had been broken during Downing Street's numerous lockdown gatherings. Yet Mr Johnson this week is expected to press on in defence of the gatherings in the Commons, reiterating that in his view no restrictions were broken while seeking to sweep Partygate under the rug by focusing on the war in Ukraine and the government's new energy strategy. A Downing Street source told The Times that Johnson would 'of course apologise again' in his statement before MPs tomorrow, but will say 'we need to continue to focus on the huge priorities we need to deliver for our people,' in reference to the energy plan and Ukraine. A close ally of the Prime Minister said that while he accepted 'mistakes were made' he would tell MPs there was 'always an exemption for work and people were working in close proximity in No 10 for very long hours'. But Mr Johnson's allies fear the worst is yet to come, with the June 2020 event thought to be the least problematic of those being investigated by police - raising concerns there is a 'low bar' that could see him face further fines. It comes amid further worry that Mr Johnson was pictured drinking at other events being probed, The Sunday Times reports. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is defiant in his position that he did not break coronavirus rules according to his closes allies, despite being slapped with a fine from the Met Police for his involvement in the Partygate scandal Mr Johnson (pictured with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky) is expected to press on this week in defence of the gatherings in the Commons, asserting that no rules were broken while seeking to sweep Partygate under the rug by focusing on the war in Ukraine and the government's new energy strategy A group of police officers walk through Downing Street, in Westminster, London, during a protest outside the gates A protester holds up a placard of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak outside Downing Street Understood to be of particular concern is the gathering to send off then director of communications Lee Cain on November 13, 2020 - an occasion the Prime Minister is understood to have been at the forefront of. The PM is believed to have gathered staff around the press office table, which contained bottles of alcohol, before toasting Mr Cain - all captured by a photographer. His presence at the forefront of the event would likely contradict statements made to the Commons. Another insider said: 'This was the usual press office Friday evening wash-up drinks. Boris came fumbling over, red box in tow, and he gathered the staff around the press office table, which did have bottles of alcohol on it. 'He said he wanted to say a few words for Lee and started pouring drinks for people and drinking himself. He toasted him.' Downing Street said it will not be commenting on the pictures, but denied the Prime Minister had organised the leaving drinks. A Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday that Tory MPs might not 'hold the line' if Mr Johnson was fined again, adding: 'If he gets two, three or four fines, people can lose their nerve quickly.' MPs are expected to vote on Thursday on whether a parliamentary committee should look into claims that he misled Parliament over Partygate. Sources say Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is likely to allow two requests from opposition MPs for a so-called contempt motion into Mr Johnson's conduct. But Mr Johnson is expected to push his colleagues to ignore Partygate and focus on the upcoming local elections which take place on May 5. Meanwhile, Jacob Rees-Mogg played down allegations that Mr Johnson breached the ministerial code over Partygate amid criticism of the Prime Minister from a respected historian. Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, pictured, has played down allegations that Boris Johnson breached the ministerial code over Partygate Cabinet minister Mr Rees-Mogg insisted that the ministerial code has little 'constitutional significance'. 'The Ministerial Code is not a legislative part of our constitution it is a set of guidelines produced by the Prime Minister (pictured),' he told the BBC. 'I think that the Prime Minister spoke to Parliament in good faith' Lord Hennessy, a crossbench peer, claimed Mr Johnson had 'shredded the ministerial code' and was 'unworthy' of the Queen, 'her Parliament, her people and her kingdom'. The professor of contemporary British history at Queen Mary, University of London also said he 'cannot remember a day where I've been more fearful for the wellbeing of the constitution'. But Cabinet minister Mr Rees-Mogg insisted that the ministerial code has little 'constitutional significance'. 'The Ministerial Code is not a legislative part of our constitution it is a set of guidelines produced by the Prime Minister,' he told the BBC. 'I think that the Prime Minister spoke to Parliament in good faith.' The code states: 'Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.' At the weekend, Caroline Nokes became the latest Tory backbencher to insist the PM should go, revealing she has not withdrawn the letter of no confidence she submitted earlier this year. Sue Gray will not publish her report into lockdown parties at Downing Street until all police fines have been handed out. The Met will not confirm the interview stage of its investigation is complete in case new evidence makes further interrogations necessary and yet more fines are issued Mr Johnson will face MPs once more tomorrow and is still planning to visit India at the end of the week for defence, security and economic talks with the country's prime minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile it emerged that Sue Gray will not publish her report into lockdown parties at Downing Street until all police fines have been handed out. The Met will not confirm the interview stage of its investigation is complete in case new evidence makes further interrogations necessary and yet more fines are issued. As a result, the Gray report is unlikely to be released before May 5, the date of the local elections. The former ethics chief wants to publish the potentially explosive dossier as soon as possible after April 26, when the House of Lords returns from its Easter break. Today an exclusive poll for the MoS has Labour 11 points ahead of the Tories the highest lead Deltapoll has recorded since the 2019 Election. The Kremlin has resorted to recruiting children to boost its troop numbers in eastern Ukraine, according to human rights officials. In a bid to replace the estimated 30,000 soldiers either killed, wounded or captured so far in the war, Moscow is said to be recruiting from youth clubs and conscripting 16-year-olds. So-called patriotic clubs sprang up in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine following its invasion in 2014 as part of a campaign to promote the countrys culture in Luhansk and Donetsk. The reports come as Ukraine has been forced to give volunteer civilians weapons training so that they can defend their cities. The training includes close defence tactics, use of weaponry, military tactics and first aid. Yesterday, Ukrainian officials called on the United Nations to investigate Russias alleged use of child soldiers. Russia has been accused by a human rights organisation of using 'child soldiers' to help bolster their army in eastern Ukraine (pictured: A teenage volunteer is taught how to aim a Kalashnikov in Lviv, Ukraine, as part of civilian training) Ukraine say that Russia have violated the Geneva Convention by recruiting children into the army (pictured: Russian soldiers in Mariupol) According to human rights organisations, the children are undergoing military training and could be sent to the frontline perhaps against their will. Some may have already been thrust into action and lost their lives in the fighting. Reports have also suggested the badges and insignia of Russian military cadets, who are also not supposed to be deployed to war zones, have been found on battlefields in Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament commissioner on human rights Lyudmyla Denisova said: The occupation authorities [of Luhansk and Donetsk] are conducting the mobilisation of children who participated in the so-called patriotic clubs, to the levels of illegal weapons formations. They have been doing military training and there have been deaths among these teenagers [in Ukraine]. Now they are promoting the entry into the army of civilians, including children in the temporarily occupied territories. In doing so, the Russian Federation has violated the laws and customs of war provided by the 1949 Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians and the rights of children. The recruitment of children is a violation of international law. Russias patriotic clubs have been described as indoctrination centres by campaigners. The programme started in 2015, the year after the Russian invasion of Luhansk and Donetsk. Advertisement I'm in bed in an 'Eiffel View Room' in the ultra-luxurious Shangri-La Paris hotel - and discovering that its boast that the room offers 'stunning views' of the French capital's most recognisable landmark is no exaggeration. Gustave Eiffel's 1,082ft-high magnum opus looms so large I feel like I could grab hold of it. The tower lies just a 15-minute stroll away across the Seine river and there is a bank of big windows running the length of the generously proportioned main bedroom and adjacent en-suite, so those magnifique views are readily available, even during one's ablutions. Shangri-La Paris was built to order in the late 19th century as a grand family home by one Prince Roland Bonaparte. The Shangri-La group acquired it in 2006 and carefully renovated it. Pictured is the lobby, constructed using five varieties of marble from the Pyrenees, the Alps and Tuscany The jaw-dropping two-storey La Bauhinia restaurant at Shangri-La Paris, which features a three-tiered Murano chandelier suspended from a glass and steel dome. Ted enjoys dinner and breakfast here Much of Shangri-La Paris is listed as a historical monument The windows themselves, though, are modern double-glazed PVC units and seem incongruous with the rest of the hotel, most of which is breathtakingly ornate and much of which is historically significant. Why? Because the building was built to order in the late 19th century as a grand family home by one Prince Roland Bonaparte, the grand-nephew of French emperor Napoleon, and there was no holding back on architectural flourishes. The structure was sold to the Suez Canal Bank Company in 1925, the year after Prince Roland's death at the age of 66, and then bought by the French Centre of Foreign Trade in 1944, which used it to host international business meetings. The Shangri-La Group acquired the building in 2006 to turn it into its first European hotel and spent four years renovating it, using 'leading European specialists in historic building renovation to ensure that the integrity of the original home was protected and restored'. The architect commissioned by Prince Roland to design his home was Ernest Janty, renowned for his reconstruction work at the Louvre - and he produced a masterpiece. Thanks to the careful work of the Shangri-La team, it remains one. Views from many of the bedrooms feature breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower The pictures above show the view of the Eiffel Tower from Ted's room. He 'falls asleep each night with the hypnotic nighttime Eiffel Tower light show dancing across the walls' It's officially 'palace-rated' by the French government. And to stay at the 100-room hotel is to step into a spellbindingly regal world, with service that's good enough for royalty and dazzling Instagrammable backdrops coming thick and fast aside. Aside from bedroom Eiffel Tower views, there's the breathtakingly majestic lobby - constructed with five varieties of marble from the Pyrenees, the Alps and Tuscany the jaw-dropping two-storey La Bauhinia restaurant, which features a three-tiered Murano chandelier suspended from a glass and steel dome; the opulent Bar Botaniste, which celebrates Prince Roland's love of botany (he assembled the world's largest private plant collection); the stunning 17-metre pool in Prince Roland's former stables, with its beautiful blue tiling and elegant columns; and the arresting and generously chandeliered Shang Palace France's only Chinese restaurant with a Michelin star. It's cameras at the ready, too, for the parts officially listed as historic monuments, which include the facade, the ground-floor 'salons' (where guests can quaff Champagne), the 'Staircase of Honour' ascending from the lobby, and Prince Roland's former private living quarters on the second floor that it leads to, now the hotel's top room. The stunning 17-metre pool in Prince Roland's former stables, which features beautiful blue tiling and elegant columns One of the opulent ground-floor salons, where guests can quaff Champagne The grand 'historical monument' Staircase of Honour, which leads to Prince Roland's former private living quarters on the second floor and now the hotel's top room - LAppartement Prince Bonaparte Bar Botaniste serves one-of-a-kind cocktails I'm allowed a peek inside 'LAppartement Prince Bonaparte' and can report that it's a suite of considerable elegance and big enough to host a small ball. However, the per-night tariff of 18,000 euros (15,000/$20,000) doesn't get you Eiffel Tower views. Apparently, Prince Roland wasn't a fan of Gustav's handiwork, preferring a view from his chambers of Avenue d'Iena at the front of the building. The food at Shangri-La Paris's restaurants is also highly photogenic and delicious too. After tissue-livening elixirs at Bar Botaniste (I can recommend the rose-Champagne-based 'This is Not a Spritz', served in a bowl-like glass), we revel in the delights of a La Bauhinia dinner, with an exquisite lean-fish carpaccio with citrus marmalade, coconut and lime (32 euros/26), mouthwatering sea urchin and wakame tarama [a spread made with fish roe] with vegetables and croutons (24 euros/19), and rustic farmhouse chicken breast with the creamiest of mash (46 euros/38) scoring top marks. There's top wine, too. I indulge in a creamy glass of Chablis premier cru by Domaine Vincent Dauvissat (31 euros/25). We're seated on the central deep-red banquet and to be frank, feel like movie stars. LAppartement Prince Bonaparte has a per-night tariff of 18,000 euros (15,000/$20,000) Ted writes of the palatial LAppartement Prince Bonaparte (above) after being afforded a sneak peek: 'It's a suite of considerable elegance and big enough to host a small ball' LAppartement Prince Bonaparte's bathroom We return to the exact same spot for breakfast the following morning, but keep it very light with coffee and a pastry basket, as we have a midday appointment with Shang Palace and its Michelin-starred Cantonese cuisine. Which is a revelation. There's nothing avant-garde in the cooking here, no leftfield foam-enveloped deconstructions of traditional dishes. What head chef Samuel Lee does, is present traditional Chinese dishes most of which you'll recognise from your favourite local takeaway and elevate the flavours and textures to a level I promise you will never have experienced before. With classic wines, faultless service, and a beautiful setting to match. We decide against the 328-euro (278/$365) 'live red lobster' and instead opt for the 78-euro (64/$83) 'menu decouverte' (discovery menu). After being presented with little dishes of soy sauce and chilli paste - 'to use as "salt and pepper"' - we tuck into fried langoustine wonton with sweet and sour yuzu sauce; four delectable dumplings shrimp; shrimp and pork with crab roe; shrimp and pork with beetroot; and vegetables and mushrooms - pork belly and pickled vegetables; barbecued pork with honey and roasted duck, Cantonese style; egg fried rice, with barbecue pork; and a mango dessert. Bar Botaniste, where Ted tries a rose-Champagne-based 'This is Not a Spritz', served in a bowl-like glass Shang Palace (above), is France's only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant. Here Ted enjoys the 78-euro (64/$83) 'menu decouverte' (discovery menu) - and heavenly wine Pictured left are the four delectable dumplings Ted enjoys shrimp; shrimp and pork with crab roe; shrimp and pork with beetroot; and vegetables and mushrooms. Pictured right: Michelin-starred egg fried rice, with barbecue pork Prince Roland Bonaparte, who died in 1924. He was a notable botanist and explorer The only very slight disappointment is the dessert, which is refreshing, but a tad bland. The wine, meanwhile, is seriously heavenly by the glass we have two exceptional whites, a gorgeous Alsace Grand Cru ' Zinnkoepfle' Riesling by Agathe Bursin and a richly textured J M Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Referts (nearly 100 a bottle retail), plus a classic French red, a Saint-Joseph Syrah by Jean Michel Gerin. I'm sure Prince Roland would have approved. Our room would have pleased him, too, with its epic proportions, marble-clad bathroom featuring a heated floor and rainshower, and kingly king-sized bed. The view, not so much, of course. He would probably hit the bedside 'blackout' button to lower the blinds. Me? I fall asleep each night with the hypnotic nighttime Eiffel Tower light show dancing across the walls. Shangri-La indeed. A South Carolina inmate on death row has chosen the firing squad over the electric chair for his method of execution scheduled later this month. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, is also the first state prisoner to face the choice of execution methods after a law went into effect last year, making electrocution the default and giving inmates the option to face three prison workers with rifles instead, as reported by NPR. Moore has spent more than 20 years on death row for murdering a convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg. If his execution pushes through on April 29, he would be the first prisoner to be put to death in the state since 2011. Last year, a new rule made electrocution the default method of execution for death row inmates, with the choice of facing three prison guards with firearms instead. It resulted in a ten-year delay, which prison authorities blamed on a lack of drugs required to administer lethal injections, per a Sky News report. Pressured To Choose Firing Squad? Moore's lawyers have asked the California Supreme Court to postpone his execution while another court determines whether one of the two options is cruel and unusual punishment. Last month, the South Carolina correction department announced that it had finished establishing protocols for firing squad executions and had completed $53,600 in death chamber refurbishments in Columbia, including the installation of a metal chair with restraints facing a wall with a rectangular opening 15 feet (4.6 meters) away. Three volunteer prison workers will drill their weapons on the condemned prisoner's heart in the event of a firing squad execution. Moore claimed in a written statement that while neither method was legal or constitutional, he was more firmly opposed to death by electrocution and only chose the firing squad because of pressure. "I do not intend to waive any challenges to electrocution or firing squad by making an election," Moore noted. Last week, Director of the Corrections Department Bryan Stirling stated in an affidavit that the department was still unable to procure the drugs because producers and compounding pharmacies approached by the state refused to cooperate. Read Also: Scientists Investigate Mysterious Hepatitis Outbreak in Young Children in the UK, US Mistake-Free Execution Method During his 2001 trial, Prosecutors said Moore went into the store seeking money to sustain his cocaine habit and got into a fight with Mahoney, who drew a gun, which Moore wrestled away from him. Prosecutors said that a shootout occurred when Mahoney brought out a second weapon. Moore shot Mahoney in the chest. Moore allegedly left a trail of blood as he searched the shop for cash, walking two times over Mahoney. Washington-based charity Death Penalty Information Center said that only three people had been executed by firing squad in the United States since 1976. According to the institute, South Carolina is among eight states that still use the electric chair, and one of four permits a firing squad. Ronnie Lee Gardner, the last person executed by firing squad in the United States, chose that method because there would be no errors. Witnesses said that a hood was placed over his head and a target was strapped to his chest before a five-member squad of state law enforcement agents shot a series of fatal gunfire, the New York Times reported. Related Article: White House Confirms Ukraine Is Beating, Pushing Russia Back; Ambassador Warns About Dangerous US Provocation @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Everyone knows Cumbria's Lake District looks beautiful in blazing sunshine - but pictures by talented local photographer Ross Davidson show that it looks just as mesmerising in moody weather. The 28-year-old reveals: 'Often the best conditions for landscape photography come from being out during the bad weather. Its the most dramatic. 'And if youre not stood on that mountainside when the weather front has passed and the light emerges, then you wont be able to make it up there in time to capture it!' Since moving to the Lake District two years ago, the secondary school P.E teacher - who is originally from Merseyside - has dedicated a lot of his spare time to exploring the area's lesser-known mountain ranges with spectacular results. 'I dont often visit the easy-access classic photography locations... Id say 95 per cent of my photography is taken high up in the fells in quite obscure locations,' he explains, adding: 'I love the Lake District. Its incredibly unique and the diversity within a relatively small geographic area is wonderful to see. Regular visitors will understand when I say that each "corner" of the Lakes has its own unique feel, when you compare the rugged, rocky landscape around Wasdale and Eskdale to the gentle rolling fells in the east - its easy to understand why.' For Ross, the dawn starts and long treks in horrendous weather are worth it when he captures stunning shots, such as snow-capped fells under dramatic clouds, and the mighty Scafell Pike - England's tallest mountain - in a shower of hail. Scroll on for our pick of some of Ross's most awe-inspiring photos... Pictured here is the view from one of the Lake District's most popular mountains and one of Ross's favourites Great Gable, which stands to the north-east of lake Wastwater. Ross recalls: 'What an absolute privilege it was to stand on top of this majestic mountain, watching the sun setting and the clouds swirling in the valleys on all sides and around the surrounding fells. I spent three hours mooching around the summit of Great Gable and it felt like ten minutes. This is the Lake District at its best.' He adds of Great Gable: 'Its very photogenic from all angles, a wonderful hike from all directions and is home to some very special memories for me' This atmospheric shot captures a cluster of brooding peaks in the Newlands Valley, with Causey Pike on the left. For Ross, the Lake District offers a huge variety of dramatic landscapes to explore. He says: 'Regular visitors will understand when I say that each corner of the Lakes has its own unique feel, when you compare the rugged, rocky landscape around Wasdale and Eskdale to the gentle rolling fells in the east' Scafell and Scafell Pike, the second-highest and the highest mountains in England respectively, are pictured here standing side by side 'amidst a downpour of hail and a splash of light', says Ross. The mountains are set near the village of Grasmere. Ross adds: 'I love the Lake District. Its incredibly unique and the diversity within a relatively small geographic area is wonderful to see' The mighty 3,163ft- (964m) high Scafell mountain is captured here looking especially dominating. Ross reveals that he loves to visit the nearby valley of Eskdale, as it allows him to photograph the 'staggering mountain vista that is the Scafell range' Ross walked around the shores of Ullswater, a lake near the town of Penrith, before hiking up Hallin Fell, where he took this stunning photo. He recalls: 'I had always been keen to return to this location for the lovely view down into Martindale. Its really quite unique. Luckily for me, the dense clouds started to thin whilst we were tucking into our butties, and allowed for this beautiful glow to illuminate the bottom of the valley' This incredible shot was taken in the Vale of Lorton, a series of valleys that range from Cockermouth towards Keswick. It shows a ray of light breaking through the dark clouds overhead. Ross says: 'The most important factor in landscape photography is just getting out. Its obvious but youll never see those moments if youre sat in the warm on the sofa!' This epic picture shows the lush landscape around Loughrigg Fell, a hill near Ambleside in the centre of the Lake District This spectacular photo was taken from the southern slope of the hill of Mellbreak, which looks toward Grasmoor mountain and Crummock Water in the western part of the Lake District. Speaking about the immense scale of the mountains in the region, Ross says: 'If you get out and about in the mountains we have, then you will realise they stand up to any mountain ranges in the world' LEFT: This mesmerising snap was taken while descending the southeastern ridge of Grasmoor, and features a snow-dusted Whiteless Pike in the background, says Ross. He adds: 'I will never tire of these views. Simply stunning conditions high up in the Lake District fells.' RIGHT: This photo shows the incredible scale of Grasmoor mountain, illustrated by the seemingly tiny houses at its foot. Ross says: 'Composition is one of the most important factors to creating an impactful image' 'This was a spur of the moment shot when some nice light broke through the clouds across Haweswater (a reservoir in the valley of Mardale),' Ross recalls of this beautiful picture. 'I love how just a little bit of light can completely change a scene,' he adds LEFT: Pictured here is a misty morning in the Great Langdale Valley - an area that travels west of Ambleside up to the Langdale Pikes - taken from Lingmoor Fell. Contrary to what some people may think, the picture-perfect light and weather conditions are not something that Ross encounters through luck. He explains: '[There are] lots of early starts - I prefer shooting at sunrise. I just prefer the light and conditions at that time of day - and enduring long hikes with adverse conditions can lead to fantastic results.' RIGHT: Named Stepping Stones to Heaven, this photo captures the beautiful pastel blues and pinks of the sunrise over lake Elterwater in Great Langdale. Contrary to the calmness it conveys, Ross remembers: 'This was another one of those frantic moments when I saw the conditions forming as the sun rose. I plonked the tripod down and quickly arranged my composition, and this was the first shot that I fired off' Ross calls this majestic photo 'The Last March of the Ents', in reference to the tree-like beings from J R R Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. It shows picturesque Borrowdale Valley, an area south of Keswick LEFT: This drizzly photo depicts a rickety gate with Castle Crag Fell, a hill south of Derwent Water, in the background. 'This pretty much sums up the weather were having here in the Lakes this autumn,' Ross wrote in his caption when he posted this on Instagram. RIGHT: A passionate hiker, Ross says that he tends not to plan his shoots and prefers a more 'reactive style'. He adds: 'Its important to be flexible in my opinion' Thandiwe Newton has allegedly separated from her husband Ol Parker and is likely headed to rehab according to a new report. The reports come four days after the actress, 49, denied claims she was sacked from her leading role in Magic Mike 3 over a heated argument with co-star Channing Tatum. She has since been replaced in the role by Salma Hayek. According to a new report in Page Six, staffers on the movie became worried about her health during filming in London, with her agent flying in from Los Angeles to try and 'smooth things over'. The publication reports that Thandiwe has been suffering with emotional and family problems after separating from her husband Ol, 52, with whom she shares children Ripley, 21, Nico, 17, and Booker, eight. Split? Thandiwe Newton has allegedly separated from her husband Ol Parker and is likely headed to rehab according to a new report (pictured with Ol in 2019) Ol is a British filmmaker who previously wrote and directed the 2018 musical film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. A source said: 'Thandiwe had been acting strange on set, she has been very highly strung. Her apparent breakdown caused so much disruption, it became clear she couldn't play the role. 'There is a lot going on in her personal life, she and her husband have separated. She seemed so stressed she even brought her two pet rabbits to her hotel for emotional support.' A Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson previously said of her departure from the movie: 'Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures' Magic Mike's Last Dance to deal with family matters.' EXCLUSIVE: Channing Tatum has been seen for the first time since his Magic Mike 3 co-star Thandiwe Newton exited the film following claims of an 'on-set bust-up' Sighting: Channing was seen heading to lunch with girlfriend Zoe Kravitz, 33, at the 34 Restaurant in Mayfair Quit: The actress, 49, recently denied claims she was sacked from her leading role in Magic Mike 3 over a heated argument with co-star Channing Tatum The insider added that Thandiwe fired her UK agent of three decades as her US agent Gaby Morgerman flew in to try to help. Gaby is considered one of the most powerful women in Hollywood, representing stars including Matthew McConaughey and Minnie Driver over her thirty year career at powerhouse agency William Morris. Thandiwe has reportedly fired her UK team at London based agency Independent Talent Group in recent weeks. The insider said of her next steps: 'Thandiwe's team wants her to go to rehab for mental health support. She was supposed to leave immediately for a facility, they tried for a Malibu rehab, but they couldn't take her. Arrangements are now being made to go to a facility in Arizona, if she agrees to go.' Family: The couple share three children Ripley, 21, Nico, 17, and Booker, eight (pictured with her husband and daughters in 2019) MailOnline has contacted representatives of Thandiwe Newton for comment. Thandiwe exited Magic Mike's Last Dance after 11 days of filming with Channing due to a 'family matter'. Last week The Sun reported the alleged argument between Thandiwe and Channing, which was said to be 'unimaginably vicious', was over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. A Warner Bros. Pictures spokesperson said: 'Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures' Magic Mike's Last Dance to deal with family matters.' The statement comes after insiders told The Sun that Thandiwe is planning on suing studio chiefs at Warner Bros over the incident. The argument reportedly took place on location in Paddington and culminated with Channing driving off set in his car. A source said: 'Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set. Thandiwe Newton is the number two star. But 11 days into shooting and it's all over. 'They fell out over the debacle at The Oscars. I was on set. I watched her and watched him. They were in and out of the house where we were filming having this confrontation. 'After the row he just went, 'I am not working with her anymore'. Him being a producer, it's his movie, so she's off the movie.' The source added that all scenes filmed with Thandiwe will now have to be reshot with Salma while the film's director Steven Soderbergh reportedly didn't take a side in the argument. A spokesperson for Thandiwe told MailOnline: 'This report is completely inaccurate.' The original Magic Mike movie premiered in 2012 and was loosely based on Channing's experience working as a stripper in Tampa, Florida. A sequel followed in 2015. Channing confirmed that he would reprise his role for Magic Mike's Last Dance in November on 2021. The film is set to premiere exclusively on HBO Max. The release date has yet to be announced. In a recent interview with PEOPLE he spoke about the importance on the movie having a lead female character. 'I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to... I don't want to say, [to have her] take the baton, but really let the movie be about a female's experience and not Mike's experience, because it has been so much about Mike and the guys' experiences. 'These movies are very, very female-forward. At least that is our intention.' Report: It was claimed the alleged argument between Thandiwe and Channing was 'unimaginably vicious' (Channing pictured centre in Magic Mike, 2012) Born in London, Newton grew up in Penzance, Cornwall, where her parents her dad is white British, her mother black, from Zimbabwe sent her to a Catholic school. She said of her school years: 'I was aware that I didn't fit. I was the black, atheist kid in the all-white, Catholic school run by nuns'. She went on to study at Cambridge University, where she read anthropology. She has said she fell in love with her husband Ol at first sight, dumping her boyfriend at the time to be with him when they met in 1997. At the time Ol was a screenwriter and had penned In Your Dreams, which featured the actress. 'It's very unusual to have writers around on set because directors don't want them there. But they love having Ol around. He was on set every day and I fell madly in love with him,' she told InStyle Magazine. 'I'd never experienced that before. Up until then, my relationships had always been more based on people wanting to be with me. When I met Ol, I was dating a really sweet, lovely man and I had to leave him straight away, even though I wasn't even going out with Ol'. 'But as soon as I met Ol, it kind of cut off any other blood vessels to anywhere else. We got married about two years later.' She went on to marry Ol in 1998, with the actress gushing in a 2016 interview about their home life with their three children that the director is 'Soooo calm.' Recast: Thandiwe's role in the film will now reportedly be played by Salma Hayek (pictured in February) 'And we laugh, because I take the p**s out of him,' she added at the time. 'You know: shoulder-shrugging: 'It's OK, babe.' And he takes the p**s out of my What would you describe it as? Highly emotional. As I'm thinking, the words will come. I don't stop and think.' In a 2019 interview Thandiwe revealed she lost acting roles because she spoke out about sexual abuse in the past. When she was 16 she was groomed by director John Duigan, who was 39 years old at the time. The violations by Duigan lasted five years, two of those years were termed a 'relationship' after he sought Newton's parents' blessing for her to be his girlfriend when she was 18, while asking her to hide their previous intimacy which began when she was just 16. Two years after meeting Duigan, at the age of 18, another director told the actress to intimately touch herself during an audition. Newton obliged, as there was also a female casting director present. Love: The actress has said she fell in love with her husband Ol at first sight, dumping her boyfriend at the time to be with him when they met in 1997(pictured in 2019) But years later, she discovered the unnamed man had kept her tape and was playing it at poker games for other Hollywood elite. Following the violating discovery, Thandiwe began to fight the abuse and call it out - an act that cost the actress many jobs. 'I was very aware of the climate of sexual abuse that was going on around me, so I became the person you didn't want to hire because I would call it out,' she told Marie Claire in 2019. 'In retrospect, I can see many instances where not only would I not be employed, but other actors and actresses would not necessarily want to be associated with me.' 'Probably the worst thing about having your innocence rocked is what stays with you. The sense of worthlessness, shamethese things are very hard to move on from. But you can,' she told the outlet. The star said she terminated a contract with a publicist who begged her to stop talking about being sexually abused because it was 'not good for your reputation'. In 1996 Thandiwe sought help after suffering from an eating disorder, which she explained stemmed from her previous sexual abuse. 'I was lying in bed, so thin, and my heart was beating against my ribcage so hard that I could see it, and my friend Jessica called. I said 'Jessica, I'm worried I'm going to die.' And that was it. I suddenly realised there was something very, very dangerous and dark within. She said, 'You've got to go and talk to somebody'' she told Vogue in 2021. Family: She went on to marry Ol in 1998, with the actress gushing in a 2016 interview about their homelife with their three children that the director is 'Soooo calm' (pictured with two of their children Ripley and Nico in 2016) The star has previously been open about subscribing to the The Hoffman Process, a form of therapy also embraced by the likes of Katy Perry and Sienna Miller. Retreats and courses help attendees 'unlearn' negative behaviors and thereby begin a journey of 'self-understanding'. Justin Bieber described his experience of The Hoffman Process in a 2019 Vogue interview, explaining: 'You sit on a mat, you put a pillow down, and you beat your past out of it. I beat the fact that my mom was depressed a lot of my life and my dad has anger issues. Stuff that they passed on that I'm kind of mad they gave me'. In a revealing interview in 2021, Thandiwe revealed that she was becoming disillusioned with acting, telling Vogue UK: 'I find that acting takes more and more away from me, because I'm more connected to myself than I've ever been, whereas before I was delighted to get an excuse to go off to another personality.' 'I couldn't wait to get away from myself, truly, I had such low self-esteem. Acting was where I felt whole.' The actress was previously credited as Thandie Newton before she reverted to the original spelling of her name three decades after it was misspelled in her first film. She revealed that Thandie was a careless misspelling in the credits of her first movie the 1991 Australian film Flirting, co-starring Nicole Kidman and Noah Taylor and it has stuck ever since. 'That's my name. It's always been my name. I'm taking back what's mine,' she told British Vogue in April 2021. Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet have spoken out about the 'nightmare' of his baby son Brody catching coronavirus twice since his birth in May last year. The former TOWIE stars shared that they went through a 'scary time' when they were all struck down with the illness just weeks before they started filming new episodes of their ITVBe series Georgia and Tommy: Baby Steps. Tommy, 29, who proposed to Georgia, 30, after eight years together in February this year, exclusively told MailOnline the couple have been through some 'bad patches and lots of scary stuff' but are learning to weather the storms. Tough times: Georgia Kousoulou, 30, and Tommy Mallet, 29, have spoken out about the 'nightmare' of his baby son Brody catching coronavirus twice since his birth in May last year He said: 'Brody has caught Covid twice. We have all had it twice. We had it in November and in March just before we started filming. 'It has been a nightmare. We have gone through the bad patches and a lot of scary stuff. We are starting to become quite good at this.' While the threesome did not shoot their show while they were ill with Covid, they revealed the cameras have still been present for some of the tougher moments, to openly share the struggles they've faced as new parents. Bad luck: Former The Only Way Is Essex star Tommy shares Brody with fiancee Georgia Kousoulou, 30, and the whole family was struck down with the illness twice Tommy explained: 'We are ill and I have text the cameraman to be on standby saying, ''We are struggling today. This might be something you need to come and get.'' 'If one of us is struggling for the day I will ring the camera crew and be like, ''Come and get this. We are really struggling today.'' However, Tommy insists he hasn't let any illness or problems get in his way, insisting he managed to carry on working without a break. Unfortunate: The family fell ill just weeks before they started filming new episodes of their ITVBe series Georgia and Tommy: Baby Steps He said: 'I took time off in November as I had the virus and I wasn't very well. I had about a week off then. What is time off when you have got your own business, your own show and your own baby? There is no such thing. It is very intense. 'When you do what I do there are not set dates. I work in eight time zones and some of them have different weeks. Dubai work on a Sunday. It is just my life. I have got a huge team who work alongside me, achieving massive goals. I am bringing more and more people in to show them the way. 'So, it is one of them ones. It is part of my life. My relationship with my boy, Georgia and my business.' Difficulties: Tommy said the couple have been through some 'bad patches and lots of scary stuff' but are learning to weather the storms Meanwhile, Georgia is already planning Brody's first birthday party, with Tommy predicting a huge celebration with plenty of friends of family in attendance. 'Georgia has been planning it and we're going to be inviting lots of family and friends,' he said. 'Obviously during the lockdown there are so many people we have not seen. Life on film: The couple always have the cameras on standby to document the drama happening in their lives for their show 'With Georgia pregnant for most of 2020 and half of 2021 we didn't see many people because we were keeping our heads down. 'It would be nice as some people haven't met the baby - it will be a lovely opportunity to get every one together. 'Georgia isn't doing any half measures, they'll be nothing happening at home. There will be a venue.' Watch episodes of Georgia and Tommy: Baby Steps on ITVBe on Sundays at 9pm. Married At First Sight success story Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson are proof that a relationship can survive a bad reality TV edit. And on Sunday, the couple revealed they've bonded with this year's 'villains' Olivia Frazer, 28, and Jackson Lonie, 30. 'Our heart goes out to them,' Ruthven, 32, told The Herald Sun of the embattled couple. 'Watching them felt like we were watching us': Married At First Sight's Bryce Ruthven, 32, (right) and Melissa Rawson, 32, (left) have thrown their support behind fellow 'villains' Olivia Frazer and Jackson Lonie 'Olivia and Jackson, watching them felt like we were watching us, just with roles reversed with Olivia being more like myself. 'We have been in touch with them and spoken to them and honestly they seem like two great humans and are nice people. Bryce said he feels like the harassment Olivia has copped outside the show is 'next level and unacceptable'. Solidarity: 'Olivia and Jackson, watching them felt like we were watching us, just with roles reversed with Olivia being more like myself,' he told The Herald Sun on Sunday. Pictured Jack and Olivia Melissa, 32, and Bryce, who met on MAFS 2021, have twins boys Tate and Levi, are meanwhile preparing to marry for real in February. It comes just weeks after Bryce took to Instagram Stories to accuse Married At First Sight producers of manufacturing 'forced' drama. 'I seem to recall going to a particular dinner party where I had everyone attacking myself over a forced producer act that led to some of the worst acting seen on TV,' Bryce wrote. Having his say: 'We have been in touch with them and spoken to them and honestly they seem like two great humans and are nice people' All for TV? Following a recent dinner party where the 'nude photo scandal' erupted, Bryce took to Instagram to accuse the producers of manufacturing drama 'According to expert John [Aiken]... [it was] acceptable behaviour in 2021. Not acceptable in 2022. Go figure? All tonight's show is missing is Dion's edited voiceover again.' Olivia, 28, dropped the bombshell that she was the one who told the rest of the cast about the naked photo of Domenica, also 28. She claimed her 'friends' had googled Dom and uncovered her OnlyFans account. Controversy: This is the photo of MAFS star Domenica Calarco that is at the centre of the 'nude photo scandal'. While the full, uncensored image was posted publicly on Twitter, Daily Mail Australia has chosen to only show a cropped version Guilty: Olivia revealed she had been the one to tell the group there was a naked photo of Domenica circulating online 'I don't think I regret sharing the information about Dom's OnlyFans,' an unrepentant Olivia later told producers. She also offered a scathing response after Brent Vitiello said Dom was 'copping punches from every angle' at the dinner party, saying: 'She kind of deserves it.' Viewers were mortified by Olivia's lack of remorse, with one tweeting: 'I really thought no one could beat Bryce [Ruthven] as MAFS' worst villain but Olivia definitely takes the top spot.' 'Olivia you have officially crossed every line trying to publicly humiliate and degrade another woman. Shame on you,' another wrote. 'Jealous, pathetic little witch that you are. DOM, WOMEN EVERYWHERE ARE WITH YOU.' She stars opposite Dakota Fanning in the upcoming Showtime historical drama series The First Lady. And Michelle Pfeiffer shared that she was 'pleasantly surprised' to be reunited with the 28-year-old actress after first working together 20 years earlier. The 63-year-old Academy Award nominee spoke to ET on Thursday about working with Dakota again after helping the actress make her feature debut in 2001's I Am Sam. Reunited: Michelle Pfeiffer, 63, told ET on Thursday that she was 'pleasantly surprised' to reunite with Dakota Fanning, 28, on the set of The First Lady after they worked together on 2001's I Am Sam; seen Thursday in LA Michelle appeared in that film as a hotshot lawyer, but she and Dakota are now playing the mother and daughter duo of Betty and Susan Ford in the political drama series. Michelle admitted on the red carpet of the First Lady premiere in Los Angeles that she was 'curious' to see how the now-adult Dakota had matured since they last worked together. 'She turned seven on I Am Sam and I bought her a Barbie Winnebago,' Michelle recalled. 'I remember playing Barbies in her camper with she and [her sister] Elle. And she turned 27 on the set of First Lady. I was so curious to see the kind of grownup that she had become and was oh-so-pleasantly surprised in a way.' I Am Sam stars Sean Penn as the title character, an intellectually disabled man who is forced to take over parenting duties of his daughter (Dakota) after her mother a homeless woman that he had a brief relationship with abandons her. Like family: Michelle and Dakota are now playing the mother and daughter duo of Betty and Susan Ford in the Showtime political drama series; seen Thursday in LA First collaboration: When Dakota was only seven, she appeared in I Am Sam her first film as the daughter of the intellectually disabled titled character (Sean Penn, pictured). Michelle played a lawyer fighting for his custody rights; seen in 2001 in LA After Sam is threatened with losing custody of his daughter, he hires a lawyer (Michelle) to fight for his rights in court after his daughter is placed with a new foster mother (Laura Dern). Michelle also stars with Viola Davis as Michelle Obama in the Showtime series, which offers a 'revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House' The Hairspray actress added that she 'loved' getting to work with Aaron Eckhart who stars as her husband and the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford because she has been a fan of his for many years. Big fan: The Hairspray actress added that she 'loved' getting to work with Aaron Eckhart who stars as her husband and the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford because she had admired his work for years; still from The First Lady 'I loved working with Aaron. I've been such a fan of his for so many years and was really excited when I heard he was going to play Gerry Ford. It was wonderful. It was intense and it was fun,' she gushed. However, Michelle admitted she is unaware whether any of the real-life Ford family have seen the drama series, though she hopes they would approve of her performance. She added: 'I don't know if they sent it to them to see or not. I'd love to hear from them if they're happy.' Neil Jones's girlfriend Sienna Hollen has reportedly called their romance a 'whirlwind' and has said that moving in together is already 'on the table'. The 39-year-old Strictly Come Dancing dancer, and former Miss Romania, 24, have been dating since February, but have allegedly discussed taking their relationship to the next level. According to The Sun, Sienna told a friend that the relationship between them started when Neil messaged her on Instagram after liking a string of her photos. New romance: Neil Jones's girlfriend Sienna Hollen has reportedly called their romance a 'whirlwind' and said that moving in together was 'on the table' He then proceeded to invite her out to a number of dates, including dinner at a top London restaurant. The pal told the publication that the couple are planning a romantic getaway to Los Angeles, where Sienna is recording new music, and have discussed moving in together. The friend said: 'Its a real whirlwind romance. 'Sienna said that Neil was quite shy at first, but seems very keen and is very kind with her. They have been seeing each other as much as possible. Where it all began: According to The Sun, Sienna told a friend that the relationship between them started when Neil sent her a message on Instagram after liking a string of her photos Future plans: The pal told the publication that the couple are planning a romantic getaway to Los Angeles, where Sienna is recording new music, and have discussed moving in together 'They have spoken about moving in together and its very much on the table, but for now they are both focusing on enjoying the moment.' Representatives for Neil have been contacted for comment by MailOnline. Neil only split from his underwear model girlfriend Sophie Lily Kerr in February, but now seems to be keen on the former Miss Romania. Their outing comes after a source told The Sun: 'Neil and Sienna are totally smitten and want to spend as much time with each other as possible, so it made sense to move in together. 'Despite their age gap, they have plenty in common and get on really well. It's still early days but signs are looking good this relationship may have some legs.' Earlier this year, Neil fuelled romance rumours by liking a string of Sienna's sexy Instagram photos. He has made it clear he likes what he sees when it comes to Sienna's often scantily-clad snaps, with the bombshell even returning the favour by liking Neil's photos. According to The Sun, the pair started following each other in January and have been 'liking each other's posts ever since'. Neil liked one of the actress' posts when the model slipped into a clinging dress and 'hearted' a sizzling photo of her wearing a bikini while lapping up the sunshine in Dubai. Whoops! Despite his budding relationship with Sienna, Neil was seen getting cosy with fellow Strictly Come Dancing pro Nancy Xu after a recent performance of the show's live tour Despite his budding relationship with Sienna, Neil was seen getting cosy with fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional Nancy Xu at a Glasgow hotel after a recent performance of the show's live tour. In a now-deleted video posted on former contestant Sara Davies' Instagram page, Nancy, 30, who has been dating martial arts expert Mikee Michele for five years, is seen sitting on Neil's lap. The pair appear to be oblivious to the world around them as she sits with her arm around her co-star while deep in conversation. MailOnline contacted representatives for Neil and Nancy for comment at the time. News Neil had split from his underwear model girlfriend Sophie Lily Kerr broke in February. The pair hit the headlines when she moved into his London home in October just weeks after they started dating but their romance is said to have has come to an end after three months together. A source told The Sun: 'Neil and Lilys romance started as a whirlwind and it ended just as quickly. They made a lovely couple but their schedules made it difficult for them to look to the future. 'It was impossible to keep that flame alive. There is no bad blood between them however. Sadly their relationship was just not to be.' Last year, Neil was said to be 'head over heels' with Sophie following his split from his ex Luisa Eusse, 23, in October 2020 after she cheated on him with a woman. Neil was previously married to fellow Strictly professional Katya Jones, 32, for 11 years but they split in 2019 after Katya was seen kissing her celebrity partner on the BBC ballroom show, Seann Walsh, while out in London in October 2018. The exes have remained close friends since announcing their break-up in August 2019 and often dance together as part of the professional group on Strictly. Dua Lipa has gushed she 'waited so long' to make her 'emotional' return to the stage in the UK, after finally kicking off the British leg of her much-delayed Future Nostalgia tour in Manchester on Friday. During an interview with The Sun, the hitmaker, 26, admitted 'so much had changed' since the time her tour was meant to take place, describing the reaction from her fans as 'the best welcome home ever.' 'We've been waiting so long to put this show on, we moved it and postponed it and finally we're here,' Dua said. Amazing! Dua Lipa has gushed she 'waited so long' to make her 'emotional' return to the stage in the UK, after kicking off the British leg of her Future Nostalgia tour in Manchester on Friday In keeping with the tour name, Dua looked back over the last few years, which saw her tour delayed multiple times due to the Covid pandemic. She said: 'I was looking at pictures of my previous shows here in Manchester and I got really emotional, as so much has changed in what feels like so little time. 'I want to thank you so much for listening to the music and all your support for dancing with us.' Dua always gives time back to her fans and she showed her gratitude, 'it means the world. Thank you for allowing me to be on this stage.' Relief: During an interview with The Sun, the 26-year-old explained that it was a long awaited journey. She said: 'This is the best welcome home ever In style: Dua looked every inch the glamorous pop star as she took to the stage at the AO Arena in Manchester as part of her Future Nostalgia World Tour on Friday night. Born to perform: The talented performer wore a neon pink fitted catsuit with a floral pattern and a plunging neckline to perform Dua looked every inch the glamorous pop star as she took to the stage at the AO Arena in Manchester as part of her Future Nostalgia World Tour on Friday. The talented performer wore a neon pink fitted catsuit with a floral pattern and a plunging neckline to perform. Dua also donned a pair of matching gloves and added a few inches to her stature with some high-heeled boots in the same colour. Sizzling: Dua glanced out across the audience with a sultry look on her face as she slowed down for a second during her performance The star wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty facial features and confidently strutted across the stage as she entertained the crowd. Taking to her Instagram Stories before the show, she shared some snaps of herself posing in her outfit backstage. It comes after it emerged Dua and Katy Perry are waiting for their schedules to align to record a duet. The pop megastars have had two failed attempts to release a hit together after Dua decided not to feature on Katy's track Teary Eyes on her 2020 LP Smile, while the Don't Start Now hitmaker wanted to get the American superstar on her song Ball & Chain, but she was too busy at the time. An insider has now claimed the duo are still hoping to get in the studio together. A source told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: 'Dua and Katy are both fans of each other. Busting some moves: Dua ensured the audience got a full view of her outfit which perfectly hugged her impressive figure Wild child: The star whipped her hair through the air as she danced during her gig as part of her world tour Star quality: The star stood out amongst her dancers as she graced the stage for the epic show, with the rest of the performers wearing red 'So far it's been an issue of schedules and that Dua was determined to keep Future Nostalgia collab-free. But now she's looking to the future and has loads of people she wants to work with.' The pair will soon have a collaborator in common, as it was recently reported that Katy has recorded a new remix of one of Madonna's biggest hits for an upcoming remix album to mark The Queen of Pop's 40th anniversary. A source previously told The Sun: 'Madonna has been going flat out over the past few weeks. Strike a pose: Taking to her Instagram Stories before the show, she shared some snaps of herself posing in her outfit backstage 'Not only is she working on her biopic but she's also been in the studio at all hours. 'She's been a massive fan of Katy for years and always talked about doing a song with her. 'With the remix project things have fallen into place. As plans are still being sorted out, no release date is set yet. Hopefully fans won't have to wait too long.' The Like a Virgin hitmaker is celebrating four decades since the release of her 1982 debut single, Everybody, in October. Dua, meanwhile, got Madonna and Missy Elliott to feature on a remix of Levitating. They rose to fame at warp speed nearly 30 years ago and now the Spice Girls have teamed up with a Star Trek devotee to make a candid documentary about their stellar career. J. J. Abrams, who has directed hugely successful Star Wars and Star Trek movies, approached the girls with the idea. Sources say Geri Horner, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown have all agreed to co-operate with the film and Posh Spice Victoria Beckham is tempted to join in too. The iconic girl band, pictured at the VMAs in 1997, will be the subject of a new documentary The documentary would tell the story of the bands rise to stardom in the mid-1990s and feature interviews and unseen material from their personal archives. Mr Abrams and his business partner, Hollywood movie director Jason Hehir, are now shopping the project around streaming giants including Netflix. The four girls have committed to it and its happening, said an insider. It has been developed and its now going out to streamers as part of a bidding war. Victoria is open-minded about it which the others are really optimistic about, because previously she has flatly refused to take part in any kind of reunions. But this is high-end and, most importantly, wont require her to sing as she has insisted that she will never do so on stage again. Formed in 1994, the Spice Girls went on to sell more than 100 million records worldwide. They had eight UK No 1s between 1996 and 1998 including Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life but effectively split up in 2000. Abrams pictured with wife Katie McGrath at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on March 27, 2022 Mrs Beckham appeared in the Return Of The Spice Girls concert tour in 2007 but did not sign up for 2019s Spice World dates. She did, however, appear with the band for the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Mr Abrams, 55, is regarded as one of Hollywoods top directors and his firm Bad Robot Productions is currently working on a reboot of the Superman movie franchise. A source close to the documentary said: There have been similar projects about The Beatles and One Direction, but there is real excitement about this. 'It will give millions of Spice Girls fans an exclusive insight into life during those years. Peter Kay left his audience in hysterics with a hilarious wedding quip after he made his hotly-anticipated return to the stage on Good Friday for his first tour in 11 years. The comedian, 48, performed his first Dance For Life show at Manchester Central Convention Complex and quickly left guests laughing with a joke about being twenty minutes late for the show. It comes Peter was seen donning an 80s-inspired ensemble of a multicoloured headband, a record-print jacket and gold lurex joggers as he gleefully addressed the crowds in footage obtained by MailOnline. There he is! Peter Kay showed he's back and funnier than ever before with a quip about weddings as he made his hotly-anticipated return to the stage on Good Friday - after largely stepping out of the public eye for the last five years The star has not performed a show since cancelling a huge 14-month stand-up tour in 2017 citing 'unforeseen family circumstances' But he showed he was back on top comedy form, as after arriving on stage twenty minutes late, Peter quipped: 'Sorry we're late, they're a bit slow coming in. 'A lot of you won't get a chance to dance anymore. If you're like me, it'll be every four years at a wedding for about 11 minutes until they play something modern and you sit down because you feel about 100.' The tour profits will be donated to Cancer Research UK, with the event billed as 'the dance-a-thon party that will change lives.' He's back! The comedian has been absent from the spotlight for several years, but delighted fans with his return to the stage (pictured in 2011) They feature singing and dancing performances from Peter, with further scheduled performances in London and Liverpool. Inside shots from the fun-filled night saw Peter take his place behind the DJ decks while vintage clips of his Channel 4 sitcom, Max & Paddy's Road To Nowhere, played on the big screen. He then joined a host of dancers while showing off his own moves and clapping. Last month Peter joined Instagram to promote his new tour. Light show: A light show lit up the stage as Manchester welcomed the comedian Go for it: The comedian was joined by dancers as he took to the stage Good spirits: Peter showed off his best moves as he partied the night away Go for it: Inside shots from the fun-filled night saw Peter take his place behind the DJ decks while vintage clips of his Channel 4 sitcom, Max & Paddy's Road To Nowhere, played on the big screen Sighting: Peter was in his element as he waved at the crowds during his return Wouldn't miss it: Crowds packed out the show as they celebrated Peter's return Good to see you: The comedian performed his first Dance For Life show at Manchester Central Convention Complex - marking his first tour since 2011 (pictured 2011) In demand: Crowds packed out the convention space as Peter returned to the stage A pair of tweets from Peter's official Twitter account, the first since September 2021, shared a link to his new Instagram, reading: 'Peter is now on Instagram please give him a follow his new official account.' The new Instagram account only has two photos a shot of Peter and a promo poster for his show, Peter Kay's Dance for Life. 'Extra tickets just released for Peter Kay's Dance for Life in Manchester and Liverpool,' the caption teased. Here he is: Last month Peter joined Instagram to promote his new tour Promo: A pair of tweets from Peter's official Twitter account, the first since September 2021, shared a link to his new Instagram, reading: 'Peter is now on Instagram please give him a follow his new official account' It comes after Peter made his long-awaited return to the stage last year, receiving a standing ovation following his three-year absence. The comedian appeared at a charity gig at Manchester's O2 Apollo in August and fans were delighted to see him. Surprised by the reaction, he told the crowd: 'I've never in my life had a standing ovation when I came on. I'm going to go away for four more years.' Peter cancelled his tour in December 2017, citing 'unforeseen family circumstances', and made a brief return to the stage the following year when he made a surprise appearance at a charity screening of his series Car Share. The tour was due to run across the UK and Ireland from April 2018 through to summer 2019 - and Kay had only announced it one month earlier. Social media: The new Instagram account only has two photos a shot of Peter and a promo poster for his show, Peter Kay's Dance for Life But he said on December 13, 2017: 'Due to unforeseen family circumstances, I deeply regret that I am having to cancel all of my upcoming work projects. 'This unfortunately includes my upcoming standup tour, Dance for Life shows and any outstanding live work commitments. 'My sincerest apologies. This decision has not been taken lightly and I'm sure you'll understand my family must always come first.' He had previously been due to make a comeback with the series of Dance For Life shows to raise money for Cancer Research UK in April and May 2020. But the events had to be postponed in March last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kay did however release a special audio-only episode of his comedy Car Share with co-star Sian Gibson in April last year in an attempt to 'cheer people in some way'. He also made a brief return last January when he called into Cat Deeley's new BBC Radio 2 programme, as they discussed the New Year and embarrassing stories. Kay's fans had raised concerns for his health after his appearance on the BBC's Big Night In back in April 2020, with some saying he looked 'far from 100 per cent'. Last September, it emerged his absence from the public eye had seen money continue to roll into Good Night Vienna Productions, the firm he established in 1999. Described as a 'writing, performing and TV production' business, its shareholder funds were 24.8million by the end of March 2020 - 1million up on the year before. Some 23.3million of the company's funds were held in 'cash in bank and in hand', while its only reported spending was limited to just 1,495 - on 'motor vehicles'. Kay, whose 2010-11 tour made it into the Guinness World Records after he performed to more than 1.2million people, lives with his wife Susan and their three children. Legendary Australian actor Paul Hogan has filmed his first live comedy roast for Channel Seven. The LA-based star, 82, recently arrived in Melbourne to film a one-night-only comedy special hosted by his longtime pal Shane Jacobson. TV Blackbox reports The Roast Of Paul Hogan was filmed in front of a packed audience at Melbourne's Crown Casino last week. Coming soon: Legendary Australian Paul Hogan, 82, (left) has been roasted during a one-night-only live comedy show at Melbourne's Crown Casino. The comedy special was filmed for Channel Seven and will air later this year. The roast was hosted by Hogan's comedian friend Shane Jacobson The special featured a dozen of Australia's funniest comedians and performers taking the mickey out of the Crocodile Dundee star. According to the publication, celebrity roasters appearing on the special included: John Paul Young, John Blackman, Steve Vizard, Stephen Curry, Dave Lawson, Hung Le and Troy Kinne. Paul previously said that nothing was off limits when it came to the insults that would be thrown at him during the roast. Hoges on the hot seat: The special featured a dozen of Australia's funniest comedians and performers taking the mickey out of the Crocodile Dundee star 'The first thing I do when I step off the plane is an open palm slap across the face to Shane because I know all the things hes going to have a crack at me for,' he told The Herald Sun ahead of his arrival in Australia earlier this month. The comment appeared to reference the controversial moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Hogan did however say that his event at Melbourne's Crown Casino will have 'no malice and [is] not grubby', in comparison to Smith's Academy Awards theatrics. 'I'm surviving. I'm homesick, but I'll be back': It comes after Hogan revealed he was planning to relocate back to Australia after many years abroad It comes after Hogan revealed he was planning to relocate back to Australia after many years abroad. 'I'm surviving. I'm homesick, but I'll be back. Looking forward to the end of this stupid disease,' he said speaking to the Today show. In an interview with Sunrise back in May, Hogan said he was 'desperate' to return to Australia and leave his life in America behind. Still calls Australia home: In an interview with Sunrise back in May, Paul said he was 'desperate' to return to Australia and leave his life in America behind 'I am desperately homesick,' he told hosts David 'Kochie' Koch and Natalie Barr during a video chat from his $4.5million LA mansion. Paul lives in the once-elite beachside suburb of Venice, where a vast increase in homelessness has seen hundreds of tents line the beach's famous boardwalk and resulted in a sharp increase in crime. 'You're living in the country, alongside New Zealand, that's the light of the world,' Paul told the presenters. 'And I'm living in LA County, which is 10 million people and half of them have got Covid. So am I homesick? You bet your life,' he complained. The launching of a missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea is seen in this undated photo provided by the North Korean government April 17. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the successful test-firing of a new tactical guided missile meant to improve the efficiency of nuclear operations, Pyongyang's state media announced Sunday. Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the successful test-firing of a new tactical guided missile meant to improve the efficiency of nuclear operations, Pyongyang's state media announced Sunday. The new weapon system is "of great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nuclear weapons of the DPRK and diversification of their firepower missions," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The test-fire was carried out successfully," it added without giving other details of the tested weapon, including its type. South Korea's military said later that it detected the North's launch of two missiles into the East Sea at 6 p.m. Saturday. They flew 110 kilometers at an apogee of around 25 km and a top speed of Mach 4, it added. Immediately after the launches, the presidential National Security Office, military and intelligence agencies held an emergency meeting to discuss them, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Observers here say the North seems to have tested a newly developed heavy artillery system or upgraded KN-23 missiles its own version of the U.S.' Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). Gwen Stefani took to Instagram to share photos celebrating Holy Saturday ahead of Easter. The 52-year-old rock star enjoyed the day at a church in Oklahoma with husband Blake Shelton, her sons, and Carson Daly. The designer brought her signature glamour to the day's events, wearing her platinum blonde hair in her got-to top knot. Celebratory: Gwen Stefani took to Instagram to share photos celebrating Holy Saturday ahead of Easter The musician was joined by her three boys - Kingston, 15, Zuma, 13, and Apollo, eight - who she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. Also in tow were her brother Todd Stefani, sister-in-law Jennifer Stefani, and niece Stella. Taking to her Stories, the mom-of-three shared images and video footage of their day at a church. They took turns lighting candles in a heart-shaped candle stand inside the religious house. Family time: The 52-year-old rock star enjoyed the day at a church in Oklahoma with husband Blake Shelton, her sons, and Carson Daly Longtime friends: Gwen posed with media personality Carson Daly Gwen dressed in a long, beige shirt-jacket with a faded black bandana pattern throughout. She teamed it with a pair of baggy camouflage pants that she tucked into knee-high black rubber boots with pink trimming. The fashion maven dressed up the look with dangling multicolor earrings and a turquoise puka shell necklace. She donned a full face of makeup complete with black eyeliner, blush, eyeshadow and pink lip gloss. Girly girl: The hitmaker rocked extremely long nails that were manicured with a black and white checkered pattern The hitmaker rocked extremely long nails that were manicured with a black and white checkered pattern. She showed them off in a photo displaying a black cross-shaped ornament with her and Blake's names, and her three boys' initials. Stefani additionally posted an image of her youngest son holding an ornament with his name on it, attached to a red string. The little boy was dressed in a camouflage jacket on the cloudy, grey Oklahoma day. Crafty: Stefani additionally posted an image of her youngest son holding an ornament with his name on it, attached to a red string Group photo: The group enjoyed the outdoors together The megastar shared a black and white video of the group hanging the crafted ornaments on a tree outside. She also shared religious images, including one of Jesus on a cross as she wrote in purple letters 'Holy Saturday.' Gwen and Blake tied the knot last year in a scaled back wedding after dating for five years following their respective divorces. They now split their time between Los Angeles and Oklahoma. He's the younger brother of Hollywood A-lister Margot Robbie who made his television debut on Neighbours last year. And on Sunday, the 26-year-old actor revealed he is considering moving across to rival soap Home and Away once production ends in June. 'Of course I would love to keep working in Australian film and television,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald at the opening of Beast and Co restaurant. Following in Margot's footsteps? Cameron Robbie, 26, (pictured) has hinted at plans to join the cast of Home and Away as Neighbours comes to an end Cameron joined the cast of Neighbours in March last year, taking the role of lifeguard Jesse Porter. His sister Margot meanwhile starred on Neighbours from 2008 to 2011 as Donna Freedman. Cameron wouldn't be the first soap actor to transition from Ramsay Street to Summer Bay. Claim to fame: Cameron joined the cast of Neighbours in March last year, taking the role of lifeguard Jesse Porter Guy Pearce, Harley Bonner and Ashleigh Brewer all starred in Neighbours prior to joining the cast of Home and Away. It comes after Cameron revealed that he finds it 'comforting' to lean on Margot for career advice. 'Margot, like many of my industry-friends or go-to professionals, say a similar thing of work hard, train hard, be kind, grateful, and enjoy the experience,' he told RadioTimes.com in July last year. Breakout role: Cameron's older sister Margot (left) played Donna Freedman on Neighbours from 2008-2011. She is pictured here with Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy 'It's always comforting to know that if I ever need her, she's only a phone call away.' In a June 2018 interview with OK! Australia, Cameron spoke fondly of his relationship with his older sister. 'We text constantly, and I get to see her a lot on the down-low, which is quite nice. If no one knows she's in town!' he said. 'She's always been a good big sis to me, we love to have a lot of fun. I'm really proud of her.' Love Island Australia star Margarita Smith has given her fans quite the Easter treat. The 27-year-old Instagram model sent pulses racing as she posed in a tiny brown bikini while lounging by the pool on Saturday. Margarita struggled to contain her bountiful bust with the strapless bikini top, revealing a generous glimpse of gravity-defying cleavage and underboob. An Easter treat! Love Island Australia's Margarita Smith, 27, (pictured) flaunted her gravity-defying cleavage in a TINY brown bikini as she luxuriated by the pool on Saturday The bikini featured racy ring cut-out sections and G-string bottoms. Enhancing her facial features with dramatic makeup, the glamour model completed her ensemble with a crucifix necklace, beaded choker a delicate chain anklet. In her caption, Margarita simply wrote: 'Cute kini'. 'Cute kini': Margarita struggled to contain her bountiful bust with the strapless bikini top, revealing a generous glimpse of gravity-defying cleavage and underboob 'You literally look insane': It comes after the brunette beauty upstaged the bride at her own wedding at Rocklea Farm, Victoria It comes weeks weeks after Margarita raised eyebrows by upstaging a bride during a wedding at Rocklea Farm, Victoria. In a series of Instagram snaps, Margarita flaunted her ample cleavage and jaw-dropping figure in a skin-tight dress that featured a racy cut-out design at the bust. The reality star boosted her height with perspex heels and was primped to perfection with a glamorous low ponytail, a golden tan and striking eye makeup. Sizzling: In a series of Instagram snaps, the brunette bombshell flaunted her ample cleavage and jaw-dropping figure in a skin-tight dress that featured a racy cut-out design at the bust Her day: The bride opted for a more demure dress, with a V-neckline, puffy sleeves and flowing fabric from the waist down She posed up a storm at the idyllic venue with her boyfriend and the bride. The bride opted for a more demure dress, with a V-neckline, puffy sleeves and flowing fabric from the waist down. Margarita's followers were quick to comment on the post, complimenting the star on how phenomenal she looked in the revealing dress. Picture-perfect: Margarita was sure to capture shots with her boyfriend at the idyllic wedding venue. The reality star boosted her height with perspex heels and enhanced her eyes with striking makeup Tressed to perfection: She styled her brunette tresses into a glamorous low ponytail, with several tendrils left out to frame her face 'You literally look insane,' one posted, as well as one who wrote, 'You look absolutely fantastic in that dress.' One added: 'Girl, with a dress like that on though... pretty sure you stole the show.' Another also posted: 'That dress is ridiculously sexy.' Getting their attention: Margarita's followers were quick to comment on the post, complimenting the star on how phenomenal she looked in the revealing dress. 'You literally look insane,' one posted, as well as one who wrote, 'You look absolutely fantastic in that dress' Margarita quickly became a social media sensation when she debuted on the 2019 season of Love Island Australia. Her Instagram, which boasts 203,000 followers, is littered with sizzling snaps of her posing up a storm in either swimwear, lingerie or activewear. In an interview with Daily Mail Australia back in November 2019, the influencer spoke candidly about having had a nose job and breast implants. Influencer: Margarita quickly became a social media sensation when she debuted on the 2019 season of Love Island Australia. Her Instagram, which boasts 203,000 followers, is littered with sizzling snaps of her posing up a storm in either swimwear, lingerie or activewear 'I've always been a really confident person, my whole life. I've never actually sat there and thought, 'Oh, I don't like this,'' she explained. 'I liked my boobs before. I thought they were fantastic! But, to be honest, I've always liked that dolled up, fake look. 'Initially I thought, 'Do I want it? Do I not?' and then I thought, 'S**t, yeah, I want it!' I love it. It's just how I want to portray myself, but I'm confident in who I am, 100 per cent.' She added: 'I was so happy with myself. If you spoke to anyone who knew me before [plastic surgery], they'd say, 'She's just as confident now as a she was before.' It wasn't a confidence thing, it was more just a preference in look.' Former WWE star Toni 'Storm' Robinson has revealed what subscribers can expect from signing up to her OnlyFans page in a candid new interview. The New Zealand-born star, 26, joined the adult content-sharing website on March 19, and pocketed an estimated $33,000 in subscription fees in her first weekend. But during a recent interview on the Carton & Roberts podcast, Storm clarified that she's in no way sharing 'porn' to her account, and instead posts a plethora of 'sexy' photos to keep her legion of fans happy. Speaking out: Former WWE star Toni 'Storm' Robinson has revealed what subscribers can expect on her OnlyFans page in a candid new interview 'Its not exactly porn, what I am doing,' she said. 'I think youve got the wrong idea. Yeah, I dont do porn. I take sexy photos and post them at a price, thats all I do.' She said that she doesn't think there's 'anything wrong with [filming porn]', but said that's 'just not what I do.' 'Not so much crazy hardcore scenes or anything in that nature...' she added. 'I like to take a lot of photos and share them with my fans. Adult content: Storm, who is selling subscriptions for $20 per month, raked in about $10,000 in the first hour alone, and her posts have been inundated with thousands of likes 'Not that theres anything wrong with being a porn star, but I dont do porn.' OnlyFans is a subscription-based adult website where content can range from something as innocent as a suggestive selfie, all the way to hardcore pornography. When asked if she had a conversation with her friends and family before joining the page, Storm added: 'I mean, I didnt have to have a conversation with anyone, to be honest. She's not shy! Storm, who lives in Australia, describes herself in her OnlyFans bio as a 'bada** wrestler with the best a**' and a 'phat-a** Aussie' 'I just kind of do my thing, my family, and friends, and everyone I know is kind of in full support - I dont really see the need to ask permission or anything.' Storm - who is selling subscriptions for $20 per month - raked in about $10,000 in the first hour alone, and her posts have been inundated with thousands of likes. Storm, who lives in Australia, describes herself in her OnlyFans bio as a 'bada** wrestler with the best a**' and a 'phat-a** Aussie'. Rise to fame: Storm was born in New Zealand but grew up on Queensland's Gold Coast, and made her wrestling debut at age 13 Her decision to join OnlyFans came three years after she was at the centre of a nude photo scandal. In 2019, hackers leaked an explicit video and nude photos of Storm online, prompting the wrestler to temporarily delete her social media accounts. At the time, SmackDown General Manager Saraya-Jade Bevis (who goes by the stage name Paige) shared her support for Storm. 'We support Storm. From someone that has experienced the same thing I strongly support you girl,' tweeted Paige, who herself was the victim of hackers in 2017. 'It's gonna be hard and people are gonna be mean because they don't understand. But you're a strong, talented woman. You'll get through this. Your future is too bright to be dimmed.' Exit: Storm was reportedly 'let go' by WWE upon her request in late December, after not being utilised on the main roster Paige once had a sex tape leaked on social media - an incident which she later said made her feel suicidal. At least 15 past and present WWE wrestlers have had intimate photos and videos shared online without their permission, including superstar Hulk Hogan. Storm was reportedly 'let go' by WWE upon her request in late December, after not being utilised on the main roster. Her feud with Charlotte Flair also apparently prompted Storm to walk out, after the women were pitted against each other in an embarrassing live 'pie-throwing fight'. The athlete, who is currently still bound by WWE's 90-day non-compete clause, has not yet revealed whether she plans to join another wrestling company. Stars in her eyes! She moved to the UK to chase her wrestling dream and attended WWE try-outs in 2014 and 2015 Storm was born in New Zealand but grew up on Queensland's Gold Coast, and made her wrestling debut at age 13. She moved to the UK to chase her wrestling dream and attended WWE try-outs in 2014 and 2015. 'My mum was on her own with me and my little sister so we didn't have much,' she previously told News Corp of her upbringing. 'So because she couldn't afford the fees, what she'd do is go to each show and help sell hot dogs and drinks and for that they agreed to train me for free,' Storm added. 'Going out to the ring is like walking off a cliff but you're still there and alive. It's such a thrill and I wouldn't change it for the world.' Toni is engaged to American wrestler Joseph Ryan Robinson, better known by his ring name Juice Robinson. Hilaria Baldwin shared a look at her growing baby bump in a video that was shared to her Instagram Story on Saturday. The 38-year-old social media personality posed for the clip while trying out clothes to see what would fit her best during her current pregnancy. The yoga instructor is currently expecting to welcome her seventh child, whose name and gender have not been revealed as of yet, with her longtime husband Alec Baldwin. A better look: Hilaria Baldwin shared a look at her growing baby bump in a video that was shared to her Instagram Story on Saturday Baldwin wore a black dress that featured a cut-out portion at its midsection while taking the photo. The influencer also added a text graphic to her image where she noted that her dress 'isn't maternity, but works.' The podcaster rocked a set of gold high-heeled shoes and accessorized with several articles of jewelry. Her lovely blonde hair fell onto her shoulder and contrasted well with the dark tone of her outfit. Dressed for success: Baldwin wore a black dress that featured a cut-out portion at its midsection while taking the photo Pointing it out: The influencer also added a text graphic to her image where she noted that her dress 'isn't maternity, but works' Baldwin previously shared a video with her 959k Instagram followers in which she was seen using an at-home fetal doppler to listen to her baby's heartbeat. On Monday, the Yoga Vida founder posted the clip in which she was seen laying in bed as she used the device and explained that monitoring her unborn baby's heartbeat comforted her as she was 'nervous' about her seventh pregnancy following her 2019 miscarriages. 'So much of motherhood is waiting and realizing that there is so much beyond our control,' Hilaria wrote in the lengthy caption. Monitoring: Hilaria Baldwin shared a video with her 959k Instagram followers in which she was seen using an at-home fetal doppler to listen to her baby's heartbeat She continued, 'As I approach the time when I lost the second baby in 2019, at 16 weeks, I get more nervous. I get asked all the time how to stay calm and make it through after loss.' The Boston native shares six children with her husband, 64, whom she married in 2012. They are parents to daughters Maria Lucia Victoria, 13 months, and Carmen Gabriela, eight, and sons Rafael Thomas, six, Leonardo Angel Charles, five, Romeo Alejandro David, three, and Eduardo 'Edu' Pao Lucas, 18 months. Worried: On Monday, the pregnant 38-year-old Yoga Vida founder posted the clip in which she was seen laying in bed as she used the device and explained that monitoring her unborn baby's heartbeat comforted her as she was 'nervous' about her seventh pregnancy following her 2019 miscarriages Hilaria suffered two miscarriages in 2019, the first occurring in April and the second in November when she was 16 weeks along. The entrepreneur revealed that she typically experiences 'intense implantation cramping' in her first trimester and shared her frustration with her mother Kathryn Hayward, 68. 'To be honest, it's hard to stay calm, even if someone hasn't experienced loss. I experience intense implantation cramping in the first tri,' she wrote. Difficult: The entrepreneur revealed that she typically experiences 'intense implantation cramping' in her first trimester and shared her frustration with her mother Kathryn Hayward, 68 'I expressed my frustration to my mother when I was pregnant with Carmen. I thought at any moment I'd start bleedingshe told me 'this is just the beginning, Hilariathis is preparation for an entire lifetime of being a mother and not being able to control so much. You must live and learn to be.'' 'Going on 7 children later, and multiple losses, this is so true. Frustrating for my controlling Capricorn mind, but true. She went on to say, 'Learning to let go and understand we are in a nature system that is not always benevolent, has been a difficult and important lesson for me. One that I have not mastered, but I'm constantly working on it. Advice: Kathryn told her, 'this is just the beginning, Hilariathis is preparation for an entire lifetime of being a mother and not being able to control so much. You must live and learn to be' 'When I get nervous, I focus on my breath and try to calm muscles of stress in my body. This helps my mind. 'I have this Doppler from when I was pregnant with Edu. I didn't go to as many dr appts because of COVID, so I did little checks on him at home. What a wild time to be having a baby. 'I decided to dig it up this pregnancy, as I can feel my stress level rise, approaching the 4 month mark, interestingly coinciding with the baby I lost due date.' Giving it some thought: The Mom Brain podcast host advised her followers to weigh the pros and cons as they whether a fetal doppler would be beneficial to relieving their anxieties Baby news: The Living Clearly Method author and Alec revealed that they were expecting their seventh child last month The Mom Brain podcast host advised her followers to weigh the pros and cons as they whether a fetal doppler would be beneficial to relieving their anxieties. She said, 'Do I recommend getting one of these? Perhaps. The question is: is it causing stress or calming? I've read that sometimes women can't find the heartbeat (even tho it's there), because it can be tricky. 'That is an important thing to think about. Also, sometimes people get addicted to it..that's something to consider,' Hilaria added. 'Anyway, as always, I like to pass on my thoughts and experience with you, just in case it's helpful the one I bought is sonoline b Doppler: The device used by Hilaria, the Sonoline B Baby Doppler Fetal Monitor, retails for $49.95 The device used by Hilaria, the Sonoline B Baby Doppler Fetal Monitor, retails for $49.95. The Living Clearly Method author and Alec revealed that they were expecting their seventh child last month. The pair told People magazine in a statement: 'We have 'somos un buen equipo' engraved on our wedding bands. We say that to each other all the time at home that we're a good team. 'One of the most beautiful things my children have experienced with a big family is how the heart can grow with every new sibling. 'Our capacity to love continues to expand and we can't wait to embrace our new little one this fall!' She welcomed her first child, a baby girl called Daisy, with her ex-boyfriend and Farmer Wants A Wife co-star Will Dwyer in December. And last Saturday, Hayley Love was pictured enjoying a day out with her daughter in Phillip Island, Victoria, alongside a group of friends. The 25-year-old was seen cooing over her little girl in her pram, before a mystery male pal held the tot in his arms while standing outside a supermarket. Day out: Farmer Wants A Wife star Hayley Love was spotted enjoying a day out with her little girl in Phillip Island, Victoria, alongside a group of friends last Saturday Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the pair are anything more than friends, and has reached out to Hayley Love for further comment. Hayley appeared in high spirits as she beamed alongside her pal and baby girl. She wore a pair of white linen trousers and a beige jumper, teamed with a black handbag. Sweet: The 25-year-old was seen cooing over her little girl in her pram, before a mystery male pal held the tot in his arms while stood outside a supermarket Cute! Hayley was seen holding her daughter Daisy, who she welcomed in December Cool: Her male friend looked cool and casual in a navy T-shirt, short and white sneakers Hayley wore her hair in a tight bun, and accessorised with a pair of oversized sunglasses. Her male friend looked cool and casual in a navy T-shirt, short and white sneakers. Hayley was also seen conversing with two of her female friends, who couldn't wipe the smiles off her faces as they made their way down the street. The group were seen grabbing some breakfast at a local eatery, before enjoying some window shopping down the main strip. Hayley gave birth in December, and is raising Daisy as a single mother. Outing: Hayley was also seen conversing with two of her female friends, who couldn't wipe the smiles off her faces as they made their way down the street Beaming: Hayley was all smiles as she chatted with pals Sweet: Hayley was seen holding the pram as her pal held Daisy next to her Style: She wore a pair of white linen trousers and a beige jumper, teamed with a black handbag Chic: She wore her hair in a tight bun, and accessorised with some oversized sunglasses In July, she shocked Farmer Wants A Wife viewers when she revealed she was 22 weeks pregnant with Will Dwyer's child, but said they were no longer together. The cancer survivor was originally matched with farmer Matt Trewin on the Channel Seven dating show, but he dumped her shortly before the finale. She went on to briefly date Will and became pregnant with his child, but they split. Friendly: Hayley was joined by a group of others as the mother-daughter duo enjoyed a day in the sun Sweet: The group appeared to sit down for lunch during their trip out Love: Hayley gave birth in December, and is raising Daisy as a single mother Past: The cancer survivor was originally matched with farmer Matt Trewin on the Channel Seven dating show, but he dumped her shortly before the finale Hayley and Will had a short-lived romance after the FWAW finale was filmed in December, and after he'd split from his winner Jaimee, but they ended things around April. Will later released a statement addressing Hayley's pregnancy in which he vowed to be 'the best dad I can be... when the time comes'. In January, Hayley spoke about her struggle to bond with her then one-month-old daughter Daisy in a revealing Q&A with fans on Instagram Stories. She said the devastating feeling first hit her five days after welcoming Daisy on December 7. Smiley: Hayley looked in positive spirits as she conversed with her male pal 'I had two horrible nights sleep with Daisy thinking I was going to be the worst mum ever,' she began. 'I never felt that instant "love" once giving birth. I got home and felt like my whole body was rejecting her. 'I'd stare at her when someone else was holding her and feel as though she wasn't mine, it was terrifying because I thought my fear of getting PP [postpartum] depression was happening.' Sweet: Hayley said that 'sometimes I cry when I'm holding her because I love her so much,' when speaking about her daughter She said 'the feeling disappeared after about a week and now my love for her everyday grows'. Hayley added: 'Sometimes I cry when I'm holding her because I love her so much.' She finished her post by promising other new mums who may also be struggling that 'it'll get better'. Hayley added that despite their rocky start, she now 'can't imagine my life without' her infant daughter. Neighbours star Bonnie Anderson is engaged to her boyfriend Sam Morrison, five months after going public with their relationship. The actress, 27, shared the exciting news via her Instagram page on Sunday afternoon, uploading a photo of herself smiling alongside her new her fiance. 'I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! My best friend asked me to marry him! I cant wait for forever with you my love! ' she captioned the post. Congratulations! Neighbours star Bonnie Anderson, 27, (left) announced her engagement to boyfriend Sam Morrison (right) on Sunday Sam is understood to have popped the question during a romantic trip to the NSW coastal town of Byron Bay. The accompanying images showed the newly engaged couple smiling while going on a nature walk, with Bonnie proudly showing off her diamond ring. Sam also shared the news with his own Instagram followers writing: 'I couldn't be happier. I love this girl, more than anything. Let's do the rest of our lives together.' She said yes! 'I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! My best friend asked me to marry him! I cant wait for forever with you my love!' she captioned the post Bonnie's post was quickly inundated with comments from her celebrity friends and former co-stars. Love Island Australia Anna McEvoy wrote: 'Omg congratulations gorgeous girl!!!!' 'Congrats Bon!!' wrote Neighbours star Jemma Donovan. Well wishes: Bonnie's post was quickly inundated with comments from her celebrity friends and former co-stars Bonnie and Sam went public with their romance on November 1 last year, when Bonnie shared a loved-up selfie of the pair sharing dinner. The relationship announcement came as a surprise, as Bonnie had reportedly split from her previous boyfriend Matthew Bushby just one month earlier. Bonnie began dating Matthew in March last year and had previously told the Herald Sun that she was 'in a really happy, confident place'. Surprise: Bonnie and Sam went public with their romance on November 1 last year, when Bonnie shared a loved-up selfie of the pair sharing dinner. The relationship announcement came as a surprise, as Bonnie had reportedly split from her previous boyfriend Matthew Bushby (right) just one month earlier Prior to dating Matt, Bonnie briefly enjoyed a romance with male model Brenton Goldsack. Back in 2017, Bonnie found herself on the wrong side of the law after she was charged with lying to police to protect her drug-using former boyfriend Matt Arnautovic. She pleaded guilty in July 2019 to failing to inform authorities that Arnautovic was driving her car when he sped away from police in 2017. Bonnie was later released on a good behaviour bond over the incident. Hollywood actress Rose Byrne is back in her hometown of Sydney. And on Saturday, the 42-year-old, who has been happily settled down with American actor Bobby Cannavale for the past decade, caught up with her longtime pal Kick Gurry at Sydney's Bondi Beach. Rose looked sensational in a multicoloured bikini top and retro black bikini bottoms. Beach babe: Rose Byrne (pictured), 42, donned a chic retro-style bikini as she caught up with her longtime pal Kick Gurry at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday Rose's cropped brunette locks were slicked back off her face as she emerged from the surf, drawing attention to her radiant visage and natural beauty. The Instant Family actress appeared relaxed as she cooled off in the surf alongside her good pal, Australian actor Kick, 43. Kick showed off his lean frame in black board shorts and at one stage shared a warm embrace with Rose. Longtime pals: The Hollywood actress, who is back in her hometown of Sydney, cooled off in the surf alongside her good pal Kick (left), 43 In great shape: Rose donned a multicoloured retro-style bikini top and black high-waisted bikini bottoms for the outing. Meanwhile, Kick showed off his lean frame in black board shorts Natural beauty: Rose's cropped brunette locks were slicked back off her face as she emerged from the surf, drawing attention to her radiant visage and natural beauty What's got her attention? The Instant Family actress, who is happily settled down with American actor Bobby Cannavale, appeared focused on something out in the distance Best known for his role in 1999's Looking For Alibrandi, Kick once lived with Rose in Los Angeles for two or three years in the early 2000s when they first attempted to crack Hollywood. Kick told The Courier Mail back in 2012: 'We really put our heads down and said let's try and get some work here. Rose had a year where she didn't do anything. 'I was off doing a couple of movies there. Then a year later I did nothing and she was off doing Troy with Brad Pitt. So we sort of saw there was a transient nature to it all.' Before fame: Best known for his role in 1999's Looking For Alibrandi, Kick once lived with Rose in Los Angeles for two or three years in the early 2000s when they first attempted to crack Hollywood Kick told The Courier Mail back in 2012: 'We really put our heads down and said let's try and get some work here. Rose had a year where she didn't do anything. I was off doing a couple of movies there' He continued: 'Then a year later I did nothing and she was off doing Troy with Brad Pitt. So we sort of saw there was a transient nature to it all' Sweet gesture: The pals shared a warm embrace as they cooled off in the surf The sighting comes after Rose and her husband Bobby, 51, attended the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas last month. The pair, who have been together for 10 years and share two young sons, put on an affectionate display on the red carpet for the premiere of musical comedy film Seriously Red, in which they both star. Seriously Red is based on Red (Krew Boylan), a spirited redhead who says goodbye to her real estate career and becomes a full-time Dolly Parton impersonator. Trim and terrific: Rose looked sensational in the retro two-piece that flattered her enviable figure Back in Oz: The pals looked to have had a lot to catch up on, with Rose having recently returned to her hometown of Sydney Red carpet appearance: The sighting comes after Rose and her husband Bobby, 51, attended the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas last month Power couple: Rose and Bobby, who have been together for 10 years and share two young sons, put on an affectionate display on the red carpet for the premiere of musical comedy film Seriously Red, in which they both star Rose plays an Elvis impersonator, while Bobby takes on the role of a Kenny Rogers impersonator who falls in love with Red. In an interview with Variety in February, Rose said of Dolly's incredible career: 'It's really extraordinary. Her legacy as a songwriter is unparalleled and the narrative she brought to music from the female perspective is truly amazing.' Rose and Bobby have kept notoriously private about their relationship over the years. Premise: Seriously Red is based on Red (Krew Boylan), a spirited redhead who says goodbye to her real estate career and becomes a full-time Dolly Parton impersonator Roles: Rose plays an Elvis impersonator, while Bobby takes on the role of a Kenny Rogers impersonator who falls in love with Red Drying off: Meanwhile, Rose and Kick dried off as they collected their belongings and left the popular beach Beach attire: Rose tied a red towel around her frame and carried her essential items in a straw tote bag Sun-smart: The actress added a round-rimmed sun hat and stylish dark sunglasses to the look However, Rose revealed to Good Weekend in July last year their plans to wed, after 10 years together. She explained that they initially had plans to tie the knot, but becoming parents to their sons - Rocco, six, and Rafa, four - was their first priority. 'I guess for us it's just been, we didn't do it, we'll do it, then no! Pandemic,' she said, noting Covid as their hurdle. Married At First Sight's Jessica Seracino, Carolina Santos and Tamara Djordjevic enjoyed a wild night out in Melbourne on Saturday. Dressed in revealing ensembles that showed off their toned figures, the reality stars looked a tad worse for wear as they were pictured leaving Captain Baxter in St Kilda. Jessica, 27, locked lips with 'villain' Carolina, 34, while a cleavage-baring Tamara, 29, went barefoot before showing off her twerking and handstand skills. Girls gone wild! Married At First Sight's Jessica Seracino (right), 27, locked lips with 'villain' Carolina Santos (left), 34, on a night out in Melbourne on Saturday Jessica, who left her 'husband' Daniel Holmes before he embarked on an 'affair' with Carolina, drew attention to her cleavage and leggy figure in a pale pink dress. She boosted her height with beige strappy heels and accessorised with a black shoulder bag. Her brunette locks were styled out and straight, and her striking facial features were enhanced with glamorous makeup. Letting their hair down: The reality stars hammed it up for the cameras as they left Captain Baxter in St Kilda Killer curves: Jessica donned a pale pink dress with tie detail that accentuated her cleavage, toned tummy and lean legs Pals: She boosted her height with nude strappy heels and warmly embraced an ab-flashing Carolina The 'intruder bride' walked hand-in-hand with Carolina, before they stopped to share a smooch for the cameras. Carolina, who was quickly labelled the 'villain' when she embarked on an 'affair' with Daniel behind 'husband' Dion Giannarelli's back, flaunted her cleavage and toned tummy in a yellow midriff and matching skirt with a daring thigh split. Black stiletto heels, a Fendi handbag and a glamorous beauty look finished off the ensemble. Busting out: Meanwhile, co-star Tamara Djordjevic (pictured), 29, showed off her eye-popping cleavage and washboard stomach in a black corset and faded blue jeans Letting loose: The blonde bombshell removed her black mule heels and proceeded to show off her twerking skills Not a care in the world: Her locks flailed in the breeze as she raised her lithe arms in the air and danced on the pavement Having the time of her life: Tamara then performed a handstand for the cameras Meanwhile, Tamara showed off her eye-popping cleavage and overall slender frame in a black corset, teamed with faded light blue jeans and black mule heels. Her blonde tresses were styled in loose waves, and she ensured she was primped to perfection with a golden complexion and glamorous makeup. Putting on quite a display for the cameras, Tamara slipped off her black mule heels and proceeded to twerk and show off her handstand skills on the pavement. Pucker up! The reality star pouted for the camera as she headed home Off she goes: Tamara continued to show off her dance moves en route home Glamorous: The reality stars were primped to perfection for their night out on the town Turning heads: Carolina flaunted her cleavage and toned tummy in a yellow midriff and matching skirt with a daring thigh split Also pictured on the night out was co-star Kate Laidlaw and a blonde companion. Kate, 38, donned a chic little black dress, teamed with nude strappy heels and a Dior handbag. The sighting comes after furious Married At First Sight fans complained to the Australian TV watchdog over this year's scandalous season. As reported by the Sunday Herald Sun last week, the Australian Commercial Media Authority received 40 viewer complaints, down from last year's total of 67. ACMA revealed in a statement: 'Most of the contacts referred to allegations of inappropriate sexual content or treatment of participants.' Ready for her close-up: Carolina teamed the very sexy look with black stiletto heels and glamorous hair and makeup Sharing a laugh: The girls appeared in great spirits as they walked hand-in-hand and made a number of animated facial expressions Familiar face: Also joining them on the night out was co-star Kate Laidlaw (second right), 28, and a blonde companion Looking good: Kate donned a chic little black dress and nude strappy heels that showed off her toned figure, accessorised with a Dior handbag The watchdog has directed the complainants to the Nine network, which airs MAFS. They have 60 days to respond, and if the complainant does not hear back or is not content with the response, they can then direct their issue back to ACMA. This year's explosive season of MAFS has seen a nude photo scandal, a cheating scandal, as well as emotional abuse. Overjoyed: Tamara looked to be enjoying her newfound fame as she hammed it up for the cameras with Kate Olivia Frazer, 28, outed co-star Domenica Calarco, 29, as an OnlyFans model after sharing a nude photo of her among the cast. Olivia also accused Domenica of 'brandishing a weapon' at her when she famously smashed a wine glass during an argument between the pair. Meanwhile Andrew Davis, 39, copped backlash by the show's experts and viewers for his cruel remarks about 'wife' Holly Greenstein, 36. Home time: The blonde beauties appeared relaxed as they headed to a waiting vehicle Girls just wanna have fun! The reality stars linked hands as the cameras snapped away During the first commitment ceremony, the Texas native doubled down on his nasty comment that he's 'had better one night stands than sex' with Holly. Andrew said he had no problem if his honest confession came across as 'brutal'. Nine are already advertising for the cast of the 2022 season. Britain's Got Talent finally returned to screens on Saturday night after two years off air. But it was Simon Cowell's appearance that fans of the show couldn't get over, as they took to social media to voice their concerns. Viewers were quick to point out the music mogul's, 62, drastic new look, with Simon himself recently admitting that he took things too far with Botox treatments. 'What's happened to his face?' Britain's Got Talent viewers were shocked by Simon Cowell's new appearance on Saturday after the music mogul shared his Botox regrets Taking to Twitter fans penned: 'Simon Cowell doesnt even look like Simon Cowell anymore'; 'Simon Cowell looks different but I can't put my finger on it, has he had some work done?' 'Simon Cowell.. what have you done to your face?'; 'What has actually happened to Simon Cowells face ? #BGT'; 'Why does Simon Cowell look weird?? Its like his eyes have gotten too small for his face #BGT' This comes as Simon recently revealed that he took his love of Botox too far, with his final treatment leaving him looking like 'something out of a horror show'. Changing faces: Viewers were quick to point out the music mogul's, 62, drastic new look as they claimed he had taken the Botox too far (Pictured left in 2002) Oh dear! Taking to Twitter one penned: 'Simon Cowell doesnt even look like Simon cowell anymore' According to The Sun the talent show boss said that he decided to stop when his strange appearance left son Eric, eight, in hysterics. The former X Factor judge, who shares his son with partner Lauren Silverman, 44, revealed that as a result he no longer has any filler in his face. The music mogul began to look significantly differently back in 2016 during the 11th season of America's Got Talent. He said: 'There was a phase where everyone was having their faces pumped full of this and the other'. Mistake: Simon revealed he decided to stop Botox injections after son Eric was left in hysterics over his appearance (pictured in 2018) Oh no: Simon recently revealed that he took his love of Botox too far, with his final treatment leaving him looking 'like something out of a horror show' (pictured in 2019) Simon went on to reveal that during that period he may have taken things a little too far in his a bid for a youthful appearance. He admitted: 'I saw a picture of me from "before" the other day, and didn't recognise it as me first of all'. The producer said that he decided to finally stop using the injectables when his son Eric noticed his changing profile: 'He was in hysterics. Enough was enough' The TV personality has more recently shown a more natural look saying: 'There is no filler in my face at all now. Zero'. Director of national security at the presidential office Suh Hoon / Yonhap Cheong Wa Dae was set to convene a session of the presidential National Security Council (NSC), Sunday to discuss North Korea's weekend launch of two missiles. Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, plans to preside over the NSC session after the North's state media reported the country had test-fired a new tactical guided weapon to improve the efficiency of tactical nuclear operations. South Korea's military said that it had detected the North's launch of two missiles into the East Sea at 6 p.m. Saturday. They flew 110 kilometers at an apogee of around 25 km and a top speed of Mach 4, it added. Following a briefing on the launch, President Moon Jae-in directed the military to exhaustively check North Korean military movements and thoroughly manage the security situation, his aides said. Victoria Beckham was flooded with birthday wishes as she turned 48 on Sunday. The designer is currently in Florida with her family after son Brooklyn wed Nicola Peltz in a glitzy ceremony at the bride's sprawling Palm Beach estate last weekend. Yet celebrations were then shifted to another member of the family as the Beckhams marked Victoria's big day. Victoria Beckham turns 48! Husband David posted a sweet kissing snap in a cute birthday tribute on Sunday Her husband David, 46, shared a sweet throwback snap of the pair kissing on the beach as he gushed: 'Happy Birthday to the most amazing wife , mummy & Business woman 'Have the most amazing day because you deserve to x We all love you so much @victoriabeckham @brooklynpeltzbeckham @romeobeckham @cruzbeckham #HarperSeven .' Brooklyn, 23, also took to Instagram as he shared a snap of his mum hitting the dancefloor with her mother Jackie and Brooklyn's new wife Nicola. He penned: 'Happy birthday mum @victoriabeckham love u.' Fun times: Brooklyn, 23, also took to Instagram as he shared a snap of his mum hitting the dancefloor with her mother Jackie and Brooklyn's new wife Nicola Terrific trio: Victoria's new daughter-in-law Nicola, 27, marked the occasion with a sweet snap of the pair alongside her mother Claudia Way back when: Victoria's son Cruz shared a sweet snap with his mum from her WAG days Best mum in the world: Romeo shared a sweet snap taken at dinner with his parents Victoria's new daughter-in-law Nicola, 27, marked the occasion with a sweet snap of the pair alongside her mother Claudia. Taking to Instagram in the morning, Victoria also wished herself a happy birthday as she shared an adorable throwback snap from a childhood birthday, showing her beaming as she was presented by her cake. Thanking her mother Jackie, Victoria penned: 'Feels like yesterday! My 9th birthday party. Happy Birthday to me love you @jackie.adams_.' BFFs: Victoria's best friend Eva Longoria shared a sweet snap of the pair cuddling as she praised her 'loyal, fun, beautiful, intelligent, hilarious' friend Sweet: Taking to Instagram in the morning, Victoria also wished herself a happy birthday as she shared an adorable throwback snap from a childhood birthday Victoria's best friend Eva Longoria shared a sweet snap of the pair cuddling that she captioned: 'Happy birthday to one of the most loyal, fun, beautiful, intelligent, hilarious friends one could ask for! 'You continue to inspire me to be better by being such a great example of what it is to be a great mum, wife, daughter, sister, business woman, and friend! Love you so much VB! Happy birthday babe!' Emma Bunton, 46 - who was unable to attend Brooklyn's wedding - sent her birthday wishes from London, sharing a slew of snaps of herself and Victoria over the years. Sweet: Emma Bunton, 46 - who was unable to attend Brooklyn's wedding - sent her birthday wishes from London, sharing a slew of snaps of herself and Victoria over the years Cute: She uploaded a black and white shot of the pair from their Spice Girls heyday, beaming for the cameras while Victoria gave her a pal a piggyback Fantastic four: A more recent image saw Emma and her husband Jade cuddled up alongside Victoria and David on a double date She uploaded a black and white shot of the pair from their Spice Girls heyday, beaming for the cameras while Victoria gave her a pal a piggyback. Another sweet shot showed the pair posing up a storm for the camera, while a more recent image saw Emma and her husband Jade cuddled up alongside Victoria and David on a double date. Promising that they'd meet up for drinks soon, Emma captioned the snaps: 'Sending love to my gorgeous girl @victoriabeckham love you to bits! #celebratesoon #Tequilanights.' Geri Horner, aka Ginger Spice, 49, also shared cute throwback snaps from their time in the band that she captioned: 'Happy birthday ! @victoriabeckham - what a woman! Wishing you the best year ahead. Xxx.' Way back when: Geri Horner, aka Ginger Spice, 49, also shared cute throwback snaps from their time in the band Geri penned: 'Happy birthday ! @victoriabeckham - what a woman! Wishing you the best year ahead. Xxx' It comes amid claims that the Spice Girls have teamed up with J. J. Abrams to make a candid documentary about their stellar career. Sources say Geri Horner, Emma, Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown have all agreed to co-operate with the film and Posh Spice is tempted to join in too. The documentary would tell the story of the bands rise to stardom in the mid-1990s and feature interviews and unseen material from their personal archives. J. J. and his business partner, Hollywood movie director Jason Hehir, are now shopping the project around streaming giants including Netflix. Celebrations: The designer is currently in Florida with her family after son Brooklyn wed Nicola in a glitzy ceremony at the bride's sprawling Palm Beach estate last weekend The four girls have committed to it and its happening, an insider told The Mail On Sunday. It has been developed and its now going out to streamers as part of a bidding war. Victoria is open-minded about it which the others are really optimistic about, because previously she has flatly refused to take part in any kind of reunions. But this is high-end and, most importantly, wont require her to sing as she has insisted that she will never do so on stage again. Formed in 1994, the Spice Girls went on to sell more than 100 million records worldwide. They had eight UK No 1s between 1996 and 1998 including Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life but effectively split up in 2000. Victoria appeared in the Return Of The Spice Girls concert tour in 2007 but did not sign up for 2019s Spice World dates. She did, however, appear with the band for the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. New material: It comes amid claims that the Spice Girls have teamed up with J. J. Abrams to make a candid documentary about their stellar career (L-R Mel C, Geri Horner, Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham and Mel B in 1997) J.J. 55, is regarded as one of Hollywoods top directors and his firm Bad Robot Productions is currently working on a reboot of the Superman movie franchise. A source close to the documentary said: There have been similar projects about The Beatles and One Direction, but there is real excitement about this. 'It will give millions of Spice Girls fans an exclusive insight into life during those years. Tammin Sursok revealed on Sunday that she was fined $300 and lost demerit points for driving 58kilometres in a 50kilometre zone. The actress, 38, shared a photo of the driving ticket to her Instagram Stories and said she finds the 'loss of points excessive', especially when she doesn't want to 'slam on the breaks because of safety' when coming off the highway at 70km/hr. Tammin went on to reveal that she was inundated with messages on Instagram, and asked whether there should be 'some leniency' when coming off highways. Getting candid with her fans: Tammin Sursok (pictured), 38, asked her Instagram followers on Sunday what's considered 'reasonable' after she was fined $300 and lost demerit points for driving 58km in a 50km zone Alongside a screenshot of her driving ticket where she circled 58km in red marker, the former Home and Away star told her fans: 'Got a driving ticket from Australia. I drove 58km in a 50km [zone]. $300 and loss of points. I mean... thoughts?' In a subsequent post, Tammin stated that she 'likes rules' and is 'happy to pay fines'. 'I think it's important to drive safely,' she said, going on to suggest that she finds 'loss of points excessive especially when it was 70km on the highway, straight to a 50', and 'didn't want to slam on [the] breaks because of safety'. Driving ticket: Alongside a screenshot of her driving ticket where she circled 58km in red marker, the former Home and Away star told her fans: 'Got a driving ticket from Australia. I drove 58km in a 50km [zone]. $300 and loss of points. I mean... thoughts?' Honest and open: In a subsequent post, Tammin stated that she 'likes rules' and is 'happy to pay fines'. 'I think it's important to drive safely,' she said, going on to suggest that she finds 'loss of points excessive especially when it was 70km on the highway, straight to a 50' Tammin went on to ask her followers whether there should be 'some leniency' when coming off freeways, what is considered 'reasonable', and whether fines should be higher in school areas. The Pretty Little Liars star has just returned home to Brisbane with her daughters, Phoenix, eight, and Lennon, three, after a short trip to Los Angeles. Tammin, who shares her children with husband Sean McEwen, balances motherhood with a busy acting career. Sparking an online debate: Tammin went on to ask her followers whether there should be 'some leniency' when coming off freeways, what is considered 'reasonable', and whether fines should be higher in school areas She told Stellar magazine last month about what it was like filming a guest role for Neighbours before it was axed. 'I needed to go back to a soap and see it through a different lens as someone who's much older and make peace with that whole time,' she explained. 'Our children will never know of Neighbours except through reruns! Neighbours will always be a special part of who we were... but I guess it all just moves on'. Husband and wife: Tammin is married to film producer Sean McEwen (left). They tied the knot in 2011 Proud parents: They share daughters, Phoenix, eight, and Lennon, three (both pictured) Tammin also spoke last month about the vibe on set, as her guest role coincided with news the series was about to be cancelled. 'I love the work ethic of Australians... they came with such professionalism and they did their job and they didn't moan about it and they didn't chuck a hissy fit,' Tammin said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. 'They were just so professional and it was just really nice to be on that show when it was going through such a transition,' she continued. Network 10 and production company Fremantle confirmed Neighbours was to be cancelled last month. The last episode will be filmed in June. Daisy May Cooper has left tongues wagging after she was spotted ring shopping with boyfriend Ryan Weymouth. The This Country actress went public with her new man in February, and their recent trip to Kemps Jewellers in Bristol may be a marker of the next step in their romance. It comes after Daisy, 35, separated from husband Will Weston last July. Tongues wagging: Daisy May Cooper sparked engagement speculation as she went ring shopping with boyfriend Ryan Weymouth in Bristol... nine months after marriage split The smitten pair looked more loved up than ever as they locked lips after browsing the shop's sparkling display. A heavily made-up Daisy kept things laid-back in a cream jumper, leggings and trainers, while sweeping her blonde locks into a tousled bun. She kept a statement pair of Chanel sunglasses on top of her head and jazzed up her look further with a Valentino crossbody bag. Pucker up: The This Country actress went public with her new man in February, and their recent trip to Kemps Jewellers in Bristol may be a marker of the next step in their romance Exciting: The smitten pair looked more loved up than ever as they browsed the shop's sparkling display Having a good look: A heavily made-up Daisy kept things laid-back in a cream jumper, leggings and trainers, while sweeping her blonde locks into a tousled bun Sparking rumours: She kept a statement pair of Chanel sunglasses on top of her head and jazzed up her look further with a Valentino crossbody bag Private chef Ryan threw on a teddy fleece over a khaki jumper and completed his look with grey trousers and Nike trainers. MailOnline has contacted Daisy's representatives for comment. Daisy is currently in the southwestern city filming for comedy drama Rain Dogs, with Ryan regularly spotted on set with her. The couple went Instagram official in December, when he posted a snap of them cuddled up on a sofa. Casual: Private chef Ryan threw on a teddy fleece over a khaki jumper and completed his look with grey trousers and Nike trainers Latest project: Daisy is currently in the southwestern city filming for comedy drama Rain Dogs, with Ryan regularly spotted on set with her Smitten: Daisy and Ryan went Instagram official in December, when he posted a snap of them cuddled up on a sofa Intrigued: Daisy looked engrossed in what the jewellers had to offer The couple made their red carpet debut in March as they stepped out publicly together for the first time at London 's O2 Academy Brixton. The Sun reported back in July that Daisy had ended her marriage after two years, with an insider stating: 'Daisy said she had grown increasingly tired of married life and was struggling in her relationship with Will. 'They ended things for good earlier this year. She has taken off her wedding ring and has been telling her friends their marriage is over. Hello there! The couple made their red carpet debut in March as they stepped out publicly together for the first time at London 's O2 Academy Brixton. 'She has also removed Will as a director on her media business. It's been a tough 17 months for everyone and Daisy and Will were no exception.' The Cirencester-born star rose to prominence when she created the comedy series This Country alongside her brother Charlie. The show follows the daily exploits of best friends Kerry and Kurtan in rural England. Daisy's latest project, Rain Dogs, is written by Cash Carraway and sees Daisy star as a young single mum, living with her ten year-old daughter in the brutal lonely landscape of austerity Britain. Simon Cowell has revealed that his son Eric doesn't approve of him continuing to use his e-bike following two horror crashes. In February, the media mogul, 62, was left with a broken arm after falling off his bike, having previously broken his back following a similar fall in Malibu two years ago. And while Simon has no issues getting back in the saddle, he revealed his son doesn't feel the same way, exclusively telling MailOnline that the youngster 'made him walk' back to their hotel after spotting him on the e-bike. 'Eric was so mad!' Simon Cowell has revealed his son, eight, 'made him walk home' after seeing the BGT judge, 62, back on his e-bike following TWO crashes (pictured in November) Speaking ahead of Sunday night's second episode of Britain's Got Talent, he said: 'Ive always been very accident prone! Luckily it wasnt too bad so you learn something from it. But you wont get me off the bike. 'I actually went on one the other day, I was somewhere where I wasnt on a road and I took my bike with me, and I actually thought, "I need to get back on my bike". Then Eric saw me and went crazy! He was so mad, he made me walk it. 'We were at a hotel so he made me walk it back to the restaurant and then to our room. Its like role reversal going on now, Im now the child and hes the parent, its hysterical. 'The good thing was I wasnt nervous when I got on it, I really enjoyed it.' Protective: While Simon has no issues getting back in the saddle, he revealed his son doesn't feel the same way (pictured in 2018) Simon continued: 'Im not getting off it! I always say that if youre going to ride a bike then youre going to fall off it at some point. It does come with the territory.' He went on to say that he thinks his bad run of luck has finally finished after his eventful time during filming for the Britain's Got Talent auditions. He mused: 'In one week I broke my arm, lost a tooth and then got Covid. All in a week. They say things happen in threes so hopefully Im done now!' Ouch: Simon was rushed to hospital near his west London home with suspected concussion, facial cuts and a broken arm after his crash in February (pictured earlier this month) WHAT IS AN E-BIKE? An e-bike is a regular bike with the addition of a battery-powered motor. When you pedal, the motor kicks in to inject extra power up to a maximum speed of 15mph - the legal limit. Any faster than that and you'll have to go under your own steam. E-bikes have gears and brakes. You are in full control of the motor and can switch it on and off as often as you like. There's no need to worry about the battery running out, as if it does, you can just keep on riding like you would a normal bike. Simon was riding a a Das Spitzing Evolution S-Pedelec bike, which costs upwards of 7921 and has top speeds of 27 miles per hour. The bike has been described as 'one for professionals' as a lighter frame and battery result in no limits when riding uphill or downhill. The power pack has an 120Nm torque which provides up to 550% support for your own pedalling performance on request. The combination of FOX suspension with up to 160 mm travel on the front and rear wheels and 650+ tyres provides more ease with pedalling uphill. On the move: Simon was riding a a Das Spitzing Evolution S-Pedelec bike, which costs upwards of 7921 and has top speeds of 27 miles per hour (stock image) Advertisement Earlier this year Simon told MailOnline he was 'a bit of a nutter' after he narrowly avoided serious injury during his second e-bike crash when he wasn't wearing a helmet. Simon was rushed to hospital near his west London home with suspected concussion, facial cuts and a broken arm after he slammed into the road at 20mph while not wearing a helmet. The 'blood-soaked' tycoon had been riding a Das Spitzing Evolution S-Pedelec bike, which has a basic price of 9499 (7921) and has top speeds of 27mph. Simon was attended to by passersby before paramedics arrived, while three onlookers also stopped oncoming traffic. In August 2020, Simon fell off his e-bike in Malibu and had to undergo back surgery. The media mogul was said to be considering suing the manufacturers, Swindon Powertrain. A spokesperson for the star told MailOnline at the time: 'Simon is understandably extremely concerned for other peoples' safety in relation to this bike. 'We have been pressing the manufacturers about this and will continue to press them, including in relation to the claims of the former member of staff.' The star overhauled his lifestyle after breaking his back and now has regular sleeping and exercise habits, and he has lost more than 20lbs. He is currently working on the latest series of Britain's Got Talent, which returned to screens on Saturday after it was shelved for two years amid Covid concerns. Britain's Got Talent continues on Sunday at 7.35pm on ITV. Easter Sunday was a busy one for the A-list. Celebrities including Rebel Wilson, Bindi Irwin and Phoebe Burgess were enjoying their time off and documenting the festivities for Instagram. Rebel joined family and friends for an oceanside Easter gathering at what appeared to be Bondi's Icebergs venue in Sydney. Yum! Easter Sunday was a busy one for the A-list. Rebel Wilson (pictured) joined family and friends for an oceanside Easter gathering and enjoyed a Cadbury Caramilk chocolate bunny The actress showed off her a Cadbury Caramilk chocolate bunny as she posed for picturesque images, which she captioned with 'Happy Easter'. Bindi was keen to show off her daughter, Grace Warrior, one, who she shares with husband Chandler Powell, having fun with Easter baskets in a video shared online. 'Groovy Easter celebrations brought to you by Grace Warrior' she captioned the sweet clip. Lovely: She she posed for picturesque images, which she captioned with 'Happy Easter'. Rebel appeared to be at Bondi's Icebergs venue in Sydney Having fun: Rebel cosied up in a cardigan as she posed above an ocean pool Phoebe Burgess enjoyed a country Easter with friends and family in her hometown of Bowral, NSW. She wrote: 'This might just be the best Easter, ever, in a slice of Aussie paradise how did I get so lucky with this family, and we just keep growing'. Nadia Bartel held an egg hunt for her young sons, Aston, six, and Henley, three, sharing video of the sweet activity to Instagram Stories. Aww: Bindi was keen to show off her daughter, Grace Warrior, one, who she shares with husband Chandler Powell, having fun. All pictured Cute: Grace played happily with Easter baskets in a video shared online 'Groovy Easter celebrations brought to you by Grace Warrior' she captioned the sweet clip Country fun: Phoebe Burgess (pictured) enjoyed a country Easter with friends and family in her hometown of Bowral, NSW Pretty: She posed alongside her sisters Harriet and Jemima in a pretty field Mum's the word: Phoebe's mother Sarah Hooke also came along. Phoebe wrote: 'This might just be the best Easter, ever, in a slice of Aussie paradise how did I get so lucky with this family, and we just keep growing' She explained that she had made the clips on Easter Sunday morning and that her boys had 'choccy for breakfast'. Married At First Sight's Jules Robinson shared fun photos of her son, Ollie, one, getting stuck into some chocolate eggs. Jules, who shares her boy with husband Cameron Merchant, captioned the photos of the tot getting messy with, 'How it started, how it finished'. Hunt: Nadia Bartel held an egg hunt for her young sons, Aston, six, and Henley, three, sharing video of the sweet activity to Instagram Stories. All pictured Look here! She explained that she had made the clips on Easter Sunday morning Delighted! The boys appeared to be having a wonderful time as they searched for eggs Lucky! Nadia said that her boys had 'choccy for breakfast' Laura Byrne has shared a relatable mum moment when she had to talk her daughter Marlie-Mae, two, into sharing her haul from an Easter egg hunt. The Bachelor star posted to Instagram on Sunday to share a number of stories showing Marlie guarding her Easter eggs. Laura shared photos of the tot holding a container of about 20 eggs which she refused to share with her younger sister, Lola, one. Family time: Married At First Sight's Jules Robinson shared fun photos of her son, Ollie, one, getting stuck into some chocolate eggs. Pictured with son and husband Cameron Merchant Jules captioned the photos of the tot getting messy with chocolate eggs: 'How it started, how it finished' Mum's the word: Laura Byrne has shared a relatable mum moment when she had to talk her daughter Marlie-Mae, two, into sharing her haul from an Easter egg hunt. Laura is pictured with daughters Marlie-Mae and Lola All hers: Laura shared photos of the tot holding a container of about 20 eggs which she refused to share with her younger sister, Lola, one 'We kicked off today's festivities with a humble egg hunt,' Laura captioned one photo of Marlie. 'This wild beast refused to share any of the 20 eggs with Melon [Lola's nickname]. Many tantrums were had,' she wrote. 'Protecting her eggs like a plover in mating season,' Laura finished, joking. Tana Ramsay took to Instagram to pay tribute to her 'very special friend' Victoria Beckham, who celebrated her 48th birthday on Sunday. The cookbook author, 47, shared a slew of snaps of the pair taken over the years, beginning with one where they flash their legs while drying off in white towels. Follow-up shots saw them putting on typically chic displays while beaming from ear-to-ear over dinner and against idyllic mountain-lined backdrops. Legs for days: Tana Ramsay took to Instagram to pay tribute to her 'very special friend' Victoria Beckham, who celebrated her 48th birthday on Sunday Victoria placed a tender hand on the shoulder of her pal's daughter Hollie, now 22, while joined by Tilly, now 20. Her own sons Brooklyn, now 23, Romeo, now 19, and Cruz, now 17, clutched onto multi-coloured balloons and appeared to be in high spirits in the old photo. In her caption, Gordon Ramsay's wife wrote: 'Happy happy Birthday to my very special friend - so many memories and lots more to come x you are amazing and I am so grateful for our friendship x love you so much xxx @victoriabeckham.' Gordon and Tana were amongst the guests mingling at the at the star-studded nuptials of Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz on Saturday. Cute: The cookbook author, 47, shared a slew of photos of the pair taken over the years Pals: Follow-up shots saw them putting on typically chic displays while beaming from ear-to-ear over dinner Chic: They both smiled while wearing shades against an idyllic mountain-lined backdrop The celebrity chef, 55, was suited and booted in a black two-piece and white shirt as he was joined his partner, and daughters Holly and Megan, 23, at Nicola's family's $103million estate in Florida. Tana looked glamorous in a fishtail floor-length gold sequinned gown as she walked alongside her TV star husband. She carried a small clutch purse and and wore her long brown locks down over her shoulders. Tana was seen walking next to her daughter Megan who opted for a green maxi dress for the event. Holly, who looked stunning in an elegant black gown which featured a daring slit up the leg, could be seen sipping on a drink while chatting to her famous father. Turning up to the lavish event in a black SUV earlier in the evening, Gordon put on a dapper display. He was undoubtedly followed closely by his family after he was spotted touching down at Miami airport alongside his wife Tana, 47, and their five children the previous day. The television personality was again joined at Friday's pre-wedding dinner by his daughter Holly, who cut a glamorous figure in a black ensemble. Britain's Got Talent has denied fresh fix allegations, after viewers took to Twitter to accuse the show of staging an audition. There wasn't a dry eye in the house on Saturday night's episode, when a shy dad in the audience was surprised by his two young daughters. Unsuspecting contestant Nick Edwards was shocked when his mum and daughters appeared on stage, to get him to audition. Denial: Britain's Got Talent has denied fresh fix allegations, after viewers took to Twitter to accuse the show of staging an audition 'Are you joking? That's my mum,' he was heard saying in the audience. After some encouragement, a reluctant Nick, 35, made his way to the stage, where he explained he had lost confidence in his singing, and hid his talent. He told the judges: 'Hopefully I'll keep the nerves and crying away while I do this.' After being given time to prepare, the dad performed a moving song dedicated to his daughters, with the performance leaving everyone in tears. Nick received four enthusiastic yeses from the judges and advanced to the next round of the competition. However, many viewers took to Twitter to accuse the emotional performance of being fake, after they spotted a microphone pinned to his chest while he was in the audience. One wrote: 'However cute that is, I don't believe nick on #BGT he's already got a mic on, he must have had some idea of something.' Emotional: There wasn't a dry eye in the house on Saturday night's episode, when a shy dad in the audience was surprised by his two young daughters Another echoed: 'Nick was wearing a microphone while sitting in the audience. He had his song lyrics & guitar. Plus everyone has to go through several auditions before even going on the TV live shows. 100% staged!!' A third chimed in: 'It's so clear to me now that Nick staged the whole thing with a hidden mic!' However, Britain's Got Talent have offered an justification for the microphone, explaining that Nick was approached on arrival to be part of the gogglebox audience who are all micd up to give their live reactions to the acts. However, many viewers took to Twitter to accuse the emotional performance of being fake, after they spotted a microphone pinned to his chest while he was in the audience. An official spokesperson said: 'We loved welcoming back our BGT viewers back last night after a year away. To report or allude to anything being staged or contrived regarding Nick's audition would be false and incorrect. 'Quite simply, when Nick entered the Palladium auditorium during BGT auditions, he was approached to be part of our gogglebox audience and told he would be mic'd up so we could capture his reactions throughout the day as he sat in the audience. 'He was totally unsuspecting. We did this so we could mic him up without him suspecting a thing.' Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger were dressed in their Sunday best as they headed to church with family on Easter. The 42-year-old Avengers: Endgame star and his 32-year-old wife met up with her mother Maria Shriver, 66, ahead of the services in Santa Monica, California. Also joining the high-profile couple was Chris' son Jack, nine, and their daughter Lyla, one, whom the actor carried in his arms. Worship services: Chris Pratt, 42, and Katherine Schwarzenegger, 32, were dressed in their Sunday best as they headed to church in Santa Monica for Easter services with Maria Shriver, 66 Chris opted for a business casual look with a pink-and-white striped shirt that he tucked into khaki pants. He opted to skip a tie, and he stayed casual with brown leather sneakers. Katherine looked lovely in a white maxi dress decorated with green leaf patterns that highlighted her burgeoning baby bump. She covered up with a cream-colored cardigan and matched it to her cream handbag. Dressed up: Chris was dressed in business casual with a pink striped shirt, while Katherine wore a white maxi dress covered in green leaf patterns, along with white sandals and a cardigan The whole gang: They were seen exiting the church after services while accompanied by Maria and Katherine's sister Christina Schwarzenegger, 30 She completed her ensemble with white slide sandals, and she parted her voluminous brunette locks down the middle and swept them back in waves. Jack wore a striking green, blue and purple plaid shirt with khakis and white trainers, while Lyla looked adorable in a pink dress and a white cardigan. As the whole family exited the church after the services, her father held her hand as she walked down the steps. Maria covered up with sunglasses and wore a white ensemble, and she was also seen exiting with her daughter Christina Schwarzenegger, 30. Sweet: Over on Instagram, Katherine celebrated a dream come true when she got to hang out with some cute white rabbits Pretty in pink: She held one sweet bunny with short fur and dark spots over its eyes while wearing a festive pink floral dress with thin straps in one photo. 'Dreams do come true,' she captioned, adding, '(clarify: these are not mine, although I wish they were)' Another closeup showed her holding the same bunny with a larger white rabbit in her other hand that was covered in long white fur Over on Instagram, Katherine celebrated a dream come true when she got to hang out with some cute white rabbits. She held one sweet bunny with short fur and dark spots over its eyes while wearing a festive pink floral dress with thin straps in one photo. 'Dreams do come true,' she captioned, adding, '(clarify: these are not mine, although I wish they were).' Another closeup showed her holding the same bunny with a larger white rabbit in her other hand that was covered in long white fur. Easter gifts: Later in the afternoon, she shared some of the 'Cutest Easter decorations' that she bought for the holiday. Among the goodies were gift bags with cartoon rabbit faces drawn on them and long ears looming over the top On display: One of her items was a multi-tiered caddy with little wire cups to hold colored Easter eggs, and the structure was decorated with an Easter bunny on top Sprinting bunnies: She kept up the rabbit theme with a banner that strung up pink and blue cloth rabbits with fluff balls for tails that was hung on the wall Later in the afternoon, she shared some of the 'Cutest Easter decorations' that she bought for the holiday. Among the goodies were gift bags with cartoon rabbit faces drawn on them and long ears looming over the top. One of her items was a multi-tiered caddy with little wire cups to hold colored Easter eggs, and the structure was decorated with an Easter bunny on top. She kept up the rabbit theme with a banner that strung up pink and blue cloth rabbits with fluff balls for tails that was hung on the wall. Bucks Fizz' star Jay Aston's daughter has been rushed to hospital after falling critically ill with bacterial meningitis. Josie, 18, was rushed to intensive care and put in an induced coma after her organs began to fail last month, and is still currently in a specialist kidney unit. Her mother, 60, opened up about her daughter's condition to The Mirror, saying: 'Its been absolutely devastating. We were told it was 50/50 whether she would pull through. We still dont know when shell be coming home. Devastating: Bucks Fizz's Jay Aston has revealed that her daughter is seriously ill in hospital battling bacterial meningitis (pictured in 2019) 'I sat by her bedside night after night willing her to make it. I couldnt believe this was her fate, because shes such a lovely person. Shes outgoing, kind, good-willed and full of life. It just felt so cruel. Ive been doing a lot of praying. Shes my world were ridiculously close. I just couldnt imagine being without her.' Jay noticed a rash on Josie's arm in March, which she immediately recognised as meningitis as her husband Dave Colquhoun, Josies father, had contracted it 19 years earlier. She rushed her to hospital, which doctors later said saved Josie's life, and within an hour Josies entire body was covered in the rash. The following day, when her lungs began to fail, she was taken to intensive care where she was put into an induced coma, given oxygen and treated with antibiotics. Fighter: Josie, 18, was rushed to intensive care and put in an induced coma after her organs began to fail last month, and is still currently in a specialist kidney unit (pictured in 2021) Bacterial meningitis usually occurs when bacteria enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain and spinal cord. It is much more serious and rarer than viral meningitis, and one in 10 cases are fatal. Possible side effects include brain damage, hearing loss and amputation of the affected limbs. Jay recalled her shock at the diagnosis, when a few days earlier Josie had been 'fit and healthy' and excitedly preparing to go on holiday and start a new job. Terrifying: Her mother, 60, opened up about her daughter's condition to The Mirror, saying: 'Its been absolutely devastating. We were told it was 50/50 whether she would pull through' (pictured in 2022) Josie remained in the coma for five days, with Jay sleeping beside her bed in a chair, until doctors took her out of the coma, but there was no improvement. Jay said: 'She didnt come round for two days. They were the two worst days of my life. There was no response. I knew it could go either way. But I couldnt let myself think that I might lose her.' Jay has gone through her own health issues, undergoing seven operations - including having part of her tongue removed - to cure her mouth cancer in 2018 and battling Covid in 2021. Despite this, she said that the fear of losing her daughter made this the 'worst month of my life' and insisted she would 'swap places with her in a heartbeat.' Jay says Josie still has a lot of recovery time to go, and wants her story told so people know the dangers of the infection, which can be spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing. She is hopeful that Josie will be released from hospital this week, but for now is just grateful she is alive, knowing how close she came to losing her. A COVID-19 testing station near Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall is seen in this April 15 photo. Yonhap New daily COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000, Saturday, amid a continuing slowdown in infections, and with the government set to lift major social distancing rules this week to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 93,001 infections, including 18 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,305,752. The tally marked a drop from 107,916, Friday, and 125,846, Thursday, and is the first time it has fallen below 100,000 in nine weeks. Daily infections have been declining since peaking at 621,178, March 17, amid the fast spread of the Omicron variant. The death toll came to 21,092, up 203 from Friday; while the number of critically ill patients came to 893, down from 913. Critical cases have also been falling after hitting a record high of 1,315, March 31. A cardiac arrest causes the patient to collapse and their survival depends on the bystanders. (By Arrangement) Before listing the warning signals, lets understand the difference between certain common terms, which are often used interchangeably but actually refer to different conditions and stages of malfunction of the heart. Dr Rajeev Menon, clinical director of the department of cardiology, AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, explains these terms. Dr Rajeev Menon. (By Arrangement) A commonly used term is angina ischemia, which is reduced blood supply to the heart due to narrowing of the blood vessels/arteries from fat deposition. At this stage, the heart muscle has not yet been damaged. It may get converted to a heart attack if there is sudden rupture of the cholesterol plaque, due to which the fat comes into the blood, which gets clotted, stopping blood supply to the heart from that vessel. In case of a heart attack, the patient must be brought to the hospital at the earliest, as a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest causes the patient to collapse. Their survival depends on the bystanders. They must immediately start cardiac massage or CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) after calling an ambulance, or else the patient may die. Heart failure is a clinical diagnosis when the patient has symptoms such as swelling of feet, palpitations, breathlessness on exertion, cough while lying down, and distention of the abdomen. It means the heart muscle has become extremely weak and cant contract the way it should. Confusion in recognizing symptoms Contrary to the usual belief, popularized by movies, chest pain does not always originate on the upper left side of the heart, nor is it always felt there. Retrosternal chest pain (pain that develops behind the breast bone) is often mistaken as acid reflux because the symptoms are similar to gastric issues chest discomfort, heaviness, burning sensation or heartburn. The patient usually takes antacids to ease the pain and discomfort. In such a scenario, whenever in doubt, treat it as cardiac pain rather than gastric pain and get tests and medical evaluation done. Another challenge is silent ischemia for diabetic patients. Since the nerve endings in the heart of such patients are commonly damaged, they do not feel pain as non-diabetics do. So, they may be unaware of having suffered a heart attack. It can only be detected through an ECG or Echo-Cardiogram. The third challenge is referred pain, which means the pain may not occur in the place of origin (the heart) but is felt in multiple other locations. The brain is not habituated to heart pain and therefore mistakes it, referring it to another site behind the breast bone or centre of the chest, epigastrium (upper abdomen just above the stomach), left shoulder, neck, hands, back, jaw and teeth. Care Hospital team of doctors who removed a rare tumour from a patient (sitting left) in Hyderabad. DC) Hyderabad: Doctors at Care Hospitals, Nampally, removed a very rare kind of tumour from a patients brain by performing a complex, five-hour surgery. A 47-year-old farmer presented himself at the hospital, complaining of severe headaches for the past two months. On detailed examination, the patient was found to be having a large-sized tumour inside the brain and sinus. A bifrontal craniotomy was performed on the patient. It was found that the tumour, called Teratocaricnosarcoma, was a rare sino nasal tumour. Syed Kamran Husain, chief operating officer of the hospital said that less than 100 cases of such tumour were reported worldwide. Of them, less than 10 were found in the brain. HYDERABAD: A group of 13 leaders of non-BJP parties including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and three Chief Ministers on Saturday issued a joint appeal against growing incidents of hate speech and communal violence in parts of the country under the BJP-led NDA government regime, saying issues related to food, dress, faith, festivals and language were being used to polarise society. However, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao who has been waging a war against the 'communal and divisive politics' of the BJP government at the Centre for the past few months, was not among the signatories of this joint statement. TRS leaders maintained complete silence over why Chandrashekar Rao was not part of this joint statement against the BJP. Interestingly, in Maharashtra, ruling Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Congress and NCP, was also not part of this joint statement. The other political leaders who issued the appeal include Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja, Rashtriya Janata Dals Tejashwi Yadav and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah. Of these, Chandrashekar Rao already met Mamata Banerjee, Stalin, Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Teshwi Yadav and Sharad Pawar in the past few months in his attempts to forge an anti-BJP front before 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the People Power Party / Korea Times file Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol plans to send a delegation to Japan later this month for policy consultations on North Korea and pending bilateral issues, his transition team said Sunday. Led by Rep. Chung Jin-suk of Yoon's People Power Party, the delegation will visit Tokyo from April 24 to 28 to meet officials from the Japanese government and legislature as well as people from the business circle, media and academia, according to the transition team's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin. The seven-member delegation includes Rep. Kim Seok-ki, Yun Duk-min, former head of the foreign ministry-affiliated Korea National Diplomatic Academy, and Park Cheol-hee, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies. "The objective of the delegation is for consultations on North Korea policy and relations between Seoul and Tokyo," Bae told reporters. "We expect (the visit) to lay the foundation for cooperation on North Korea and for the resolution of pending issues between the two countries." Yoon has stated his focus on building a "future-oriented" partnership with Japan amid a series of thorny issues between the two neighbors over wartime history and trade. It will be Yoon's second delegation sent to a foreign country since his election he dispatched delegates to the United States earlier this month. He is slated to take office May 10. (Yonhap) London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several top UK Cabinet ministers and politicians are banned from Russia for their unprecedented hostile actions of imposing sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, the Russian Foreign Minister said in a statement on Saturday. The full list of 13 British politicians on the so-called stop list issued from Moscow includes Indian-origin ministers UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Attorney General Suella Braverman as well as Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and defence secretary Ben Wallace. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the list will be expanded in the near future to include more British politicians and parliamentarians. In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian stop list', said the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. This step was taken as a response to London's unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy. In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO, reads the statement, translated from Russian. The instigation of London is also unacceptable, which is strongly pushing not only its Western allies, but also other countries to introduce large-scale anti-Russian sanctions, which, however, are senseless and counterproductive, it adds. With reference to a string of economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the British government in recent weeks, the ministry accuses the British authorities of a Russophobic course aimed at stirring up a negative attitude towards Russia and curtail bilateral ties in almost all areas, which it says is detrimental to the well-being and interests of the inhabitants of Britain itself. Any sanctions attacks will inevitably hit their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff, it said. In the near future, this list will be expanded to include British politicians and parliamentarians who contribute to whipping up anti-Russian hysteria, pushing the collective West' to use the language of threats in dialogue with Moscow, and shamelessly inciting the Kiev neo-Nazi regime, it adds. Other UK politicians on the stop list include UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Minister of Entrepreneurship, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister of Digitalisation, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries, Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, and Conservative Party MP and former British Prime Minister Theresa May. In March, Moscow imposed a similar ban against US President Joe Biden in retaliation for American sanctions against the Kremlin over the conflict in Ukraine. The UK sanctions have included financial measures designed to damage Russia's economy and penalise Russian President Vladimir Putin, high-ranking officials and Russian oligarchs close to the Kremlin. Britain has been at the forefront of rallying support for Ukraine, with Boris Johnson in regular contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and also paying a visit to the conflict-torn region. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, pitching for "meaningful" engagement between the two countries, people familiar with the development said on Sunday. Sharif's communication on Saturday came in response to a letter sent by Modi to the Pakistani leader congratulating him on becoming the prime minister, they said. In his letter a few days ago, Modi conveyed to Sharif that India desired constructive ties with Pakistan. On April 11, the Pakistan parliament selected Sharif as the 23rd prime minister of the country, a day after Imran Khan was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote. In a Twitter post, Modi congratulated Sharif on becoming the prime minister of Pakistan and said India desires peace and stability in a region free of terrorism. "Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people," he tweeted on April 11. In his response, Sharif said Pakistan desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India. "Thank you Premier Narendra Modi for felicitations. Pakistan desires peaceful & cooperative ties with India. Peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes including Jammu & Kashmir is indispensable. Pakistan's sacrifices in fighting terrorism are well-known. Let's secure peace and focus on socio-economic development of our people," the Pakistan prime minister tweeted. It is learnt that Sharif, in his reply to Modi's letter, also sought resolution of the outstanding issues, including that of Kashmir, while maintaining that Pakistan favours peaceful and cooperative ties with India. India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility for such an engagement. The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack. The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. "The government's consistent position has been that India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence," Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in Parliament on April 7 while replying to a question. "The onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere," he added. Congress leaders D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, and others were detained as Bengaluru Police stopped them from marching towards CM Basavaraj Bommai's residence demanding the removal of Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa in connection with contractor Santosh Patil's death. #WATCH | Bengaluru: Several Congress leaders detained as they were marching towards CM Bommai's residence in view of their demand for Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappas's resignation in connection with contractor Santosh Patil's death. pic.twitter.com/UhFlCyIqJJ ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2022 Earlier today, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that any action would be taken only after the post-mortem examination report of Belagavi contractor Santosh Patil. "Post-mortem was done yesterday and now preliminary inquiry(report) will come and based on that we'll proceed," he said. Speculations were rife that the party could ask Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj KS Eshwarappa to resign in the aftermath of Patil's death after the Opposition created a furore to sack him. Patil had named Eshwarappa in his alleged suicide note as being responsible for his death. The contractor had, a few weeks ago, accused Eshwarappa of charging a 40 per cent commission in completion of pending public works. Speaking on the Opposition protesting, Bommai called Congress a "Gangotri of corruption". "Congress doesn't have any moral right to protest. Congress is a Gangotri of corruption," the chief minister said. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday the situation in the besieged port of Mariupol remained extremely severe and Kyiv was in touch with city's defenders every day. Meanwhile, Russia claimed full control of urban area of Mariupol. Follow for more updates. The Nepal government is considering to declare a two-day holiday in public sector offices this month to reduce fuel consumption, as the country battles a foreign exchange crisis and the price of petroleum products sky-rockets. The Central Bank of Nepal and Nepal Oil Corporation advised the government to give two days government holiday, Cabinet sources said. The Russia-Ukraine war, which is going on for over a month now, has resulted in a major spike in global oil prices as Russian oil in under sanction. Other major oil producers Iran and Venezuela are also facing sanctions in selling petroleum. Also Read | CAG asks MHA to pace up completion of much-delayed India-Nepal border roads Tourism-dependent Nepal is experiencing a slump in its foreign reserves after the Covid-19 pandemic brought international travel to a halt. The advise to the government sees significant savings for Nepal Oil Corporation which is selling fuel at subsidised rates and suffering huge losses at the present global rates, officials said. Government Spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki told the media that the government has so far not taken any decision in this regard. The proposal has come up but it is under consideration, he said. To deal with the forex crisis, the Nepal government has urged Nepalese nationals living abroad to open dollar accounts in banks in the country and make investments. Nepal has also tightened imports of expensive cars, gold and other luxurious goods to maintain its falling reserves. Karki said the government is also looking into whether it can lower the duties on imported vehicles and other such goods. Check out latest DH videos here Nigeria's airforce said Saturday that it had killed more than 70 Islamic State affiliated fighters in the north of the country, at the border with Niger. The statement said aircraft from both Nigeria and Niger had taken part in the operation. The Lake Chad area where Nigeria said it launched the airstrikes is known for hosting fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a jihadist group active since 2016. With older rivals Boko Haram, the two factions have killed more than 40,000 people in the past decade and over two million people are still displaced from their homes due to ongoing violence. "Missions over the suspected locations... conducted on 13 April 2022 specifically sighted large number of terrorists, a likely logistics camp," Nigeria's airforce spokesman Edward Gabkwet said. As a result, they carried out airstrikes on April 14 at Tumbun Rego and a nearby training camp, using aircraft from both Nigeria and Niger, he added in a statement. "Over 70 ISWAP terrorists were either eliminated or severely injured," he said. Nigeria often scales up its offensive at this time of the year, before the rainy season starts. Soldiers have been battling the jihadist insurgency for more 12 years. Since last year, ISWAP has mostly taken over from its rival Boko Haram, after its leader Abubakar Shekau died during inter-factional clashes. Shekau had gained international notoriety after kidnapping nearly 300 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014. Government troops are also battling heavily armed gangs in the northwest and separatist tensions in the southeast. Check out the latest videos from DH: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying he seeks "peaceful and cooperative" ties with India. In the letter, Sharif wrote that it can be achieved through "meaningful dialogue" and that Pakistan is committed to regional peace and security, The Indian Express reported. Last week, Sharif had said that Pakistans sacrifices in fighting terrorism are well known, in a reply to PM Modi's congratulatory message, in which he had called for a region free of terror. Shehbaz also stressed that the peaceful settlement of the Pakistan-India dispute over Jammu and Kashmir was indispensable for cooperative ties between the two neighbouring nations. Ties between India and Pakistan have remained strained for many years, particularly on the matter of Jammu and Kashmir. The relations between the nations had plummeted after the Pulwama attack by Pakistan in 2019 and India's subsequent retaliatory airstrike in Balakot. However, with Sharif taking over as PM, New Delhi is looking at developments in the region with a cautiously optimistic approach. Sources told the publication that the change in regime may offer a diplomatic opening. Officials pointed out that the core concerns of the two countries remain the same, and Shehbaz is well placed to resume the bilateral conversation. Watch latest videos by DH here: Tension prevailed in the Old Hubballi area as the mob angry over an objectionable social media post started hurling stones on Saturday midnight. In protest against a social media post with an edited photograph of Bhawa Dhwaj atop a holy place of the minority community, the mob turned violent. To disperse the mob, police resorted to opening fire in the air and using tear gas after stone-pelting started near Old Hubballi Police Station at Indi Pump Circle. Police vehicles were damaged, and two policemen were also injured in the incident. Additional police security was arranged, and Police Commissioner Labhu Ram held talks with leaders, to maintain peace. Prohibitory orders were also clamped. Police arrested one Abhishek Hiremath on charges of displaying the edited photo on his status of social media account, which went viral after which a protest was staged. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Stendhal Festival has announced that their comedy line-up for this summers cavalcade of creativity will be headlined by the one and only Reginald D. Hunter on Saturday, July 2. The hilarious American will be joined by Stendhals largest ever offering of amazing homegrown comics including; Micky Bartlett, Dave Elliot, Paddy McDonnell, Mark McCarney, William Thompson, Ruairi Woods, Emer Maguire, Jordan Robinson, Luke McGibbon, Bronagh Diamond, Ciaran Bartlett, Ceili Rae Minogue and Ciaran Franco. Since his first UK comedy gig 21 years ago, Georgia-born Reginald D. Hunters searingly honest observations both onstage and on TV and Radio have garnered him a cross- generational fan base. During that time he has become one of the comedy industrys best-known performers for his distinctive take on the most diverse range of subjects. His work can be brutally honest and is often considered to be controversial but it is always meticulously thought out and he has never been afraid to face challenging issues head on even when the focus is on his own principles or beliefs. He reached the final of So You Think You Are Funny in 1998 during his first visit to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer in 2002 and then nominated for The Edinburgh Comedy Awards main prize in 2003 and 2004. In 2006 he won the Writers Guild Award for Comedy for his show Pride and Prejudice and Niggas. His TV appearances have included Never Mind The Buzzcocks, QI and Have I Got News For You? He also filmed two series of the BBC2s hugely popular Reginald D Hunters Songs Of The South & Reginald D Hunters Songs of The Border, documenting Reginalds epic road trip through 150 years of American popular song. Reginald regularly tours the UK and Ireland and he has been seen by audiences around the world from America to Australia. Festival director Ross Parkhill said that he is excited to welcome Reginald. event: Reginald D. Hunter is without question one of the funniest stand-up comedians I have ever seen live. He is a regular visitor to Ireland and has a great understanding of what we find funny. We are all delighted that he will be joining us at Ballymully Cottage Farm in July. Ross added: The funny doesnt stop there though, as always we have a stellar cast of indigenous standup comics, some really well known like Micky Bartlett, Emer Maguire, Paddy McDonnell and some brilliant up and comers like Ceili Rae Minogue. So, if you are looking your funny bone tickled this summer, Stendhal has you covered. For tickets and more information visit www.stendhalfestival.com Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Metro Line 5 is crowded with people wearing face masks in this photo taken on Aug. 24, 2020, the first day the mask mandate was imposed across the city. Yonhap Some people won't give up masks, even if pandemic wanes By Lee Hyo-jin It isn't an exaggeration to say that face masks have become the new normal in Korea, as nearly two years have passed since they have become mandatory in public places amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Before the health crisis began, masks were mostly reserved for celebrities to hide their identity or as a fashion item, or worn in the spring during days of yellow dust or fine dust. But now, the protective gear has evolved into a must-have item, changing its perceptions among Koreans. However, as the country moves forward from the Omicron wave, whether to wear the masks is soon expected to become a matter of personal choice again, as the government is considering dropping the mandate. As daily infection numbers are slowing down, the government is shifting its approach to pandemic-related restrictions, moving to a new way of living with the virus by treating it more like an endemic disease. Starting Monday, limits on the operating hours of multiuse facilities and attendance caps at private gatherings have been removed, and the government is mulling the lifting of mandatory face mask rules after a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, not everyone seems ready to bid farewell to the masks. Some have discovered unexpected benefits of the protective equipment, while others are still wary of COVID-19 infection. "At first it was uncomfortable, but now I'm used to wearing masks everywhere in the office, on public transports and at the gym. It would feel strange not covering my face in front of other people," said Choi Young-kyung, a 28-year-old office worker in Seoul. "And frankly speaking, I like it that I can hide half of my face when I speak with my superiors at work. They don't seem to notice that I'm smiling only with my eyes, not with my mouth, a useful skill I've developed thanks to the mask." Employees work at a face mask factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in this photo taken on March 6, 2020. Joint Press Corps Some are pledging to stick with the masks, as they have proven effective in preventing various other infectious diseases, not just the coronavirus. "Before the pandemic, I frequently suffered from sore throat and runny nose. But I've never experienced cold-like symptoms during the last two years, which means that face masks are really effective in preventing other diseases," said Lee Jae-gil, a 55-year-old restaurant owner in Seoul. "So I'll probably keep wearing them except during the hottest days in summer." Lingering concerns about the coronavirus are another reason for people to continue wearing masks for the foreseeable future. They feel uneasy that the government is drastically easing virus curbs just because the Omicron wave has passed its peak. "With lectures switching offline and more gatherings being held at the university, I'm worried I might get the virus any time. Even if the mask mandate is lifted outdoors, I will keep on wearing them everywhere," said a 22-year-old college student surnamed Lee who studies at Korea University. Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University, viewed that even if the country moves away from mask mandates, and leaves it to individual choice, they won't disappear soon. "Before the health crisis, masks were perceived to be worn only by ill people or those who are overly concerned about their health. But now, it has become a useful way to hide our faces to avoid unwanted attention, and it has also become a sign of showing respect to others," he said. Lim explained that as it is very difficult to revert to earlier habits, it will take a fair amount of time for people to get used to face-to-face interactions in the post-pandemic era. Passengers on a bus in Seoul are seen wearing face masks due to concerns over COVID-19 infection in this photo taken on Jan. 25, 2020, before the mask mandate was implemented by the government. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-suk A Coleraine man found in possession of a fully loaded, sawn-off shotgun has been granted bail after police failed to pay overtime for an investigating officer to appear in court. David Morrell, from the Ballysally estate in Coleraine, appeared via video link at Ballymena Magistrates Court on Saturday morning charged with possessing a firearm with intent. The 44-year-old was also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances and a police officer in court did oppose the granting of bail. When police searching Morrell's home told him what they were seeking, the defendant 'made them aware' that there was a firearm in the kitchen, in a holdall, under some cushions. The item seized by police was described in court as a 'fully loaded, breach-loading weapon' that had been adapted to carry five rather than three cartridges, and it was 'ready for use'. Loyalist paramilitary flags bearing the insignia of the UDA and UFF were also located in the defendant's property, and the weapon will be forensically tested to see if it can be linked with any paramilitary-style attacks. At interview, the defendant told police he found the weapon in a bag on his way home from work the previous day and had panicked when he saw the bag's contents. A police officer told the court the gun is 'linked to North Antrim UDA' and suggested there could be 'reprisals' against Morrell following its seizure. Defence for Morrell conceded he had previously been arrested on suspicion of UDA membership, but 'released unconditionally'. They said none of the defendant's fingerprints or DNA will be found on the weapon, only on the bag that contained it, and that 'anybody who knows anything about firearms' would not have a loaded weapon in their house. District Judge King said the nature of the weapon caused him concern, and asked the officer to comment on the defendant's alleged links with the UDA. However, Judge King was left 'astonished' as the officer conceded he had not been involved in the investigation and was unable to do so. He said the police would 'not pay overtime' for a leading officer to come to court, and on hearing this, Judge King opted to grant bail to Morrell. Releasing him on his own bail of 750, with a surety of 750, the judge ordered Morrell to reside at an address in the Ballycastle area of County Antrim, subject to a curfew, electronic tag and reporting to police. The choice of bail address has caused Causeway Coast and Glens councillor Padraig McShane some concern. The failure by the police to send one single investigating officer to evidence this find to court points to more sinister elements or intelligence handlers taking over proceedings, he told Derry Now. The court bailing this individual to Ballycastle and allowing his whereabouts to be reported in press statements appears sinister in the extreme. The local community are absolutely perplexed at the decision of the court. There is a palpable anger in the town. Many in the nationalist/republican community locally believe the UDA in North Antrim enjoy a cosy relationship with the PSNI, he added. Morrell was directed to appear again via video link at Coleraine Magistrates Court on April 25. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Join Louth Whiskey Society on Wednesday, April 20, in Kennedy's Railway Bar Dundalk, at 7.30pm, for The Teeling Tasting. This tasting will explore the innovative maturation and finishing of Teeling Whiskey by Master Distiller and Blender, Alex Chasko. The tasting will include five Teeling whiskeys produced in the New Market Distillery. The first tasting event held in November 2021 celebrated Noel Sweeney's and John Teeling's huge contribution to the Irish Whiskey landscape. Cooley Distillery was founded by John Teeling and under the expert guidance of former Master Distiller and Blender, Noel Sweeney, it went on to win numerous awards on the world stage. John Teeling went on to found the nearby Great Northern Distillery, while his children Jack and Stephen established the Teeling Distillery in Dublin. Noel Sweeney hosted the tasting, and attendees sampled Greenore Single Grain, Tyrconnell single malt, Connemara peated, Port finished single malt and the very special Kilbeggan 18-year-old. It was fascinating to learn about the history, brands and impact Cooley Distillery has had on Irish Whiskey globally. Subsequent events explored exciting brands that are sourcing and producing their own whiskey, such as Boann, Killowen, Two Stacks and May Loag. Steven Murphy from May Loag showcased his beautifully presented range, including the Diamond, a premium ten year old blend. Brendan Carty from Killowen Distillery brought a number of bold and innovative spirits, including Killowens new Poitin Bulcan, made using a traditional mash bill of 50% malted oats and 50% malted barley, it is 100% smoked, and bottled at still strength. It was incredible! Shane McCarthy from Two Stacks Irish Whiskey joined Brendan for this event, and poured the first bottling from the new Polaris Collection, a nine year old single malt, finished in Red Ice Wine, and bottled at 59.8%. The single malt used in this bottling is very fruity, bursting with pear and apple, the 6-month finishing in Red Ice Wine imparts extra flavours of cherry and strawberry. The latest event focusing on Teeling Whiskey will showcase five samples, poured and discussed by some very special guests on the night. Teeling Whiskey is creating small batch bottlings of true character never tasted before, raising the bar for Irish Whiskey with over 300 International Whiskey Awards. Tickets for what will be a fascinating night are limited and are expected to sell out fast. Purchase now to avoid disappointment at: www.louthwhiskeysociety.com/upcoming-events. Answers to last week's questions: When did the Dundalk Gardai move to their present station? The force moved into their Station at the Crescent in January 1946. The National police force, recruited in February 1922, first arrived in Dundalk as the Civic Guards on October 31, 1922 and took up duty in the former Louth headquarters of the R.I.C. in Anne Street on the following day and the Bridge Street police station sometime later. The British controlled police had left Dundalk on March 29 and Dundalk was patrolled by members of the I..R.A. and a civilian force in the meantime. The Irish Guards did not become known as An Garda Siochana until 1923. The Bridge Street Station was closed after World War 11 and the former Governor's House at the Crescent Jail was renovated, at a cost of approximately 8,000, to become the headquarters of the Dundalk District of An Garda Siochana. When did speed limit signs in kilometres per hour first appear in Dundalk? The speed limit law in the Republic changed from being in miles per hour to kilometres on Thursday, January 20, 2005. The signs around the town had been changed after Christmas and there was a lot of speculation that this might cause a confusion for drivers, especially in relation to those from across the Border where limits remained in miles, but it did not create all that much trouble after all! Perhaps this was because the Gardai did not immediately enforce the law too rigorously? What is the correct name of the birds that appear on the crest of Dundalk Municipal Council? They do not represent real birds but are heraldic symbols called 'martlets' which have appeared on the crests of various families and towns in Europe from medieval times. The Coat of Arms of the Dundalk Urban District Council was registered at Dublin Castle over fifty years ago, on a suggestion from the Old Dundalk Society. The design of this crest was inspired by an old seal used by the Bailiffs of the town in the fourteenth century. What does the red band in the shield of the Heraldic Crest of Dundalk represent? This was suggested by the Chief Herald of Ireland in Dublin Castle when Dundalk officials consulted him about the proposed design in the 1960s. He had said that it was the 'bend' in centre of the coat of arms of Dowdall family who had settled in the Dundalk area in the 13th century. QUESTIONS for next week When was the first Maytime Festival held in Dundalk? Where in Dundalk is St. John's Bridge? When was the Boyne Rail Viaduct opened for service traffic between Dublin and Dundalk? Where in Dundalk was the Inn known as 'The Bunch of Grapes' ? Former Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Song Young-gil announces his bid to run for Seoul mayor post at a press conference in Hongdae, Mapo District, Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps By Nam Hyun-woo Former chairmen of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are staging a tight race to become the party candidate for the Seoul mayor post in the June 1 local elections. So far however, none of them have taken the lead over incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). According to a Realmeter poll, Sunday, former DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon was leading the other DPK contenders seeking the Seoul mayor post with a 22.4-percent support rate. Following him were former DPK Chairman Song Young-gil with 20.3 percent and former SMEs and startups minister Park Young-sun with 9 percent. The poll was requested by Media Tribune and surveyed 812 adults in Seoul from April 14 to 15. Further details are available on the websites of Realmeter and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission. Among those who said they are DPK supporters, however, former Chairman Song enjoyed the most support of 36.2 percent, outpacing former Chairman Lee with 24.7 percent. Former Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Song Young-gil, left, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speak during the 10th Seoul Economic Forum at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul on Yeouido, Seoul, April 14. Joint Press Corps Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Health minister candidate Chung Ho-young puts on his glasses before reading a statement at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwan Health minister nominee Chung Ho-young, who has been mired in allegations of using his position to help his children enter medical school and avoid mandatory military service, denied all of the accusations on Sunday. "I assure you that I never did anything wrong regarding my children using my social title," Chung said during a press conference at National Medical Center. "My children transferring to a medical school and my son being exempt from mandatory military service had all proceeded according to ways in which the maximum level of fairness was guaranteed." Chung denied allegations that his son and daughter had transferred to Kyungpook National University School of Medicine in 2016 and 2017 when their father served as president of Kyungpook National University Hospital. According to the allegations, Chung's daughter passed an interview as part of the screening test to enter the school in 2017 in which three of the sitting judges were Chung's friends. She received perfect scores from them in the examination. "The sitting judges for the interview were selected on the day of the examination so there was no way I could know who will judge my daughter," Chung said at the press conference. "There were as many as triple systemic barriers in the screening procedure against any possible bribing of the judges, so it was virtually impossible (for me to watch my daughter's back)." Chung claimed his children also received mediocre scores in parts of the screening test to transfer to the medical school where subjective assessments by judges played a critical role, such as the interview and evaluation of submitted documents, while they scored high in tests based on computer assessments like TEPS (English proficiency test certified by the Korean government). "Based on my children's performances, it is unacceptable to claim that I granted my children any favors," the candidate said. Chung also denied an allegation that his son benefited from his father's status and was named as a co-author of two academic papers he had taken part in while pursuing a bachelor's degree in engineering. The papers were then registered to Korea Citation Index. The candidate said the case had similar precedents in his son's school and his professor did not display any favoritism for his child. Chung Ho-young bows before journalists ahead of a press conference at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap LATEST: Medical help has been summoned to a makeshift Ukrainian refugee centre in north Cork after a number of new arrivals fell ill. Some 46 people from the war-ravaged country arrived in Banteer on Saturday night, but some complained of feeling unwell upon arrival. Up to 30 are said to have been sick, with suspected salmonella, when presenting at the centre, which is part of the community hall in the village. The new arrivals are staying in the indoor astroturf facility. Medical personnel arrived on the scene, and those who fell ill are receiving treatment. Two people - one adult and one child - have been transferred to Cork University Hospital for further treatment. While salmonella is suspected, this has not yet been confirmed by laboratory tests. EARLIER: Medical help had to be summoned to a makeshift Ukrainian refugee centre in north Cork when a number of new arrivals fell ill. Some 46 people from the war-ravaged country arrived in Banteer on Saturday night, but some complained of feeling unwell upon arrival. Up to 30 are said to have been sick when presenting at the centre, which is part of the community hall in the village. The new arrivals are staying in the indoor astroturf facility. Medical personnel arrived on the scene, and those who fell ill are receiving treatment. Cork County Council, which is the lead authority on the matter, said: "A total of 46 Ukrainian refugees were placed in emergency rest centre accommodation in Banteer on Saturday night. A number of refugees complained of feeling unwell upon arrival. "Medical assistance was called immediately and medical help was present on-site overnight. The HSE's Public Health Unit has been mobilised and the centre currently has restricted access while the matter is being addressed." Community efforts to welcome refugees The community in Banteer has been at pains to equip the refugees with as many provisions and assistance as possible, with pleas put out for donations such as basic everyday items, as well as the need for translators. "The new guests in our community have left dire circumstances in their own country. "Any assistance would be greatly appreciated," Banteer Tidy Towns said in a Facebook post. Upwards of 30m has been donated to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine appeal in the past few weeks, as Irish people welcome thousands of Ukrainian families into their homes and communities, as well as sending convoys out to the country that was invaded by Russia in late February. Around 11 million people have been displaced, with nearly 50,000 dead and thousands of buildings destroyed. This story first appeared on www.irishexaminer.com. A NUMBER of events commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising took place around Cork and across the country today. People turned out in towns from Clonakilty to Youghal to mark the day, while Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the Minister for Defence Simon Coveney joined President Michael D Higgins at the national commemoration outside of the GPO in Dublin. It was the first public event to mark the uprising since the beginning of the pandemic. Mr Higgins laid a wreath during the ceremony, which began at midday. Defence Forces members, a brass band, and representatives of the Air Corps and the Naval Service were also in attendance. The commemoration involved prayers of remembrance, and the Proclamation was read by Commandant Daire Roache from Co Mayo. The Irish flag was lowered to half-mast during the ceremony and Private Vincent Murray, of the 27th Infantry Battalion, played a lament outside the GPO. Taoiseach Micheal Martin attended the national commemoration. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews. Relatives of former Irish presidents and family members of the 1916 signatories were also in attendance. The planned flypast by the Irish Air Corps was cancelled due to the weather. Cork commemorations Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould travelled to Bandon to give the annual oration in West Cork, while Louise OReilly TD spoke at a commemoration in Cork City. There were loads of events going on right across the city and county. We had our annual Easter Sunday commemoration at Ballycannon in Kerry Pike in the morning, where six IRA volunteers were killed 101 years ago, and it went very well, Mr Gould said. Then I was invited to speak at the Bandon commemoration later in the day. We had our walk from the graveyard and then a piper played a lament and the Proclamation was read out. When I gave the oration I actually mentioned what was happening in Ukraine and compared it to where we were 101 years ago and it turned out that there were two Ukrainian women there. They came up to me afterwards and one woman, who only came to Ireland three weeks ago, told me about how her husband and her brother were still there and how much they appreciate the Irish people. It was really poignant. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Colm Kelleher, also delivered an address during the afternoon in Macroom. Mr Kelleher said it was a great honour to be asked to deliver the annual oration. Crowds in Belfast Meanwhile, in Belfast, huge crowds took part in Easter commemorations. The leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, addressed attendees in Milltown Cemetery, saying that she sought partnership with unionists to help realise the partys objective of achieving a united Ireland. Ms McDonald said unionists must have an equal part in building what she described as a new Ireland. To those of a unionist tradition I say sincerely, we seek partnership with you, Ms McDonald said. A future of equality and freedom belongs to you. A future of progress and change belongs to you. A future of prosperity and opportunity belongs to you. It is not for anybody to invite you in; that future is already yours. It is about you, it is of you, it is for you. British government after British government has disrespected and failed you, time and again. Imagine instead the liberating possibility of full freedom to make all decisions here, in a parliament here, for the people who live here. Instead of a government in London turning its back on you, imagine an Ireland where your place is assured and your rights are enshrined in law. Where who you are is woven into the very fabric of who we all are, a people as one in all our diversity. An Ireland finally taking its place again as part of the European family and amongst the nations of the world, ready to realise all of our potential. In that spirit, in that belief, there is no limit to what we can achieve together. During the commemoration, wreaths were laid for various groups, including the National Graves Association and the GAA. This was followed by the laying of single lilies by young people. A minutes silence was held for those who died during the 1916 Rising, followed by a musician playing a lament. The Proclamation was read by Roseleen Walsh. A man has been charged in connection with a serious assault which occurred in Dublin. On Sunday, a man was left in critical condition in hospital after he was attacked in Dublin city centre. Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 2.30am and found the man, aged in his mid-20s, seriously injured. He was treated at the scene for an apparent head injury and taken by ambulance to St Jamess Hospital. A man in his 30s was later arrested in connection to the incident during a follow-up operation, in which a house was searched in Co Kildare. The man has since been charged and is due to appear in court on Monday morning. - Additional reporting by PA Air pollution is an underrated problem in the world, with many dangerous health consequences. Recently, the most comprehensive study of its kind linked exposure to air pollution to increased severity of mental illness, The Guardian reported. The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, tested 13,000 people in London, England and used frequency of admission to hospitals or visits to community doctors and nurses as a measure of severity, the news report said. The researchers found that relatively small increases in exposure to nitrogen dioxide had negative effects on mental health, including a 32% increase in the risk of needing community-based treatment and an 18% increase in the risk of being admitted to a hospital. Lead researcher Ioannis Bakolis of Kings College London said there is no safe level of air pollution. Even at low levels of air pollution, you can observe this kind of very important effect, Bakolis told The Guardian. Importantly, the researchers also found that even a small reduction in a single pollutant could reduce illness and save the UK national healthcare system tens of millions a year. The scientists noted that their findings likely would apply to most cities in developed nations around the world. According to the World Health Organization, 90 percent of the worlds population breathes air that exceeds safe levels. The study showed that millions would be harmed by incremental increases in air pollution, and, conversely, reducing air pollution could therefore benefit millions of people. Crucially, the findings indicate that growing up in polluted places increases the risk of mental disorders. Because many cities and developing nations are crowded and polluted, this raises questions of environmental justice. The Guardian previously reported that even small increases in air pollutants lead to significant rises in depression and anxiety. Dirty air was also linked to increased suicides. Unrelated studies have linked air pollution to Alzheimers, Parkinsons and stroke. According to IQ Air, a similar 2019 study of mental health data from 151 million people in the United States and 1.4 million in Denmark found that long periods of increased air pollution could be linked to a 17 percent increase in bipolar disorder, 6 percent in depression diagnoses and a 20 percent increase in personality disorder diagnoses. Those scientists likened the level of air pollution measured to what could typically be found in major urban areas. In other parts of the body, dirty air can cause everything from blindness to heart disease to increased cholesterol to cancer. A 2019 global review concluded that air pollution may be damaging every organ in the human body. For the new study, the link between increased chemicals in polluted air and mental health issues was strongest for NO2, which is largely emitted by diesel vehicles, The Guardian reported. Small particle pollution, which is produced by burning all fossil fuels, also ranked high. The scientists followed up seven years after the first treatment and found the link to air pollution was still apparent. The findings were not explained by a range of other possible factors including age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation or population density, although unidentified factors might still play an important role, the researchers noted. It is reckless to deprive prosecution of investigative powers The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is facing a strong backlash over its unilateral legislative move to deprive the state prosecution of investigative powers. Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo tendered his resignation Sunday in protest against a DPK-proposed bill aimed at turning the prosecution into a toothless tiger only with the authority to indict criminal suspects. Kim's resignation came two days after the DPK presented the bill to the National Assembly. He said in a statement that his move will serve as an opportunity for lawmakers to closely review the highly sensitive issue. The party should take Kim's resignation seriously. Kim has represented the prosecution's strong objection to the DPK's reckless push to weaken the law enforcement agency by completely stripping its investigative power. He has already vowed to do all he can to block the bill, denouncing it as a "direct violation of the Constitution." Now the DPK should reconsider its legislative process. It has invited criticism not only from the prosecution, but also from the Korean Bar Association and Lawyers for a Democratic Society. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, the country's largest civic group, is also against the bill. More importantly, the opposition People Power Party (PPP) has vowed to foil the bill by resorting to a filibuster at the Assembly. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee also denounced the DPK's legislative move as an "act of destroying the Constitution." Yoon's nominee for justice minister, Han Dong-hoon, said that the bill should not be passed because it would only end up hurting ordinary people who lack power. It is irrational and irresponsible for the DPK to try to railroad the bill through the Assembly in the name of prosecutorial reform with less than one month before the new government takes office on May 10. No legislative process can be justified if it is passed unilaterally. The DPK is under attack for pushing for the bill too hurriedly without reaching any national consensus. It has never sought to hold any public hearing or discussion with opposition lawmakers and experts. The party has even failed to gain support from the minor progressive Justice Party. It is wrong if the majority party thinks that it can do anything it wants with its 172 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. The DPK should undergo a due legislation process. Otherwise it cannot avoid criticism for attempting to pass the bill to prevent prosecution under the Yoon administration from launching investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power raised against the Moon government. Under the banner of prosecutorial reform, the Moon administration set up the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to end the prosecution's monopoly on indictments. It also already weakened the prosecution's function by allowing the agency to investigate only six major crimes, including corruption, economic irregularities and election law violations. If the bill becomes law, the prosecution will be left with the authority to indict suspects, while police will be in charge of conducting investigations of almost all criminal cases. This could raise a problem of concentrating investigative power on the police. So the DPK should refrain from passing the bill. Instead, it needs to draft a new bill that can make the prosecution carry out fair investigations without abusing its power. It is more urgent to promote the prosecution's political neutrality and independence in order to ensure the rule of law. As the climate crisis takes on more urgency, psychologists around the world are seeing an increase in the number of children sitting in their offices suffering from eco-anxiety, which the American Psychological Association described as a chronic fear of environmental doom, as EcoWatch reported. The Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA) told the Daily Telegraph that they have seen kids treated with psychiatric drugs for eco-anxiety, and it is campaigning for eco-anxiety to be diagnosed as a psychological phenomenon despite its absence from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook for diagnosing mental illnesses. However, there is a caveat. The CPA does not want it classified as a mental disorder, because unlike other anxieties, the cause of worry is rational, as the Daily Telegraph reported. A lot of parents are coming into therapy asking for help with the children and it has escalated a lot this summer, said Caroline Hickman, a teaching fellow at the University of Bath and a CPA executive, to the Daily Telegraph. The symptoms are the same [as clinical anxiety], the feelings are the same, but the cause is different. The fear is of environmental doom that were all going to die. Writing in The Conversation, Hickman highlighted the existential despair young people in the Maldives feel. She notes that the Maldives may disappear by 2100 due to sea level rise. She gives an example that one teenager said to her. We saw online that people in Iceland held a funeral for a glacier today, but who is going to do that for us? Dont they see that we will be underwater soon and our country will be gone? No one cares. How can you grieve for ice and ignore us? That sense of dread and doom is tricky for parents, who must validate childrens feelings and discuss the importance of the climate crisis without upsetting them further. Listen to your children when they talk about climate change, youll learn more about how we should take responsibility for the mess, say sorry, and start to act, Hickman wrote in The Conversation. In court documents filed late Friday, a group of Tesla shareholders said a federal judge recently ruled Elon Musk made false and misleading statements in 2018 when he said he was considering taking the company private at $420 per share, reports Reuters . Musks now-infamous funding secured tweet landed the executive in trouble with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, eventually leading to a $40 million settlement with the agency that hes now trying to end . According to those documents, US District Court Judge Edward Chen concluded at the start of the month that Musk had recklessly made the statements with knowledge as to their falsity. The investors involved in the class action suit have asked the court to block Musk from continuing his public campaign to present a contradictory and false narrative of the episode. The filing comes in the same week Musk shared his version of what went down during a widely watched appearance at the TED 2022 conference. The SEC knew that funding was secured but they pursued an active, public investigation nonetheless at the time, Musk said during the interview. I was forced to concede to the SEC unlawfully Now it makes it look like I lied when I did not in fact lie. I was forced to admit I lied to save Teslas life, and thats the only reason. In the same segment, Musk called officials with the commissions San Francisco office bastards. A Ventec employee works on final assembly of VOCSN ventilators at Ventec Life Systems, in Bothell, Washington. / Reuters DETROIT General Motors and medical equipment maker Ventec are speeding up efforts under a partnership code-named "Project V" to build ventilators at a GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana, to help combat the coronavirus outbreak. GM said on Monday that work at its Indiana plant, which makes small electronic components for cars, is part of the effort to expand ventilator production. Sources said the GM-Ventec project is known internally as "Project V." As part of the effort to boost ventilator output from Ventec, of Bothell, Washington, GM has arranged for the supply of 95% of the parts needed to build the ventilator and is seeking to source the remaining 37 necessary parts, according to an email to suppliers from Shilpan Amin, GM's vice president of global purchasing. The goal of the venture is to build up to 200,000 ventilators, said people familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that U.S. automakers GM, Ford, and Tesla had been given the green light to produce ventilators and other items needed during the coronavirus outbreak. It was not clear what Trump meant by the companies "being given the go ahead," as the level of detail revealed by GM on Monday indicates the companies have been collaborating for some time to get it off the ground. "Ventec Life Systems and General Motors have been working around the clock to implement plans to build more critical care ventilators," GM spokesman Dan Flores said in an email on Monday. "With GMs support, Ventec is now planning exponentially higher ventilator production as fast as possible. "As part of those efforts, GM is exploring the feasibility to build ventilators for Ventec at a GM facility in Kokomo, Indiana," he added. First parts need to be delivered by suppliers to GM by April 6, the sources said. Supplier production could begin "within the next 2-3 weeks," Amin said in his email. It was not clear when GM might begin production. Creative Foam Corp in Fenton, Michigan, is one of the auto suppliers joining the effort, although it already had a division serving the healthcare sector. The privately-owned company will start making foam parts for the ventilators' air filtration system this week, CEO Phil Fioravante said. "We already have installed capacity, so we're just repurposing it and utilizing it for this end." In Minneapolis, auto supplier Twin City Die Castings Co, which had signed a contract to supply Ventec about nine months ago, quickly amped up its plans, CEO Todd Olson said. The employee-owned company makes aluminum and magnesium parts for the ventilator compressor and housing. Now Twin City is converting the parts it was making into die casts for higher-volume production as the volume target has gone from making parts for 150 ventilators a month to as many as 20,000, he said. Such a conversion would normally have taken 12 weeks to complete, Olson said, but is being done in one week as employees work almost nonstop. In addition, Twin City and rivals are sharing intellectual property to speed the process. "Luckily, we had a nice jump on this," Olson said. On Friday, GM and Ventec Life Systems said they were teaming up to increase Ventec's production of desperately needed ventilators. At the time, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra said the automaker would explore other ways to help beyond helping Ventec scale up production. Ford declined to comment on its efforts, but suppliers said the No. 2 U.S. automaker is part of a task force on face masks. On Sunday, Fiat Chrysler Automobile CEO Mike Manley told employees in an email that the Italian-American automaker would start converting one of its China plants to make face masks in the coming weeks and ultimately make over 1 million masks a month. Last week, Reuters reported that FCA and Ferrari were working together to help boost ventilator production in Italy. On Sunday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the electric carmaker was working on ventilators, which "should arrive within a few days." He added that he expected Tesla to have about 1,200 to distribute this week. Musk said the day before that he had had a long engineering discussion with Medtronic PLC about ventilators. He also said Sunday that Tesla also is working on getting other types of personal protective equipment and he told a hospital the company was sending masks and supplies. There's nobody better at persecuting a war than the United States we've got the the best-equipped and biggest-budgeted fighting force on the face of the Earth. But does carrying the biggest stick still constitute a strategic advantage if the mere act of possessing it seems to make us more inclined to use it? In his latest book, Future Peace (sequel to 2017's Future War) Dr. Robert H. Latiff, Maj Gen USAF (Ret), explores how the American military's increasing reliance on weaponized drones, AI and Machine Learning systems, automation and similar cutting-edge technologies, when paired with an increasingly rancorous and often outright hostile global political environment, could create the perfect conditions for getting a lot of people killed. In the excerpt below, Dr. Latiff looks at the impact that America's lionization of its armed forces in the post-Vietnam era and new access to unproven tech have on our ability to mitigate conflict and prevent armed violence. Notre Dame University Press Excerpted from Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Robert H. Latiff. Published by University of Notre Dame Press. Copyright 2022 by Robert H. Latiff. All rights reserved. Dangers of Rampant Militarism I served in the military in the decades spanning the end of the Vietnam War to the post-9/11 invasion of Iraq and the war on terror. In that time, I watched and participated as the military went from being widely mistrusted to being the subject of veneration by the public. Neither extreme is good or healthy. After Vietnam, military leaders worked to reestablish trust and competency and over the next decade largely succeeded. The Reagan buildup of the late 1980s further cemented the redemption. The fall of the USSR and the victory of the US in the First Gulf War demonstrated just how far we had come. Americas dominant technological prowess was on full display, and over the next decade the US military was everywhere. The attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, followed by the long war on terror, ensured that the military would continue to demand the publics respect and attention. What I have seen is an attitude toward the military that has evolved from public derision to grudging respect, to an unhealthy, unquestioning veneration. Polls repeatedly list the military as one of the most respected institutions in the country, and deservedly so. The object of that adulation, the military, is one thing, but militarism is something else entirely and is something about which the public should be concerned. As a nation, we have become alarmingly militaristic. Every international problem is looked at first through a military lens; then maybe diplomacy will be considered as an afterthought. Non-military issues as diverse as budget deficits and demographic trends are now called national security issues. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are all now referred to as warfighters, even those who sit behind a desk or operate satellites thousands of miles in space. We are endlessly talking about threats and dismiss those who disagree or dissent as weak, or worse, unpatriotic. The young men and women who serve deserve our greatest regard and the best equipment the US has to offer. Part of the respect we could show them, however, is to attempt to understand more about them and to question the mindset that is so eager to employ them in conflicts. In the words of a soldier frequently deployed to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, [An] important question is how nearly two decades of sustained combat operations have changed how the Army sees itself... I feel at times that the Army culturally defines itself less by the service it provides and more by the wars it fights. This observation may seem silly at first glance. After all, the Army exists to fight wars. Yet a soldiers sense of identity seems increasingly tied to war, not the service war is supposed to provide to our nation. A 1955 American Friends Service Committee pamphlet titled Speak Truth to Power described eloquently the effects of American fascination with militarism: The open-ended nature of the commitment to militarization prevents the pursuit of alternative diplomatic, economic, and social policies that are needed to prevent war. The constant preparation for war and large-scale investment in military readiness impose huge burdens on society, diverting economic, political and psychological resources to destructive purposes. Militarization has a corrosive effect on social values distorting political culture and creating demands for loyalty and conformity Under these conditions, mass opinion is easily manipulated to fan the flames of nationalism and military jingoism. Barbara Tuchman described the national situation with regard to the Vietnam War in a way eerily similar to the present. First was an overreaction and overuse of the term national security and the conjuring up of specters and visions of ruin if we failed to meet the imagined threat. Second was the illusion of omnipotence and the failure to understand that conflicts were not always soluble by the application of American force. Third was an attitude of Dont confuse me with the facts: a refusal to credit evidence in decision-making. Finally and perhaps most importantly in todays situation was a total absence of reflective thought about what we were doing. Political leaders embraced military action on the basis of a perceived, but largely uninformed, view of our technological and military superiority. The public, unwilling to make the effort to challenge such thinking, just went along. There is something in modern political and bureaucratic life, Tuchman concluded, that subdues the functioning of the intellect. High Tech Could Make Mistakes More Likely Almost the entire world is connected and uses computer networks, but were never really sure whether they are secure or whether the information they carry is truthful. Other countries are launching satellites, outer space is getting very crowded, and there is increased talk of competition and conflict in space. Countries engage in attacks on adversary computers and networks, and militaries are rediscovering the utility of electronic warfare, employing radio-frequency (RF) signals to damage, disrupt, or spoof other systems. While in cyber war and electronic warfare the focus is on speed, they and space conflict are characterized by significant ambiguity. Cyber incidents and space incidents as described earlier, characterized as they are by such great uncertainty, give the hotheads ample reason to call for response, and the cooler heads reasons to question the wisdom of such a move. What could drag us into conflict? Beyond the geographical hot spots, a mistake or miscalculation in the ongoing probes of each others computer networks could trigger an unwanted response. US weapon systems are extremely vulnerable to such probes. A 2018 study by the Government Accountability Office found mission-critical vulnerabilities in systems, and testers were able to take control of systems largely undetected. Worse yet, government managers chose not to accept the seriousness of the situation. A cyber probe of our infrastructure could be mistaken for an attack and result in retaliation, setting off response and counter response, escalating in severity, and perhaps lethality. Much of the DODs high-priority traffic uses space systems that are vulnerable to intrusion and interference from an increasing number of countries. Electronic warfare against military radios and radars is a growing concern as these capabilities improve. China and Russia both have substantial space programs, and they intend to challenge the US in space, where we are vulnerable. With both low-earth and geosynchronous orbits becoming increasingly crowded, and with adversary countries engaging in close approaches to our satellites, the situation is ripe for misperception. What is mere intelligence gathering could be misconstrued as an attack and could generate a response, either in space or on the ground. There could be attacks, both direct and surreptitious, on our space systems. Or there could be misunderstandings, with too-close approaches of other satellites viewed as threatening. Threats could be space-based or, more likely, ground-based interference, jamming, or dazzling by lasers. Commercial satellite imagery recently revealed the presence of an alleged ground-based laser site in China, presumed by intelligence analysts to be for attacks against US satellites. Russia has engaged in close, on-orbit station-keeping with high-value US systems. New technology weapons give their owners a new sense of invincibility, and an action that might have in the past been considered too dangerous or provocative might now be deemed worth the risk. Enormous vulnerability comes along with the high US dependence on networks. As the scenarios at the beginning of this chapter suggest, in a highly charged atmosphere, the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding incidents involving some of the new war-fighting technologies can easily lead to misperceptions and, ultimately, violence. The battlefield is chaotic, uncertain, and unpredictable anyway. Such technological additions and the vulnerabilities they entail only make it more so. A former UK spy chief has said, Because technology has allowed humans to connect, interact, and share information almost instantaneously anywhere in the world, this has opened channels where misinformation, blurred lines, and ambiguity reign supreme. It is easy to see how such an ambiguous environment could make a soldier or military unit anxious to the point of aggression. To carry the giant armed nervous system metaphor a bit further, consider a human being who is excessively nervous. Psychologists and neuroscientists tell us that excessive aggression and violence likely develop as a consequence of generally disturbed emotional regulation, such as abnormally high levels of anxiety. Under pressure, an individual is unlikely to exhibit what we could consider rational behavior. Just as a human can become nervous, super sensitive, overly reactive, jumpy, perhaps trigger-happy, so too can the military. A military situation in which threats and uncertainty abound will probably make the forces anxious or nervous. Dealing with ambiguity is stressful. Some humans are able to deal successfully with such ambiguity. The ability of machines to do so is an open question. Technologies are not perfect, especially those that depend on thousands or millions of lines of software code. A computer or human error by one country could trigger a reaction by another. A computer exploit intended to gather intelligence or steal data might unexpectedly disrupt a critical part of an electric grid, a flight control system, or a financial system and end up provoking a non proportional and perhaps catastrophic response. The hyper-connectedness of people and systems, and the almost-total dependence on information and data, are making the worldand military operationsvastly more complicated. Some military scholars are concerned about emerging technologies and the possibility of unintended, and uncontrollable, conflict brought on by decisions made by autonomous systems and the unexpected interactions of complex networks of systems that we do not fully understand. Do the intimate connections and rapid communication of information make a knee-jerk reaction more, or less, likely? Does the design for speed and automation allow for rational assessment, or will it ensure that a threat impulse is matched by an immediate, unfiltered response? Command and control can, and sometimes does, break down when the speed of operations is so great that a commander feels compelled to act immediately, even if he or she does not really understand what is happening. If we do not completely understand the systemshow they are built, how they operate, how they failthey and we could make bad and dangerous decisions. Technological systems, if they are not well understood by their operators, can cascade out of control. The horrific events at Chernobyl are sufficient evidence of that. Flawed reactor design and inadequately trained personnel, with little understanding of the concept of operation, led to a fatal series of missteps. Regarding war, Richard Danzig points to the start of World War I. The antagonists in that war had a host of new technologies never before used together on such a scale: railroads, telegraphs, the bureaucracy of mass mobilization, quick-firing artillery, and machine guns. The potential to deploy huge armies in a hurry put pressure on decision makers to strike first before the adversary was ready, employing technologies they really didnt understand. Modern technology can create the same pressure for a first strike that the technology of 1914 did. Americans are especially impatient. Today, computer networks, satellites in orbit, and other modern infrastructures are relatively fragile, giving a strong advantage to whichever side strikes first. Oxford professor Lucas Kello notes that in our era of rapid technological change, threats and opportunities arising from a new class of weapons produce pressure to act before the laborious process of strategic adoption concludes. In other words, we rush them to the field before we have done the fundamental work of figuring out their proper use. Decorated Vietnam veteran Hal Moore described the intense combat on the front lines with his soldiers in the Ia Drang campaign in 1965. He told, in sometimes gruesome detail, of the push and shove of the battle and how he would, from time to time, step back slightly to gather his thoughts and reflect on what was happening and, just as importantly, what was not happening. Political leaders, overwhelmed by pressures of too much information and too little time, are deprived of the ability to think or reflect on the context of a situation. They are hostage to time and do not have the luxury of what philosopher Simone Weil calls between the impulse and the act, the tiny interval that is reflection. Todays battles, which will probably happen at lightning speed, may not allow such a luxury as reflection. Hypersonic missiles, for instance, give their targets precious little time for decision-making and might force ill-informed and ill-advised counter decisions. Autonomous systems, operating individually or in swarms, connected via the internet in a network of systems, create an efficient weapon system. A mistake by one, however, could speed through the system with possibly catastrophic consequences. The digital worlds emphasis on speed further inhibits reflection. With systems so far-flung, so automated, and so predisposed to action, it will be essential to find ways to program our weapon systems to prevent unrestrained independent, autonomous aggression. However, an equally, if not more, important goal will be to identify ways to inhibit not only the technology but also the decision makers proclivity to resort to violence. . The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance between the United States (US), Canada, and a large part of Europe. It began in 1949 to deter a Soviet attack on western Europe. This is an old collective defence initiative from the US; it works like thisif one country attacks a member nation, you will get a response from all the member nations. NATO, primarily intended as a method of collective defence to deter the then Soviet Union, has become an instrument of the US hegemony. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO has no purpose but to cease to exist. But the US had steadfastly refused to dismantle NATO, using the European security structure as a last resort to justify its existence. With the end of the Cold War, NATO has been scrambling to discover new rationales. NATO has been trying to expand out of Europe into the Gulf, Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia), Kosovo, Libya, and Afghanistan. It is also working outside of its traditional security and military issues into terrorism and narcotics. This proves NATOs desperation to stay relevant. Throughout the years, it had grown to include 30 countries, including the Baltic states; these countries had been part of the Soviet Union and also of Russias empire during the Czarist era. NATO has opened its doors to former members of the Warsaw Pact and some states that were previously a part of the Soviet Union moving closer to the Russian region. The expansion of NATO has been expressed as a significant threat to Russia by President Vladimir Putin. As the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has taken place in a full-fledged order, there have been multiple arguments and discussions on the rising need for dismantling NATO. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Medina County community members are gearing up to help families affected by area wildfires with a fundraising concert. The Thursday evening event at the Iron Tree Pavilion in Paradise Canyon is meant to support people affected by the Das Goat Fire and other wildfires in Medina County, according to an Eventbrite post. The Das Goat fire tore through 1,100 acres last month, destroying three homes entirely and damaging others. One family lost a portion of its deck and part of their yard. Another returned from evacuating to find that their storage garage was ruined and their metal shed was melted. On ExpressNews.com: Residents return in Medina as fire controlled for now We all know that insurance doesnt cover everything and deductibles can be prohibitively expensive, the Eventbrite post for the event says, encouraging people to get involved. There are also expenses such as the loss of frozen and refrigerated food due to extended power outages. Admission to the benefit concert is free for first responders and children 10 years old or younger, but other attendees are encouraged to give a $20 donation. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite. The concert will feature music from the Cactus Country band. According to the bands Facebook page, they perform a wide range of music including country, todays hits and classic rock. On ExpressNews.com: More drought, fires are on Texas horizon The nonprofit Castroville Special Events and other groups including the Hondo-DHanis Rotary Club and the Medina Electric Cooperative are bringing the Medina County Cares Concert to life. Checks should be made out to Castroville Special Events. They can be sent to the nonprofit at 109 River Bluff, Castroville, TX 78009. The Thursday event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Paradise Canyon is in Rio Medina at 2220 County Road 2615. megan.rodriguez@express-news.net JJ Trevino A 31-year-old man was killed early Sunday morning when he was hit by a train on the East Side, San Antonio police reported. The incident occurred around 1:40 a.m. in the 300 block of G Street. China sponsored vaccine cold storage facility starts construction in Egypt Xinhua) 11:17, April 17, 2022 Photo taken on April 14, 2022 shows a building under construction, which is donated by China to Egypt for vaccine storage, in Giza, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) A vaccine cold storage facility sponsored by China's Sinovac has started construction this week, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt said in a statement on Saturday. With the support of the Chinese biopharmaceutical company, the advanced facility will boost Egypt's vaccine storage capacity, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang told a ceremony for the project on Thursday. The facility, which will cover an area of 2,800 square meters with a storage capacity of 150 million doses once finished, will also help Egypt achieve the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of its population by mid-2022, according to the Chinese ambassador. Photo taken on April 14, 2022 shows a building under construction, which is donated by China to Egypt for vaccine storage, in Giza, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Liao said this is another historic moment for the fruitful China-Egypt cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic, and China will continue to strengthen healthcare cooperation with Egypt and make contributions to the wellbeing of the Egyptian people. During the ceremony, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypt's higher education and scientific research minister and acting health minister, expressed heartfelt thanks to the Chinese government and people for their long-term support and assistance to Egypt's healthcare development. Ghaffar said the new cold storage facility will enhance Egypt's capacity for localized vaccine production, storage and distribution, and help Egypt become a vaccine center in Africa and the Middle East. Egypt's higher education and scientific research minister and acting health minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar gives a speech while attending the commencement ceremony for a vaccine cold storage facility donated by China, in Giza, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang gives a speech while attending the commencement ceremony for a vaccine cold storage facility donated by China, in Giza, Egypt. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) A researcher observes a semiconductor chip. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-min Major semiconductor firms are raising employee salaries to tackle a shortage of skilled professionals in the high-tech industry, an effort underpinned by the government's policy to nurture young experts to strengthen the country's growth driver, according to industry watchers, Sunday. The industry-wide move coincides with Korea's key semiconductor manufacturers revising their human resources policies to promote the early education and training of young, high-achieving undergrads to reduce costs needed to train entry-level employees that have little to no experience in and knowledge of chipmaking. The presidential transition committee said April 13 that the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will create education and training courses to offset a feared shortage of about 30,000 workers over the next decade. Samsung Electronics has yet to set this year's salary raise, but is expected to maintain last year's rate of 7.5 percent year on year. Its major competitor SK hynix's rate was 8 percent last year, and the entry-level salary was raised to 50.4 million won ($40,992). This is higher than the 48 million won offered by Samsung Electronics and DB HiTek, a local foundry firm. The rush to offer greater monetary incentives is in line with a number of local universities seeking to establish learning courses to let high-achieving undergraduates to be contracted to begin their professional careers at the Samsung and SK affiliates. Samsung Electronics opened the course in cooperation with Yonsei and Sungkyunkwan universities, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). SK hynix opened such courses at Korea University, to be followed by Sogang and Hanyang universities this year. Courses taught at the seven universities will foster experts in the logic chip industry, an area where Korea lags far behind global competitor TSMC of Taiwan. Other programs will train students to help Korea remain as the global top player in the memory chip industry. Data from the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) showed that Korea suffered a shortage of 1,621 workers in the semiconductor industry in 2020 compared to 1,332 in 2015. The China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) said in a report last year that the world's second-largest economy will face a shortage of 200,000 workers in the semiconductor industry next year. Some 3,500 non-U.S. semiconductor experts, it added, will be needed in the U.S., which will see a shortage of 27,000 such workers a decade from now following a rapid expansion in the number of semiconductor manufacturing plants. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For nearly five months, Jenny Hixon sent email after email to her supervisors, questioning whether the Metropolitan Health District was doing enough to support victims of domestic violence. She complained about short staffing, employee burnout, delays in posting job openings and bureaucratic processes that held up services for victims. Because systems move so slowly, we are always behind, always playing catch up, always doing without or begging for forgiveness as we ask for flexibility and apologize for our slowness, Hixon, who oversaw the Violence Prevention Program, wrote in an email to her supervisor Oct. 2. But for five months, the issues continued to pile up, records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News show. Staffers and managers quit because of unmanageable caseloads. Job vacancies piled up. Supervisors warned that victim services were being impacted. By Jan. 18, the Violence Prevention Program had funding for 60 staff members, the internal records indicate. The program had 42 vacancies including 33 in the unit dedicated to domestic violence. Even more positions were open but in the process of being filled. The program co-manages the Crisis Response Team, which pairs San Antonio police officers and civilian advocates to provide follow-up services to victims, ideally within 24 hours of a domestic violence incident. It also provides case management services, such as support finding temporary housing, mental health services and safety planning. The emails, which the Express-News obtained through a Texas Public Information Act request, come as Bexar County and city officials attempt to address a significant uptick in domestic violence killings. In 2016, 27 people in Bexar County were killed in family violence assaults, eight more than the year before, according to an Express-News investigation published last year. In 2017, the death toll climbed to 35. It hovered around that level for two years before shooting up to 43 during the pandemic year of 2020. The investigation also documented how the San Antonio Police Department, the Bexar County District Attorneys Office and the courts failed on many fronts in supporting victims, monitoring defendants, bringing cases to trial without extended delays and securing convictions. On ExpressNews.com: I begged him to stop: How the system fails victims of family violence A city-county commission created in 2019 has marshaled broad political support and funding to study the problem and seek solutions. But Hixon, in emails to supervisors, questioned whether the city was doing enough. The Mayor and Eric, and everyone is on the news saying what a priority this issue is to the city, Hixon wrote Feb. 10, referring to Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Eric Walsh. The people doing the work watch the news, too, and they feel the disconnect between their daily experience of not having what they need or being valued for their work. She said the high caseloads and bureaucratic processes were putting victims at risk. Case in point, she said: The city had a policy that required staff to use city contractors to replace locks or replace broken doors for victims of domestic violence but the contractors worked only during business hours and had to be booked several days in advance leaving victims terrified and vulnerable to an attack from their abuser. Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News We are also putting victims at risk because we cant serve them well, Hixon wrote in an email to Claude Jacob, the director of Metro Health. We are losing the trust of SAPD because we cant follow through on what we promised. Other managers and staffers raised similar concerns, to no avail. While Jacob who took the helm at Metro Health in July and others acknowledged those concerns, little changed, at least at first, the records indicate. On March 3, Hixon who also played a key role in the Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence resigned. Hixon could not be reached for comment. In an interview, Jacob acknowledged the concerns Hixon raised and said he and his staff have worked to recruit qualified candidates, fill vacant positions and support existing staff. He said Hixons experience was consistent with that of other managers and staffers at health departments across the nation. Clearly its been a long couple of years with a global pandemic, Jacob said. What she shared was not unique to her program, but consistent with what employees at health departments from coast to coast have been experiencing. We did our best to support her, her team and the clients. He questioned whether victims were impacted because of the staffing issues. As of Friday, the Violence Prevention Program had funding for 62 positions, Jacob said. The program had 12 vacancies. Candidates have been selected for an additional 12 staff positions and are in the process of being hired. Jacob said he hoped to have all positions filled by the end of May. Moved to Metro Health William Luther, Staff The San Antonio Police Department created the Crisis Response Team in the mid-1990s to follow up with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence and provide crisis intervention and case management services. Members of the team which included police officers and civilian case workers also coordinated with other agencies and organizations, such as the Battered Women and Childrens Shelter, to provide collaborative services to families. In 2020, as family violence killings in San Antonio spiked, the City Council allocated funding to establish Metro Healths Violence Prevention Division increasing the investment in Stand Up SA, a gun prevention program within Metro Health, and domestic violence prevention. It also approved transitioning 20 civilian positions in the Crisis Response Team from SAPD to Metro Health as a way to support an integrated approach to violence prevention, according to a news release at the time. Whereas before, law enforcement and civilian employees both performed investigative and advocacy functions, now the civilian employees solely focused on victim advocacy. The thinking: Its a better way to connect victims to services, as many victims dont trust or want police or the justice system involved. On ExpressNews.com: Explosion in Bexar County family violence cases leads to plea bargains, probation, dismissals The next year, the Violence Prevention Division began planning an even bigger expansion. Starting in October 2021, it planned to more than double its staff from 72, including 29 staffers exclusively for domestic violence, to 155, including 85 for domestic violence. Hixon, who joined Metro Health in 2019, took the helm as the leader of the new Violence Prevention Division. A graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans with a Masters of Public Health, Hixon had previously worked at Planned Parenthood and RAICES, the nonprofit that provides legal services for immigrant families. Hixon apparently raised objections to the expansion early on, emails indicate. We need to shore up supervision and the program structure before doing any expansion, Hixon recalled saying, according to the emails. Jacob said he didnt feel like the Crisis Response Team expanded too quickly. Expansion begins In October, as the expansion began, Metro Health was already short-staffed, records show. At the time, the Crisis Response Team had 15 civilian advocates and five vacancies. Around that time, Hixon submitted a resignation letter to Jennifer Herriott, assistant director of Metro Healths Community Health Division. In it, she expressed concerns about her team being spread way too thin and poorly compensated. She also said the city was implementing policies that didnt align with what was needed. We need to trust our teams to do what they know to be the good and right work, Hixon wrote in her resignation email Oct. 2. We need to listen to the people answering the crisis calls and out on the street in the middle of the night. They are often the last voices heard in the hierarchical city structure. Whether it is Stand Up or the CRTs, the people working directly with people, trying to get them help, have story after story of how our systems fail our community, Hixon added. On ExpressNews.com: In-your-face tactics aim to thwart abusers Hixon initially indicated that her last day would be in mid-November but said she would stay on longer if Metro Health needed her. Later, her supervisors asked her to reconsider her resignation. But by January this year, the job vacancies were piling up. There were 22 advocate vacancies on the Crisis Response Team, out of 28 total advocate positions, Hixon wrote in the emails. An additional seven positions supervisors who oversaw the advocates were also open. And while Hixon had selected candidates for those positions, she was still waiting on the Human Resources Department to finalize the hires, she wrote. Eleven additional positions case managers who provide support services, such as temporary housing, mental health services and safety planning were also open. Soon, Hixon warned, the staffing problem could get even worse. HR problems Beginning in early January, Hixon started sending a slew of emails to her supervisors and the Human Resources Department, questioning why several job openings hadnt been posted to the citys website. Weve got several positions in NeoGov for approval, Hixon wrote Jan. 7, referring to the software the city uses to display job openings. Would you mind approving? Nearly a week later, on Jan. 13, Hixon sent another email to Michelle Lingenfelder and Lorraine Garcia in the Human Resources Department: Please approve the positions in NeoGov. We have to get these posted. Were so short staffed its absolutely insane. On Jan. 18, she asked why the hires for the advocate supervisor roles hadnt been formally approved. Were receiving inquiries from the candidates who were selected for the VP (Violence Prevention) positions, she wrote. None of them have received any communication from HR on their positions. What is the timeline so we can communicate that back? The next day, Herriott the assistant director and Hixons supervisor wrote an email to Jacob identifying the holdup. Though salary and other hire information was entered into NeoGov in early January by Jenny and her team, none of these positions were approved by Michelle (Lingenfelder) and so they have not been put into the Q to get a call from HR and a job offer, Herriott wrote. This is really devastating to Jenny and her team as they worked extremely hard to get these positions posted and interviewed in December. On ExpressNews.com: High-risk teams aim to stop abuse before it turns deadly Laura Mayes, a spokeswoman for the city, said in an email that positions in the Violence Prevention section undergo an extensive background check due to the sensitivity and risk levels of the work. She said those positions require additional clearance which can partially explain the backup. Several times, Jacob thanked Hixon for bringing the issues to his attention. He assured Herriott and Hixon that he was dedicated to fixing the problem. But by that point, it was too late. On Jan. 20, Hixon sent an email to Herriott and Jacob reiterating her plan to leave Metro Health. My team has gotten even more stretched and overworked, Hixon wrote. I am watching people burn out and have been unable to deliver any relief to anyone. We are hurting people, certainly our staff if not victims. On Jan. 21, Christine Soria, the manager who oversaw the domestic violence program, submitted a resignation letter expressing similar concerns. I have a lot of concerns and misgivings about city processes and whether victim services and crisis response programs are the best fit for this type of system, Soria wrote. With how quickly our program is growing, the number of victims we serve, and the need to quickly change and pivot when creating a new program it has not been feasible in this system. Later that day, another staffer informed Hixon and others that she was leaving. Im very frustrated that I was not taken seriously nearly four months ago about the stress and strain of my team, Hixon wrote to Herriott and Jacob. This was entirely preventable. We broke something Three weeks later, another email was sent to Jacob reiterating the need to post key vacant positions in the Violence Prevention section this time from Herriott. I willingly gave time on a Saturday because I feel that getting your support to make these changes is of paramount importance, Herriott wrote Feb. 12. Though I hope that Jenny will stay with Metro Health until the end of April or mid-May, I worry that she may decide to leave sooner. Herriott questioned whether shed be able to fulfill her duties as assistant director if she had to lean in to support the Violence Prevention section. On ExpressNews.com: A man who beat and choked his girlfriend dodged a conviction and jail time Since Hixons and Sorias resignations, two staffers have been temporarily reassigned to fill those roles, Jacob said. Metro Health recently hired an external candidate for Hixons role who will start soon. The organization is still actively trying to fill Sorias position. In one of her last emails to city officials, Hixon questioned whether the Crisis Response Team should remain within Metro Health. I spoke with Christine (Soria) and we both strongly believe that the CRT program should be returned to SAPD, she wrote. It was never set up for success under Metro, Hixon continued. It is not a public health program and inappropriate to be housed here. We broke something that was working well for what it was. Staff writer Brian Chasnoff contributed to this report. eeaton@express-news.net Its been nearly two years since Sonya Aleman introduced a course at the University of Texas at San Antonio about the late, legendary Tejano singer Selena. Over that time, Selenas legacy has been working overtime. Theres been a Netflix series devoted to her, a popular podcast series, 25th anniversary theater screenings this month for the Selena biopic that made a star of Jennifer Lopez and talk of a new Selena album (including the controversial use of vocals that were digitally altered to make a young Selena sound like an adult). Selena would have turned 51 on Saturday. In a way, its easy to imagine her at that age, because even in her late teens and early twenties, she carried herself with a self-assurance and a certainty of purpose that belied her youth. At the same time, its challenging to ponder, because shes forever frozen in our minds as the radiant 23-year-old on the cusp of massive crossover success, commanding the Astrodome stage with a joyous disco medley only a month before she was shot to death in a Corpus Christi motel room on March 31, 1995. The cruel, tragic nature of Selenas death did not make her an icon. It simply made non-Latinos aware of the iconic status she already possessed among Latino music fans. Maria Garcia, host of the Anything for Selena podcast series, was one of those fans. In the first episode of the podcast, Garcia sets up her narrative by recounting her childhood. Garcia spent her early years in Juarez, Mexico. She then crossed the border with her parents and settled in the West Texas border town of El Paso. Over the next few years, Garcia struggled to find a sense of identity. In El Paso, she never felt American enough. When she visited family and friends in Juarez over the weekends, she never felt Mexican enough. Then she saw Selena, a South Texas Mexican American who embraced the complexity of bridging two cultures. Someone who didnt speak Spanish perfectly and showed no embarrassment about it. Someone who loved Top 40 pop and hard rock every bit as much as she loved the cumbias that made her famous. The annals of popular music are filled with performers who scored hits and built careers for themselves, but never really signified anything beyond giving the masses a few moments of radio escapism. Selena always represented more, always connected on a deeper level, even if she did it instinctively, rather than consciously. Thats why Alemans UTSA course is so intriguing. The course uses Selenas story as a prism to examine the Mexican American experience, in all its contradictory glory. Aleman traces the classs genesis to 2015, when she was teaching a UTSA course, Latino Cultural Expressions, which surveyed all the cultural products that have come out of Latino communities. Selena filtered into so many of those conversations, Aleman told me during an interview for Texas Talk, a KLRN show which will air this coming Thursday at 7:30 p.m. It just dawned on me as I was sharing my own personal experiences of watching her perform and hearing her music growing up that I was the only person in the classroom of about 50 students that was alive at the same time she was. It was such a triggering moment. It kind of clicked into place for me that there was an opportunity to explore how they understood her versus my understanding of her. Aleman will be teaching her Selena course again this summer, from May 31-July 5. For the first time, there will be 10 slots available for non-students who want to audit the course. One facet of the course is that students are called upon to interview Selena fans to explore the nature of her appeal. In that way, Alemans students are actually contributing to the existing scholarship on Selena. Any exploration of Selena inevitably leads to the question of where she would be in her career and her life if she were with us today. I think that she would have continued along the trajectory that she clearly saw for herself. I think she probably would have been the first kind of celebrity/businesswoman, Aleman said. She was already starting down that path. That was relatively new for artists and musicians at that time period. I think she would have done that successfully. I think she probably would have crossed over with a good deal of success. If I had to point to examples of other artists who followed her that did that, we could look at Jennifer Lopezs career or Shakira. Selena opened the door for those crossover successes. She just didnt get the opportunity to walk through the door herself. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 When Carlton Soules served on San Antonio City Council a decade ago, he had what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to influence the next 10 years of city politics. Political boundaries are redrawn every decade based on population changes seen in the census. Called redistricting, the process often plays out as a contentious political battle across the United States. If they play their cards right, elected officials can essentially choose their voters by extending a boundary or moving a neighborhood out of a district also known as gerrymandering. Ten years ago, redistricting discussions among Soules and other council members mostly happened behind closed doors. This time around, however, City Council attempted to put some distance between elected officials and the politically charged process by appointing residents to create a map that will be approved by the council. Soules was appointed to the redistricting advisory committee by District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry to represent the Northeast Side district. Now, Soules has a second opportunity, but in a more public forum that allows residents to participate. I think being transparent is better, especially because of the lack of faith in government, Soules said. But its a more cumbersome process and takes much longer. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said he created the advisory committee to ensure that residents had a role in redistricting, and hes supportive of officially removing City Council from the process. But it would take a city charter amendment approved by voters to make the change permanent. Im inclined to support anything that further codifies the independence of the redistricting process from the politics of elected offices, he said. When the next city charter review comes up, Nirenberg would like voters to consider making an independent redistricting commission a formal part of the process. State and federal seats often garner a lot of attention for egregious maps. The Justice Department sued Texas in December over its redistricting, alleging it discriminated against minority voters in redrawing boundaries for state and federal seats. But city and county positions have a huge impact on day-to-day life, with officials who determine things such as how much bond funding goes to drainage in a neighborhood or where parks will be built. We see some of the most bare-knuckled fights over political power at the local level, said Kathay Feng, the national redistricting director of Common Cause, a government watchdog organization. Independent redistricting commissions have emerged in many places as a way to stop politicians from controlling the votes. Arizona, Idaho, Michigan and other states and cities have adopted the practice. Voters in San Diego, which is similar in size to San Antonio, supported an independent redistricting commission in 1992 and agreed to change the citys charter, guaranteeing City Council would no longer have the power to draw and approve its own district map. Christopher Rice-Wilson, an associate director at Alliance San Diego who runs the nonprofits redistricting program, has spent the last year telling his San Diego neighbors about the importance of a new map. Rice-Wilson thinks taking that responsibility away from elected officials has made San Diegos representation look more like the diverse city it serves, leading to policies that better represent everyone. Redistricting is the bedrock of a healthy city, he believes. It impacts so much: resource distribution, community development and planning, budgets and taxation. Everything is impacted, Rice-Wilson said. And its a 10-year cycle, so if we wanna build power, change leadership this is an opportunity. From closed doors to public meetings Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer A decade ago, San Antonio City Council members and then-Mayor Julian Castro met one on one with a consultant to discuss changes to district boundaries. The city then hosted public hearings to gather feedback, but residents werent directly involved in making the new map. This cycle, council members and Nirenberg appointed 23 people to the committee thats overseeing the map reconfiguration. Its meant to make the process more transparent, and its the first time a group of residents will draft a council map. Staff or council members drafted prior maps, assistant city attorney Iliana Castillo Daily said. On ExpressNews.com: Heres what you need to know as San Antonio begins to remake its City Council districts On ExpressNews.com: Your City Council district may change. Heres what that means for San Antonio neighborhoods Meetings are posted on the SA Speak Up website under the meetings and events tab. Residents also can view the draft map recently approved by the committee and give feedback. Experts say there can be problems with a committee thats only advisory, though. Members appointed by a city council can hold loyalty to their elected official rather than the public. Also, former Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran sister to current District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran sits on the committee. That wouldnt be allowed in nearby Austins independent redistricting rules, which state that someone cant be on the commission if they were elected to city office in the last five years. Austin created its commission in 2013 when it shifted from at-large to single-member districts. Even if commission members separate themselves, San Antonio City Council still holds the power to give final approval to the map or make changes. But Nirenberg, in an October memo to the council, said the committee will submit its final map recommendation with the expectation that the council either reject it or approve it without making changes as a way to build community trust. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio is getting bigger. Should the City Council expand as well? Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer About San Diego While independent commissions are growing in popularity, San Diegos has been around for decades. The commission has nine members, one for each City Council district there, said Lora Fleming, who serves as its chief of staff. (She is a former communications director for a city councilwoman). About 100 people applied to join the commission for the current cycle. Three retired judges picked who they thought were the best candidates for the job. The judges chose commission members based on background and qualifications its not blind. But the judges are selected at random, Fleming said. Success also requires a large pool of commission applicants, said Feng of Common Cause. Sometimes members are chosen randomly and later vetted for diversity. It also works to have a nonpolitical entity, such as an ethics commission, choose members, Feng said. The member selection process, rules for transparency and conflicts of interest, and robust public engagement are key to a successful independent commission, experts say. For many cities and counties, the pandemic made this census cycle more difficult. San Diego held all its commission meetings remotely. Even so, up to 200 people showed up online to give feedback, Fleming said. The San Diego redistricting commission follows bylaws that emphasize impartiality. Commission members cant run for City Council office for at least five years after serving on the commission, Fleming said. Members also abide by strict rules to ensure theyre not doing public business in private. When someone contacts a commissioner to talk about maps, they must record it in a public log. This census cycle, one commissioner resigned after allegations she had a conflict of interest that led her to have redistricting conversations outside public meetings. An alternate took her place. Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad What does stronger democracy look like? It can be hard to tell if an independent commission successfully reduces gerrymandering and increases residents power. Rice-Wilson suggested a community can look to the ordinances a city passes to begin to understand the impact. Are the laws more fair or more in tune with the needs of communities that have been marginalized? Does the budget address the disparities in resources? he said. Rice-Wilson looks at the capital improvements projects in the yearly budget, broken down by district. Hes checking to see if poor communities are getting infrastructure investment at the same rate as more wealthy neighborhoods. And hes found that a previous gap is slowly closing now that San Diego has a more diverse City Council than in the past. Equitable infrastructure investment also is a concern in San Antonio. East Side Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez has questioned the citys funding formula for repairing its worst roads, saying existing plans leave historically marginalized communities with too great a need. Voter turnout in San Diegos districts after the maps have been redrawn also can reflect a change, Rice-Wilson said. Turnout usually goes up when people are excited about who they can vote for, Rice-Wilson said. If people feel empowered, they turn out. Though San Diegos redistricting commission has been around longer than others, it still has operated only three times. But the commission studies itself to make improvements, said Sharon Spivak, former city counsel to the commission during the 2010-2011 census cycle. For example, when San Diego City Council expanded to nine members, so did the redistricting commission. Cities and counties are increasingly turning to independent commissions to handle redistricting, but they arent perfect. It can be difficult for once-a-decade commissioners to know all the laws around redistricting or how to run an open meeting. And despite the goal of independence, many commissions still are subject to residents with partisan politics or those with ill intentions who can show up to public meetings and give feedback like anyone else. Thats led some to worry that independent commissions arent insulated enough from politics. Plenty of people have tried creatively to get their way with the commission, in California, Feng said. But selecting a group of people who are savvy and listening for exactly that kind of thing makes them well inoculated to those lobbying efforts. Sometimes a commissions own rules can work against it, too. A city doesnt want conflict of interest rules to be so strict they exclude good candidates who are actively engaged, said Michael Li, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. His work focuses on redistricting, elections and voting rights. Li pointed to the independent commission in Austin. Rules stipulate that members must have voted in a certain number of recent elections, but theres a cap on how much they could have donated to city campaigns. You have to be engaged enough to always vote but never do anything else, he said. Sometimes people do design disqualifiers too strictly. Fleming, the chief of staff for the San Diego commission, said she sees where her citys process can improve such as using a selection entity other than retired judges, who could be seen as political. I think its a better solution, and it works better than having elected officials, Fleming said. But do I think it completely alleviates all gerrymandering or at least the attempt? I would say no. Rice-Wilson agrees that San Diegos independent commission ultimately works better than when City Council members draw maps themselves. The commission hit bumps along the way this year, such as preliminary map that he said didnt consider public input. But in the end, members adopted a map more in line with what the community proposed, he said. While theres always room for reform, he thinks redistricting works pretty well in San Diego. It gives the community an opportunity to have a hand in the decision-making, he said. I think thats the most we could ask for. megan.stringer@express-news.net Food and travel enthusiast Rupali Dean helps you max out your time in Ludhiana, the Manchester of India One of the biggest cities in North India, Ludhiana in Punjab is also fondly called the Manchester of India, and has been known for its scientific developments and progress. Heres a list of four great things to do when in Ludhiana Visit The Punjab Agricultural Museum Agriculture is the mainstay of many Indian families. To get a closer look at the lives of farmers, it is a great idea to visit the Punjab Agricultural University Museum, which showcases many elements of pastoral life in the country. With the focus placed on the Punjabi rural routine, a visit here is an educational experience. Household items, dresses, jewellery, musical instruments, Punjabi juttis to handicrafts and pottery items, youll find them all on display here. Inaugurated by Khushwant Singh in 1974, this museum is a noteworthy effort to conserve the elements of rural life in Punjab, and provides a charming insight into the bucolic life. Seek Blessings At The Gurdwara Manji Sahib Alamgir It is not unusual to spot a gurudwara in Punjab, but the Manji Sahib Gurudwara is special: this iconic place of worship cocoons so much history and beauty. Allow your soul to be soothed by its spirituality. It gets its name from the palanquin (manji) that transported Sri Guru Gobind Singhji to his dwelling, which has pride of place here. Another attention-grabbing element about the place is the story of how Arrow Lake came to be: Sri Guru Gobind Singhji shot an arrow into the ground, which spewed into a spring. Lots of disciples visit the gurudwara to obtain the holy water with the belief that it can alleviate all pains and burdens. Eat A Cream Roll At Hero Bakery Cream rolls were a staple at the bakeries that sprang up with the arrival of the British in India. A puff pastry horn is filled with fresh cream or a flavoured buttercream. In most places, these rolls are filled with non-dairy cream and you might not realise the difference until you taste a cream roll at Hero Bakery. Remember to let the owner know in advance that you want the roll only with fresh cream. Shop At Ghumar Mandi The buzzing Ghumar Mandi is a mecca for locals and visitors alike. Shopaholics will be thrilled with the profusion of deals Ludhiana offers. From simple boutiques to the most classy stores, Ghumar Mandi has them all. The main street is full of clothing and jewellery, but it is in the side lanes that you will find great bargains on Punjabi juttis and accessories. You might decide to visit only to window shop, but its unlikely that you will leave Ghumar Mandi empty handed. Also see: Fly Down The Longest Zipline in Delhi-NCR gettyimagesbank Korea's antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a 1.2 billion-won ($977 million) fine on the Korea Broiler Council, a group of chicken-processing firms, for fixing prices and supplies of poultry. The council set sales prices, production and supplies of chickens to benefit its member companies, including industry leader Harim and its rival Maniker, between June 2008 and July 2017, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC has also decided to lodge a complaint with the prosecution against the association. In March, the regulator decided to slap a combined 175.8 billion won in fines on 15 poultry-processing companies for colluding to fix prices, following similar punitive action in 2021. The FTC said it will take stern action against any collusion and other unfair business activities over items closely related to people's livelihoods. (Yonhap) Survivors of the 1947 Texas City Disaster along with city officials, firefighters, police officers and families of those who were killed gathered Saturday at Memorial Park in Texas City to observe the 75th anniversary of the disaster. The disaster was caused by a fire aboard the SS Grandcamp, a French-registered vessel moored at the Port of Texas City, that detonated more than 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. The initial blast and subsequent fires and explosions killed more than 500 people, including all but one member of the Texas City Fire Department and leveled much of the city. It is the deadliest industrial accident in U. S. history. Jennifer Reynolds Close Jennifer Reynolds Photography Editor Follow Jennifer Reynolds Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, second from left, talks with SK Telecom employees at the telecommunication company's headquarters in Seoul in this March 11 file photo. Courtesy of SK Telecom Conglomerate CEOs struggle to break hierarchical corporate cultures By Park Jae-hyuk Top executives of Korea's chaebol groups have joined the trend of using English names at the office, as part of efforts to break down their companies' hierarchical cultures and allow their employees more freedom to communicate horizontally, according to industry officials, Sunday. Last month, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won asked SK Telecom employees to call him by his English name, "Tony," instead of addressing him as "Mister Chairman," considering the fact that the telecommunication unit's employees have already been calling each other by their English names to encourage more horizontal communication and interaction. Chey, who created an Instagram account last August with his English nickname, "Papa Tony Bear," made the request a month after he started serving as the chairman of SK Telecom in February to nurture its artificial intelligence business as the group's new growth engine. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, left, and President Kyung Kye-hyun / Yonhap I believe camping bans are unconstitutional and I think the city should do away with it. I think the the city should look at developing a managed camp like Deltas. I think it disincentivizes efforts to find real solutions to the homeless problem. I think the ban needs to be coupled with greater efforts to expand shelter space and access to services. I think its unfortunate but necessary. It provides incentive for people to get the help they need. I think its a good thing. Urban camping strains resources and hurts local businesses and tourism. Im conflicted. I dont know what the right answer is. Vote View Results Accra, March 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During a Ministerial Dialogue in Accra, hosted by Ghanas Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Environment (MESTI), the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) announced the findings of Ghanas first National Assessment to explore how best to enhance the resilience of its national infrastructure. Ghana: Roadmap for Resilient Infrastructure in a Changing Climate, was initiated by GCA and developed under the leadership of MESTI in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As a result of climate change, Ghana is expected to experience more acute climate hazards such as flooding, as well as more frequent and intense droughts. This has the potential to threaten the socio-economic development gains which made Ghana a middle-income country. The National Assessment focused on the energy, transport and water sectors to assess climate hazards to infrastructure assets and to prioritize adaptation investments to address those risks. Key findings from Ghana: Roadmap for Resilient Infrastructure in a Changing Climate include: Energy Future energy availability for about a quarter of a million people in rural parts of Ghana is threatened by drought given their reliance on wood fuel for household energy generation. Equally, climate risks threaten major components of the electricity generation and transmission due to exposure to drought and flooding. Water supply infrastructure 54% of dams assessed are exposed to floods and 23% to droughts under a high-hazard by 2050; the Weija dam, supplying 80% of the drinkable water for Accras metropolitan area, was found to be particularly exposed to flooding. Transport in a likely 2050 flooding scenario, analysis revealed the potential of $3.9 billion in damages to roads and highways - triple the estimated $1.3 billion Ghana invested in transport infrastructure in 2019. GCA contributed to the National Assessment as part of its Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), a joint initiative with the African Development Bank to mobilize USD25 billion of investments in climate adaptation and resilience in Africa. Speaking during the Ministerial Dialogue, Professor Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of Global Center on Adaptation remarked I dont need to remind you that Ghana will become hotter, wetter, and drier. Given how we know the climate crisis is evolving, these are very alarming statistics. But, this is not the full story. For us at the Global Center on Adaptation, the real story on climate adaptation in Africa is a story of resilience, of responsibility, of solidarity, of opportunities for a safer, greener, more prosperous continent. It is this story that is captured in the roadmap we are launching today. His Excellency Dr Kwaku Afiyie, Ghanas Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation said: Extreme weather and rapid changes to Ghanas climate present a profound risk to key sectors of Ghanas socio-economic development. Infrastructure in these sectors are the bedrock of the countrys economic growth and development. Ghana, through MESTI in July 2020, received support from the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) through UN Office for Project Services (UNOPs) under the enhancing the resilience of Ghanas National Infrastructure Systems to the impact of climate change project [] the implementation of the resilience road map will now require additional financial resources from both Government and Development Partner institutions. The National Assessment proposes 35 adaptation options for funders and investors to invest in Ghanas future, offering impactful, evidence-based adaptation projects and enabling environment interventions backed by robust research and analysis. GCA, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), through AAAP, is already working to implement the Scaling Renewable Energy Mini grid and Net Metering Program which seeks to support Ghana in the electrification of island communities and move closer moving closer to identified development objectives such as Sustainable Energy for All by 2030. GCA is working with the AfDB conduct climate risk assessments on potential climate hazards in the districts that will benefit from the electrification program. Through its Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to access and leverage climate finance, GCA is also providing technical support to the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) as part of its application to become a Direct Access Entity to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to enable Ghana to be able to take greater ownership of the implementation of climate finance. Notes to Editors About the Global Center on Adaptation The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization which works as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure we learn from each other and work together for a climate resilient future. Founded in 2018, GCA is hosted by the Netherlands, working from its headquarters in Rotterdam with a knowledge and research hub based in Groningen. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Dhaka, Bangladesh and Beijing, China. Through this evolving network of offices and global and regional GCA teams, the organization engages in high-level policy activities, new research contributions, communications, and technical assistance to governments and the private sector. NEW YORK, April 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Gatos Silver, Inc. (NYSE: GATO): (a) pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement issued in connection with the Companys initial public offering (the IPO or Offering) conducted on or about October 28, 2020; and/or (b) between October 28, 2020 and January 25, 2022, inclusive (the Class Period), of the important April 25, 2022 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you purchased Gatos Silver securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Gatos Silver class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=3100 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 25, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the technical report for Gatos Silvers 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 Gatos Silvers business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Gatos Silver class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=3100 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 lrosen@rosenlegal.com pkim@rosenlegal.com cases@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com Mykola Hryshchenko removes the debris of his house destroyed by an air strike during a Russian attack on the village of Kukhari, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, April 16. Reuters-Yonhap Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv and western Ukraine, Saturday, in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated and refuted by witnesses throughout 52 days of war. The toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old son's body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. ''We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital,'' Klitschko said. ''If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it.'' It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi District. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with ''air-launched high-precision long-range weapons.'' As the U.S. and Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraine's defenses ahead of what's expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. Smoke is seen over a forest in Kyiv, after strikes were reported to have hit the Ukrainian captial, April 16, during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. AFP-Yonhap It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant Friday. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military has intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Friday's attack killed civilians and wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian president's office reported. On Saturday an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. ''All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too,'' recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday's toll was three dead and 34 wounded. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Jose Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer gestures while speaking during a news conference after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, April 11. AP-Yonhap Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow the first European leader to do so since the invasion began Feb. 24 said the Russian president is ''in his own war logic'' on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and ''we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine.'' Nehammer said he confronted Putin with what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and ''it was not a friendly conversation.'' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of the port city of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. ''The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations,'' he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. ''Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade,'' he said, ''or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive.'' Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains ''inhuman'' and Russia ''is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there.'' Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. A serviceman is seen outside the Azovmash research and manufacturing complex in Mariupol, April 16, during the Russian Armed Forces invasion of Ukraine. TASS-Yonhap Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians ''without any conditions,'' she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine, Thursday, of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov. Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. In the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked ''gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war'' in an Easter vigil homily at St. Peter's Basilica that was attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three members of Ukraine's parliament. Francis did not refer directly to Russia's invasion but has called, apparently in vain, for an Easter truce to reach a negotiated peace. (AP) Australia-based Lithium developer Lake Resources has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ford Motor Company for the offtake of approximately 25,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium from the Kachi Project. Kachi comprises 705 sq km of leases and lease applications over a brine-bearing basin 20km long, 15km wide, and 400-800m deep centered. As weve shared, Ford is sourcing deeper into the battery supply chain. This is one of several agreements were exploring to help us secure raw materials to support our aggressive EV acceleration. Lisa Drake, Fords vice president, EV Industrialization Both Lake and Ford see this as an opportunity for a potential long-term agreement with the ability to scale up environmentally responsible production and participate in Lakes other projects to ensure high-quality lithium products are available to Ford. This MoU with Ford supports Lakes strategy to be a key independent supplier into global lithium supply chains and ensure the security of supply to customers. Steve Promnitz, Lakes Managing Director Lakes Kachi Project is located in Argentinas Catamarca Province at the southern end of the Lithium Triangle, a world-renowned province responsible for 40% of global lithium production. Using direct extraction technology provided by Lakes technology partner Lilac Solutions, Lake plans to produce at Kachi a sustainable, high-purity lithium carbonate product. Lilac has developed and patented a new ion exchange technology to extract lithium from brines without the need for evaporation ponds. Lilac produces its ion exchange beads and delivers these beads to brine projects worldwide. The beads are loaded into tanks, brine is flowed through the tanks, and as the brine percolates through the beads, the beads absorb lithium out of the brine. Once the beads are saturated with lithium, hydrochloric acid is used to flush out the lithium, yielding lithium chloride. Lithium chloride is the crude oil of lithiumthe standard intermediary in every lithium brine project today. The lithium chloride is then processed on-site with conventional process equipment to yield a finished product. In April 2020, Lake announced pre-feasibility study (PFS) results for Kachi, showing its potential to become a long-life, low-cost operation with an annual production target of 25,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate using direct extraction technology. The results showed a high margin project, with an EBITDA margin of 62%, together with competitive capital and operating costs. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LONDON (AP) The leader of the Anglican church strongly criticized the British governments plan to put some asylum-seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda, saying sub-contracting out our responsibilities to refugees can't stand up to Gods scrutiny. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made the unusually direct political intervention in his Easter Sunday sermon, saying there are serious ethical questions about sending asylum-seekers overseas. He said sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures. Speaking at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England, Welby said that while the details are for politics and politicians, the principle must stand the judgment of God and it cannot. Britain and Rwanda announced Thursday that they had struck an agreement that will see some people arriving in the U.K. as stowaways on trucks or in small boats sent 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to the East African country, where their asylum claims will be processed and, if successful, they will stay in Rwanda. Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government says the plan will discourage people from making dangerous attempts to cross the English Channel, and put people-smuggling gangs who run the treacherous route out of business. More than 28,000 migrants entered the U.K. across the Channel last year, up from 8,500 in 2020. Dozens have died, including 27 people in November when a single boat capsized. Refugee and human rights groups called the plan inhumane, unworkable and a waste of taxpayers money. The U.N. refugee agency said it was contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention. Another senior Anglican cleric, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, called the Rwanda plan depressing and distressing. After all, there is in law no such thing as an illegal asylum-seeker," he said in an Eastern sermon at York Minster cathedral in northern England. It is the people who exploit them that we need to crack down on, not our sisters and brothers in their need. The deal for which the U.K. has paid Rwanda 120 million pounds ($158 million) upfront leaves many questions unanswered, including its final cost and how participants will be chosen. The U.K. says children, and families with children, won't be sent to Rwanda. Senior civil servants in the Home Office, the government department responsible for immigration policy, raised concerns about the plan but were overruled by Home Secretary Priti Patel. The Home Office said in a statement that Britain had settled hundreds of thousands of refugees from around the world. However, the world is facing a global migration crisis on an unprecedented scale and change is needed to prevent vile people smugglers putting peoples lives at risk and to fix the broken global asylum system, it said. Alf Dubs, a Labour Party member of the House of Lords who came to Britain as a child refugee from the Nazis in 1939, said the plan was likely a breach of the 1951 Geneva conventions on refugees. He said the Lords, Parliaments upper chamber, would challenge the move. Johnson acknowledged Thursday that the plan would likely be challenged in court by what he called politically motivated lawyers out to frustrate the government. Political opponents accuse Johnson of using the headline-grabbing policy to distract attention from his political troubles. Johnson is resisting calls to resign after being fined by police for attending a party in his office in 2020 that broke coronavirus lockdown rules. ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration GREENWICH When it comes to revamping the towns 30-year-old sign ordinances, it may come down to a matter of taste. I would love to see that we dont have flashing neon signs in Greenwich, Susan Foster, co-president of the Riverside Association, said during a public workshop on signs held Thursday that drew nearly 60 people. She said signs in Riverside are a mishmash and said greater attention to signs could lead to a cohesive downtown and pulling Riverside together. Officials began looking at the towns regulations for signs, advertising, lighting and seasonal decorations earlier this year and hired a consultant and held several meetings, Planning Commissioner Katie DeLuca said. They moved up the discussions after an Old Greenwich merchant was ticketed for putting up a floral display that had garnered a formal complaint. Other merchants and residents rallied to the defense of Abigail Fox, owner of Abigail Fox Designs, with 2,000 people signing a petition in support of the display. To date, the flowers remain up outside Foxs shop. The whole idea is to beautify Old Greenwich and our storefront, Fox said of her display. I think it would be great if there were more clear and consistent guidelines and regulations regarding decorations, because my violation was a little unclear, where exactly it fit in. And I feel it should be fairly enforced, not picking and choosing, she said. It sounds like we could all be on the same page with guidelines that work for everyone. The current regulation from 1993 states: The exterior use of pennants, banners, spinners, streamers, moving signs, ground signs, sales signs, special promotion signs, or other eye-catching devices may be allowed for a seven-day period ... under a permit issued for special events such as openings, new management and special promotional events. Seasonal displays of eye-catching devices are also allowed with a permit during the holidays. But the town administration takes a dim view of gaudy and excessively large displays, DeLuca said. We dont allow big lobsters coming out of the wall, or the floating balloon guy at the car dealership, she said. The town will issue a cease-and-desist order in those cases, and if the violation persists, the matter can be turned over to the states attorneys office through a criminal referral, which could involve fines or other punishment. On Thursday, local residents met with the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Architectural Review Committee to gain input on how to redraft the towns rules on signs in coming months. This is the first time were really reaching out to the public at large and asking you to give your comments on what you think about signs and lighting, DeLuca said Thursday. Fox said she has regularly put up displays made of branches, silk flowers and real vegetation at her storefront for a few weeks during seasonal changes without incident until this spring. DeLuca said Abigail Fox Designs was not the only business to receive a violation recently. A coffee shop on Greenwich Avenue received a violation for a similar display of flowers and garlands, she said. DeLuca said other violations on signs have been filed regularly, and an application to erect a flower display at another local business had been turned down in recent weeks. She said current regulations allow for what we call eye-catching devices flags, pennants, balloons, big flowers. They can be erected only for seven days and they require a permit from the towns zoning enforcement office. Planning Commission Chairwoman Margarita Alban said she was hoping a dialogue between merchants and town officials would come up with new regulations that allow for creativity as well as uniformity. We want to create a set of parameters that works for merchants, that helps their business, and gives people flexibility to build their own identity, she said. Some business districts use a certain color scheme for retail signs on a voluntary, informal basis green and gold is common in Glenville, while black and white is typical for signs in Old Greenwich. Several speakers at the workshop said the Riverside section of town had poor visual coordination, and a flashing light at an ATM machine at a fast-food restaurant was a particular annoyance. Town officials say there has been an ongoing debate on whether a certain color scheme should be uniform across the entire town or whether each business district should have its own distinctive look for signs. A number of speakers expressed support for the Abigail Fox Designs display, noting that garlands around storefronts were a popular feature of many business districts in the U.S. and abroad. Marianna Ayers, a local resident who has lived in London, England, said floral displays around businesses are a common sight there and elsewhere: This is celebratory, this is a good thing, she said. This is not something that should be a regulatory hassle for a small business owner. Every other business on the (Sound Beach) Avenue is benefiting from this kind of display, Old Greenwich resident Kimberly Thomas said. But some residents also cautioned against an anything-goes approach to signs. Mary Hull, executive director of Greenwich Green and Clean who said she has put up flower baskets on Greenwich Avenue for decades, said too many large signs and too much visual clutter can be jarring. I would love to see some unifying regulations that are simple, so we can have our flowers but also have a restful town, Hall said. DeLuca said she understood why so many community members had rallied in favor of the floral garlands on the store in Old Greenwich. But, she said, the process and the system are important for the larger community. There are rules for a reason, she said. As to a new sign ordinance, she said, We will get there in the end, one way or another, this will get sorted out. But she added, Youve got to be careful that you dont end with unintended consequences. Flexibility and clarity will be two goals for the planning staff as the process moves forward, which will involve more public hearings and meetings with the towns consultant, DeLuca said. Well do this together as quickly as we possibly can, and we do need input as we move forward, she said. Rhonda Cohen, a member of the ARC, concluded the workshop by noting a balance could be achieved between creativity and orderliness because guidelines for being tasteful and that fit into what Greenwich expects for our towns beauty. Retired 1st Lt. Joseph H. Salas and Guam Museum curator Michael Bevacqua discuss the most recent donation to Guam Museum in Hagatna on May 3, 2022. Palestinians shoot fireworks at Israeli police in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday. / AP-Yonhap More than 20 Israelis and Palestinians were wounded on Sunday in several incidents in and around Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, two days after major violence at the site. The latest clashes take the number of wounded since Friday to more than 170, at a tense time when the Jewish Passover festival coincides with Ramadan. They also follow deadly violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank in late March and early this month that has killed 36 people. Early on Sunday morning, "hundreds" of Palestinian demonstrators inside the mosque compound started gathering piles of stones, shortly before the arrival of Jewish visitors, police said. Jews are allowed to visit but not to pray at the site, also known as Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and third-holiest in Islam. The police said its forces had entered the compound in order to "remove" the demonstrators and "re-establish order." The Palestinian Red Crescent said 19 Palestinians were wounded, including at least five who were hospitalized. It said some had been wounded with rubber-coated steel bullets. An AFP team near the entrance to the compound early Sunday morning saw barefoot Jewish worshippers leaving the site, protected by heavily armed police. Outside the Old City, in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, Palestinian youths threw rocks at passing buses, resulting in seven people being treated for light wounds at Shaare Zedek hospital, the medical facility said. Video released by the police showed two Israeli buses, their windscreens and side windows smashed in, driving down a road near the Old City as young men showered them with rocks. The police said they had arrested 18 Palestinians. Senior Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh said Sunday that "Israel's dangerous escalation in the Al-Aqsa compound ... is a blatant attack on our holy places", and called on the international community to intervene. The chief of the Hamas Islamist movement which controls the Palestinian enclave of Gaza meanwhile warned Israel that "Al-Aqsa is ours and ours alone." "Our people have the right to access it and pray in it, and we will not bow down to (Israeli) repression and terror," Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement. Later Sunday morning, mosques in Palestinian neighborhoods of annexed east Jerusalem broadcast calls for people to head towards the Al-Aqsa compound. Weeks of mounting tensions saw two deadly attacks by Palestinians in or near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv in late March and early April, alongside mass arrests by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. A total of 14 people have been killed in attacks against Israel since March 22, including a shooting spree in Bnei Brak, an Orthodox Jewish city in greater Tel Aviv. Twenty-two Palestinians have been killed over the same period, including assailants who targeted Israelis, according to an AFP tally. On Friday morning, police clashed with Palestinians in the Al-Aqsa compound, including inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, drawing strong condemnation from Muslim countries. Those clashes wounded some 150 people. The United Nations has called for calm, a year after clashes in and around the mosque compound escalated into an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Pope Francis called Sunday for free access to the holy sites in Jerusalem and prayed for peace in the city. "May Israelis, Palestinians and all who dwell in the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, dwell in fraternity and enjoy free access to the Holy Places in mutual respect for the rights of each," he said in his Easter address. Despite the tensions, a few streets away from the Al-Aqsa compound hundreds of Christians staged a noisy parade through the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City to mark Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where they believe Jesus was crucified. Marching bands led the processions with drumming and bagpipes, before worshippers gathered in the cavernous church for mass. (AFP) Easter is one of the most important and oldest holidays of the Christian Church as religious faithful celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Guam, the religious day has been a longstanding cultural holiday. And while some attended mass services indoors, others took the opportunity to head out into nature to worship together. This is our new year. Instead of being separated, we just wanted to come together as one family. These are different churches but united together, said Pastor Brian McGill of Ark Ministries International Fellowship. Of the many Christian fellowships that were at the Governor Flores Beach Park in Tumon on Easter Sunday, Brendon Perez, along with other pastors and members of other faith-based groups, went to the park to celebrate Easter Sunday services and perform baptisms in the nearby waters. We do this every year. During Easter Sundays, we usually come over here and have our sunrise service instead of doing it inside our church, said Perez, associate pastor of Jesus Redeemer and Master Christian Fellowship. With social restrictions easing up in time for Easter, many residents believed it was a blessing in light of the past two years. I believe the pandemic was a lesson a platform to teach us about the delicacy of life, said Guam Bible Fellowship and By The Wall Family Pastor James Gurtimag. Now that were out of it (pandemic), we should appreciate the moments that we have, such as this coming together to celebrate the Lord, and to encourage and love on each other. Giving back While many of the islands faithful took their Easter celebrations to the beach, one local restaurant used the Easter holiday to give back to the community and share meals with those less fortunate. The owners always wanted to do something, to give back to the community since we first opened so why not here? said Joseph JP Ada, kitchen manager of Lindas Diner. I came in early just to prep for this because I was so excited. Residents who came by the event were happy that a local restaurant like Lindas Diner was giving back to the community. You cant beat the island style CHamoru food, so here I am, said Anthony Quenga of Mangilao. Thats what CHamorus do, thats what locals do. They take care of their own and Im so proud theyre doing this. Ada hopes that the restaurant will continue to do this type of service, not just on Easter but on all major holidays. The University of Guam is asking lawmakers to provide about $11.4 million more from the General Fund than they did last year, Speaker Therese Terlaje noted during the schools budget hearing this week. $41.3 million The universitys budget request for fiscal year 2023 totals about $41.3 million, with about $33.9 million for operations. The remainder includes $4.2 million for student financial assistance, $1.6 million for capital improvements and $1.6 million for special appropriations like the schools Sea Grant program. Thats also $12.9 million more than what Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero asked for the university to get in her budget request, Terlaje said. If were going to give UOG what they want, were going to have to cut from the governors allocations. UOG President Thomas Krise at last years budget hearing asked for a flat appropriation of about $26.6 million to keep operations running. Appropriations had dropped by 30% over five years, he said at the time. Help students Were asking for really what we need, Krise said, adding that this year, We need funding for UOG appropriation at this level. And if we can get this level of funding this will allow us to help students get the courses they need to complete degrees on time. Last years flat budget was planned to be offset by a 5% tuition increase in the spring of 2022. While it had gone into effect, the university was paying for the increase using American Rescue Plan funds, Krise said. Were allowed to spend (the funds) up until I think June of 23. So we have to figure out what will happen, what we can afford to allow to happen during that time, Krise said. Out of $13 million in ARP funding, some $3.2 million went toward rebates on tuition and fees for students and other forms of aid. Much of the rest went toward moving online and dealing with COVID-19. Affordability UOG is focusing efforts on student affordability, with the number of students eligible for the Pell Grant moving from around 50% to 61% in recent years, Krise said. Enrollment had also fallen during the pandemic, said Anita Borja Enriquez, senior vice president and provost for student affairs, from an average of between 3,300 to 3,600 students a semester to just 2,875 this past spring. This is the lowest weve seen it, she said. In the meantime, scholarships that had ceased because of funding issues during the pandemic were back online, including the Pedro C. Sanchez Professional/Technical Award and social work scholarships, officials said. Pay raise During the course of the pandemic, some $175,000 had gone toward increases in administrator salaries, according to UOG Vice President of Administration Randy Wiegand. Our administrator salaries were tied to a 2002/2003 survey and it was becoming obvious that needed to change. So in 2018, they gave the president a five-year period to implement a more current scale. About 13 administrators were still on the old scale by 2020, he said and had since been moved over. Anyone hired new to the position was on the new scale. So it was mostly people who had been around for quite some time, including one example of somebody whod had no change in his salary in 10 years, Krise said when pressed by Sen. Telo Taitague about the increase. Nursing increase A new 12,000 square-foot nursing facility will be built using an $8.6 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Authority, Krise said. That will help increase capacity for the nursing program, which typically receives over 100 applicants a year but usually accepts less than 40. Up to 50 could be accommodated with the new facility, he said. An unusually large cohort of 40 nurses, first admitted in spring of 2020, will graduate next month. Dave Lotz is a vocal advocate for protecting Guams unique heritage; a knowledgeable and long-time hiking enthusiast and environmental advocate; and critic of inept governments. He has been a resident of Guam since 1970 and retired from the Guam Department of Parks and Recreation, Andersen AFB Environmental Flight and the National Park Service. Our View: Let your voice be heard on the "Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022" Haiti - Easter: Message of reflection from Lesly Conde As part of the celebration of Easter, Lesly Conde Ex-Consul General of Haiti in Chicago (August 2004 - May 2018), delivered us a message of reflection that we invite you to read and share. Message from Lesly Conde : "Dear compatriots and friends everywhere, I very much appreciate, again this year, the privilege of joining you for the celebration of the feast of Easter. This Christian tradition now ours is as dear to children as it is to adults because it announces a season during which nature becomes more beautiful as if to welcome the happy event that is the return to life, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I greet you all warmly, and wish you all much peace and happiness in your respective communities. In Haiti, we pay special attention to Easter Sunday. It is, indeed, one of the most joyful occasions for Christians everywhere. Songs in all languages express the gratitude and joy of believers. It's an enriching atmosphere that keeps repeating itself as the years go by. It is as if we were witnessing each time the glorious phenomenon of the resurrection. Worship is, naturally, more colorful, and the optimism of Easter Sunday is something we want to carry on throughout the year. There is symbolism in the celebration of Easter and the mystery of the resurrection that applies to our lives as mortals and sinners. The dark and painful moments that follow the horrible death of Jesus Christ symbolize the darkness that takes possession of our souls when we live in sin. The resurrection of Jesus Christ speaks to us of the immense goodness of the creator, and of the redemption that is always within our reach. Of all the Christian holidays, Easter is, without any doubt, one of the most significant. It is also an occasion for fervent prayers and intense reflection. We cannot help but think of God's love for mankind. We know that despite our imperfections, the architect of the universe loved us so much that he agreed to subject his son Jesus Christ to humiliation, bodily suffering and death for our salvation. It is this great love that we celebrate on Easter Sunday with the resurrection of Christ. This great day invites us to love our neighbors and, above all, to forgive them because we too need forgiveness. In closing, I reiterate to you my deep respect and my unwavering attachment. Take good care of yourself, and scrupulously respect the instructions that are prescribed by the circumstances. Above all, HAPPY EASTER everyone! Lesly Conde" Messages from Lesly Conde in 2022 : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36423-haiti-holy-weekmessage-of-reflection-by-lesly-conde.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36365-haiti-219th-of-the-death-of-toussaint-louverturemessage-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36129-haiti-social-international-women-s-day-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35862-haiti-social-black-history-month-message-of-reflection-by-lesly-conde.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35702-icihaiti-earthquake-2010-message-of-reflection-from-lesly-conde.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35620-haiti-218th-anniversary-of-independence-traditional-message-from-lesly-conde.html All Messages from Lesly Conde in 2021 : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35584-haiti-social-wishes-from-lesly-conde-on-the-occasion-of-the-new-year.html HL/ HaitiLibre By William Schwartz | Published on 2022/04/16 In a press conference prior when "Business Proposal" began, lead actress Kim Sejeong stated that known tastes are more delicious. This humorous disposition has been maintained by the actress throughout the big rise of "Business Proposal" as she has also remarked how she was motivated to take the cliche-ridden contract-office-romance role in part because she would receive love in return. In a recent interview, Kim Sejeong expanded on these thoughts. Advertisement Explaining her prediction that "Business Proposal" would do better than expected, Kim Sejeong talked about how some people just liked to have certain itches scratched. Kim Sejeong stated that these expectations were still relatively modest ones. Kim Sejeong was as surprised as everyone else when "Business Proposal" doubled its television ratings in the last episode compared to the first. Kim Sejeong refused to fall back into other cliches, namely that the strong performance of "Business Proposal" was due to everyone's hard work. However, she did note that she was quite happy the drama did so well. Kim Sejeong, still acknowledging that hard work was indeed done, did note that she took the success of "Business Proposal" as a sign that hard work as an actress was paying off well for her, and that she should continue to do more of that in the future. Kim Sejeong said that she saw her character as being inherently pragmatic, and strived to make her seem like a realistic person despite the inherent absurdities in the premise. This allowed Kim Sejeong to not worry too much about the cliches inherent in "Business Proposal" and focus on giving a serious performance. Despite the cliche of not knowing how a partner feels, for example, Kim Sejeong played that off as her character being wise enough to know that she's not a mind-reader. Kim Sejeong also wanted to cast off her girlish existing image. To this end, Kim Sejeong considers "Business Proposal" to have been a resounding success. Kim Sejeong was grateful to the "Business Proposal" webtoon for providing a means for her to expand on an existing character with her own personal flair, and discussed with excitement the prospect of new future challenges. Kim Sejeong will next appear in "Today's Webtoon" this coming December. Written by William Schwartz ___________ "Business Proposal" is directed by Park Seon-ho-I, written by Han Seol-hee, Hong Bo-hee, and features Ahn Hyo-seop, Kim Sejeong, Kim Min-kyu, Seol In-ah, Lee Deok-hwa, Kim Hyun-sook. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/02/28~2022/04/05, Mon, Tue 22:00 on SBS. Published on 2022/04/16 | Source New stills added for the Korean movie "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" (2022) Advertisement 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 A COUPLE from Henley are planning to renovate their yacht after enjoying years of adventures at sea. Jonathan and Jenny Blain built the ocean-going vessel called Sprint after he nearly lost his life in a transatlantic adventure 28 years ago. He sold his house to fund the work, which took about two years year, and then spent years sailing all around the globe, including in a number of races. However, the 12m ocean-going wood/epoxy yacht now needs refurbishing and the Blains are looking for someone with land and storage where they can carry out the work. The couple, who are both 58 and live in Deanfield Road, hope fellow boat enthusiasts will want to become involved in the project to increase their knowledge. Mr Blain, a former naval officer, was born and bred in the Midlands and fell in love with boats as a child when he went on seaside holidays with his family. He learned to sail in his parents dinghy and after leaving school he joined the Royal Navy on a three-year commission. He became the youngest compliment officer in the navy, meaning he was in charge of navigating a warship at age 19. After he left, he worked in business and then tried his hand as an author. Mr Blain met his wife in 1989. He said: I lived in Marlow and was advertising for a lodger. Shed just got a job in the area and I was getting ready to do a transatlantic race with Simon Chance, my best friend from my school days. She came to view the house and for me it was just instant attraction. As soon as the door closed I said to Simon, Im in love, Im gonna marry that lady and he said, Dont be silly, you hardly know her. She ended up moving in across the road because she thought my place was too expensive. Mrs Blain, who is originally from Devon, was working in nursery education and has run the Denning Montessori Nursery School in Fawlety since 1991. Mr Blain and Mr Chance bought a new yacht to take part in the Two-Handed Trans-Atlantic Yacht Race from Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1990. But things started to go wrong when they went to collect the German-made Dehler yacht in Northumberland and found it wasnt ready. There was a number of problems with the fibreglass boat that needed fixing before the race and then more appeared when they took to sea. Mr Blain said: The race started in Plymouth and we set off, went down the Channel, round Lands End and off towards Ireland. Slowly more things started to go wrong with the boat. The sea water went up the exhaust pipe and flooded the engine. Although its a sailing race and youre not using the engine, you need it to charge batteries, so we diverted to Crosshaven in southern Ireland. Once youre in the race the shaft for your propeller is sealed so we had to sail into the harbour, get an engineer out and get it fixed. We set off again and had got about halfway across the Atlantic when more and more things went wrong. The biggest thing was that the yacht was leaking. It got to the stage where there was so much water in there that the floorboards were floating around and we were literally paddling. It deteriorated over a number of days. Obviously you have pumps to be able to pump the water out but if you have to keep doing this you get quite exhausted. If you have a hole in a boat there are things you can do to fix it but with this yacht there was no way of discovering where the leak was because the way they make a production boat meant you cant actually get to the hull. We also had a problem with the rudder bearing. The steering got stiffer and stiffer and jammed at the halfway point. The pair decided to quit the race and return to the nearest land, which was back in Ireland. But on the way they encountered stormy winds which damaged the yacht. Mr Blain said: The ropes round the back of the sail whipped round the steering wheel and it was smashed up. Were then on a boat thats leaking with all the floorboards floating around and the steering is in splinters. Because it was a production boat you couldnt get your spanner in anywhere to disconnect the steering to set up emergency steering. Id been a royal naval officer used to being in adversity and the one thing we had was strength of character. We knew the faults were not of our own making and we were doing all we practically could to resolve the situation. The men had a radio and were able to alert the coastguard and a helicopter flew from South Wales to airlift them off the yacht. The helicopter was in the air for six hours and had to refuel in Ireland on each leg of the journey. The rescue made national news. The men made an insurance claim which was rejected so they went to court and after three years won a cash sum and had the wreckage returned to them. It was after Mr and Mrs Blain were married in 1994 that they started to get their own yacht but after his experience he didnt want a production model so he enlisted the help of Ed Dubois, a naval architect. Mr Blain said: I had this vision for a totally amazing yacht that was different to anything else that existed and Dubois said, Yeah, youre right. I said, Im not some multi-millionaire and he ended up designing it for a fraction of what hed normally charge. The Blains had the yacht built in Cleethorpes, which took about a year, and fitted out in Plymouth, which took another year. The couple were helped by other sailors, including Dame Ellen MacArthur who went on to break the world record for the fastest solo navigation of the globe. Mr Blain sold his house to help pay for the costs and all the couples wedding presents were things for the yacht. The yacht was first launched in 1994 and the couple have had many adventures on it, including racing from Plymouth across the Bay of Biscay to San Sebastian in Spain and sailing 1,700 miles from Cape Town in South Africa to the tiny South Atlantic island of St Helena. Now the couple, who have three grown-up daughters, are hoping people will help them again to refurbish the yacht. Mr Blain said: We need to take a lot of the deck off and replace it and probably take a lot of the interior stuff out and rebuild it. Some of the deck has gradually rotted. I think there are a lot of people around here who like boats and would like a project. Over the years so many people have come into our life and enjoyed being a part of the boat and this will be another great positive experience for anyone who gets involved. We are looking for a land or property owner prepared to let us store and renovate the yacht. Its in Portsmouth now and will arrive on a low-loader with a crane to lift it off. The plan is to build a temporary tent-type shelter around the yacht while the renovation takes place. Volunteers and boating enthusiasts interested in the project would be welcome to contribute, participate and be involved. If you can help, call Mr Blain on 07873 333033 or email jonathan@jonathanblain.com Le ministre des PMEs a pris la parole lors de la partie protocolaire de la 2nd Edition of the Observatory Research Day qui a eu lieu le 14 avril 2022 au Hennessy park Hotel pendant la journee. I am very pleased to be here. I am honoured to share the stage with such a distinguished audience and panellists to share my insights on the way forward for SMEs. I would like to start by commending SME Mauritius Ltd for organizing the 2nd Edition of the Observatory Research Day focused on the theme Opportunity, Growth and Innovation for SMEs in the context of COVID-19 and its aftermath. Through such an initiative, SME Mauritius reiterates its role as a support institution in improving the resilience of SMEs in the current daunting situation. Precise and concise information are of prime importance while navigating troubled waters to overcome hurdles and to dig for new strategies. This is where I believe that the Observatory Cell of SME Mauritius Ltd plays a major role by constantly updating decision-makers and entrepreneurs on the latest market trends so that SMEs can continue to contribute to the countrys economic growth. I am informed that since its inception, 14 studies have been realised by the cell, and seven will be presented during todays seminar. Ladies and gentlemen, We are living through unprecedented time. While there is much that we are experiencing together, we are all experiencing the stresses and strains of the pandemic as individuals. For those of you who are running your own businesses, these stresses must at times feel overwhelming, particularly in light of how uncertain the future is. Just when we were coming to terms with the pandemic, the virus keeps on surprising us by mutating. Fortunately, Mauritius has a massive vaccine roll-out to reinforce protection against COVID-19. Some sanitary conditions remain in place to further contain the pandemic. But we have already embarked on a journey of recovery and renewal. You imagine that keeping our people safe, managing the complexity of two lockdowns and restrictions, ensuring our welfare state and trying to limit the economic shocks all these have been tedious. And now coupled with the pandemic, we have another devastating situation: The Russia-Ukraine war. So the recovery is taking place at a time of unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty. What we do know is that we are all making tireless efforts to achieve economic recovery. And that SMEs will be central to that economic recovery. We all know how important small businesses are to the global economy. In Mauritius SMEs contribute 36% to GVA and represent 48% of total employment. Shifts brought about by COVID-19 have fundamentally and permanently changed how business is conducted. To sail forward amidst the winds of change, SMEs must adapt, pivot and transform to thrive in the new environment. Ladies and gentlemen, It appears that this COVID-19 crisis has now resulted in more entrepreneurs accepting the need to embrace change or perish. It is noteworthy that SMEs have accepted a level of disruption to their operations on a scale many have never previously contemplated. We have witnessed a strong and coordinated response from Government to protect SMEs. You will recall that Government support such as the COVID-19 plan de soutien cell that was set up following the first lockdown, the Wage Assistance Scheme, the Self-Employed Assistance Scheme, amongst others have to a large extent, helped SMEs to partially absorb a part of the COVID-19 shock. Added to that, flexible repayment terms and moratorium on existing loans and new financing schemes proposed by institutions such as the Development Bank of Mauritius have also helped SMEs to survive. I also wish to remind you that SME Mauritius through its five main Schemes have also been helping our SMEs by providing both financial and non-financial support. There is always a silver lining in the cloud as we battle against COVID-19. We are paradoxically witnessing an unprecedented explosion in innovation and entrepreneurial energy across the African continent. The new generation of young entrepreneurs and industrialists are devising solutions and applying their minds and hearts to address fault lines COVID-19 has shown, namely over reliance on imports, food security and redefinition of supply chains. This COVID-19 moment provides a unique opportunity to jumpstart a new level of engagement with one and all. And SMEs are central to this. While we are trying to raise, I believe we are given a chance to create the conditions for a greener, more sustainable and inclusive recovery. As the saying goes, In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity. The Government is committed to help SMEs seize these new opportunities through continued support in research, innovation and initiatives to access to market. The pandemic has also brought opportunities with digital tools enhancing productivity and normalizing ways of working that can adapt to peoples needs. SMEs can power a stronger recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, due to their innovative and opportunity-seeking nature. But we all agree that they need more support. As policymakers we will ensure that the appropriate policies are formulated and implemented. Short-term support measures such as relieving tax burdens on MSMEs, extending debt finance and employment support are certainly needed and will be continued. Yet at the same time, the Government will develop long-term structural policies, such as digital and financial inclusion, as well as entrepreneurial skills capacity development. I would encourage entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the Government and support institutions to help achieve their dreams. To bounce back and leap forward, SMEs need to respond effectively in five key pillars that together form resilience. These are leadership, revenue, organizational, financial and operational. We want to ensure that SMEs are supported so that they can be at the forefront of the changes needed to the digital transformation of business Building on the digital transformation that businesses have made over COVID, Government is seeking to increase adoption of digital technologies by all businesses, in particular SMEs. It is gratifying to note that SME Mauritius is providing the necessary platforms, for instance, like the Research Day, to provide more venues for interaction where public and private sector representatives can address common challenges, discuss opportunities for SME growth, and ensure that the voices of entrepreneurs are well-heard. I welcome research that helps us better understand the complex challenges that businesses may face and that can input into the wider evidence-based policy making process, including the research discussed today. I am confident that as we look ahead, SMEs will increasingly generate the job opportunities of tomorrow and the innovation needed to build a stronger and more sustainable economy. I have faith because I have seen entrepreneurs devoting themselves, being passionate about they do, being committed to succeed and turn dreams into reality. Entrepreneurs are not quitters. I know with the right support, they will strive. And I will conclude with this saying. Never let it rest. Till your good is better and your better is best. I wish you fruitful deliberations. Thank you for your attention! PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday ordered the Primary and Secondary Education ministry to take urgent measures to arrest a growing trend of school dropouts following revelations that 840 000 learners quit school in the past two years. A United States embassy report on the 2021 state of human rights in Zimbabwe painted a gloomy picture of the education sector, saying learners were quitting school in droves. Some of the dropouts were now engaged as child labourers in the artisanal mining sector and on farms while others were informal traders, according to the report. Addressing learners at the Bulawayo State House attending a pre-Independence Day annual party, Mnangagwa said the growing number of school dropouts was disturbing. To reduce cases of school dropouts, I exhort the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to take concrete measures to reverse the trend. Meanwhile, the school environment should remain a safe place for our learners. In this regard, school authorities are reminded to stop all forms of abuse, discrimination and the sending away of learners due to unpaid fees and levies, Mnangagwa said. The Independence Day celebrations will be held at Barbourfields stadium under the theme: Zim@42 Leaving no one and no place behind. Mnangagwa also said his government would increase support to learners from underprivileged families under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme, including providing stationery and uniforms. This year alone, we are supporting learners through BEAM with the addition of school uniforms and stationery. I call upon BEAM selecting committees to be more transparent, accountable and responsible so that all deserving cases are properly considered. In the past, learners under BEAM have been turned away from school after the government failed to pay tuition fees on time. Newsday This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lankans shared milk rice and oil cakes to celebrate their traditional new year on Thursday opposite President Gotabaya Rajapaksas office, where they camped out for a sixth day demanding his resignation over the worst economic crisis in memory. Soldiers who were disabled in the island nation's civil war lit a hearth, Buddhist monks chanted religious verses and others set off firecrackers amid chants of: Victory to the people's struggle! Protesters are occupying the entrance and surroundings of Rajapaksa's office, holding him responsible for the economic situation. They also are calling for his powerful family to leave power, accusing them of corruption and misrule. Other days our children go to their grandparents to celebrate the new year, but today we brought them here to show them the real situation in the country," said Dilani Niranjala, who attended the protest with her husband and two sons aged 10 and 8. We dont want to lie to them about whats going on in the country and go to our village to celebrate the new year. From their younger days, they should see the truth and live with the truth, she added. Niranjala's husband, Usitha Gamage, who works as a taxi driver, said he had been discouraged watching the news every morning about skyrocketing living costs. I am so happy that this struggle is taking place and it gives me new hope and energy, he said. The new year after we chase them out is going to be great for us. This is what I have told my children," he added. Sri Lankans in recent months have endured fuel and food shortages and daily power outages. Most of those items are paid for in hard currency, but Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, saddled with dwindling foreign reserves and $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment over the next five years. Nearly $7 billion is due this year. They have been forced to wait in long lines to buy cooking gas, fuel and milk powder, and doctors have warned there is a potentially catastrophic shortage of essential medicines in government hospitals. Tharushi Nirmani, a 23-year-old student who was helping distribute food to protesters, said the movement was uniting Sri Lankans from different backgrounds. All these years, the new year was celebrated by only two ethnic groups Sinhalese and Tamils but most of the people who were with us last night were Muslims, she said, referring to her fellow volunteers. "There is an amazing togetherness." The government announced Tuesday that it is suspending repayments of foreign debt, including bonds and government-to-government borrowing, pending the completion of a loan restructuring program with the International Monetary Fund. The government says the World Bank has provided $10 million to buy essential medicine and equipment and the health ministry is in discussions with the World Health Organization and Asian Development Bank for additional funding. The government has also appealed to Sri Lankans living and working overseas to donate medicines or money to purchase them. The World Bank said Wednesday that it is concerned about the uncertain economic outlook in Sri Lanka and is working to provide emergency support for poor and vulnerable households to help them weather the economic crisis. Much of the anger expressed in weeks of protests has been directed at the Rajapaksa family, which has held power for most of the past two decades. Critics accuse the family of having the government borrow heavily to finance projects that have earned no money, such as a port facility built with Chinese loans. The president and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire. The Rajapaksas have refused to resign but the crisis and ongoing protests have prompted many Cabinet members to quit. Four ministers were sworn in as caretakers, but many key government portfolios are vacant. Parliament has failed to reach a consensus on how to deal with the crisis after nearly 40 governing coalition lawmakers said they would no longer vote according to coalition instructions, significantly weakening the government. But with opposition parties divided, they have been incapable of forming a majority to take control of Parliament. Spectrum Fusion, a Houston-based nonprofit that focuses on the assistance and empowerment of autistic adults operating in society, held it Reactor Room program panel on April 7, dedicated to exposing talented individuals on the spectrum to high-profile individuals in their respective areas of expertise. The Reactor Room program took place at Rice Universitys BRC Auditorium, and has had several meetings since 2017. The idea of the Reactor Room is similar to that of a Shark Tank pitch, in that individuals come forward to demonstrate and market their ideas, talents and skills to a panel of professionals. Through the Reactor Room program, these people are able to be seen by the exact people in the position to connect them the best. One notable guest from the Reactor Rooms Thursday panel was Shane Chen, the inventor of the self-balancing scooter, or hoverboard. Its really about the world being able to see the worth of these individuals, said Spectrum Fusion Founder Dr. Heidi Ham. Neurodiversity is the idea that theres a limitless variation in neuro cognitive functioning. 1.2 billion people in the world identify with being neurodivergent, and companies can benefit from building neurodiverse teams that bring a fresh perspective with their lateral thinking and creativity. Ham is the founder and CEO of Spectrum Fusion. She came to Houston and started Spectrum Fusion in 2017 for the purpose of helping autistic adults reach their full potential. She has traveled the world, working with individuals on the spectrum in Nigeria, Australia, the United Kingdom and America. When I came to America, I started out in Houston, recalled Ham. It started with the community, where we shared meals together, creative writing groups, Fitness Fusion, and Music Fusion. We started that way and spun out to the Reactor Room. Ham was a speech pathologist working at the University of Houston. Upon moving to Scotland, she witnessed families she believed were being taken advantage of and overpaying for therapies. She also noticed the treatment of autistic students in schools. According to Ham, If those students were non-verbal, they were often glossed over entirely by teaching staff. Those individuals who showcase their work for Reactor Rooms are called ignitors. Notable ignitors from Thursday include Medical Device Inventor Mike Sheiman, who introduced a fresh take on the wheelchair design; and Mitchell Floyd, Mitchell Floyd, who has a master's degree in forensic psychology, who spoke on his experience in studying criminal justice and his struggles with finding employment as an autistic individual. In addition, Spectrum Fusion Studios, the organizations media team was also present, and displayed various graphic designs and promotional videos theyve done over time. The team has also worked with Johnson & Johnson in the past, and plans to do graphics for the Consulate General of Australia. Dr. Ham stated that Spectrum Fusion and the Reactor Room program are both a means to further educate society on what it means to be an autistic adult. She also hopes that through these programs, and by introducing more adults on the spectrum into more workplaces will help to eliminate harmful stereotypes and rhetoric about the population. Ive seen all these individuals who have talent and have potential and have value and can contribute to society, but because of the barriers in the process of getting an interview, they werent allowed to contribute to society in a way that works for them, and were cast aside. And so now to be able to showcase their talent and show the world what they can do on this platform. Spectrum Fusion is always accepting volunteers, ranging from cooks, to teachers for their various programs. To get involved and learn more about Spectrum Fusion and the Reactor Room Program, visit its website at https://spectrumfusion.org. To drive progress of human civilization with sci-tech innovation 14:21, April 17, 2022 By Guo Jiping ( People's Daily Primary students in Zigui county, Yichang, central Chinas Hubei province watch the second live class given by Shenzhou-13 crew members, March 23, 2022. (Photo by Wang Huifu/Peoples Daily Online) After orbiting Earth for six months, the three crew members of Chinas Shenzhou XIII mission have departed from the Tiangong space station and returned to the mother planet on April 16th, finishing the nations longest manned spaceflight. The progress made by Chinese aerospace toward the deep universe is a miniature of the Chinese scientific and technological world scaling new heights. Today, the world is at a vital historical juncture of a new round of scientific and technological revolution, as well as a new round of industrial reform. China, learning from its historical experiences and conforming to the trend of the times, is advancing sci-tech innovation for the future of the country and the Chinese nation. It has become a major country in sci-tech innovation with wide international influence. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Chinas international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty recorded 69,500, ranking first worldwide for the third consecutive year. China also ranked 12th in WIPOs Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 34th in 2012. Behind such historic achievements are Chinas far-sighted strategies. Over the past ten years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated that Chinas development hinges upon innovation, and innovation holds the key to Chinas future. He has personally planned, deployed and promoted a series of major measures in scientific innovation. Behind such historic achievements are also Chinas concrete actions to open wider. In todays world, a countrys sci-tech innovation capability to a large extent relies on its ability to integrate global innovation resources. Last year, 25 foreign-funded research and development (R&D) centers were newly established in Shanghai alone, which mirrored that China has become a new high ground of global research and development. Media reports that in a new century when global economy is turning eastward, China has become a cradle for innovation that attracts a number of professionals in many major sci-tech sectors. A fourth-generation tidal power generator unit independently developed by China is put into sea in Zhoushan, east Chinas Zhejiang province, Feb. 24, 2022. The unit weighs 350 tonnes and has a capacity of 1.6 MW. (Photo by Yao Feng/Peoples Daily Online) The world is witnessing accelerating profound changes and a pandemic unseen in a century, as well as increasing global challenges. Science and technology is the key to solving global issues, and open sci-tech innovation remains the best approach. History proves that the energy for long-term global economic development comes from sci-tech innovation. To break development barriers, the world must resort to sci-tech innovation. Facing challenges such as COVID-19, climate change, deteriorating environment, frequent natural disasters, energy scarcity and food security, the world must find effective ways to cope with them through scientific innovation. To address the need of the times, China is unremittingly pursing international sci-tech cooperation and benefiting the mankind through its own sci-tech innovation. The country has carried out sci-tech cooperation with 161 countries and regions, signed 114 inter-governmental sci-tech cooperation agreements and started the construction of 53 joint laboratories with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative to enhance cooperation on innovation. China has promoted its onshore oil and gas reserve exploitation, power generation, as well as super- and ultra-high voltage power transmission technologies in more than 30 countries along the Belt and Road. It has also joined more than 200 international and multilateral sci-tech organizations, becoming an important country in improving global scientific governance. Facing a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial reform, major countries in the world have all rolled out strategies to spur innovation, which has made global sci-tech competition unprecedentedly fierce. International sci-tech competition is usual, and healthy competition makes countries stronger and promotes common progress of the world. However, some countries, for their own monopoly on technologies, have abused the notion of national security and contained other countries sci-tech progress, politicizing and weaponizing scientific issues. This would only impede the global sci-tech progress. The history of science fully indicates that open communication is vital to frontier technological development. For instance, the first image of a black hole was a joint effort of more than 200 astronomers worldwide. To advocate scientific decoupling hurts global industrial development. The International Monetary Fund warned that some countries may see a loss of 5-percent of their GDP because of technological divide. The pandemic and other factors are widening the North-South gap. Countries with technological advantages should fill the gap with technological cooperation, rather than imposing technological blockade against developing countries. Children visit the science museum of Bijie, southwest Chinas Guizhou province, April 10, 2022. (Photo by Luo Dafu/Peoples Daily Online) When the Peoples Republic of China was just founded, it has been facing foreign technological blockade and containment. However, it has never shaken the confidence and will of the Chinese people. They see the upgrading foreign blockade as a power the drives them to work harder, and resort to independent innovation for developing their own technologies. China is committed to realizing high-level sci-tech independence, but that doesnt mean that the country will shut the door for cooperation. Eyeing the future, China will advance international sci-tech exchanges with an opener mind and measures, and fully exploit international innovation resources to enhance innovation partnership and work with the rest of the world to promote global sci-tech progress and innovative development. (Web editor: Liu Ning, Bianji) Ribbon Cutting: SilverCrest: The Katy Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for SilverCrest Assisted Living and Memory Care from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at 7002 Settlers Village Drive in Katy. For information contact Rick Ellis at 832-437-8465 or rick@katychamber.com, or visit www.silvercrestseniorliving.com. Earth Day at LaCenterra: Celebrate Earth Day at LaCenterra from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, April 22, at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. There will be a tree giveaway for the first 100 attendees that visit the LaCenterra booth; Earth Day craft activity for kids provided by Art Museum; educational booths and displays; free organic energy drinks provided by ASPIRE Healthy Energy; live acoustic music provided by John Acevedo; a 3-D anamorphic ground art photo experience; and two shredding trucks on-site for those wishing to clean house. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/2p9wzpxy. Creation-Focused Worship for Earth Day: Creation-Focused Worship for Earth Day is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, April 22, online with Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church. Join other Christians to celebrate Earth Day by participating in a streamed pre-recorded creation-focused worship service. The Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos will share the message of the day. This 45-minute worship service is in English with full Spanish translation, and does not include communion. Observe Earth Day by praising the Creator and giving thanks for Gods good creation in worship on April 22. Register to participate at www.eventbrite.com at: https://tinyurl.com/y8s5xfyn. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions. Ribbon Cutting: Scooters Coffee: The Katy Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 9-11 a.m. Friday, April 22, at Scooters Coffee at 2255 Fry Road in Katy. For more information contact Rick Ellis at 832-437-8465 or rick@katychamber.com or go to www.scooterscoffee.com. April 23 Katy Area Safety Fest: The 2021 Katy Area Safety Fest is scheduled for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Katy Mills Mall, 5000 Katy Mills Circle. The Katy Area Safety Fest is a free, family-friendly festival featuring personnel, equipment and activities from emergency response agencies serving the greater Katy community. For more information go to https://katyareasafetyfest.org. Katy Sip N Stroll: The Katy Sip N Stroll is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at The ARK by Norris, 21402 Merchants Way in Katy. Tickets are $65 general admission and $95 VIP Zone. Tickets are $5 more at the door. For tickets or more information go to https://tinyurl.com/4mj6deuz. April 24 Farmers market: The Farmers Market at La Centerra is presented the second and fourth Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. There will be local vendors and artisans at Heritage Square selling honey, cheese, fresh eggs, seasonal vegetables and more. To become a vendor email customer@yourneighborhoodfarmersmarket.com. April 25 City Council: The Katy City Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, in Council Chambers at Katy City Hall, 910 Avenue C. For more information go to www.cityofkaty.com. Katy ISD board: The Katy ISD board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday, April 25, in the Board Room of the Katy ISD Education Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane in Katy. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/2458bbdc. April 28 Teachers of the year: The 2022 Katy ISD Teachers of the Year Luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at Gerald D. Young Facility, 5825 Katy Hockley Cut Off Road in Katy. To register or for more information go to https://tinyurl.com/4w9pbvbj, or contact Natalie Latham at 281-644-3650 or nlatham@bvscu.org. May 8 Car Culture Show 2022: Car Culture Show 2022 is held bi-monthly from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays in the Alamo Theater parking lot in LaCenterra at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. The next show is Sunday, May 8. There will be more than 50 exotic and muscle cars on display, along with a DJ spinning tunes and other exciting amenities. See more details at thecarculture.org. Farmers market: The Farmers Market at La Centerra is presented the second and fourth Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. There will be local vendors and artisans at Heritage Square selling honey, cheese, fresh eggs, seasonal vegetables and more. To become a vendor email customer@yourneighborhoodfarmersmarket.com. May 9 City Council: The Katy City Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, in Council Chambers at Katy City Hall, 910 Avenue C. For more information go to www.cityofkaty.com. May 16 Katy ISD board: The Katy ISD board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday, May 16, in the Board Room of the Katy ISD Education Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane in Katy. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/2458bbdc. May 19 Katy High graduation: The Katy High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 19, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 20 Taylor graduation: The Taylor High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, May 20, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 21 Mayde Creek graduation: The Mayde Creek High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 22 Cinco Ranch graduation: The Cinco Ranch High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 22, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. Farmers market: The Farmers Market at La Centerra is presented the second and fourth Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. There will be local vendors and artisans at Heritage Square selling honey, cheese, fresh eggs, seasonal vegetables and more. To become a vendor email customer@yourneighborhoodfarmersmarket.com. Strike Out Autism: Together with Presenting Sponsor Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation, Hope For Three will host their 2022 Grand Slam Event of the year, Strike Out Autism on May 22 at Constellation Field. The Family Fun Day is an afternoon full of autism awareness, smiles, laughter and acceptance for more than 100 local families living with autism. Parents, siblings and children on the autism spectrum will feel like MVPs for the day and must register now because of limited availability. Reserved stadium seat tickets are available at www.hopeforthree.org/events. Team players (volunteers) wanted, and All-Star Sponsors and Underwriters needed to give help and hope to local families and children. Call 281-245-0640 or email contact@hopeforthree.org to learn more. May 23 City Council: The Katy City Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 23, in Council Chambers at Katy City Hall, 910 Avenue C. For more information go to www.cityofkaty.com. Morton Ranch graduation: The Morton Ranch High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Monday, May 23, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 24 Seven Lakes graduation: The Seven Lakes High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 25 Tompkins graduation: The Tompkins High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. May 26 Paetow graduation: The Paetow High School graduation will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at Legacy Stadium at 1830 Katyland Drive. Tickets and parking passes are not required to attend Legacy Stadium graduation ceremonies. Parking gates will open at 6 p.m. Graduate assigned entrance gates will open at 7 p.m. Guests may enter through home and visitor gates at 7 p.m. Inclement weather make up information will be emailed by 4 p.m. the day of ceremony. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/bdfsu3my. June 14 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. June 27 Katy ISD board: The Katy ISD board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday, June 27, in the Board Room of the Katy ISD Education Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane in Katy. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/2458bbdc. June 30 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. July 12 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. July 18-22 Earth Kids Kind Kamp: Join Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for Earth Kids Kind Kamp. They will be exploring entomology, wildlife, nature and more July 18-22. The camp is open to third- through fifth-grade students from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds. The cost $80 which includes daily snacks and camp T-shirt. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information contact Angela Romans at angela.bosier@ag.tamu.edu or 281-342-3034. July 25 Katy ISD board: The Katy ISD board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Monday, July 25, in the Board Room of the Katy ISD Education Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane in Katy. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/2458bbdc. July 28 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. 4-H Youth Leadership Team: The Fort Bend County 4-H Youth Leadership Team invite you to its monthly meeting virtually at 6:30 p.m. This meeting is open to youth of all ages. Register to attend at https://tinyurl.com/2e8fuf5s. Cornhole & Crawfish: Join the Central Fort Bend Chamber and Leadership Fort Bend Alumni for Cornhole & Crawfish presented by Legacy Ford. The event is scheduled for 3-8 p.m. Friday, April 22, at Dry Creek Social Club, 3333 FM 359 in Richmond. Tickets start at $40. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/yujfvwkk. April 22-23 Book Sale: The Friends of Sienna Branch Librarys Spring Book Sale is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 22-23, at Sienna Branch Library, 8411 Sienna Springs Blvd., Missouri City. Thousands of books for children and adults as well as CDs, audiobooks, and DVDs are for sale at bargain prices. Most are just $0.50-$1. Vintage items and book collections are individually priced. Sale times are Friday, April 22, noon-4 p.m., and Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information friendsofsiennalibrary@yahoo.com. April 23 Candidates forum: The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce will host a candidates forum for those seeking office on the Sugar Land City Council on Saturday, April 23, at Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center at 1700 First Colony Blvd. in Sugar Land. Networking is scheduled for 10 a.m. with the forum starting at 10:30 a.m. until noon. Candidates expected to attend include William Ferguson and Larry Lobue for at large Position 1; and Scott Schultz and Farha Ahmed for at large Position 2. The event is free and open to the public. For more information go to https://fortbendchamber.com. May 1 Carbon Fee & Dividend: Members of Citizens Climate Lobby explain the ins and outs of carbon fee and dividend as an economic policy tool to address climate change at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1, in this online event. Learn about the positive impact not only on the environment, but also on jobs, the economy, and human health. And, carbon fee & dividend has been deemed by economists as the fastest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of any economic policy approach. But, best of all, carbon fee & dividend is designed to ensure equity and justice, a key concern of people of all faith/spiritual traditions. Register at https://tinyurl.com/4wrayura. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com for more details. May 3 Sugar Land City Council: The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov. Rosenberg City Council: The Rosenberg City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at Rosenberg City Hall, 2110 4th St. Council meetings may be viewed live on YouTube, the city of Rosenberg website, or by Rosenberg Comcast customers on channel 16. For more information go to www.rosenbergtx.gov. Breakfast in the Bend: Join the Central Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce for Breakfast in the Bend from 8 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 3, at Fort Bend Womens Center, 1500 Pultar Road in Richmond. The event is free for members and registration for prospective members is $20. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/msm446fk. May 5 Cinco De Mayo Street Dance: Discover Downtown Rosenberg presents a Cinco De Mayo Street Dance from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, May 5, in Historic Downtown Rosenberg. Come out and dance the night away to the sounds of a live Mariachi Band. This event is free and open to the public. Downtown restaurants and food trucks will be open and on-site for evening dinner and drinks. For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/yckrfnz6. May 14 Outdoor Skills Day: Texas A&M Agrilife Extension presents a program open to all youth in grades third thru 12th from 7:45 a.m. to 4, with activates including first aid, fishing, wildlife IS and much more at Jones Creek Ranch Park, 7714 FM 359 Road in Richmond. Cost is $25 per family of two with an additional $5 for each additional youth, and is limited to 30 youth participants. Adults/volunteers are encouraged to stay and assist. Registration closes May 6 at 11:59 p.m. can be found at https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. May 16 Richmond City Commission: The city of Richmond will hold its regular commission meeting on Monday, May 16, at 4:30 p.m. at the City Hall Annex located at 600 Morton St. in Richmond. For questions, contact City Manager Terri Vela at tvela@richmondtx.gov or 281-342-5456. Missouri City City Council: The regular meeting of the Missouri City City Council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, May 16, in the City Hall, Council Chamber at 1522 Texas Parkway. For more information go to www.missouricitytx.gov. May 17 Sugar Land City Council: The Sugar Land City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at Sugar Land City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd. N. For more information go to www.sugarlandtx.gov. Rosenberg City Council: The Rosenberg City Council is scheduled to meet for its regular session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 17, at Rosenberg City Hall, 2110 4th St. Council meetings may be viewed live on YouTube, the city of Rosenberg website, or by Rosenberg Comcast customers on channel 16. For more information go to www.rosenbergtx.gov. May 22 Farmers market: The Farmers Market at La Centerra is presented the second and fourth Sunday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. in Katy. There will be local vendors and artisans at Heritage Square selling honey, cheese, fresh eggs, seasonal vegetables and more. To become a vendor email customer@yourneighborhoodfarmersmarket.com. Strike Out Autism: Together with Presenting Sponsor Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation, Hope For Three will host their 2022 Grand Slam Event of the year, Strike Out Autism on May 22 at Constellation Field. The Family Fun Day is an afternoon full of autism awareness, smiles, laughter and acceptance for more than 100 local families living with autism. Parents, siblings and children on the autism spectrum will feel like MVPs for the day and must register now because of limited availability. Reserved stadium seat tickets are available at www.hopeforthree.org/events. Team players (volunteers) wanted, and All-Star Sponsors and Underwriters needed to give help and hope to local families and children. Call 281-245-0640 or email contact@hopeforthree.org to learn more. May 27 Clements graduation: The graduation ceremony for Clements High School is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, May 27, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Hightower graduation: The graduation ceremony for Hightower High School is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 27, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Austin graduation: The graduation ceremony for Austin High School is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Travis graduation: The graduation ceremony for Travis High School is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Kempner graduation: The graduation ceremony for Kempner High School is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 27, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. May 28 Ridge Point graduation: The graduation ceremony for Ridgepoint High School is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Willowridge graduation: The graduation ceremony for Willowridge High School is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Dulles graduation: The graduation ceremony for Dulles High School is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Elkins graduation: The graduation ceremony for Elkins High School is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Marshall graduation: The graduation ceremony for Marshall High School is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. Bush graduation: The graduation ceremony for Bush High School is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Toyota Center located at 1510 Polk St. in Houston. Tickets are not required to attend the ceremony. For more information go to www.fortbendisd.com/graduation. June 14 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. June 30 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. July 12 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. July 18-22 Earth Kids Kind Kamp: Join Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for Earth Kids Kind Kamp. They will be exploring entomology, wildlife, nature and more July 18-22. The camp is open to third- through fifth-grade students from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds. The cost $80 which includes daily snacks and camp T-shirt. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information contact Angela Romans at angela.bosier@ag.tamu.edu or 281-342-3034. July 28 Maker Station Summer Camps: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension presents the Maker Station Camps focusing on creating something from nothing. Campers will create, plan, and build and much more. The camp is open to third- through eighth-grade students from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, July 28, at the Fort Bend County Education Center at 1402 Band Road in Rosenberg. The cost $75 per camp which includes daily snacks. Campers should bring a packed lunch daily. For more information and to register visit https://agrilife.org/ftbend4h/beyond-the-project/workshops-clinics-camps. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Two men have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at an arcade in North Carolina, police said. Winston-Salem police said Friday that Reginald Anthony Williams, 25, is charged with murder, and Nautica Shanice Baldwin, 26, is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, news outlets reported. According to an arrest warrant, Williams is accused of killing Arthur Little, 52, who was shot inside the arcade on Wednesday. When officers arrived, they found Little unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Baldwin is accused of stealing $420 from Little that same day after she threatened the victim with a handgun, her arrest warrant said. Another man was taken to a local hospital with a leg injury, but police haven't identified him. Williams was jailed without bond. Police said bond for Baldwin was set at $25,000. Both are scheduled to appear in a Forsyth County court on Monday. It was not immediately known if they have attorneys. Police didnt describe the relationship between Williams and Baldwin. Littles death is the citys 13th homicide in Winston-Salem this year, compared to eight homicides at the same time in 2021, police said. Texas Politics Abortion access is already nearly impossible in Texas. Its about to get a lot harder. Nationwide, there are about 36 million women of reproductive age who are considered in danger of losing access to abortion in their home states. One in five, or about 7 million of them, live in Texas. On Easter Sunday, Ukrainians around the world will fill up baskets with symbolic food and pysanky the ornate, wax-decorated Easter eggs that Ukraine is known for to present them to their priest for blessings. The Blessing of the Baskets is a beloved tradition in many Eastern European Catholic churches during Easter, and at the center of the basket is the paska, a sweet bread made specifically for the occasion. In Houston, many Ukrainian families can thank Nadiya Sulyukmanov and her family for providing them with the Paska theyll take to Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church on Easter Sunday. Sulyukmanov, her mother and her aunt baked 70 paskas over three days to sell at the churchs Easter Bazaar the weekend before, and are sending the proceeds to their homeland a small but meaningful contribution to Ukraines defense against the unprovoked Russian invasian. Its important that they feel our support, said Sulyukmanov, 50, whose grandfather helped found the church in the 1950s. Its the best we can do here, to collect money and help them as much as we can. As the Ukrainian conflict enters its third month with thousands of casualties and countless people displaced, the eternal themes of Easter coincide with the hopes of this proud war-torn nation triumph over death, resilience over despair. People of faith will pack pews this Easter Sunday all throughout the world to hear sermons carrying urgent resonance about suffering, doubt and hope. Here in Houston, Pokrova has hosted an Easter Bazaar for decades, but the COVID pandemic significantly reduced their efforts the last two years. This year, they felt it was important to forge ahead, and hundreds of residents, both Ukrainian and otherwise, came out to support the cause. Father (Mykola Duzhuk) said lets try to do something in the hall. We wont celebrate so much, because theres a war going on, but lets keep our tradition, lets sell our food and show our culture. Lets share with the people what weve been doing, and so we reopened this year with great success but unfortunately, its for a miserable reason, said Pokrovas vice chariman, Martha Noukas. Houstons Ukrainian population is relatively small less than 5,000 Ukrainian Americans are estimated to live in the Bayou City but Easter brings out even the most secular among them. For many Ukrainian expats, the holiday is a not just a time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, its a chance to immerse themselves in their homelands rich heritage. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has made that heritage all the more precious and pressing. President Vladimir Putin has taken to suggesting that Ukraine, a former Soviet territory, should be Russian by right. I would like to emphasize again that Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space, Putin said in an address to the Russian people just days before the invasion in February. The Ukrainians who have built a home in Houston beg to differ and work hard to keep their traditions alive halfway across the world. Iryna Marchiano, a volunteer with the Ukrainian American Cultural Club, never knew how to properly write a pysanky the art of elaborately decorating an Easter egg in colored wax until she moved to Houston in 2008 and met Ukrainians who had already put down roots here. That is a testament to the people in the Ukrainian community here, maintaining their traditions and being able to teach that to me, Marchiano said. Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The tradition isnt just about making paskas for the holiday. A team of volunteers have sold foods like varenyky, borscht and pelmeni that about 20 of them had prepared and frozen after Sunday services every week for the past month in preparation for the bazaar. Across the hall, vendors sold crafts and clothes the traditional embroidered vyshyvanka shirts that are native to Ukraine, and tees that read Stand With Ukraine in the flags blue and yellow collors. Children decorated pysanky in the back of the hall, where members of the Ukrainian National Womens League of America sold merchandise and egg-making supplies. All told, the Easter Bazaar raised about $18,000 for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (an Eastern Rite church that is in communion with the Roman Catholic Church). The churchs Archeparchy of Philadelphia will then redistribute the funds to relief groups in Ukraine, Noukas said. At the end of the bazaar, one parishioner, Roman Cherwonogrodsky, asked for silence so he could lead the room in song. The people gathered sang the Ukrainian national anthem in hearty voice, and then the music grew softer, making their closing rendition of Mnohaya Lita all the more powerful. The celebratory tune is ubiquitous in Ukraine and across its diaspora, sung at birthdays and church services. It is easy to sing. It has only two words mnohaya lita, which means many years in English and is sung as a way of wishing long life to the listener. In spite of the atrocities being committed in their homeland, there would be no despair. During the Easter holidays, at least, the Ukrainians lifted their voices in hope. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Assistant director Aaron Thomas slams the clapperboard Saturday to set a crew of 20 people into motion as actors start their scene in a doctors office. Armando brought in his father, Don Leonel, an elderly man who stands attempting to show every ounce of youth in his spirit, the script says. The crown of his vaquero hat leans down in front of the physician. He is hesitant to accept the Alzheimers diagnosis. Alzheimers is nothing to be ashamed of, said Dr. Ramirez, encouraging Don Leonel. It affects 1 out of 10 people in this country. You did the right thing coming to us early. A few cuts later, the crew films the same scene in Spanish in one of the two studios of the Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston, where an ambitious bilingual community health project to tackle the impact of Alzheimers among Hispanics is transforming the school into a little Hollywood. The project includes production of five mini telenovelas that Valenti students have been working on for months. The filming began April 9 and will continue every weekend this month for the first three telenovelas that won at a creative script writing hackathon in November. The project is led by professor Luis Medina, a clinical psychologist, cultural neuropsychologist and director of the university's Collaborative on Aging Research and Multicultural Assessment. He received a $2.35 million grant last year from the National Institute on Aging to increase health literacy and cultural taboo among Hispanics about brain health. Medina said that Alzheimers is a disease that Latinos are 50 percent more likely to develop than non-Hispanic people. They tend to live longer and develop symptoms earlier but are diagnosed at later stages and are less likely to be treated. The lack of knowledge or acceptance of this mental condition impacts the whole family in characteristically frequent multigenerational Hispanic households where grandparents, often with limited English proficiency, coexist with younger generations raised in the U.S. There is still a lot of stigma about this disease in the Hispanic community and people struggle to talk about brain health and what we can do to make our brains healthier by identifying these things earlier, said Medina. Although Alzheimers is an incurable disease, Dr. Ramirez gave Don Leonel some recommendations to improve his overall health that can delay the progression of the illness, such as adding a quick 30-minutes-walk to the daily routine, getting enough sleep, or eating food richer in nutrients, among others. Medina said that increasing literacy about Alzheimers would also help in breaching the Hispanic participation gap in clinical trials. They represent only 1 percent of participants overall in U.S. studies. We're trying to understand the different nuances of the brain, but the lack of diversity in the research ends up limiting any progress we make towards understanding the disease, said Medina. He said that just as a study, say, among people between 30 to 50-year-old doesnt provide enough inside to treat all people, clinical samples that do not comprise a diverse population are also limited. The project is made in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at the Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas. Medina designed a community integration model with the plan of replicating it in other cities. The integration started with consultations with community organizations to get advice about the best ways to reach out and get the message across Hispanic communities. They got many recommendations, from preferred words to address mental conditions, to telenovelas as the best format and the need for bilingual messaging. Little Hollywood Everything for this project has a community aspect, said Jennifer Vardeman, director of the UH Valenti School of Communication. We are bringing together health communication concepts along with media production with skills that students have learned, and then moving into edited and fully produced videos that our strategic communication students promote in different ways. Most of the students involved in production belong to Hispanic families. Be it director and assistants, cameras, lighting, sound, makeup, wardrobe we have everything covered with talented students, and they are pretty serious about their work, said Dylan Medina, a recently graduated who is playing the communications and liaison role. There were two sets ready for filming Saturday, the doctors office and a living room for a scene with a Hispanic family where colorful woven fabric covered the furniture. Both were designed by Laur Hale, majoring in media production. I wanted to make the house look very cozy with a Hispanic influence, so I put blankets everywhere, like maybe the Abuela knits, and little pots everywhere, Hale said. She added that she is loving that the school is providing students with real-life production experiences. We are doing things that the actual industry does this is filming for real projects like in the film industry, Hale said, noting that this experience is giving her skills and curriculum ahead of beginning her working career. Members of the crew said the Valenti school is offering an experience hard to get in Houston. Lucio Vasquez, a media production student who served as director of photography Saturday, said the school is providing an incredible opportunity for people who are trying to come up in the industry, because the film industry here is, in all honesty, lacking compared to other cities. He said that Houston has incredibly talented people but a lot end up leaving for Los Angeles or New York. Vardeman, who has been a professor at Valenti for more than a decade, said this production is larger in scope and students participation than previous filming projects. She hopes to elevate the profile of the school as a studio production center, where students get hands-on experience doing projects with other schools and Houston institutions. A bigger picture for the school is that several entities within Houston are trying to really attract and retain filmmakers and production personnel, and we definitely have the expertise and skillful students, she said. In an era when diversity is pursued but still lacking in the film and media industries, Vardeman said she likes to consider the Valenti school as a little Hollywood in one of the most diverse universities in the country. The University of Houston is ranked among the top 10 most diverse universities in the country by the U.S. News and World Report. Later in the year, after the telenovelas are ready for the public, the marketing and public relations students will have a turn implementing strategies to disseminate the message. Medina said that the mini telenovelas will be largely disseminated via social media. Vardeman said that students also plan to present the telenovelas in clinic waiting rooms, community centers, supermarkets, barbershops, and other locations where people congregate in highly Hispanic populated areas. Everything begins and ends involving the community, Medina said. olivia.tallet@chron.com Twitter.com/oliviaptallet Regarding Easter Shell-Ebration in Tomball and other fun events to check out this week, (April 12): This year we will be celebrating our third Easter in the throes of the pandemic with an unknown time frame. We are also facing a devastating war in Eastern Europe, escalating inflation and shortages of certain products, manpower and services. Take the time this year to reflect on your spiritual needs and essential values by attending a service of your choice during Easter time. Our current needs are for a safe environment, secure employment, ample food supply and family health. Many of our needs may be difficult to obtain. It will take time to return to some semblance of a new near-normal life. Also remember those who are no longer present in our lives and try to assist the many with serious needs both at home and in foreign lands. Join in family gatherings this Easter and remember that it is family who truly matters when adversities appear. Bob Sweeney, Warwick, R. I. Earth day Regarding Houstons dangerous concrete plants are mostly in communities of color. Residents are fighting back., (April 10): I had a chance to reflect on the topics of Houstons concrete plants and 90-degree April temperatures as I participated in the Earth Day event at Discovery Green this week. In addition to the dangerous particulate matter from mixing concrete, concrete (together with steel) accounts for a combined total of about 15 percent of global CO2 emissions that directly contribute to extreme weather events and climate change. The federal government is addressing the climate issue with a new national carbon standard for concrete which hopefully could also cover the particulate matter issue. During my recent Earth Day experience, I was a bit shocked to hear from many attendees at this event who expressed a lack of interest in the threat from climate change, with some calling it a hoax during my conversation with them. Are these the frogs who dont realize they are being slowly boiled to death? For those who have already experienced the increasing number of extreme weather events and other impacts from climate change, I implore you to help us take action while we still have time to avoid the worst consequences. One of the best ways to make a real difference would be to contact your congressman and senators to ask them for their support on the Carbon Fee and Dividend Policy. Joseph Garfunkel, Houston chapter leader, Citizens Climate Lobby Credibility gap Regarding Pitts: Americans have lost the willingness, ability to share a common national identity, (April 10): I can agree with Mr. Pitts observation but not with his cause and effect. It is pure spin to try to blame Republicans for the balkanization of the country. He bases his observation on the lack of trust in the mainstream media. This is laughable at best. More than just Republicans have lost any faith in what one departed conservative pundit used to refer to as the drive-by media. Why should any kind of conservative, constitutionalist or traditional patriot put any trust in the likes of CNN, MSNBC, PBS or for that matter a good bit of Fox news reporting? It is also pure hubris to infer, as Pitts does, that these media bullies are the arbiters of our common national identity. Organizations that are cheerleaders for woke radicals and apologists for our feckless executive are not the sources of our national aspirations nor the wellspring of our meaning and mission as a country. They, along with the social network tech giants, have worked with an ironic intolerance to silence and censure anyone who dares disagree with them. Pitts should be looking closer to home if he wants to see the cause behind this great divide; perhaps he should start with a mirror. M. Emanuel Pentecost, Shoreacres I think Mr. Pitts drew the incorrect conclusion in this piece. He states The average Republican trusts almost no mainstream source of information, and blames the Republicans for this mistrust. Maybe he should reconsider the mainstream (or otherwise) information sources. Just because someone does not trust someone else does not automatically make the distruster incorrect. Maybe the media should look in the mirror and ask itself Why does no one believe us? Perhaps they have a credibility gap, no different than a researcher who gets caught publishing bad research and is never trusted again. Remember, the primary goal of any broadcasting organization is to sell ad time, not to inform the public on all sides of a given topic. Joe Williams, League City This year's street signs on harassment are accompanied by blue flags at Park Square, each indicating a sexual assault survivor who contacted the Elizabeth Freeman Center last year. Street Harassment Signs Return to Park Square for Sexual Assault Awareness Month PITTSFIELD, Mass. Artwork and readings that address street harassment are displayed at Park Square for a second year in observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Berkshire Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force installed the public art exhibitions by activist-artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh from her book "Stop Telling Women to Smile: Stories of Street Harassment and How We're Taking Back Our Power." The series includes phrases such as "Let women walk in peace," "You are not entitled to my space," and "I am not here for you." This year, they are accompanied by blue flags to represent sexual assault survivors who contacted the Elizabeth Freeman Center in 2021. "April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the U.S., and actually in a fair number of countries globally, and we wanted to repost the signs from last year because street harassment continues to be a serious problem and because we thought that they were powerful tools," planning committee co-chair and Elizabeth Freeman Center board member Susan Birns said. She explained that in recent years, the Freeman Center has posted blue pennants on its lawn to represent every sexual assault survivor who contacted the agency during the year. The numbers come from its database, meaning that a person could have reached out looking for services or a referral and identified that they were sexual assault survivors. The survivors could have called because they were in a domestic violence crisis but if sexual assault was a part of their history they were identified as such. "And those numbers are really staggering especially considering that for the past year, we've still been in pandemic, there were 373 people in that category in 2021, and that represented a 10 percent increase from 2020 when there were 335," Birns said. "And if we go back a few more years to 2016, there were 318, so before the pandemic, and the 373 is a 17 percent increase over the 2016 number, which was 318. "So the numbers have been, I can't say going steadily up because there were a couple of years between 2016 and 2020 that the numbers were down a little bit, but primarily it's been an upward trajectory and obviously, that's very problematic." There are about 200 blue flags in Park Square to represent the sexual assault survivors. The signs and flags are also displayed in front of Monument Mountain Regional High school in Great Barrington. A strange act of vandalism occurred last year when the street harassment art installation was taken down from Park Square and moved across the street and put into piles on lawns with about 10 of them being displayed upright. Birns said the task force still has no answers about the incident and hopes it does not happen again. There are also a number of events coming up that address sexual assault. The Freeman Center is hosting Stand Out Against Sexual Assault events on Thursday, April 21, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at North Adams City Hall, and on Thursday, April 28, from 5 to 6 at Park Square. A standout was held in Great Barrington this past week. "Denim Day" will also be recognized on April 27. It was created when the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction because the survivor was wearing tight jeans, "thereby implying consent." The next day, the women of the Italian Parliament showed up in jeans, demonstrating solidarity with the survivor. It is now an international movement. iciHaiti - Security : 2 other bandits fall under the bullets of the PNH Saturday April 16, 2022, when "Yoyo" thus known and other armed accomplices ransom merchants as well as passers-by at the Tabarre public market, a police patrol from the municipality of Tabarre arrived on the scene. The bandits immediately opened fire on the patrol, which returned fire. During the exchange of fire "Yoyo" member of the gang led by "Jeneral" was mortally wounded, his accomplices managed to flee. At the same time, in Canaan, James Henry aka "Chiller" was stopped in armed clashes with the police. His mission was to take possession of the land of the inhabitants of the area. Once sold, the money was given to the gang leader "Lanmo San Jou" of "400 Mawozo" for the purpose of purchasing ammunition. Note that "Chiller" and his accomplices specialized in hijacking freight trucks in Canaan 50 and 70. Read also about the actions of the PNH : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36416-icihaiti-pnh-a-terrifying-bandit-and-one-of-the-trusted-men-of-gang-leader-zian-killed.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36389-haiti-pnh-10-bandits-killed-a-policewoman-injured.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36380-haiti-security-the-pnh-scores-points-against-bandits-and-gangs.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36372-ici-haiti-pnh-kidnapping-defeated-a-kidnapper-killed.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36276-icihaiti-insecurity-panic-at-saint-boniface-hospital.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36264-icihaiti-pnh-kidnapping-attempt-foiled.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36256-icihaiti-pnh-arrest-of-2-members-of-the-400-mawozo-gang.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36219-haiti-flash-the-police-in-action.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36216-icihaiti-security-positive-results-for-the-pnh.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36201-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36195-icihaiti-cap-haitien-7-arrests-seizure-of-weapons-and-ammunition.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36110-icihaiti-turgeau-6-individuals-arrested-8-weapons-seized.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36098-icihaiti-center-department-4-bandits-arrested-in-24-hours.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35987-icihaiti-justice-2-haitians-arrested-for-drug-trafficking.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35651-icihaiti-security-seizure-of-more-than-10kg-of-marijuana-2-haitians-and-a-jamaican-arrested.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35637-icihaiti-security-the-border-police-increase-its-staff.html IH/ iciHaiti iciHaiti - PNH in action : 2 members of the 5 Seconds gang killed, several others injured Saturday, April 16, two bandits, members of the "5 Seconds" gang, which operates in Village de Dieu, were fatally injured in exchanges of fire with a patrol of the Departmental Unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) at the level of 5th Avenue Bolosse (Route de Martissant). Several other accomplices were injured while fleeing. They abandoned a black pick-up vehicle, registration number AA-04547. Read also about the actions of the PNH : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36442-icihaiti-security-2-other-bandits-fall-under-the-bullets-of-the-pnh.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36416-icihaiti-pnh-a-terrifying-bandit-and-one-of-the-trusted-men-of-gang-leader-zian-killed.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36389-haiti-pnh-10-bandits-killed-a-policewoman-injured.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36380-haiti-security-the-pnh-scores-points-against-bandits-and-gangs.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36372-ici-haiti-pnh-kidnapping-defeated-a-kidnapper-killed.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36276-icihaiti-insecurity-panic-at-saint-boniface-hospital.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36264-icihaiti-pnh-kidnapping-attempt-foiled.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36256-icihaiti-pnh-arrest-of-2-members-of-the-400-mawozo-gang.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36219-haiti-flash-the-police-in-action.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36216-icihaiti-security-positive-results-for-the-pnh.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36201-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36195-icihaiti-cap-haitien-7-arrests-seizure-of-weapons-and-ammunition.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36110-icihaiti-turgeau-6-individuals-arrested-8-weapons-seized.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-36098-icihaiti-center-department-4-bandits-arrested-in-24-hours.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35987-icihaiti-justice-2-haitians-arrested-for-drug-trafficking.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35651-icihaiti-security-seizure-of-more-than-10kg-of-marijuana-2-haitians-and-a-jamaican-arrested.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-35637-icihaiti-security-the-border-police-increase-its-staff.html IH/ iciHaiti The wedding is over, but the party is still on. The wedding photos of Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have taken the tinsel town by storm. The smiles, love and feel-good vibes seen in their wedding photos are making fans' hearts flutter, and yesterday, the couple the newly-weds -- the husband and wife -- Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt hosted a grand wedding reception, which was attended by many celebrities. AFP Those spotted arriving in their cars were - Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan, Karan Johar , Aditya Roy Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Ranbir's cousin Adar Jain, girlfriend Tara Sutaria, Anushka Ranjan with husband Aditya Seal among others. Instagram The first picture of Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor from their wedding reception The wedding reception was also hosted at Ranbir's residence Vastu. The newlyweds haven't revealed their official wedding reception look yet, but here are a few photos doing the rounds. Take a look at them below. Instagram No gifts allowed! If reports are to be believed, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor requested the guests to not bring any gifts. AFP If you haven't seen their Varmala video, here is the sweet video doing the rounds. While Ranbir's friends picked him up as he put the garland on Alia, when Alia's turn came, Ranbir got down and knelt down to help her put the varmala. This is making fans gush. Alia Bhatt also shared their Mehendi photos yesterday. Do you know during the promotions of Gangubai Kathiawadi, Alia Bhatt had said that she is already married to Ranbir Kapoor in her head. "I'm already married to Ranbir Kapoor in my head. And, I think Ive been married to him in my head for a long time (laughs) I feel like the timing of even when we get married, its all going to work out in all the right and beautiful way," she said. After weeks of speculations, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor tied the knot on April 14 at their home in the presence of close friends and family members. (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.) Remember the guy who took Marvel frenzy to another level after he watched Avengers: Endgame 191 times in theatres? Ramiro Alanis has now watched Spider-Man No Way Home 292 times in theatres and set the Guinness World Record for most cinema productions attended of the same film. Twitter And you thought you were the biggest Spider-Man fan? Ramiro Alanis watched Spider-Man No Way Home 292 times which means he sat through 43,216 minutes in total, which is equal to 720 hours or 30 days of continuously watching Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire epic movie. Wondering how much did he spend? This man deserves cameo in Spider-Man 4 if they make it. He spent roughly $3,500 just to break a record. Spectra (@DeltaHeliolisk) April 16, 2022 The average price of a ticket last year was $9.57 (Rs 730) as per Statista, which means he ended up spending a total of approximately $2974 (Rs 2,27,010) or even more. And this doesn't include the popcorn and snacks. It must have been an expensive venture for Ramiro Alanis. Most Cinema Productions attended of the same film. 292 @SpiderManMovie (Broken) Next Record to break: Longest Duration in the Dead Hang position with a 100Lb Pack.#GWR #TigreVengador pic.twitter.com/Ro8EMQlczQ El Tigre Vengador (@agalanis17) April 16, 2022 Sharing about his achievement on Twitter, Ramiro Alanis wrote, " 292 Cinema Productions attended of the same Film @SpiderManMovie. My swing got to its endThank you all. @TomHolland1996 @SonyPictures @jnwtts @ComicBook @GabyMeza8 #SpiderMan #SpiderManNoWayHome @MarvelStudios #marvel @GWR #TigreVengador @Zendaya (sic)" Wondering who held this record previously? Arnaud Klein had watched French movie Kaamelott: First Instalment 204 times. Also Read: 'Spider-Man No Way Home' Becomes Biggest Film Of 2021, Crosses Rs 200 Crore Mark In India (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.) An ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has disrupted the global supply of wheat and India has come forward to fill the gap. Egypt agreed to import wheat from India to meet its domestic requirement. India is the second-largest producer of wheat but still has no significant role in meeting global demand in terms of exports. However, the demand for Indian wheat has increased and the government is exploring the rising opportunity. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that India is likely to export 100-150 lakh tonnes of wheat this year whereas the overall wheat exports were 2 lakh in the previous two years. AFP The rising demand for wheat from countries such as Bangladesh, UAE, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Oman and Malaysia are driving Indias wheat export. Worlds largest exporter and importer of wheat? With more than 18% of international exports, Russia is the worlds largest exporter of wheat. Russia and Ukraine export more than a quarter of the world's wheat. They together exported 25.4 % of the worlds wheat in 2019. The world's biggest importer of wheat is Egypt. The country imported wheat worth about USD 1.8 billion from Russia and USD 610.8 million from Ukraine in 2020. In 2019, Turkey imported 74% of its wheat requirement from Russia and Ukraine. India and wheat production With a share of around 13.5% of the world's total production, India is the 2nd largest producer of wheat. Annually, India produces over 107.59 MT of wheat but most of it is consumed domestically. AFP The country's export is even less than 1 per cent of world wheat export. Although, a slight increase in the last few years is noteworthy i.e 0.14% in 2016 to 0.54% in 2020. After rice, wheat is considered to be the 2nd most important cereal crop in India. Wheat, a rabi crop, is the main food crop in the north and north-western part of the country. The top wheat-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat. Aiming to export 10 million tonnes The food, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that Egypt agreed to import wheat from India. A task force is set up on wheat exports by the commerce ministry under the aegis of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA). India targets a record 10 million tonnes of wheat export in the 2022-23 financial year amidst a surge in demand for wheat because of war. M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, said, We are aiming to export 3 million tonnes of wheat to Egypt this year. In 2021, Egypt imported 6.1 million tonnes (of wheat) with 80% coming from Russia and Ukraine, while India did not figure on the list of accredited countries. Export destinations of India India exports wheat to its neighbouring countries primarily. In 2020-21, the top ten importing countries for Indian wheat are Malaysia, Qatar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Oman, Yemen and Bangladesh. AFP Recently, the APEDA reportedly sent delegations to explore the possibility of boosting wheat exports in the Philippines, Indonesia, Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon. A total of 220 labs are recognised by APEDA across India to provide testing services and ensure hassle-free quality certification of products to be exported. Surplus wheat To run welfare programmes, India requires over 25 million tonnes of wheat each year. The new season harvest (wheat) is underway and expected to be a bumper harvest at a record 111.32 million tonnes. According to reports, the government bought over 43.34 million tonnes of wheat from domestic farmers last year. Further, with surplus wheat in hand, the government is seeking to step up exports with a 50% jump targeted during the current financial year. For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News. Days after Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked "if the gangrape victim was actually raped", another leader from TMC is drawing massive criticism for his remarks. A TMC leader from Bengal's Murshidabad district has stoked a controversy by issuing a threat to opposition leaders saying if they tried to defame Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee without any proof that the minor victim was indeed gang-raped in Nadia, they would be thrashed. He said the Opposition should stop defaming Mamata Banerjee if they could not prove that the gang rape happened in the Nadia case. Afroz Sarkar, the president of TMCs Bhagabangola block one committee, said, "Prove that gang rape happened. Stop defaming Mamata Banerjee or we will silence you with sticks." File Photo/AFP "I am not scared of anyone. Our leader Mamata Banerjee may not have a son of her own, but I am her son," he went on to say. "If the gang rape has happened, we will only ask the police to arrest the accused. But Mamata Banerjee should not be defamed like this, she cannot be removed from her post like this," he added. Banerjee dismisses rape as a love affair The death of a 14-year-old girl in West Bengals Nadia district last week, allegedly after being raped by a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders son, sparked a political storm. Banerjee had apparently dismissed the incident as a love affair. Banerjee appeared to suggest that the victim and the main accused were in a consensual relationship even as she sought to draw a distinction between her administration and those run by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Was she pregnant? Or, was it a love affair? Was she actually raped? Was she pregnant? Was there some other reason? Did someone slap her? Was she sick? It is known that there was a love affair. Even her family and neighbours knew about this. I cannot stop boys and girls from falling in love. This is not Uttar Pradesh. I cannot start a love jihad programme. It is a matter of personal liberty, Banerjee said in her speech at a government event here. Representational Image Accusing the media of political influence, Banerjee said, "I heard about the girls death and talked to the police. Even the police do not know till now how she died. I asked the police whether they think this was rape? Or, was she pregnant? Or, was it a love affair? The victim, a Class 9 student in Hanskhali, went to a birthday party hosted by TMC panchayat member Samarendra Gayalis son Brajagopal on April 4 and returned home later that night, unwell. She died the next day, apparently due to excessive bleeding and was cremated in the evening, allegedly without a death certificate, the girl's parents claimed. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. The moment Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian filmmakers Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov knew they had to leave Moscow. "We were the next on the list," the couple told AFP in their borrowed flat in Rehovot, a quiet Israeli city 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Tel Aviv. Once you're on the list of alleged "foreign agents", you face a life of "self-censorship or, sooner or later, prison", said Bogolyubov, who directed the German-financed 2019 documentary "Town of Glory". The film portrays President Vladimir Putin's use of references related to the fight against Nazi Germany to establish his authority in Russian villages. Reuters As its international isolation has deepened, Moscow has come to view all movies made with foreign financing with suspicion, including documentaries, and the couple said theirs was no exception. "Over the past few years, we felt threatened. In the past few months in particular, people were spying on us and taking photographs on our film sets," Shishova-Bogolyubova said. The couple decided to continue working in Russia but, taking advantage of their Jewish ancestry, they obtained Israeli citizenship just in case. Israel's Law of Return gives the right of citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, a criterion that tens of thousands in both Russia and Ukraine meet. Opposition to war Since Russian troops invaded on February 24, nearly 24,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel, some but not all taking advantage of the law, according to immigration ministry figures. Reuters They have been joined by around 10,000 Russians, an Israeli immigration official told AFP. "Most of those are young graduates, from the urban middle class," the official said, asking not to be identified. Immigration wave from Ukraine and Russia The wave of immigration from Ukraine and Russia over the past seven weeks is the largest Israel has seen since the early 1990s when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted hundreds of thousands to seek a new life on the shores of the Mediterranean. Even for those who qualify for citizenship, Israel can be a terra incognita for new arrivals and nostalgia for Russia is never far below the surface. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. An undertaker who has overseen the funerals of six people killed by trucks in his town centre in the past ten years cant wait to see it getting a bypass because he doesnt want to do that ever again. Nearly every day, Austin OMalley witnesses near-misses in Charleville, Co Cork, and will often stand and marvel at how people dont get killed at the zebra crossing on the northern side of the towns main street. Impatient drivers often overtake other vehicles on it, he said: The single most important thing about the upgrade of the Cork-Limerick road is the bypass of Charleville. The safety of elderly pedestrians is paramount and taking big trucks out of the town will improve safety. It cant come soon enough for him, but many locals are sceptical about the most optimistic timeframe being touted by the project team. All going well, the upgrade of the Cork-Limerick road will be completed by 2030. Ian Doyle, a local fuel merchant and Fianna Fail county councillor said that around 15,000 vehicles pass through the town every day, many of which are heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Mr Doyle said: I think the completion date of 2030 is too optimistic and think it will cost more than the estimated 1.5bn. He is concerned that no money has been ringfenced by central government for the project. The Charleville bypass will kick in south of Ballyhea, go to the western side of the town, and rejoin the main road again at Patrickswell, he said. Whats vitally important is we have junctions off it, close by to the town. Having them too far away will not be any good. Mr Doyle believes getting HGVs to bypass the town centre while travelling between the two cities will boost pedestrian safety and make the town a better place to live. Well then have a chance to improve our public realm and make it a more attractive place to live.m he said. Michael Moran of JP Morans in Charleville: Theres no doubt a lot of passing trade will go and this will have an impact on a number of businesses. But making it safer for pedestrians is important.' Picture: Eddie OHare Theres a lot of development in the pipeline for Charleville which will accelerate when the bypass is built, he said. Paul Murray, a board member of Charleville Chamber of Commerce, said the bypass was being talked about since the 1990s and that its 12 years since An Bord Pleanala held an oral hearing on it. The following year, the government axed the project because of the recession. People are frustrated about how long its taking, Mr Murray said Theres been a lot of discussions and no action... Our members are also very concerned that theres no money ringfenced for it. The Macroom bypass will open in the next few months. The Cork-Limerick road should have taken priority over that, he said, His family has owned Murray & Son Ltd, a clothing department store on the towns main street, for more than 100 years and has seen a major rise in traffic. Most people agree that taking a lot of HGVs off the street will be an advantage, he said. People avoid the town at certain times because of gridlock. They avoid coming into shop on Fridays, in particular from 2pm onwards. Like Mr Doyle, he said he and his chamber colleagues believe it is vital for the towns economic survival that there are junctions both north and south off the bypass to serve Charleville. They must be close to the town as well. It has to be like Cashel, he said. However, in his opinion, a motorway link between the two cities should have been built off the existing M8, the Cork-Dublin motorway, at Mitchelstown. It would have been a cheaper solution, Mr Murray said and added that funnelling traffic quicker into Cork City on the upgraded Cork-Limerick road will cause gridlock in Blackpool and will be of little use if a new northern ring road isnt built there. Fergus O'Carroll has been a director of Deerpark Motors, a Renault dealership in the town, since 1989. Theres been a huge increase in the number of HGVs passing through since then, he said. While he welcomes the news that a bypass is coming, Mr Carroll admits to being a bit apprehensive about what effect it will have on the business. It's complicated as gridlock can benefit some Sometimes the gridlock pays off. Businessman and county councillor Ian Doyle thinks the completion date of 2030 is too optimistic. Meanwhile Fergus O'Carroll underlines the town's complex relationship with traffic, saying the gridlock contributes to sales at his car dealership. Picture; Eddie O'Hare When we have Munster matches on in Thomond Park or Musgrave Park, people stuck in queues will often look at the cars in the front of the showroom as they pass by and then ring us about them, Mr Carroll said. He estimates that around 15% of the dealerships business is passing trade and, if these people take the bypass, it could be a case of out of sight, out of mind. We need to have junctions off the bypass very close to the town, he said. If people can get to here quicker from Cork and Limerick it will be an advantage. Donal Treacy owns a tyre sales shop, M-T Tyres, and definitely benefits from passing trade. He took over the business, which has been operating for 43 years, when his father, Mike, retired. I would say up to 30 jobs every week are passing trade, Mr Treacy said. I also do out of hours breakdowns and again a lot of that is passing trade. When the bypass is built it could have an impact on footfall. he said. If we dont have junctions off and onto it close to the town then Im afraid I will be goosed. Michael Moran, who owns a menswear store on the main street, sees both the pros and cons of a bypass. When the family business, JP Moran, opened 135 years ago there were no vehicles clogging the town. Theres no doubt a lot of passing trade will go and this will have an impact on a number of businesses. But making it safer for pedestrians is important, he said. I regularly see vehicles jumping the lights at pedestrian crossings. Its lethal. But, as it is, the main street is totally gridlocked, especially on Fridays from 2pm onward. A bypass would ease this and it would free up more parking spaces, he said. Members of law enforcement gather outside Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C., following a shooting on Saturday. Authorities in South Carolina say they are also investigating shooting at a club in Hampton County early Sunday that left at least nine people injured. It was the second mass shooting in the state in as many days. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. 04/15/2022 by Buffy Lockette The Alabama Commission on Higher Education has awarded JSU a $94,000 grant to expand its Summer Bridge program, offering even more support to incoming students as they transition from high school to college. For years, JSU has provided a comprehensive summer program aimed at giving first-time freshmen in need of an extra boost a strong start before beginning the fall semester. For five weeks, they live on campus and earn college credit while taking classes, attending workshops and enjoying special activities. With new funding from ACHE, Summer Bridge will be expanded to offer special programming in STREAM areas Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math. Building upon the success of the existing program, it will meet the academic and advising needs of participants while providing career development through special workshops and meet the employer events. "JSUs Summer Bridge program has always offered an exemplary experience for first-time freshmen needing to bridge from high school to college," said Dr. Janet Bavonese, assistant vice provost for advising. "The expansion of the bridge program with STREAM, strategic advisement and career development brings the program into a new era at JSU. The ACHE grant will directly support students with scholarships and experiences, therefore engaging them to discover how academic pursuits complement career goals." The grant proposal was the result of collaboration between Dr. Bavonese and colleagues in Learning Services and Analytics Courtney Peppers, Mary Reagan, Carrie Kirk and David Washburn. Most of the funds will be used to cover the cost of the program for participants, including scholarships, books and housing. The program will begin on June 22. For more information, call 256-782-5783 or email jsubridge@jsu.edu. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has invited his French counterpart to visit Ukraine to see for himself evidence that Russian forces have committed genocide, a term President Emmanuel Macron has avoided. I talked to him yesterday, Zelensky told CNN in an interview recorded on Friday but broadcast on Sunday. I just told him I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. Hell come and see, and Im sure he will understand. Zelensky said he also thought US President Joe Biden would come at some point, though White House officials have said there are no plans to do so. The Ukrainian leader said he believed Macron was shying away from using the term genocide a term Biden has now used regarding the war in Ukraine because he thinks it would hurt the chances for diplomatic engagement with Russia. The Ukrainian president said earlier that Macrons refusal to use the designation was very painful for us. Macron is in the heat of an election campaign, with a second-round vote against far-right politician Marine Le Pen set for next Sunday. He told Frances Radio Bleu on Thursday that it was not helpful to Ukraine to enter into verbal escalations without drawing all of the conclusions. The word genocide has a meaning and needs to be characterized legally, not by politicians. Zelensky, in his CNN interview, said he would also like to see Biden visit Ukraine. A growing list of European leaders have made their way to Kyiv in shows of support, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. After Johnson visited the devastated Ukrainian town of Bucha where officials say scores of civilians were simply shot in the streets he said evidence of a massacre by Russian troops doesnt look far short of genocide to me. Regarding a possible visit by Biden, Zelensky said, I think he will come, but its his decision, of course, and about the safety situation, it depends. But I think hes the leader of the United States, and thats why he should come here to see. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba praised Bidens backing so far for his country in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS and said a visit by the US leader would be an important message of support. A personal meeting between two presidents could also pave the way for new supplies and of US weapons to Ukraine and also for discussions on the possible political settlement of this conflict, he added. US officials say they are considering sending an emissary to Kyiv, but for now have ruled out a high-risk visit by the 79-year-old president himself. Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, who has been serving a prison term for crimes against humanity committed during his presidency, was hospitalized Sunday for the second time in a month, prison authorities announced. The 83-year-old, who has served 15 years of a 25-year term, suffered a drop in blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat and was urgently transported to a hospital, where his condition was stabilized, the National Penitentiary Institute said on Twitter. He was later transferred to a clinic for continued monitoring. Fujimori, who suffers recurrent respiratory, neurological and hypertension problems he had heart surgery in October was hospitalized on March 3 after suffering a strong arrhythmia. After an 11-day stay, he was returned to the police base where he is the only prisoner. His latest health crisis came a week after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) urged Peru to refrain from implementing a high-court ruling that would have freed Fujimori under a 2017 presidential pardon. Lima has said it would abide by any IACHR decision. Fujimori, who was president from 1990 to 2000, was subsequently jailed over massacres committed by army death squads in 1991 and 1992 in which 25 people were killed in supposed anti-terrorist operations. Ukraine on Sunday vowed to fight to the end in Mariupol after a Russian ultimatum expired for remaining forces to surrender in the Black Sea port city where Moscow is pushing for a major strategic victory. The city still has not fallen, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said hours after Moscows deadline had passed for fighters holed up and surrounded in a sprawling fortress-like steelworks to surrender. Theres still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end, he told ABCs This Week. Moscow has shifted its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. Russias defence ministry said there were up to 400 mercenaries inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant, calling on Ukrainian forces inside to lay down their arms and surrender in order to save their lives. Moscow claims Kyiv has ordered fighters of the nationalist Azov battalion to shoot on the spot anyone wanting to surrender. Dead end Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said if Russian forces killed the remaining troops defending the city, it would end the peace talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already said the talks are at a dead end. Shmyhal said Ukraine wanted a diplomatic solution but would fight to the end if necessary. We will not surrender. While several large cities are under siege, he said, not one with the exception of Kherson in the south had fallen, and more than 900 towns and cities had been liberated. As Russia scales up attacks on Ukraines eastern flank, at least five people were killed and 20 wounded in a series of strikes in second city Kharkiv, just 21 kilometres (13 miles) from the Russian border. Russian forces continued to shell the eastern Lugansk region and two people died in the town of Zolote, governor Sergiy Gaiday told Ukrainian media. In addition, two people died and four were wounded in attacks on the towns of Marinka and Novopol, west of Donetsk, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram; and an air strike hit an armaments factory in the capital Kyiv. Maksym Khaustov, the head of the Kharkiv regions health department, confirmed the deaths there following a series of strikes that AFP journalists on the scene said had ignited fires throughout the city and torn roofs from buildings. The whole home rumbled and trembled, 71-year-old Svitlana Pelelygina told AFP as she surveyed her wrecked apartment. Everything here began to burn. I called the firefighters. They said, We are on our way but we were also being shelled.' Inhuman Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to let people flee besieged Mariupol. Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol, Vereshchuk wrote. Zelensky, describing the situation there as inhuman, called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraines unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24. The UN World Food Programme says that more than 100,000 civilians there are on the verge of famine, and lacking water and heating. Ukrainian officials said the city was on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. They were compiling evidence of alleged Russian atrocities there, said Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov. We will hand everything over to The Hague. There will be no impunity. The mayor of Bucha a town near Kyiv where the discovery of dead civilians sparked international condemnation and war crimes accusations said Russian troops had raped men as well as women and children there. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the eastern Donbas area to move west to escape a large-scale Russian offensive to capture its composite regions, Donetsk and Lugansk. Russian troops are preparing for an offensive operation in the east of our country in the near future. They want to literally finish off and destroy Donbas, Zelensky said in an evening statement. Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk said humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to flee would not open on Sunday after a failure to agree terms with Russian forces. But Lugansk governor Gaiday said he had nevertheless proceeded with evacuations. At our own peril and risk, we took out several dozen people anyway, but its already dangerous, he told Ukrainian media. Easter of war May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, said Pope Francis as he celebrated Easter Sunday at the Vatican. Zelensky said he had invited his French counterpart to visit Ukraine to see for himself evidence that Russian forces have committed genocide, a term President Emmanuel Macron has avoided. I talked to him yesterday, Zelensky told CNN in an interview recorded on Friday but broadcast Sunday. I just told him I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. Hell come and see, and Im sure he will understand. Unpredictable consequences Russia warned the United States this week of unpredictable consequences if it sent its most sensitive weapons systems to Ukraine, as Zelensky has requested. Its defence ministry claimed Saturday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. On Sunday, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian missiles had destroyed ammunition, fuel and lubricant depots in eastern Ukraine and 44 Ukrainian military facilities, including command posts. Russian air defence systems shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft in the Kharkiv region and a drone near the city of Pavlograd, he added. burs-cjo/imm/jj/bbk/dw The four largest EU countries have announced more than 80 billion euros in measures to protect consumers and businesses from a surge in energy prices exacerbated by Russias invasion of Ukraine but economists have warned that many of these measures could backfire. Germany, France, Italy and Spain have announced plans to cut taxes or fund tax rebates for fuel, electricity or natural gas in response to soaring energy prices in an attempt to protect their economies from soaring costs for companies and falling consumers disposable income. However, by softening the shock of rising energy prices, the government could exacerbate the problem by reducing the incentive for households and businesses to reduce electricity and fuel consumption, while making it harder for them to wean themselves off Russias fossil fuels. Its bad economics, said Rudiger Bachmann, a professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. You want the price mechanism to work, by sending a signal that the commodity is scarce, allowing people to decide whether or not they want to change their behavior. Many European countries are transferring money to vulnerable groups to help them cope with higher consumer energy prices, which have risen 45% in the euro zone over the past year, largely due to tighter supplies.Bruegel think tank established Of the 25 countries it assessed, only three did not make such payments. But Bruegel found that 17 countries are also cutting energy taxes or tariffs, while 10 countries are regulating retail energy prices and 3 countries are regulating wholesale prices. The French government has further limited increases in household electricity bills. French state-owned energy group EDF, estimated Combined with a requirement to sell its nuclear power below wholesale prices, the cap would reduce earnings by 10 billion euros. The subsidy for home energy is crazy it reduces the incentive to reduce energy consumption, said Klaus Adam, professor of economics at the University of Mannheim. Give everyone an amount each month and let them decide if they want to use it. to pay higher gasoline prices, or to save energy and spend it elsewhere. Veronika Grimm, a member of the committee of economic experts advising the German government, criticized the latest package of measures berlin announced Helped businesses with high energy prices last week. The package will include time-limited and narrowly-scoped cost subsidies for companies whose electricity bills have at least doubled since last year. It is very unfortunate to subsidize the use of fossil fuels by directly subsidizing energy consumption, Green told Die Welt newspaper. Ultimately, this keeps gas prices high on exchanges. Twice a week newsletter Energy is an indispensable business for the world, and energy is its newsletter. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Energy Source delivers top news, forward-looking analysis and insider intelligence straight to your inbox. register here. as part of Spains 16 billionshock planTo address the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine, it plans to lower the cost of fuel prices in an attempt to defuse an unofficial transport strike that began last month. Spain is also working with Portugal on a new plan to cap gas prices. France announced a scheme last month to give fuel rebates of 0.15 euros per litre for four months from this month, while Germanys 16 billion euro plan Measures to help households include lowering petrol prices by 0.30 a litre and diesel by 0.14 a litre for three months. italian says It will spend about 6 billion euros in February to help cut energy bills, after already spending about 10 billion euros trying to lower electricity costs for consumers. By keeping demand high, the measures could undermine EU-led efforts to transition away from Russian energy imports, economists said.Brussels recently agreed to ban Russian coal imports from August debate Imposing a similar embargo on oil imports while working on a plan to cut the countrys natural gas imports by two-thirds next year. Germany resisted calls for an immediate EU embargo on all Russian energy imports. Five German economic agencies recently warned that the move would lead to a deep recession in the country that would drop output by 2.2% next year and wipe out more than 400,000 jobs. Lower household energy use could be a key part of this shift from Russian imports. Household gas consumption has enormous potential for savings, for example in terms of heating, with very low economic costs, said Katharina Utermohl, senior economist at Allianz. If all German households reduce room temperature by 3 degrees in cooler months, Utermohl estimated This will save gas consumption equivalent to that used in the base metals and food sectors, which employ about 1 million people in the country. Apart from the heart-fluttering, comical and romantic elements that "A Business Proposal" brought to the viewers during its broadcast, the beautiful sceneries and remarkable landmarks also left an impression on its viewers! Want to feel the HaTae fever even more? Here are the drama filming locations to visit when you're in Korea! 1. Yeonnamjang (Chef Min Woo's Kitchen) The dainty and classy restaurant that Shin Ha Ri's (Kim Sejeong) best friend, Chef Min Woo (Song Won Seok), owns is actually a restaurant in real life! Although the scrumptious foods Chef Min Woo cooks are not available, the posh vibes and beautiful interior design of the place are still intact in Yeonnamjang. It is a huge working house that serves as a creator lounge, restaurant and cafe located in Seodaemun, Seoul. As it is one of the busiest districts in Seoul, it's very easy to spot when traveling. Don't forget to check them out once you're in Korea! 2. Meongteongguri Jeugseok Tteokbokki Who was fascinated by the chill and laid back vibes of Shin Ha Ri and Jin Young Seo's (Seol In Ah) favorite tteokbokki (rice cake) place? Raise your hands! The intriguing writings on the walls of the tteokbokki restaurant certainly catches the eye, making Kim Sejeong and Seol In Ah's scenes more interesting. The tteokbokki restaurant is located in Nowon, Seoul. Eating their delicacies and taking pictures on their wall are definitely a bucket list worthy thing to do while in South Korea! 3. Junggwanjeong Beach (Surfyy Beach) "A Business Proposal" made everyone's hearts flutter when Kang Tae Mu (Ahn Hyo Seop) took Shin Ha Ri on a spontaneous beach trip, and rented a burger joint to make her happy. The two ate burgers by the beach; that beach is called Surfyy Beach which can be found in Yangyang, Seoul. Before you visit the area, you should know that the beach is a "surfers-only" beach, which means you can't swim on the beach! But fret not! It's still open for visitors who love taking photos and surfing. So make sure you pack your burgers when you pay a visit! 4. Goobne (Cafe Sandeul Hill) The Goobne restaurant probably has the most screen time than the rest of the cast! It is the chicken joint that Shin Ha Ri's family runs, a small restaurant that brings smiles to people-and crispy, yummy chicken! In real life, the restaurant is called Sandeul Hill, a vegan bakery! It can be found within the Manchon neighborhood in Daegu. Wear your Shin Ha Ri dress when you visit Sandeull Hill Cafe to get the full "A Business Proposal" experience! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser has started nearly every public address since 2008 with the words, Its a great day in Kenosha County. Kreuser, 60, has worked tirelessly to manifest that statement into reality, to maintain the optimistic mindset required of a leader to bring the county through a recession, natural disasters, a period of civil unrest and a pandemic. I think the future of Kenosha County is very bright, Kreuser said while reflecting recently on his tenure as hes prepared to retire. Great things happen every day in Kenosha County and theyre going to continue to happen. I think were on a trajectory to attract bright, talented young people, enhance our quality of life, and be a place where people really do want to live, work, play and raise their families. On Monday, he will pass the torch to Samantha Kerkman, 48, another Kenosha native who has spent her entire adult life serving in elected public service. Shes off to a good start, Kreuser said of Kerkman. Shes listening to staff; listening to the public. Shes getting a lot of feedback right now. Shes embracing the processes that we have. Shes on a good trajectory. Kreuser said during the transition he has shared methodologies that have worked for him that she can modify and make work for her. It is a courtesy he was not afforded as his predecessor Alan Kehl left office amid scandal. Kehl, who also served eight years as Kenosha County Sheriff, was indicted on federal charges for accepting envelops stuffed with $100 bills from casino-backer Dennis Troha. Court records showed the bribes totaled $15,000. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate campaign laws and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Kreuser, who was serving as the 64th Assembly District representative at the time, was drawn home to Kenosha to right the ship. It was a position he had spent years preparing for. Early career A University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate, Kreuser got his start in politics as a Parkside Ranger when he was elected Student Government president for two terms. While at UW-Parkside, he interned with Congressman Les Aspin. It was through that experience he realized he preferred local, rather than federal, government. He earned a bachelors degree in political science and a masters degree in public administration and went on to become assistant to then-Kenosha County Executive John Collins. That ended up being a lifelong friendship, Kreuser said. It was a great experience. I loved county government and I thought this is where I was going to be the rest of my life. Then, Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States. Les Aspen was appointed Secretary of Defense and Peter Barca ran for Aspins Congressional seat. I announced the next day for the Legislature, Kreuser recalled. In the Assembly He won the three-way special election for the 64th Assembly District, now held by Tip McGuire (D-Somers), earning more than 50% of the vote. In the Assembly, Joe Andrea (D-Kenosha), became yet another mentor. Andrea was a Kenosha County supervisor from 1968 to 1977, served in the Assembly from 1976 to 1984 and the Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was such a good friend and taught me many things about Madison and how to get things done how to work with both parties to get things through committees quickly, Kreuser said. Kreuser was re-elected to seven, two-year terms in Madison, eventually becoming the Assembly minority leader. One of his biggest accomplishments in that role, he said, was working with Andrea on the siting of veterans cemeteries in Union Grove and Spooner. Then came the fateful day in March 2008 when Kreusers staffer walked into a closed Caucus and said, You might want to read this. It was a Kenosha News editorial about a sad day for Kenosha County. Kehl had resigned. Kreuser announced his bid for County Executive a week later. He ran unopposed that election and every term since. Facing countys immediate challenges The looming scandal wasnt the only difficult situation Kreuser walked into. We were in the throes of the Great Recession, he recalled. Chrysler announced it was shutting down. And, he said, county buildings were falling to pieces, evident by the leaking ceiling in his office and the parapet falling off the roof of the Courthouse visible from his window. There was uncertainty, Kreuser said. But, there was hope that change would be good. County government was looking for leadership. Key staff were hired, the number one of which was Chief of Staff Jennie Tunkieicz, Kreuser said. Tunkieicz was a reporter for the Parkside Ranger when Kreuser was Student Government president, covered the county for the Kenosha News when he worked for Collins and covered the region for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when he was in Madison. He said her insight, knowledge of government operations and strong ethics has been invaluable. We put in long hours Kreuser said. Its going to start slowing down soon, thats what I told her after the first two years, ha ha. It really hasnt. He credited Tunkieicz and office manager Karen Steigerwald, a former dispatcher and paralegal with the county, for being the glue that held the office together. One of the biggest challenges early on was probably the pace, Kreuser said. I brought a little bit different pace than they were used to. Most people took right to it. They wanted to get things done. He said there were others who were less motivated and they eventually retired or went to another place for employment. Crisis time for county I worked closely with Joe Clark (then-County Board Chairman) knowing that it was a crisis time for Kenosha County, Kreuser said. People said we were going to be fire and ice together and we worked out great. We hit the ground running. Approving the Ethics Ordinance was top on the list of things to do. Another one of the first controversial issues to tackle was whether to add on to the Public Safety Building or create a substation at the County Center. Joe Clark (then-County Board Chairman) was key in that project, Kreuser said. Within a few months we had consensus to add onto the Public Safety Building. Joint Dispatch was moved to a quieter space on the third floor, space was added for the Kenosha Sheriff Detective Bureau and the Emergency Operations Center was improved. We figured out what the 90 percent of things we agreed on were and we got those things done, Kreuser said. Major improvements Since that time, Kreuser said: roughly 50 best practices have been implemented across county departments; deferred maintenance, infrastructure and major road improvements projects have been completed; every public park has been upgraded, multi-use trails have been developed throughout the county and three dog parks have been opened; public/private partnerships have been struck; and a plan to relocate the Human Services campus has been approved. He is especially proud of the trails and parks, including the dedication of Veterans Memorial Park in western Kenosha County. Those type of amenities provide the quality of life that will attract and retain 25- to 45-year olds, Kreuser said. These trails were a big deal, and upgrading every park and making them unique has really been satisfying for all of us. He is also proud of the improvements made to the countys IT backbone that allowed the county to deploy a remote workforce and set up a mass vaccination clinic in the former Shopko building during the pandemic, and help implement the body camera program for the Kenosha Sheriffs Department. Infrastructure focus, business growth It is part of the broader focus placed on infrastructure along with the addition of a high impact fund collaboration with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance that has helped propel Kenosha Countys economic growth, Kreuser said. We had lost a lot of businesses that made things, Kreuser said, referencing Chrysler, American Brass and MacWhyte. One of the (goals) of the high impact fund (that provides incentives) is to attract businesses that employ people, pay good living wages and, for the most part, make things, he said. He said the expansion of Highway S the largest highway project in Kenosha History will serve the region well into the future. Amazon, Uline, and Hairbo are among the companies that have joined Jockey International and Snap-on Tools in making Kenosha County their home. Without the infrastructure, thats not happening, Kreuser said, adding it also took the county working to facilitate agreements between Paris, Somers and the City of Kenosha, and between Pleasant Prairie and Bristol. The role of county government is to add value in the entire community and not pick winners and losers, Kreuser said. That is the role of the County Executive, to pull those things together for the common good. If there is a point of contention, lets figure out an answer. Good challenges ahead Kreuser said the challenges that lie ahead are good ones to have. I came in when there was high unemployment, he noted. People wanted to work and couldnt work. Now we have low unemployment and more jobs than people. He said the challenges and successes will be tied to the fact Kenosha County is the hottest place in the region, and even the nation, for development. Were known internationally. We will need to be planful, we need to be thoughtful, so we dont take just any development, Kreuser said. It should be a quality development that can pass the test of time. What is that development going to look like in 20, 30, 40 years? How does that affect our quality of life. Whats the payback on that development? For example, Foxconn wasnt a good fit for Kenosha. (Kenosha Mayor) John Antaramian and I were very clear in our request to them, Kreuser said. The Legislature and Foxconn did not want to adhere to those requests and therefore, we would rather them go somewhere else. Work to be done He said there is still work to be done. For example: the Human Services building project is just getting underway; the Racial and Ethnic Equity Commission is in its infancy; the Veterans Memorial Park and the Pike River projects are entering new phases of development; and the Ceremonial Courtroom Committee is seeking fund to restore it to its former glory ahead of the 100th Anniversary of the courtroom on Aug. 25. 2025. We have a lot in the queue to be completed, Kreuser said. Its up to the next county executive to finish out some of these things and to start developing her own vision. Thats how the process goes. Im confident that a number of the things we have in place are going to be maintained properly moving forward. Kreuser said he also hopes a spirit of non-partisanship can be restored in County Government. It has to be non-partisan, Kreuser said. If you dont get ideas from everybody, from all perspectives, youre not going to end up with the best outcome. If you purposely have a blind spot because youre not talking to certain people, at some point youre going to miss the boat on something. He said common ground can be found and believes elected officials can work together for the common good. Dedicated staff Kreuser credits the multitude of achievements made since 2008 the shining star of which is the countys AAA bond rating to a dedicated, hard-working staff. A lot of people have their fingerprints all over the things that happened the last 14 years, Kreuser said. They put their hearts into making the county a better place. Weve got a good group here. It is those people who he said he will miss the most. His plans for the future are more simple to travel with his wife Jane, enjoy time with this sons and listen to some no shoes radio. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. For Kemper Hall alumnae Pat Mott, Susan McKnight and Anna McGuire, the memories of their time at the Kenosha girls school remain as fresh as ever. But their former classrooms and other facilities ... not so much. To that end, the three along with other members of the Kemper Hall Alumnae Association are working to raise funds for a renovation project at the historic Kemper Center, nestled along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The renovations are for the fourth floor, above Founders Hall, said Mott, who is the alumnae groups treasurer, as well as chairwoman of the Kemper Center Board of Directors. Sitting in Kempers Ambrose Hall Thursday, Mott pointed out the plans for the project, which will house a Kemper Hall Museum, featuring exhibits on the sites convent, school and former students. To help with raising funds for the project, the alumnae association is hosting a dance at Kemper on April 23, with music by Yesterdays Children. At the dance, photos of the fourth floor as it appears now will be on display, along with a look at plans for the museum. Mott, McKnight and McGuire who all attended Kemper Hall as day students and didnt live in the dorms reminisced about their time there: A progressive education Mott, who graduated from Kemper Hall in 1962, remembers the education there as well above what was available at that time in other schools. Her parents sent her to Kemper for a rigorous, progressive education, Mott said. I remember the forward thinking. The students, she said, all had to take four years of Latin, four years of English and four years of another language, too. When Mott went to college at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., she remembers the intake person told my dad she wont make it here, but of course I made it. (And went on to graduate school.) She, and her father, attributed her academic success to a strong foundation from Kemper Hall. You have a brain McGuire attended Kemper Hall for seven years, graduating in 1965 before going on to a career in teaching speech and theater and performing in New York and other places. We were taught that a woman could do anything, she said. The teachers at Kemper told us, you have a brain; you have a talent use it. Her days at Kemper, McGuire recalls, were very busy. We were in class from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m., and then there was after-school gym and, from 7 to 9 p.m., study hall or a play rehearsal. Your day was so tightly organized, you had to fit in time to do your homework. We learned that every moment counts and to manage your time. Critical thinking McKnight went to Kemper Hall, graduating in 1966, as a way to avoid the split shifts at Bradford High School. While Tremper High School was being built, they had to do split shifts at Bradford because of overcrowding, she explained. So my parents sent me here to Kemper, and my younger brother was in the first class to graduate from Tremper. Once at the all-girls school, McKnight found it was a good fit. I liked the routine and the structure, and I was exposed to so much. Her family, she said, didnt have the money that a lot of the other students here did. My dad owned a gas station and a few other small businesses, but here I learned about different social settings. It was like a finishing school. McKnight, who lost her mother at age 18, remembers a classmates mother taking both teens to Chicago to shop at Marshall Fields for a college wardrobe. We went to lunch at the Pump Room and then she bought me all these A-line skirts and other outfits, she said, laughing. I went to college at UW-Whitewater, and no one there dressed like that. McKnight also remembers that the reading was extensive. Im a slow reader, and I tried to speed it up, but you really got into that habit of reading challenging material. Her reading list included the Atlantic Monthly magazine and you better not skip it, she recalls, because my teacher would quiz us on the articles. Overall, the teachers at Kemper Hall taught us critical thinking, McKnight said. We learned how to think and how to process ideas. McKnight took that skill into her own classroom as a third grade teacher for 34 years, where she would start the morning with Today in History and expand on that with discussions about everything from Picasso to geography. Students really need to know the importance of history and know about the world in general, she said. Dressing the part All three Kemper graduates remain proud of the schools curriculum We were the first place in Wisconsin where women went to science class every day, Mott said, and we had an observatory here, too. and joke about the school uniforms. There were a lot of different time periods, with changing uniforms, McGuire said. I remember, we had to kneel on the floor and make sure our skirt touched the ground. I also remember the ugly bloomers we wore for gym class. McKnight also recalls having to buy a dinner dress, thinking it would be sometime elegant. When we went to get it, she said, it was an ugly shirtdress. Nothing fancy at all. When McKnight left the Kemper campus and walked through Downtown, I would roll up my long skirt so I would at least look normal, she said. It was 1966, and women were wearing shorter skirts. The legacy of that education really came home for McGuire when she took an ancient history class at UW-Madison and realized we had that textbook at Kemper Hall. The same experience happened to a friend of hers, in a graduate school art history class. When she said oh, we had this book already in high school, her professor said Kady B. Faulkner. Faulkner, whose name adorns a building at Kemper, was a well-known artist who taught art at the school from 1950 until retiring in 1972. A mural she painted can be seen on her building. Keeping in touch Kemper Hall closed in 1975, and former students have stayed connected through the alumnae association. We have 430 people on our mailing list, Mott said. Thats down from 800 in 2002, but it has been 55 years since the school closed. People have died or moved. And some people dont belong to the association, but we see them on Facebook. In June, the alumnae group is hosting a big celebration to mark the schools 150th anniversary. The school started in 1870, Mott said. The anniversary event has been delayed two years because of COVID. The 150th celebration will be the final big event the alumnae organization is sponsoring. Written in stone McKnights nephew will be one of the people coming to the June 24-25 event. He didnt attend the school, of course, but when he was a young student on a tour of the historic Kemper Center buildings, the tour guide pointed out the different class stones, said McKnight, who is president of the Kemper Hall Alumnae Association. Each Kemper class would dedicate a school stone with the year and, often, a motto or a phrase and other symbols. My nephew told the tour guide my aunt designed that stone, but the tour guide kept saying she did not, McKnight explained. She had designed the stone for the class of 1966 at the direction of art teacher Kady B. Faulkner though when we walked outside to view her stone on the wall of the Durkee Mansion, McKnight said if she had to do it over again, shed change the design. The Greek phrase on the stone she designed means All Things Change. What doesnt change, however, is the affection these former students have for their school and all it has meant and continues to mean to them and to all the other Kemper Hall women. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An exciting exhibition of contemporary work will be showcased at the Butler Gallery later this month when the exhibition GENERATION 2022 opens. It will feature new Irish painting and is a celebration of painting and of painters at work in Ireland today. The exhibition is curated by Butler Gallery Director Anna OSullivan and includes the following eclectic group of 26 artists: Helen Blake, Miranda Blennerhassett, Peter Bradley, Diarmuid Breen, Megan Burns, Serena Caulfield, Susan Connolly, Cecilia Danell, Mollie Douthit, Stephen Doyle, Gabhann Dunne, David Eager Maher, Fiona Finnegan, Deirdre Frost, Philip Gerald, Brian Harte, Sinead Lucey, Sinead Ni Mhaonaigh, Roisin OSullivan, Jane Rainey, Sheila Rennick, Ciara Roche, Emma Roche, Salvatore of Lucan, Jennifer Trouton and Marcel Vidal. The works on view reflect a diversity of approach to picture making, from abstraction to figuration, to representational work embracing landscape and portraiture. Some paintings are incorporated into installations on the wall; some are free-standing in the middle of the gallery, but mostly the works are 2D explorations of a variety of the passions, issues and concerns of the individual artists. A list of artist talks and creative workshops will be announced shortly. The Apology Other exhibitions running at the Butler Gallery include The Apology at the digital gallery until May 8. The Apology is a performance which publicly acknowledges the failures of the Irish State with regards to housing policy and provision in this country. On March 2 The Apology script was read into public record at Seanad Eireann by Senators Lynn Ruane and Eileen Ni Fhloinn as part of a Seanad Private Members Motion on Housing brought by Senators Ruane, Ni Fhloinn, Higgins and Black. The Apology is the first public act from Multi-Story - Creative Engagement for Housing Change, a project by artists Fiona Whelan and Feidlim Cannon, and Housing Action Now (HAN), developed through a unique online collaborative arts process, exploring direct experiences of housing injustice through collective writing and performative story-telling. Multi-Story Act 1: The Apology is supported by Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts, through the Arts Council's Commissions Award 2020. Butler Gallery The Butler Gallery Collection consists of artworks purchased or donated to the gallery, or on long-term loan. The first exhibition of this collection will revisit beloved favourites, showcase new acquisitions, and introduce new long-term loans. This selection reflects the broad character of the collection itself and embraces a variety of genres from painting, drawing and printmaking, to photography and media works. Collectively these works convey a contemporary freshness and are a window into this ever-evolving collection. OMalley Collection Now residing in the Butler Gallery is the collection of works by Callan artist Tony OMalley (1913-2003). The Gallery was honoured to caretake the artworks of Tony OMalley, donated by his wife Jane OMalley upon their location to Evans Home. The OMalley Collection includes early works on paper based on the life and landscape of his beloved Callan along with a range of paintings and sculptural constructions that reflect the range and richness of the artists career. Guided Tours of the Butler Gallery are available every Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. For more information on the exhibitions see www.butlergallery.ie Two local councillors have slammed Irish Water for how they have handled the delivery of water infrastructure in North Kilkenny. Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick and Cllr John Brennan are now calling on Irish Water to come before the members of the Castlecomer Municipal District Council to explain themselves. In Castlecomer, we have asbestos pipes leaking like sieves, said Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick. We have local people with planning permission to build homes that they cant build because they dont have proper water infrastructure. The issue is so widespread now that local people who want to build simply arent putting in planning permission requests because they know what the result will be. Cllr John Brennan stated a comprehensive plan must be drafted by Irish Water for the North Kilkenny region. Both councillors stated that they have attended clinics with Irish Water in the past but have found them unsatisfactory. There has been lots of talk recently but delivery has been very poor, he said. Irish Water are content to be reactive rather than proactive and that is putting local lives on hold. Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick added that across North Kilkenny, communities are depending on the skills of local people to maintain water infrastructure. We have seen towns and villages such as Castlecomer fight back so valiantly in recent times against rural decline, he said. Fighting decline has been a key goal for many areas of North Kilkenny in recent years. The hesitancy of Irish Water to commit to long-term planning or investment in the region is hindering this fight, and its a fight our communities cannot afford to lose. Cllr John Brennan added that new infrastructure, rather than remedial work, is the only way forward. Irish Water recently did work cleaning pipes in the Clogh/Moneenroe area, he said. The issue was that the water had a high manganese content and that was clogging pipes. So they cleared the pipes but I cant help but feel that the true problem was missed. The issue was with the water. Now those pipes will inevitably have to be cleaned again in the future. What we needed was a better water supply in that area. Both councillors acknowledge that Irish Water have completed some much-needed work in the region in recent times, including infrastructure allowing houses to be built in Donaguile, and wanted to make that clear. But its just not going far enough, added Cllr Fitzpatrick. Even when it comes to the extra pump we got, its able to handle the new houses there but the nearby school is looking to extend that will also need water processing infrastructure. No long-term plan Everythings connected and theres no long-term plan. We urgently need a long-term plan to be drawn up for the region. Cllr Fitzpatrick and Brennan stated that local representatives and councillors would be able to provide Irish Water with all the information that they need to draft future plans that can be as cost-effective and future-proof as possible. We would happily consult alongside them. The ball is in their court now. A new book on a Kilkenny man who fought at Waterloo and was one of Wellingtons leading generals is to hit the shelves in the coming weeks. The story of Denis Pack, born in Kilkenny in 1774 is just like a Bernard Cornwall novel that has come to life. But the author of this book, Marcus de la Poer Beresford takes his lead from the real life exploits of Pack, and there was plenty of them. He will be remembered for many daring escapades and charges, indeed another similarity with a Cornwall character is that he served throughout the Peninsular war - just like the famous Sharpe. And it was he who insisted that the feared Scots of the Highland regiment keep their kilts - when it was suggested they go in line with the rest of the army. Marcus de la Poer Beresford They are just side bars when you come down to it and this book, which will be launched in the Book Centre in Kilkenny and also in Waterford in the coming weeks, will delight both the military historian and those interested in local characters who made their mark. Marcus de la Poer Beresford's subject is a fascinating one. Marcus previously wrote a book on Marshal William Carr Beresford, a relation, and the former lawyer who read history at Trinity College shows an attention to detail when recalling the lives of his subjects that is enjoyable and insightful. Denis Pack was the son of the Church of Ireland Dean of Ossory and his wife Mary Sullivan, from Cork. He joined the British Army in 1791, and was court martialled for striking a senior officer two years later. Instead of ending his career, he can thank Napoleon and his aggressive moves in Europe for keeping him in the ranks as once the enquiry concluded, he was allowed re-enlist as there was a shortage of officers. About a third of the ranks of the British Army was from Ireland during those times and Denis went on to serve in Europe, Africa and South America. He also served in Ireland, in the 1798 rebellion, escorting the force of General Humbert to Dublin following their surrender at Ballinamuck. He served in expeditions to capture Cape Town and Buenos Aires, and was captured in Argentina but managed to escape with then General Beresford. In 1810, he transferred to the Portuguese Army, fighting the Peninsular War notably in the battles of Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Burgos, Vitoria, Orthez and Toulouse. It was noted that he was injured nine times during his military career, and was praised repeatedly by Wellington and other senior officers. He received more battle honours than any other officer other than Wellington and Beresford during these times. At Waterloo, he was noted as being Wellingtons most able brigade commander'. In 1815 following Napoleons escape from Elba, Pack served again with Wellington leading a brigade at the battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo. In the thick of fighting in both battles, the brigade suffered serious losses but was never broken. Following Napoleons defeat Pack remained in France until 1818 as part of an occupation force designed to support the restored Bourbon monarchy. During that time he married Elizabeth Beresford from County Waterford. The couple had four children before Pack died suddenly in July 1823, aged 48 years. On 9 August 1823 the remains of this redoubtable Kilkenny man were laid to rest in Saint Canices Cathedral, Kilkenny, where today he is remembered in a beautiful memorial by Sir Francis Chantrey. The inscription gives just a slight glimpse on Packs life, but Marcus book offers so much more to anyone who either wondered about the story of Denis Pack, or who has an interest in Napoleonic times, 19th century warfare or indeed, the birth of a global empire. Published by Pen and Sword, and on sale shortly. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High around 95F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. By Larry Tye There weren't supposed to be any Jews left in Dnipro. Not after Bohdan Khmelnytsky rallied the Cossacks 350 years ago to rise up against Poland and, along the way, to massacre the Jews. Ukrainians still celebrate him as a liberator and folk hero, displaying his statue in public squares and his picture on vodka bottles. Russians toast him for reuniting Ukraine with Mother Russia. But what Jews in that part of the world remember are stories of how "Khmel the Wicked" burned, beheaded or strangled their ancestors, denouncing them as footmen of Polish nobility. And how he burned their synagogues, except the holy Torahs, which his soldiers laid out in the streets to be trampled. Adolf Hitler brought more advanced appliances of extermination to Dnipro, an isolated city of 1 million southeast of Kyiv. In October 1941, during the harvest festival of Sukkot, Nazi troops and Ukrainian police marched 11,000 Jews to a ravine on what is now the campus of the Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs, then mowed them down with machine guns. A band played throughout to mask the screams. All told, 20,000 Jews were executed in the city during World War II. The Soviets were subtler. Under their regime, Jews were identified as their own nationality Jew on their passports, which was supposed to signal that the communists accepted their religion and culture. In fact, the stamp set them apart, and the Kremlin drove home the message by shuttering 42 of Dnipro's 43 synagogues. There was no effort to track down the hooligans who broke into the remaining shul during High Holiday services in 1963. In this era of tight state control over commerce and private life, there also was no kosher food, no bar mitzvahs, no circumcisions. Then there were the Israelis, and to a lesser extent Americans and Germans. By opening their doors to immigrants after the Soviet Union fell 30 years ago, they unwittingly completed the displacement begun by the Cossacks, Nazis and Soviets. The opportunity to leave Dnipro was a godsend to nearly 30,000 Jewish Ukrainians who took it. It felt like a death blow to the Jewish community they left behind. But there are still Jews in Dnipro. Thousands of them, some say tens of thousands. Besieged by Russia's weekslong attack, Ukraine as a whole is counting on its own version of this story of improbable survival, of a community decimated but never erased. You can see it today in Dnipro, where many men proudly display their Jewishness with traditional beards and side curls, black hats and black robes, while women don sheitels and other traditional head coverings. Other Jews there blend in with their Slavic surroundings, yet take quiet joy in getting to know what it means to be Jewish. Hundreds from both groups gathered this month at the elegantly restored Golden Rose Synagogue to celebrate Purim, the holiday that commemorates the saving of Jews from the murderous Haman. This year it carried a double meaning, with Russian President Vladimir Putin looming large as a threat to them and their country. The city's Jewish community is now sheltering Jewish and non-Jewish refugees from the shell-shocked metropolis of Kharkiv, the beleaguered port of Mariupol and other war-ravaged parts of Ukraine. That long-standing open-arms approach enabled in part through a 30-year collaboration with their Jewish sister city, Boston helps explain why Dnipro is hailed as the most thriving Jewish outpost in the former Soviet Union. Despite another chance to escape to Israel or America, communal officials say most of the city's Jews are not just remaining but defiantly resisting Putin's month-old invasion and airstrikes against their city. What's happening there is another lens into a Bible-worthy story of Ukrainians uniting behind their unlikely wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is himself Jewish. The seeds for Dnipro's Jewish renewal were sown more than two decades ago, when I featured that city, then known as Dnipropetrovsk, in my book on the contemporary Jewish diaspora. Shmuel Kaminetsky, a Chabad rabbi born in Israel, rebuilt the local Jewish community according to a simple motto: Whatever it takes. Sometimes he borrowed, convincing 10 rabbis-in-training from Morristown, New Jersey, and Montreal to come to Dnipro for a year. Sometimes he charmed, such as when he persuaded Jews from Boston, London, Miami and elsewhere to commit millions of dollars to programs for the sick, the poor and the young in a city they barely knew, in a region the world had given up on. Sometimes he brokered, like when he secured medical treatment for a local crime boss in return for a hands-off policy toward Jews. The miraculous results are visible today at the Menorah Center, a marble-clad collection of kosher restaurants, communal and religious buildings, a luxury hotel, and a youth hostel. Its boosters say that it is the largest multifunction Jewish complex in Europe. Ukraine's Jewish story has always blended the horrific and heroic. Consider what happened in the wake of the Khmelnytsky massacres in the mid-1600s. That brutality, and the savage Russian-Swedish war that followed, helped produce Sabbateanism, the largest messianic movement in Jewish history. The cycle repeated itself from the 1880s through the early 1900s, as violent pogroms encouraged Jews to launch Zionist and socialist organizations. We're witnessing an equally heroic effort now in Jewish Dnipro, turning tragedy into triumph an effort that is inspiring the world as well as local residents, who are choosing to stay rather than emigrate. Jews there tell a joke that captures the paradox of their repeating history. "When the last Jew leaves the city," they say, "2,000 Jews will see him off." Larry Tye is the author of "Homelands: Portraits of the New Jewish Diaspora." This article was produced for the Los Angeles Times and distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Korean Marines march after landing on a beach during U.S.-Korea joint landing drills as part of the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle, in Pohang, Korea, in this March 30, 2015, file photo. South Korea and the United States will begin their combined springtime military exercises this week. AP-Yonhap South Korea and the United States will begin their combined springtime military exercises this week to further solidify the allies' defense posture, officials in Seoul said Sunday. The nine-day command post training using a computer simulation is scheduled to kick off Monday and does not include any troop maneuvers, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The exercises come amid renewed tensions after the North tested a purported new tactical guided weapon, Saturday, and concerns that it could engage in provocative acts around the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, April 25. "The training this time is aimed at enhancing the combined operational capabilities of South Korean and U.S. troops and will serve as an opportunity to further solidify the allies' combined defense posture," the JCS said in a statement. Based on the allies' contingency plans, the computerized training program involves a series of wartime operational procedures, including defending against potential invaders and counterattacking. Pyongyang has long criticized the training as a rehearsal for an invasion of the North, though Seoul and Washington have stressed the regular training is defensive in nature. During the upcoming exercises, the South and the U.S. are unlikely to carry out a key assessment of the former's capabilities to lead in combined defense a requirement for the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul from Washington. During their defense ministerial talks in December, the two sides agreed to conduct the full operational capability (FOC) assessment this year. They are expected to discuss the exact timing of the FOC assessment after the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is launched next month. (Yonhap) Murder suspects Lee Eun-hye, right, and Cho Hyun-soo, left, are escorted out of Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, April 16, where they were questioned after turning themselves in earlier the day. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwan Two suspects in a high-profile murder case that occurred in Gapyeong in 2019 turned themselves in on Saturday, weeks after the prosecution opened a search for them. Lee Eun-hye, 31, and Cho Hyun-soo, 30, allegedly encouraged Lee's husband who couldn't swim to dive from a cliff and then left him to drown in hopes of receiving a payout from the victim's life insurance worth 800 million won ($650,000), according to Incheon District Prosecutors' Office. The two have been charged with nonfeasance. Incheon police who investigated the case said Lee's father, who is a police officer, called and said Lee wishes to surrender and gave the police the address of an officetel in Goyang where she was living. Police apprehended Lee and Cho on April 16 at the officetel. They sent the suspects to Incheon District Prosecutors' Office later that day. Incheon District Prosecutors' Office plans to seek an arrest warrant for the suspects before Tuesday and conduct further investigation. The authorities will also investigate other allegations against the suspects of attempted murder. Four months before the victim's death, the suspects allegedly put blowfish poison into his food and, three months later, tried to push him into a fishing pond but were caught in the act by an acquaintance. Yongso Valley in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee Eun-hye and Cho Hyun-soo allegedly left Lee's husband to die in 2019 after he plunged into the water / Yonhap Military helicopters are parked at U.S. Army base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, April 13, ahead of joint military drills with South Korea. The South and the United States kick off computer-simulated training drills based on the allies' wartime contingency plans, which runs from Monday through April 28. Yonhap By Kwon Mee-yoo South Korea and the United State will kick off their springtime joint military drills from Monday through April 28, amid rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. North Korea could stage another provocation on Military Foundation Day on April 25. Following a four-day crisis management staff training (CMST) last week, the ensuing combined command post training (CCPT) is a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) that does not involve any field exercises, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) explained, Sunday. "This drill is going to improve Korean and the U.S. soldiers' ability for combined operations and further solidify combined defense," the JCS added. North Korea commemorates the founding of Korean People's Revolutionary Army on April 25. This year marks the 90th anniversary of its establishment by Kim Il-sung and experts speculate that North Korea might celebrate it with a big military parade. Since Pyongyang strongly rebukes the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills, North Korea might resort to further provocations to oppose the joint drill around the time when South Korea's new Yoon Suk-yeol administration is inaugurated on May 10 and U.S. President Joe Biden visits the South around mid-May. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said Kim Jong-un mentioning "nuclear combat forces" during his recent visit to a missile test might be a warning to Yoon who advocated a "preemptive strike" against North Korea's missile attacks. "Kim Jong-un is likely to pressure South Korea's new administration and the U.S. during the South Korea-U.S. joint drill and Biden's visit to South Korea by testing a new guided weapon and small nuclear warhead," Lim said. This is going to be the last South Korea-U.S. combined training under the Moon Jae-in administration. Seoul and Washington agreed to conduct a full operational capability (FOC) assessment this year during a security consultative meeting last December, but it is not included in the springtime joint drill and the details are likely to be discussed with the incoming Yoon government after May. Previously, South Korea and the U.S. notified North Korea of the joint drill's schedule and its defensive nature via a direct line between the United Nations Command and Pyongyang. But the Ministry of National Defense said during a regular briefing last week that it does not have plans to do so this time. In 2016 and 2017, the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command announced the joint drill through a loudspeaker at border truce village of Panmunjom through the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT The Pacific island country of the Solomon Islands is overwhelmed by the sudden "enthusiasm" of the US and Australia. The Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, made a "rare" visit to the Solomon Islands on Tuesday. Seselja's visit followed the trip of two of Australia's top intelligence chiefs to the Pacific island country. Meanwhile, the commander of the US Marine Corps and US senators visiting Australia also took turns to warn the Solomon Islands. Kurt Campbell, the US National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, will travel to the Solomon Islands, according to media reports. The real intentions of the US and Australia on the Solomon Islands are well known - to disrupt the draft security cooperation agreement reached between China and the Solomon Islands last month. The riots, which broke out in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands in November last year have resulted in severe economic losses. The country has become more aware of the need to strengthen its own policing capacity and actively promote the diversification of foreign security cooperation. As a result, the Solomon Islands decided to expand and deepen its security partnership with many countries and China is one of them. The security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands is a law enforcement and security cooperation between two sovereign and independent countries on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. The pact is in line with international law and international practice. It does not target any third party, nor does it have any military purpose. In this regard, no one has the right to interfere. The US and Australia conspire to urge the Solomon Islands to "consider not signing the agreement" is a gross interference in the Solomon Islands' internal affairs and a huge insult to the integrity of the Pacific island country. The Chairman of the US Foreign Relations Committee and Democratic Senator, Bob Menendez, called on the people's right to choose but he just did not allow the Solomon Islands to choose freely. In their eyes, the Solomon Islands are only free to choose to be a vassal of the US and Australia or be isolated from the world. Menendez even warned the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, that China could become "owner and minder" of the Pacific nation if it pushes forward the security cooperation agreement with Beijing. To be more precise, the US is the "owner," Australia is the "minder," and the Pacific island countries are the "backyard" that the "owner" authorizes the "minder" to manage. Washington, who claims to be the "owner," has forgotten this Pacific island country, with an area of 28,400 square kilometers and a population of 600,000, for a long time. When the Solomon Islands faced an existential crisis because of climate change and when it was in turmoil due to intense ethnic conflict, both Washington and Canberra turned a blind eye. The US embassy in the Solomon Islands has been closed for 29 years. But after the Solomon Islands established diplomatic ties with China and its relationship with Beijing has become increasingly close, especially after the signing of the draft security cooperation agreement, Canberra and Washington suddenly discovered the "strategic significance" of the country and they rushed to send officials to the country. This shows that Canberra and Washington do not care about the survival and security of the Solomon Islands. What they really care about is the geopolitical value of the country which became prominent after they regard China as a "strategic competitor." Under the competition or games with China, the US only sees confrontation and so-called spheres of influence. The US hypes the "China threat theory" by speculating issues as "military bases" to find reasons and excuses for the US to seek hegemony and squeezes or even does not allow China's engagement with the South Pacific. This is the essence of the US "Indo-Pacific strategy." As Washington's "minder," Canberra this time grossly interferes in the security cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands and said it will fund the country over AU$160 million this financial year. Canberra has precisely followed Washington's "carrot and stick" tactic and has learned its arrogance and snobbery. The US and Australia have never understood why they cannot quell the willingness of these countries to develop cooperation with China after they have used so much pressure. The fundamental reason is that China's cooperation with these countries is genuinely based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit and is aimed at the well-being of the people of the countries without any political conditions attached. For the US and Australia, who have never looked at these countries from an equal footing, they will never want to understand this reality, but the historical trend will teach them. Asiana Airlines A350 / Courtesy of Asiana Airlines By Kim Hyun-bin From 2020 airlines suffered a major reduction in their passenger business due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But recently, with the easing of some quarantine measures, they have been taking steps to normalize their business by resuming or increasing overseas routes. However, the need to maintain certain regulations to safeguard public health such as mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated arrivals and the requirement that all arrivals submit negative PCR tests could mean it will take some time for airlines to recover demand for overseas travel fully. Despite these challenges, local airlines are starting to resume international routes that were earlier suspended. Compared to the previous month, Korean Air reopened international flights to 16 locations including LA, Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Southeast Asia, Oceania, China and Japan. Asiana Airlines also increased the frequency of flights to Los Angeles, Sydney, Frankfurt, London and resumed flights to Hawaii after a suspension of 25 months. Low-cost carriers have also increased their numbers of regular flights. Jeju Air plans to operate 14 international routes and conduct a total of 174 flights in May, which is an increase of 98 percent in the number of international flights compared to this month. For example, the country's leading low-cost carrier airline will resume flights to Da Nang and Nha Trang in Vietnam, Bohol in the Philippines, and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. T'way Air will also resume flights to Fukuoka, Osaka, Da Nang, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Jin Air is also promoting the resumption of flights mainly to Japan and Southeast Asia, while Air Seoul will resume routes to Da Nang and Nha Trang, Vietnam. As airlines increase their numbers of international flights, ticket prices, which had initially jumped up compared to their prices prior to the start of the pandemic, are now showing a slight decline. The airline industry anticipates that it will take time for demand to come into balance with supply. "As it is still difficult for family travelers to travel abroad, demand is not expected to surge suddenly. However, the supply has not increased enough either. We will have to wait and see if the airfare prices will stabilize," an airline industry official said. By Yi Fuxian MADISON, WISCONSIN Recent official pronouncements in China have sparked speculation that tighter restrictions on abortion may be in the offing. Six months ago, the Chinese State Council issued guidelines to lower the number of abortions performed for non-medical reasons. And in February, China's family-planning association announced that the authorities would launch a special abortion intervention campaign to reduce unwanted pregnancies and abortions among teenagers. But these official interventions, under the guise of "enhancing women's reproductive health," are in fact a response to China's growing fertility crisis. The one-child policy, which was implemented nationwide in 1980, forced down China's fertility rate for two generations, and the introduction of the two-child policy in 2016 has failed to boost it. Even according to the inflated official figures, China's fertility rate was only 1.3 children per woman in 2020 and 1.1-1.2 children per woman in 2021, well below the rates of 1.8, 1.7, and 1.5 predicted by the Chinese authorities, the United Nations, and the U.S. Census Bureau, respectively. As a result, the authorities announced a population increase of only 480,000 in 2021, compared to increases of two million in 2020 and 4.7 million in 2019. It therefore seems inevitable that China's population will begin to decline in 2022, nine years earlier than expected. China is facing a demographic crisis that exceeds the imagination of the Chinese authorities and the international community. In fact, China's demographic crisis is much worse than official figures suggest. That is why the authorities have rushed out a series of measures over the past few months, including restrictions on abortion. Likewise, crackdowns on private tutors are part of an effort to lower the cost of parenting. But reducing the incidence of abortion in China is easier said than done. In the past, the authorities regarded the country's large population as a burden, and the one-child policy not only encouraged women to have abortions but also involved the government forcing them to do so. From television screens to giant outdoor billboards to roadside electricity poles, abortion advertisements are everywhere in China. Abortion is regarded as casually as dining out is, and is widely available in hospitals and clinics. Unsurprisingly, China's abortion ratio, or the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies, is very high by international standards, at 43 in 2020. That compares to ratios of 15 per 100 pregnancies in Japan, 13 in Taiwan, 19 in the United States, and less than three in India in recent years. One consequence of China's high abortion rate has been a rapid increase in the infertility rate, from 1-3 percent in the early 1980s to 18 percent in 2020 much higher than in developed countries such as the US. Abortion is of course a highly sensitive issue, pitting a woman's choice not to have a child against opponents' view that fetuses have rights. Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision recognizing a constitutional right to abortion, set off what some have called the "Second Civil War," and U.S. lawmakers have subsequently sought to impose several restrictions, including those contained in the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Under China's brutal one-child policy, abortion was a battleground between government coercion on the one hand, and parents' reproductive rights on the other. But in 2021, the Chinese authorities further loosened family-planning rules, permitting households to have three children, rather than two, and they are expected soon to abandon their population-control policy entirely. Such a move will, one hopes, trigger a corresponding shift in attitudes in China regarding childbirth, human dignity, and human rights. While the U.S. and many other countries have long debated abortion and reached some consensus and compromise, the Chinese have not. China will no doubt learn from America's efforts to limit abortion, but its measures will probably not be as strict as those in the US and Russia. And prohibiting abortion entirely will be impossible. Even if China restricted abortion as tightly as the U.S. does, its abortion ratio probably would still be much higher than America's. Although the Chinese government has been cracking down on sex-selective abortions, the sex ratio at birth had long been as high as 120 boys per 100 girls, well above the normal ratio of 102-106 boys per 100 girls. Even in 2021, after five years of the two-child policy, the ratio was still 112 boys for every 100 girls. Reducing the abortion rate will require China also to strengthen family values, provide better sex education to teenagers, and improve young people's employment prospects and parenting abilities. Without such coordinated reforms, merely restricting abortion will be counterproductive. It could even trigger other social crises, such as an increase in the number of abandoned children and a spike in illegal abortions, which would threaten the health and lives of many women. Because China's past population policies have always been associated with human-rights violations, the international community is rightly on constant alert for any hint of a change in government thinking. Chinese policymakers must now learn from their mistakes. That means seeing the country's population as an asset rather than a burden and welcoming rather than discouraging new life. Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of "Big Country with an Empty Nest" (China Development Press, 2013). This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). On April 16, the Korean Business Research Institute released the brand reputation rankings for boy group members in April 2022. Well-known idols such as BTS Jimin, BIGBANG G-Dragon, Kang Daniel and more made the list. The rankings were determined through analyzing the indexes of the four main factors: consumer participation, communication, media coverage, and community awareness. The research institute examined these four aspects of a total of 703 boy group members. Boy Group Member Brand Reputation April 2022: BTS Jimin Ranks No. 1 for Third Consecutive Month Still ruling at No. 1 on this month's brand reputation rankings of boy group members is none other than BTS Jimin. For this month, the BTS member had accumulated a total brand reputation index of 6,877,359. ALSO READ: Most Popular Boy Group Members March 2022: BTS Jimin, Kang Daniel, More [Ranked] He has a participation index of 827,402, media index of 1,273,029, a communication index of 2,492,249, and a community index of 2,284,679. Compared to his March brand reputation index, Jimin's total index this April shows a 33.72 percent increase. BTS Jimin's high-ranking phrases in his keyword analysis included "Our Blues," "Instagram," and "hashtag," while his highest-ranking related terms are "increase," "participate," and "challenge." About Jimin's positivity-negativity analysis, he had a score of 87.09 percent positive ratio. Apart from Jimin, his fellow BTS members also entered this month's rankings, such as V, Jin, Jungkook, Suga, RM, and J-Hope. Boy Group Member Brand Reputation April 2022: BIGBANG G-Dragon and Kang Daniel Enter Top 3 Coming in at No. 2 is BIGBANG G-Dragon, who jumped 11 spots in this month's boy group member brand reputation rankings. According to the Korean Business Research Institute, G-Dragon gained a brand reputation index of 5,756,906, marking a staggering 335.02 percent increase in his score since March. He has a participation index of 753,962, a media index of 1,269,505, a communication index of 1,730,432, and a community index 2,003,006. Completing the top 3 is former WANNA ONE member Kang Daniel, who previously secured the No. 2 spot in the rankings for March 2022. This April, Daniel garnered a brand reputation index of 5,468,359. Although his position went down, his total score saw a 25.92 percent increase since last month. Kang has a participation index of 1,450,127, a media index of 990,747, a communication index of 1,456,282, and a community index of 1,571,204. Meanwhile, in addition to BIGBANG G-Dragon, his bandmates Taeyang and Daesung also claimed a spots on the list. Kang Daniel's fellow WANNA ONE members Kim Jaehwan and Ha Sungwoon are included as well. Boy Group Member Brand Reputation April 2022 (Top 30): BTS Jimin BIGBANG G-Dragon Wanna One Kang Daniel BTS V BTS Jin BTS Jungkook 2PM Lee Junho ASTRO Cha Eun Woo Super Junior's Kim Heechul WINNER's Song Mino BTS Suga SF9 Rowoon Super Junior Choi Siwon BIGBANG Daesung BTS RM WINNER Kang Seung Yoon Highlight Yoon Doojoon Super Junior Kyuhyun BIGBANG Taeyang BTS J-Hope Wanna One Kim Jae Hwan Highlight Yang Yoseob Wanna One Park Ji Hoon Highlight Lee Gikwang VICTON Byungchan SHINee Key WINNER Lee Seung Hoon Super Junior Yesung SHINee Minho Wanna One Ha Sung Woon Is your favorite male K-pop idol included in the boy group member brand reputation rankings for April 2022? For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Maria Scott WILMOT Tickets are now on sale for the Badger 40, featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. The event is Saturday, July 9, at Wilmot Raceway, 30820 111th St., Wilmot. Brad Sweet, the three-time and defending series champion, won for the first time in his career last year at Wilmot, taking the checkered flag over Logan Schuchart and Donny Schatz. Sweet took the lead on Lap 23 and paced the remainder of the 40-lapper. David Gravel added to his remarkable record at Wilmot Raceway in 2020 by winning for the fourth time in his career with the Outlaws at the track. The Connecticut native has finished fourth or better in all six of his starts with the series at Wilmot, with his worst finishing being a fourth. Along with his four wins, Gravel was runner-up at the track in 2019. Schatz, the 10-time Outlaws champion, earned his first Wilmot win in 2019. In nine starts at the track, the North Dakota native has nine top-10 finishes, including seven top-five showings. Battling Sweet, Gravel, Schatz and Schuchart this season is a group of full-time competitors including Sheldon Haudenschild, Carson Macedo, James McFadden, Kraig Kinser, Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Jason Sides and Bill Rose. Kasey Kahne, Spencer Bayston and Noah Gass are battling for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award. General admission tickets for the Badger 40 start at $40 adults, $20 for ages 6-12. A full price breakdown can be found at SLSPromotions.com. Tickets can be purchased online at the site, or by calling SLS Promotions at 815-344-2023. Looking to slow traffic during the busy summer tourism season, the Geneva Town Board on April 11 cast a unanimous vote approving the installation of two sets of speed bumps on South Shore Drive. Some 35 South Shore Drive homeowners supporting the installation of speed bumps on South Shore Drive to slow traffic on the thoroughfare signed a petition circulated by Steve Kukla, which was presented to the board. The location of the speed bumps, to be installed by the town, will be determined by the Geneva Highway Department in consultation with Kukla. Supervisors cast a split 4-1 vote authorizing the reinstallation of a speed bump on Lakeshore Drive on the north side of Lake Como, with Mark Scerba casting the dissenting vote. However, at this point the Town of Geneva is not planning to reinstall the speed bumps on the Center Street hill going up to the Stone Ridge subdivision. Last year many residents expressed concerns about the speed bumps there. Debra Kirch, the towns clerk treasurer said they are not going to reinstall the speed bumps unless they start to get complaints about drivers. However, they will be leaving up the speed bump signage at this time. In other roads-related news, the Geneva Town Board indicated its support to City of Lake Geneva efforts to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph on County Hwy. H (Elkhorn Road) from Klockit, N3211 Hwy. H, to the city limits. Other newsIn other developments at the April 11 meeting, the Geneva Town Board: * Approved the issuance of a business license to auto detailing service Wax On Wax Off, LLC, N3522 Hwy. H. The owner is Michael Yunker. * Approved the issuance of operators licenses to Elkhorn resident Cassandra V. Brummett, Geneva National; Lake Geneva resident Kimberly A. Donahue, DJs in the Drink; and Delavan resident Moira C. Faney, Geneva National. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Delhi [India], April 17 (ANI): Sharply reacting to the joint statement of 13 Opposition leaders over incidents of communal violence and alleging duplicity against them, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said that Congress and other parties create arson and disrupt harmony among communities. The BJP also accused the Opposition leaders of duplicity, citing a spate of arson and communal violence in West Bengal while the Trinamool Congress, which is also part of the joint statement, rules the state. Also Read | Happy Easter 2022: PM Narendra Modi Greets People on Easter. The BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at the joint statement appeal, alleging Congress and other parties create arson and disrupt the communal harmony whether they are in power or in Opposition. Notably, 13 Opposition parties, including Congress, issued the joint statement, calling upon the people to maintain peace and harmony in the wake of recent incidents of violence witnessed in different parts of the country. Also Read | Easter 2022: President Ram Nath Kovind Extends Greetings, Says 'Easter Inspires Us To Follow the Path of Forgiveness, Sacrifice and Love'. "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a signatory to the joint statement. But violence is taking place on a large scale in West Bengal. Such duplicity only shows that the Opposition parties, including Congress, whether they're in power or in Opposition, are responsible for disrupting the harmony while also indulging in arson," Bhatia said. Claiming that the actions of the opposition parties are opposite to what they have stated in the joint statement, the BJP leader charged them of practising "appeasement politics". "The joint statement is fake. People are questioning (interim president of Congress) Sonia Gandhi for her silence over Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan CM) failing to nab prime accused Matlub Ahmed in the Karauli violence? Why is he absconding for 14 days? Your appeal seeks strict action against rioters. But this is not happening in Karauli. Is this because you want to practice appeasement politics? Actions are opposite to words used in the joint statement," he said. Citing an example of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who ordered the Khargone administration to demolish illegal buildings of the accused in the violence that erupted on the occasion of Ram Navami, Bhatia hit out at Rahul Gandhi for calling the demolition "bulldozer of hatred". "You are not taking action in the state where you are in power. In Madhya Pradesh where you're in opposition, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken strict action. The accused has been arrested. Their illicit properties were brought down (with a bulldozer). Rahul Gandhi called it a bulldozer of hatred. You stand with the rioters and break the morale of the men in uniform," he said. Notably, several people were injured in the stone-pelting between two groups during the Ram Navami procession. Meanwhile, appealing to the people to maintain peace, Congress tweeted, "We reiterate our commitment to combat and confront the poisonous ideologies which are attempting to entrench divisiveness in our society." Expressing deep concern over the "growing incidents of hate speech and recent outburst of communal violence" in the country, leaders of 13 Opposition parties in a joint statement on Saturday urged people to maintain peace and harmony while demanding stringent punishment against the perpetrators of communal violence. Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), M K Stalin (DMK), CPI (M)'s Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah (NC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), D Raja (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP), PK Kunhalikutty (IUML), and CPI (ML)'s Dipanker Bhattacharya issued the joint statement on Saturday. The 13 leaders alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been silent on the spate of communal violence and said that he has "failed to speak against the words and actions of those who propagate bigotry and those who, by their words and actions, incite and provoke our society." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kochi/Mumbai/Chennai/Goa [India] April 17 (ANI): As the festival of Easter is being celebrated on Sunday, devotees took part in mass and prayer sessions in churches across the country. In Kerala's Kochi, eastern mass and prayer sessions were held at St Mary's Cathedral Basilica by Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry. Devotees gathered in large numbers to join sessions, praying to and remembering Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the day now known as Easter to millions of his devotees across the world. Sounds of hymns and prayers rang across the centuries-old cathedral. Also Read | Happy Easter 2022: PM Narendra Modi Greets People on Easter. During his speech to the devotees, Cardinal George Alencherry highlighted the massive extent of sectarian thoughts, conflicts, and their escalation to riots and wars in the modern era and the loss of innocent lives due to it. "We must cultivate a positive attitude of seeing everyone as brothers and sisters without hostility," he added. Also Read | Easter 2022: President Ram Nath Kovind Extends Greetings, Says 'Easter Inspires Us To Follow the Path of Forgiveness, Sacrifice and Love'. In Mumbai, the famous St. Michael's Church also hosted special Easter prayers. Devotees thronged in large numbers to remember the holy name of Lord Jesus. A devotee named Julie told ANI, "It is an important day for us, we are really happy today. Jesus rose from the dead today. He died for us on the cross. He brought salvation to the whole world and gave us all a new life." "Today is a great day. God has saved us," added another devotee named Amelie. In Goa, Easter celebrations were held with great vigour and faith by the devotees at the Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji. Easter Vigil was held outside the church. Fr Walter De Sa, Parish Priest, Immaculate Conception Church, Goa told ANI, "We will start the Easter vigil. The resurrection of Lord Jesus is the climax of our celebration, the culmination of Paschal Mystery. After death, our Lord rose. We are going to celebrate this victory over death and sin. The ceremony will begin with blessings of fire and light. Lord is the light of the world, he takes away all the darkness, namely sin and other evils. We will put out all lights, light a candle and enter the Church. Once we are inside the church, will turn them all. The significance is that the Lord is the light of the world." "Then after it, the second part of the celebration will start. We will read the Old Testament and see the history of salvation unfold till it reaches its climax in the New Testament when in Jesus we all received a new life and were freed from slavery and Satan. After this, we will bless the Holy Water. It symbolises new life. Jesus himself said that he is the 'living water'. Then, we will have the renewal of baptismal vows, where we will proclaim our rejection of Satan and our acceptance of faith in God. Later we will begin the liturgy of Eucharist, the cultivation of celebration of Eucharistic sacrifice." "At the end, we will have a procession with a blessed sacrament around the church, we will enter the church with it and give solemn benediction to the people. We will also sprinkle holy water over people to signify that they are new creatures today, they have a new self and have become closer to god. Easter Vigil is the mother of all vigils. On Easter Sunday, masses will be held as usual, we will praise the Lord," he added. In Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, devotees offer prayers in a church in Nungambakkam on the occasion of Easter Sunday. Easter is a holy Christian festival that celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, three days after he was put on a cross and executed. As mentioned in the Bible, Christ was crucified on the day of Good Friday and buried in a grave after his last supper which is commemorated as Maundy Thursday. However, on the third day when his disciples visited his grave, they found that the grave was empty. The day marks the triumph of Christ over death and this also makes him the 'Son of God'. The day is celebrated with pomp and grandeur every year. Traditions like church visits, baking hot cross buns and decorating Easter eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Spring equinox occurs when the Sun is exactly above the equator, thus making the day and night of equal lengths. Traditions like baking hot cross buns and filling empty eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. On this occasion, people also exchange Easter baskets and special gifts with their loved ones. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 17 (ANI): With an aim to strengthen grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, Rs 1584.25 crore has been sanctioned for Panchayati Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies, District Development Councils and Block Development Councils for initiating developmental activities in rural or urban areas, said Jammu and Kashmir administration. After successful implementation of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, and conduct of Panchayat/Urban Local Body, District Development Council and Block Development Council elections, the main focus of the Government is to empower these Local Body Institutions with 3Fs (Funds, Functions and Functionaries). Also Read | Hanuman Jayanti 2022: Muslims in Bhopal Welcome Rath Yatra With Flowers. "The Government is providing Rs 1,000 crore as a grant to 4290 Gram Panchayats, Rs 200 crore to 20 District Development Councils (DDCs) at Rs 10 crore to each DDC, Rs 71.25 crore to 285 Block Development Councils (BDCs) at Rs 25 Lakh to each Block Development Council (BDC) and Rs 313 crore to 30 Urban Local Bodies for initiating developmental activities in rural and urban areas," the official statement reads. 27 functions have been transferred to Panchayats and functions of 7 departments to Urban Local Bodies and nearly Rs 1,727.50 crore have been devolved under MGNREGA, 14th Finance Commission, Midday Meal Scheme and Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to the Panchayats. Rs 1,455.62 crore have been devolved to Urban Local Bodies in the last two years, besides 1,889 Panchayat Accounts Assistants have been recruited. Also Read | Jahangirpuri Clashes A Conspiracy; Probe Role of Illegal Immigrants, Says Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta. The objective of the government is to provide transparent, responsive and accountable governance for which the Government of Jammu and Kashmir is focusing on unique initiatives of "Back to Village", "My Town My Pride", "Jan-Abhiyan" and "Block Divas" for bringing government programmes and initiatives at the doorsteps of the people. A massive public outreach programme was conducted last year across Jammu and Kashmir with as many as 73 Union Ministers and various Parliament Committees visited all the districts for public interactions and gathered grass-root level feedback on government policies. Interactions were held with representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, other important stakeholders from trade, industry etc., over a period of two months which is expected to improve governance and implementation of various developmental schemes and initiatives. The introduction of principles of financial prudence, transparency and zero tolerance to corruption have revolutionized the project implementation and enhanced financial inclusion and social equity. Several important reforms have been undertaken to ensure transparency and accountability in the administration. Today a fear-free, corruption-free system of governance has been established through a paperless, faceless procedural framework. "No work is allotted without following tendering process and without having Administrative Approval/Technical sanction. No bill is passed without geo-tagging of photographs through PROOF (Photographic Record of On-site Facility) application and physical verification of works. Every single penny is now spent for the welfare of the people," it added. "With the help of "EMPOWERMENT" (Enabling Monitoring and Public Overview of Works being Executed and Resources for Meaningful Transparency)/JANBAGHIDARI (janbaghidari.nic.in) an Information Technology enabled programme, the common citizens of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir can overview works/projects being implemented in their areas and become a partner in the process of development," it said. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has become the first among States or Union Territories in the country to have a District Good Governance Index for assessing the efficiency of the public delivery system at the district level. This index is expected to foster transparency and accountability in the basic unit of governance and fulfil the aspirations of citizens. Best practices are being identified in each district for replication in others. e-Office has been implemented in Civil Secretariat including Raj Bhavan. It will be implemented in all offices of Jammu and Kashmir in 2022-23. The online system has been created for uploading of Annual Property Returns by all the employees. An online Annual Performance Report system in respect of all employees will be created. E-Audit will be introduced with the strengthening of Virtual Inspection Systems. A historic initiative "Aapki Zameen Aapki Nigrani" has been launched in which the scanned data of Jamabandi, Girdawari, Mutation and Musavi of all the 20 districts of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been made available to the common citizens. Taking another step towards the empowerment of landowners, land passbooks have been issued in three languages. (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 17 (ANI): India on Saturday questioned the World Health Organisation's (WHO) methodology to estimate the COVID-19 death toll in the country, stating that the same mathematical model cannot be used to estimate the mortalities of a country like India which has a large geographical size and population. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that India has shared its concerns with the methodology along with the other Member States through a series of formal communications including six letters issued to WHO. Also Read | Hanuman Jayanti 2022: Muslims in Bhopal Welcome Rath Yatra With Flowers. The concern specifically includes how the statistical model projects estimates for a country of geographical size and population of India and also fits in with other countries which have a smaller population. The ministry in a statement in response to a New York Times article titled "India Is Stalling WHO's Efforts to Make Global COVID Death Toll Public" dated April 16, said, "India has been in regular and in-depth technical exchange with World Health Organisation (WHO) on the issue. The analysis while uses mortality figures directly obtained from Tier -I set of countries, uses a mathematical modelling process for Tier II countries (which includes India). India's basic objection has not been with the result (whatever they might have been) but rather the methodology adopted for the same." Also Read | Jahangirpuri Clashes A Conspiracy; Probe Role of Illegal Immigrants, Says Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta. During these exchanges, specific queries have been raised by India along with the other Member States e.g. China, Iran, Bangladesh, Syria, Ethiopia and Egypt regarding the methodology, and use of unofficial sets of data. "The concern specifically includes how the statistical model projects estimates for a country of geographical size and population of India and also fits in with other countries which have a smaller populations. Such size fits all approach and models which are true for smaller countries like Tunisia may not be applicable to India with a population of 1.3 billion," it said adding that the WHO is yet to share the confidence interval for the present statistical model across various countries. The Ministry said that the model gives two highly different sets of excess mortality estimates when using the data from Tier I countries and when using unverified data from 18 Indian States. "Such wide variation in estimates raises concerns about validity and accuracy of such a modelling exercise," it added. "India has asserted that if the model is accurate and reliable, it should be authenticated by running it for all Tier I countries and if the result of such exercise may be shared with all Member States," the Health Ministry said. The Ministry further said that the model assumes an inverse relationship between monthly temperature and monthly average deaths, which does not have any scientific backing to establish such a peculiar empirical relationship. India is a country of continental proportions climatic and seasonal conditions vary vastly across different states and even within a state and therefore, all states have widely varied seasonal patterns. "Thus, estimating national level mortality based on these 18 States data is statistically unproven," it said in a statement. The Global Health Estimates (GHE) 2019 on which the modelling for Tier II countries is based, is itself an estimate. The present modelling exercise seems to be providing its own set of estimates based on another set of historic estimates while disregarding the data available with the country, the statement reads. "It is not clear as to why GHE 2019 has been used for estimating expected deaths figures for India, whereas, for the Tier 1 countries, their own historical datasets were used when it has been repeatedly highlighted that India has a robust system of data collection and management," it added. In order to calculate the age-sex death distribution for India, WHO determined standard patterns for age and sex for the countries with reported data (61 countries) and then generalized them to the other countries (incl. India) who had no such distribution in their mortality data. Based on this approach, India's age-sex distribution of predicted deaths was extrapolated based on the age-sex distribution of deaths reported by four countries (Costa Rica, Israel, Paraguay and Tunisia). Of the covariates used for analysis, a binary measure for income has been used instead of a more realistic graded variable. Using a binary variable for such an important measure may lend itself to amplifying the magnitude of the variable. WHO has conveyed that a combination of these variables was found to be most accurate for predicting excess mortality for a sample of 90 countries and 18 months (January 2020-June 2021). The detailed justification of how the combination of these variables is found to be most accurate is yet to be provided by WHO. "The test positivity rate for COVID-19 in India was never uniform throughout the country at any point of time. But, this variation in covid-19 positivity rate within India was not considered for modelling purposes," the Health Minister said. Further, India has undertaken COVID-19 testing at a much faster rate than what WHO has advised. India has maintained molecular testing as the preferred testing method and used Rapid Antigen as screening purposes only. Whether these factors have been used in the model for India is still unanswered, it added. Containment involves a lot of subjective approaches (such as school closing, workplace closing, cancelling of public events etc.,) to quantify itself. But, it is actually impossible to quantify various measures of containment in such a manner for a country like India, as the strictness of such measures have varied widely even among the States and Districts of India. Therefore, the approach followed in this process is very much questionable, it said. "In addition, a subjective approach to quantify such measures will always involve a lot of biasness which will surely not present the real situation. WHO has also agreed about the subjective approach of this measure. However, it is still used," it said. It said that India has expressed the above and similar concerns to WHO but a satisfactory response is yet to be received from WHO. According to Health Ministry, during interactions with WHO, it has also been highlighted that some fluctuations in official reporting of COVID-19 data from some of the Tier I countries including USA, Germany, France etc. defied knowledge of disease epidemiology. Further inclusion of a country like Iraq which is undergoing an extended complex emergency under Tier I countries raises doubts on WHO's assessment in categorization of countries as Tier I/II and its assertion on quality of mortality reporting from these countries. "While India has remained open to collaborate with WHO as data sets like these will be helpful from the policy-making point of view, India believes that in-depth clarity on methodology and clear proof of its validity are crucial for policymakers to feel confident about any use of such data," the statement further reads. "It is very surprising that while New York Times purportedly could obtain the alleged figures of excess COVID19 mortality in respect to India, it was "unable to learn the estimates for other countries"!!" it added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Guwahati, Apr 17 (PTI) Former Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora on Sunday resigned from the party, alleging that several leaders of it were working in connivance with the BJP in the state, particularly with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Bora, who joined the TMC soon after he quit the Congress, said in his resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that infighting within the grand old party helped BJP and compelled him to leave despite having been a member since student days in 1976. Also Read | Online Fraud in Mumbai: 31-Year-Old Software Developer Falls to E-Wallet Fraud, Duped of Rs 5.06 Lakh. "I am very pained to inform you that it is an open secret in Assam that instead of fighting against BJP, a section of senior most leaders of Assam PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) have been maintaining secret understanding with BJP govt mainly with the Chief Minister," Bora said in his resignation letter. The former state minister also alleged that some of the Congress party leaders "played role in such a manner which paved the way for the BJP to win both the Rajya Sabha seats" from Assam recently. Also Read | Rajasthan Weather Update: Heatwave Continues in Bikaner Sizzles at 44.2 Degrees Celsius. Bora was renominated by the Congress for the elections to the Upper House of Parliament. He, as a joint candidate of the opposition parties in Assam, had unsuccessfully contested the recently held Rajya Sabha elections. Bora claimed that he, after assuming charge as APCC chief in 2016, was able to bring the Congress to a position where people expected it to form the state government in 2021 state polls. "But due to continuous inner fight by a section of senior most leaders of Assam PCC, people lost faith on us and did not give mandate," he said. Bora also stated that instead of being united in fighting the BJP which is a "serious threat to the democracy, constitution and secularism and economy of our country", Congress leaders at different levels are "fighting each other for their vested interests". "This has given the BJP ample advantages to grow in every nook and corner in one hand and another, demoralising millions of Congress workers of the country," Bora wrote, adding that the leaders in Assam have been "not an exception". "Under this backdrop, my conscience does not allow to continue in Congress party where the party's interest and ideology are being compromised in favour of BJP for some vested interest of few leaders, he also added. (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 17 (ANI): Delhi Police on Sunday held a meeting with members of Aman (peace) committees, a day after clashes broke out during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the city's Jahangirpuri area. The meeting was organised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police North West at Kushal Chowk in the Jahangirpuri area with the members of the Aman committee of PS Jahangirpuri, PS Mahendra Park and PS Adarsh Nagar. Also Read | Raj Thackeray to Visit Ayodhya in June, Says Will Give Tit for Tat if Loudspeakers on Mosques Are Not Removed by May 3. The police asked the committee members to appeal to the people to maintain peace in their area, officials said. "To maintain peace and tranquillity in the area, a meeting was organised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North West at Kushal Chowk in PS Jahangirpuri area with the members of the Aman committee of PS Jahangirpuri, PS Mahendra Park and PS Adarsh Nagar," said DCP North-West Usha Rangnani. Also Read | Karnataka: Violence in Hubballi Over Social Media Post, 40 People Taken Into Custody; Section 144 Imposed Till April 20. Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in violence-hit Jahangirpuri of northwest Delhi on Sunday. Fourteen persons have been arrested so far, in connection with a clash between two groups during a religious procession yesterday. Clashes broke out between two groups after stone-pelting incidents were reported from the Jahangirpuri area in the national capital on Saturday evening during a procession. "After Delhi's sensitive incident, a flag march is being conducted by police with the goal to create an atmosphere of faith and security for the public. I appeal to the public to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours," said Love Kumar, Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order). Delhi Police has registered a case and started the investigation of the incident.Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Depender Pathak said that the situation is under total control and the atmosphere is peaceful. Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke with Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Depender Pathak. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Visual from the spot of stone pelting in Karnataka's Hubli (Photo:ANI) Hubli (Karnataka) [India], April 17 (ANI): As many as six cases were registered in connection with stone-pelting that took place on Saturday night at Old Hubli police station leaving four policemen injured in Karnataka's Hubli, said a police official on Sunday. 40 persons involved in the violent act have been arrested and a probe into the matter is underway. Also Read | Karnataka: Violence in Hubballi Over Social Media Post, 40 People Taken Into Custody; Section 144 Imposed Till April 20. Speaking to ANI, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram said, "Last night, a case was registered at Old Hubli PS, where a complaint was filed against a person for uploading a video on social media; the accused was arrested." "Later, a mob gathered outside the police station tried to damage police vehicles. Mob also pelted stones at police officers. six cases were registered, and 40 persons involved in this violent activity were arrested. A probe into the matter is underway," he added. Also Read | Pune Shocker: Liquor Shop Manager Killed for Refusing To Give Free Alcohol in Vadgaon; Accused Arrested. There are reports that the mob demanded action against a person who kept objectionable WhatsApp status. There are also reports of protesters pelting stones from nearby Hanuman temple and a hospital. Following the stone-pelting incident, section 144 was imposed in the city. "A stone-pelting incident took place at Old Hubli Police Station. Four policemen including one inspector injured. Section 144 was imposed in the entire city and the situation is under control," said Police Commissioner Labhu Ram on Saturday. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hubli (Karnataka) [India], April 17 (ANI): Section 144 has been imposed in Karnataka's Hubli city after a mob pelted stones at the old Hubli police station in which four policemen were injured on Saturday night. The mob which gathered outside the police station suddenly turned violent and started pelting stones at the police station and police vehicles. Also Read | Hanuman Jayanti 2022: Muslims in Bhopal Welcome Rath Yatra With Flowers. In an effort to disperse the mob, the police resorted to lathi-charge but the mob went berserk then police used tear gas shells and dispersed them. There are reports that the mob demanded action against a person who kept objectionable WhatsApp status. There are also reports of protesters pelting stones from nearby Hanuman temple and a hospital. Also Read | Jahangirpuri Clashes A Conspiracy; Probe Role of Illegal Immigrants, Says Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta. "A stone-pelting incident took place at Old Hubli Police Station. Four policemen including one inspector injured. Section 144 was imposed in the entire city and the situation is under control," said Police Commissioner Labhu Ram. A case has been registered and an investigation is underway in the matter. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Patna (Bihar) [India], April 17 (ANI): Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, who was recently sacked from the Bihar Cabinet, has claimed victory in his party's defeat in the Bochahan Assembly bypoll in an apparent potshot at the former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). "We thank the people for showing faith in VIP for the Bochahan Assembly bypoll. We contested to win and weren't successful, but we congratulate Amar Paswan (RJD) for the win. Even in our defeat there lies a win for us," said Sahani while speaking to reporters. Also Read | Jahangirpuri Violence: 'Even Women Were Carrying Stones', Says Injured Delhi Police Sub-Inspector Arun. He stressed that the BJP lost the bypoll by over 36,000 votes. "Some state leaders (of BJP) still have time for introspection and stop misleading central BJP leaders. The BJP will have more setbacks in 2024 (Lok Sabha elections) or 2025 (Bihar state polls)... BJP Bihar president Sanjay Jaiswal should resign," he said. Notably, Sahani was a minister in the Bihar Cabinet led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. However, he was sacked from the ministerial post in March this year after three MLAs of his party joined the BJP. Also Read | TCS Recruitment 2022: Apply for Various Posts at IT Firm Through TCS Atlas Hiring Programme; Check Details. In the counting of votes of the bypolls in four states, RJD's Amar Paswan won the bypoll with 48.52 per cent votes and secured 82,562 votes while VIP's Geeta Kumari secured 17.21 per cent votes. The BJP candidate Baby Kumari got 26.98 per cent votes in the bypoll. In the recently concluded bypolls, TMC's Shatrughan Sinha won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, while Babul Supriyo won in Ballygunge Assembly seat, securing 51,199 votes. Congress' Jadhav Jayshri Chandrakant (Anna) won the Kolhapur North Assembly seat in Maharashtra. (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], April 17 (ANI): Reacting to the violence that broke out in the Punjab Assembly between the Opposition and treasury benches on Saturday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the country is heading towards civil unrest, reported local media. Taking to his Twitter, the PTI leader said, "We are inches away from full fledge Civil unrest, @ImranKhanPTI has exercised utmost restraint very soon even he won't be able to stop this very angry mob and we ll see Country plunging into a civil unrest." Also Read | Pakistan: New Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz Announces Inquiry Into Assembly Brawl. Terming his opponents 'imported leaders', Chaudhry said that they will not be able to leave the country. Another PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari said that the only solution to this civil unrest is elections. "These are just a few MPAs, imagine if the awam [public] goes out of control and takes the matter in their own hands... only solution to this civil unrest is elections. Let the people decide their own fate. Call elections!," The News International quoted Bukhari as saying. Also Read | China Reports 3,504 New Local COVID-19 Cases. The PTI leaders' remarks come as violence broke out in the Punjab Assembly that gathered for the election of the Chief Minister on Saturday. Chaos ensued in the Assembly after the PTI and PML-Q lawmakers threw "lotas (round vessel)" at Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as he arrived to chair the session. The ruling coalition's lawmakers threw the plastic lotas at Mazari, while some of them dragged him by his hair and even thrashed him, following which, he was taken back to his chamber by the Assembly guards, reported the Dawn newspaper. Meanwhile, things did not settle down as the protesting lawmakers broke the Speaker's chair, microphone and a side table, and threw around various articles, including files, in the House. Following this, a heavy contingent of anti-riot police was called to control the situation. However, when several private guards of PTI-backed PML-Q candidate Parvez Elahi (wearing Assembly force's uniform), as well as plainclothesmen, entered the hall from the rear entrance, the opposition lawmakers reacted as they thrashed the guards and threw them out of the House, according to the media outlet. The mayhem reportedly left Elahi injured. However, after the police and anti-riot force took positions inside the House, the Deputy Speaker initiated the Assembly proceedings, following which, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz was elected as the Chief Minister, according to the media outlet. Meanwhile, the newly-elected Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has announced his plan to hold an inquiry into the Assembly brawl incident. "We will also hold an inquiry into whatever happened in the Assembly today and action will be taken against those held responsible. The conspiracy was not against me but it was hatched to target democracy and the Constitution," ARY News quoted him as saying while speaking on the floor after assuming power. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Washington [US], April 17 (ANI): United States President Joe Biden will host a special in-person summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13, a White House statement said Saturday (local time). "The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region's most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of US-Asean relations," the statement by White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Also Read | Bilquis Edhi Dies at 74: PM Narendra Modi Condoles Death of Pakistani Humanitarian Activist. According to Psaki, President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the aforementioned date as the summit will commemorate 45 years of US-ASEAN relations. "It will build on President Biden's participation in the October 2021 US-ASEAN Summit, where the president announced $102 million in new initiatives to expand our engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, fighting the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth, promoting gender equality, and deepening people-to-people ties. Also Read | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Calls Russian President Vladimir Putin to Discuss Ukraine, Yemen, Says Kremlin. "It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient," She said. The summit is being held amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine which has entered the 51st straight day. The summit might witness deliberations on the situation in Ukraine and Europe. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tallinn, April 17: Estonia is banning Russian ships from entering its ports starting Sunday as part of the EU sanctions against Moscow over its special military operation in Ukraine, the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure said. "From Sunday, April 17, ships flying the Russian flag are banned from entering ports of the EU, including Estonia. This is one of the sanctions measures previously approved by the European Union. EU ports are also closed from now on for ships that changed their flag from Russian to another flag after February 24," the ministry said in a statement. Vessels with the Russian flag in distress will still be allowed to enter Estonian ports in exceptional circumstances with the permission of the Police and Border Guard Board, which will determine in advance the need for assistance. Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns of Possibility of Vladimir Putin Using Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine. Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas said that the EU is rethinking its economic activity in favour of greater independence from Russia. Bulgaria has also confirmed enacting the ban on Russian-flagged ships on Sunday. 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 forces. Western countries and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The European Union has also vowed to reduce its dependency on Russian energy. On April 8, the bloc announced the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a ban on imports of coal and other solid fossils from the country starting from August 2022, a ban on the entry of Russian ships into EU ports and restrictions on Russian and Belarusian road transport companies. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Tokyo [Japan], April 17 (ANI/Sputnik): The Japanese Defense Ministry said on Sunday that it is collecting and analyzing information about the two projectiles launched by North Korea towards the Sea of Japan the day before with a view to determine their type. "Given the information received to date, there is a possibility that North Korea launched an unidentified projectile the day before. We continue to collect and analyze the information to determine the type of the projectile," the ministry said in a statement. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson To Begin India's Visit From Ahmedabad on April 21. It also stressed that Tokyo had not recorded "any shells entering the exclusive economic zone of Japan." On Sunday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korea had launched two projectiles toward the Sea of Japan from the area of the city of Hamhung located on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. The maximum flight altitude of the projectiles reached 25 kilometres (15.5 miles), and the distance was 110 kilometres (68 miles). Also Read | Pakistan: New Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz Announces Inquiry Into Assembly Brawl. In turn, North Korean state media reported on Sunday that the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, had personally supervised the test-firing of a new tactical guided system, which is important for increasing the effectiveness of tactical nuclear weapons. According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the new system is similar to the improved version of North Korea's KN-23 solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile. (ANI/Sputnik) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, April 17: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth accompanied by his spouse Kobita Jugnauth and a high-level delegation will arrive in India for an eight-day visit starting Sunday. The Mauritius Premier is arriving in India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his visit, Jugnauth will participate in the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar next Tuesday as well as in the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, along with PM Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The Mauritius PM will also pay a visit to Varanasi apart from his official engagements in Gujarat and New Delhi. "India and Mauritius enjoy uniquely close ties, bound by shared history, culture, and heritage. The upcoming visit will further strengthen the vibrant bilateral ties," MEA said. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary to the Cabinet of Mauritius NK Ballah in New Delhi and said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries was "progressing from strength to strength". Earlier in January, PM Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth had jointly inaugurated the India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually. They also launched the Civil Service College and 8 MW Solar PV Farm project in Mauritius that is being undertaken under India's development support. (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 17 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the demise of Bilquis Edhi, a Pakistani humanitarian activist, in Karachi and said that her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. "My sincere condolences on the passing of Bilquis Edhi. Her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. People in India too remember her fondly. May her soul rest in peace," PM Modi tweeted on Saturday. Also Read | Bilquis Edhi Dies at 74: PM Narendra Modi Condoles Death of Pakistani Humanitarian Activist. Earlier, the Indian embassy in Pakistan has expressed condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Bano Edhi. "High Commission of India expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Edhi. Hers and Edhi foundation's humanitarian assistance is well appreciated across borders. RIP," tweeted the Indian embassy. Also Read | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Calls Russian President Vladimir Putin to Discuss Ukraine, Yemen, Says Kremlin. Notably, Bilquis Edhi, founder of Edhi Foundation, a social welfare organization in Pakistan, adopted the specially-abled Indian girl Geeta, who was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers at the Lahore railway station when she was just seven or eight years old. Geeta was later brought to India from Pakistan back in 2015. Bilquis, whose death was confirmed by her son Faisal Edhi, passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 74 on Friday, reported the Dawn newspaper. According to a spokesperson of the Edhi Foundation, Bilquis was suffering from "multiple ailments". "She had heart problems in addition to lung issues," the media outlet quoted him as saying. The wife of renowned humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Bilquis was rushed to a private hospital in Karachi earlier this week after her blood pressure suddenly dropped. A professional nurse, Bilquis was called the Mother of Pakistan. Her charity saved thousands of unwanted babies by placing jhoolas (cradles) at Edhi Homes and centres across the country. She was felicitated with various national and foreign awards including the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice (2015), and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, which she received along with her husband in 1986, according to the media outlet. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi, and former premier Imran Khan, among others, expressed grief on the demise of Bilquis Bano Edhi. (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, Apr 17 (AP) The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defence Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupol's giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 pm Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns of Possibility of Vladimir Putin Using Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. Also Read | Tajikistan Readies Camps for Fleeing Afghans, UNHCR Calls for Support. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkov's claim couldn't be independently verified. ___ Vatican City: In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries - the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. ___ Milan: Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kabul [Afghanistan], April 17 (ANI): The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed its deep concern about reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan's airstrikes in Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. "UNAMA is deeply concerned by reports of civilian casualties, including women and children, as a result of airstrikes in Khost & Kunar provinces last night. Civilians are never a target. UNAMA is working to establish facts on the ground and verify the extent of losses," UNAMA tweeted. Also Read | Happy Easter 2022: PM Narendra Modi Greets People on Easter. Meanwhile, the Taliban have summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. The local officials on Saturday of the Khost and Kunar provinces confirmed that the Pakistani aircraft launched the airstrikes on different parts of the provinces, killing five children and a woman. Also Read | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Seeks to Break Russian Blockade. Officials of the Khost province said that the Pakistani aircraft bombed the Pesa Mila, and Mir Safar areas of the province on Friday night, according to Khaama Press. While, the local residents of the province said that the airstrikes were conducted in the Spera district of Khost province, killing 33 members of two families. Moreover, the local residents of Shaltan district of Kunar province said that five children and a woman were killed in the airstrike conducted by Pakistan. Upon this, Pakistan government nor the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has commented on the bombing but the Pakistani media said that the bombings have targeted the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pashtun Islamist militant groups in those provinces, as per reported by Khaama Press. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Karachi [Pakistan], April 17 (ANI): The exchange rate of the Pakistani Rupee with the US dollar is subject to uncertainty owing to the political and economic turmoil in the country, currency experts and dealers say, Pakistani media reported. Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the interbank market was reported as saying, "Foreign exchange reserves of the country, particularly of the State Bank, have been declining, which is sending a strong negative signal to the currency market." Dawn newspaper reported. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns of Possibility of Vladimir Putin Using Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine. The economic crisis has led Pakistan to import essential items from other countries like petroleum, machinery, vehicles, textiles, vaccines, expensive palm oils, and even wheat and sugar. As per Ahmed, the price hike on the import bill indicates that the trade deficit will continue in the coming months. "We paid over USD14 billion to import petroleum products during the first nine months (July to March) of this fiscal year, almost twice as compared to a year ago," Ahmed added Also Read | Tajikistan Readies Camps for Fleeing Afghans, UNHCR Calls for Support. Aamir Aziz, a manufacturer, and exporter of finished textile goods also affirmed that in February large-scale manufacturing companies experienced a growth of 8.4 per cent which demonstrated an increase in industrial activity. "The demand is still high. Importers are willing to buy more, but the State Bank's restrictions have kept buying and selling at a certain level," said Atif Ahmed, the currency dealer. As per reports, Pakistanis withdrew an amount of USD 329 million from March 25 to April 8 from commercial banks. A rollover payment of USD 2.4 billion from China awaits Pakistan as the latter has already cleared the due amount to China. Bankers said the country still needed USD 15 billion for debt servicing and completing other foreign commitments since the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank have reduced from USD 20.07 billion to USD 10.5 billion. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kyiv, April 17: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupol's fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Also Read | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Calls Russian President Vladimir Putin to Discuss Ukraine, Yemen, Says Kremlin. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and that Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) A fire has broken out in a chemical factory in the Kundli area of Sonipat, Haryana. On the special request of Haryana, the Delhi fire service also sent its firefighters for the operation. The cause of the fire is not yet known: Delhi Fire Service pic.twitter.com/ml5PRPqpEu ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) New Delhi, April 17: The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India this week to "deepen" the long-term partnership amidst the global economic challenges and "threats" from autocratic states. The visit will commence from Ahmedabad on April 21, wherein he will meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India's thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time that a UK Prime Minister would visit Gujarat, India's fifth largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. UK PM Boris Johnson Calls for Democracies, Friends To Stick Together; Terms India Economic Powerhouse. The British Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi on April 22, a statement by the British embassy here said. The leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India's strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering the close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific. In Gujarat, Johnson is expected to announce major investment in key industries in both -- the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology. He will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year -- a deal with India is predicted to boost our total trade by up to $36.57 billion annually by 2035 and increase wages across the UK by up to $4 billion. Speaking ahead of the visit, Johnson said: "As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world's largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times." "My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations -- from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence," he added. In 2021, the British Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than $692 million in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting people of the two nations. India was identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year's G7 in Carbis Bay. The UK is leveraging post-Brexit trade opportunities with India's growing economy to drive down prices in key commodities for consumers, open opportunities for UK businesses in areas like green tech and services, and create high-wage, high-skill jobs. Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2022 01:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). First lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden released their 2021 tax returns on Friday, revealing an income of $610,702 during their first year in the White House. According to NBC News, the first couple paid $150,439 in federal income tax, a tax rate of 25 percent. The Bidens also paid $30,765 in Delaware income tax and $2,721 in Virginia, coming from Jill's salary from teaching at Northern Virginia Community College. The first couple has reportedly made just over $600,000 in 2020. Biden had a salary of $400,000 a year as president and had an expense allowance of $50,000, which is an amount established by Congress. READ NEXT: Joe Biden's Wives: Who Are Neilia Hunter Biden and Jill Jacobs Biden? First Lady Jill Biden Net Worth According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jill Biden has a net worth of $9 million. Aside from being married to the current president, Jill is also best known for being the second lady from 2009 to 2017. Jill also has had a career teaching at high schools, psychiatric hospitals, and community colleges. Federal financial disclosures showed that Jill's teaching salary is usually around $100,000 per year as a Northern Virginia Community College professor. Jill also wrote a children's book entitled "Don't Forget, God Bless Our Troops." It was based on her stepson Beau Biden's military deployment. She later released a memoir entitled "Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself." In 2020, she published another children's book entitled "Joey: The Story of Joe Biden." After leaving the White House in 2016, Biden and Jill signed a $10 million joint book deal covering three books. The Bidens bought their home in Wilmington, Delaware in 1997 for $350,000. Recently, similar homes in the area have been sold for a bit more than $2 million. In 2017, the two paid $2.74 million for a six-bedroom vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Years between 2018 and 2019, the president and the first lady rented a $4 million mansion in McLean, Virginia, which paid $20,000 per month. Jill Biden as the First Lady Jill Biden has continued to champion the causes that have molded her public life, including supporting military families, calling for increased education opportunities, and working to end cancer as we know it. She also called for safely reopening schools, supporting the president's economic agenda, and encouraging adults and children to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the White House profile of the first lady. During her first year in the White House, Jill Biden visited 16 military installations and held over 20 events with military families. She also formed an interagency working group with the National Security Council, securing over 80 commitments and proposals to support military families. The first lady also advocated for additional educational programming and support for military children and more focus on health and wellness in the military community. READ MORE: Hunter Biden Net Worth 2022: How Wealthy Is President Joe Biden's Youngest Son? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Bidens Release 2021 Tax Returns - From MSNBC To mark the one year anniversary of the murder of eight workers at a shipping facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, AAPI Victory Alliance issued the following statement commemorating the anniversary and calling for gun violence prevention legislation. READ NEXT: AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore Joins CBS News to Discuss the 1-Year Anniversary of Atlanta Spa Shootings AAPI Victory Alliance Chair Dr. Tung Nguyen Issued the Following Statement: "Today we remember the 8 workers, including 4 Sikh Americans, who were gunned down in Indianapolis last year by a former employee; the warehouse facility has a majority Sikh workforce." "As the Supreme Court is on the cusp of creating a constitutional right to concealed access, we recommit ourselves to addressing the intersection of hate and gun violence. This is why we will always oppose unfettered access to firearms in America, and call upon Congress to expeditiously pass gun violence prevention legislation to prevent further mass shootings." "Finally, the recent hate crimes against our Sikh neighbors in New York highlight the growing rise in white supremacy across the country. Going forward, we call upon law enforcement to critically examine bias motivation when acts of mass violence harm marginalized communities." About AAPI Victory Alliance AAPI Victory Alliance works to build Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) political power across the country by providing education on progressive issues; creating and advocating for policies that affect our communities; and building alliances with organizations to help AAPIs exert their power and be the margin of victory at the local, state, and national levels. READ MORE: AAPI Victory Alliance Remembers Trayvon Martin 10 Years After His Death, Addresses Ongoing Need for Gun Violence Prevention Passengers onboard an Aer Lingus flight from Zurich to Dublin on Saturday, April 16, had a nervy experience when an announcement of an emergency landing was allegedly made in error throughout the cabin. The announcement allegedly told passengers that the flight was in an emergency situation and to prepare for a "ditched landing." One of the passengers onboard the flight took to Twitter looking for answers and spoke of "two nervous minutes" before the announcement was corrected. Fearghal O'Lideacha described it as "very scary" and asked Aer Lingus what happened. Dear @AerLingus , I was on your flight from Zurich to Dublin this morning and found it very scary when an emergency crash landing in the sea was announced on the PA. Two nervous minutes followed before the fault was corrected with another announcement. What happened? @IrishTimes April 16, 2022 Mr OLideacha told the Irish Times that his interest in aviation allowed him to deduce that a "ditched landing" meant going into the sea. He said flight attendants remained behind the curtains at either end of the cabin and did not rush to deliver more news to passengers. He said there was very little reaction among other passengers, many of whom were wearing headphones. Aer Lingus said the announcement on the EI343 flight from Zurich to Dublin was played in error. It was a pre-recorded announcement "momentarily played on board." A spokesperson said a follow-up announcement was made advising passengers of the error. They insisted that there was no risk to the safety of the plane or its passengers at any point. The airline also responded to Mr OLideacha to apologise. Activists of the Extinction Rebellion movement, rue du faubourg Saint-Denis, in Paris, April 16, 2022. BENJAMIN CARROT FOR "LE MONDE" The time seemed to be right for a party in the center of Paris, Saturday April 16. A piano had been set up in a street free of cars and people took turns playing a few notes, sometimes melodies. Except for the fact that activists were sitting against the wooden instrument, clinging to its handles with locks attached to their necks. Between the two rounds of the French presidential election, more than a thousand demonstrators from the Extinction Rebellion movement, from all over France, took over the area around Porte Saint-Denis in order to denounce leaders' "dangerous lack of action to deal with the climate crisis" and to call for a "livable and fair future for all." During this civil disobedience operation dubbed "the inevitable rebellion," they launched a "big market place for ideas" to move the climate debate back to the center stage of public concern. They hope to hold their blockade for three days, camping on site. This is the movement's largest action since the occupation of Place du Chatelet in Paris in 2019. It usually carries out shorter, intense operations. Extinction Rebellion activists hang high on an installation they call a "tensegrity" structure, in Paris, April 16, 2022. BENJAMIN CARROT FOR "LE MONDE" On Saturday, under a bright sun, a myriad of yellow, green, red or pink flags were waving, displaying the familiar XR logo, the hourglass inside the circle representing the earth, in black. At the ends of the streets, some of the "rebels," as they call themselves, were perched on hay bales, others connected in arm-locks, or sitting, meditating, facing the massed ranks of the police. Two activists were moving up high in a "tensegrity" structure, made of bamboo and cables, which seemed to defy gravity, and also the police. The blockage aroused the curiosity of onlookers but also the annoyance and even anger of some shop owners, who feared disorder. More on this topic Subscribers only Climate issues take a back seat in the second round of presidential election 'Governments swayed by lobbies' The activists, mostly young, denounced a "sick democracy" and leaders guilty of "negligence" in the face of climate danger. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been in existence for 34 years, raising the alarm, but governments, swayed by lobbies, do not act," said Sebastien, a 46-year-old Parisian film-maker, who preferred not to give his last name, like many "rebels." The activists attacked the "inherently destructive" capitalist system, the richest 10% who concentrate 75% of the world's wealth and emit 52% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and TotalEnergies' giant Eacop pipeline project between Uganda and Tanzania. All thought the last five years have been "wasted" in the fight against climate change and feared the "worst" for the next presidential term in France. "We are asked to choose between a rancid fascism and a murderous neoliberalism," two activists told reporters, referring to the two candidates in the second round of the presidential election, Marine Le Pen (Rassemblement National) and Emmanuel Macron (La Republique en Marche). Experts consider the far-right candidate's policy platform dangerous, and the center candidate's insufficient when it comes to climate issues. You have 57.17% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. How many middle-class and affluent Russians have fled their country since the invasion of Ukraine? According to economist Konstantin Sonin of the University of Chicago, at least 200,000 have already packed their bags since the end of February, because they are revolted by the war started by Vladimir Putin, they fear for their safety or they wish to provide a better future for their children. In April, another 70,000 to 100,000 people in the new technology sector are expected to leave Russia, according to the industry trade association. Many have gone to Israel, which makes it easy for Ukrainians and Russians alike to settle on its soil especially when they are high-tech specialists. Others went to Armenia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and, to a lesser extent, Finland and Estonia. This brain drain, preceded by a surge in pandemic-related deaths in Russia, more than 700,000 people have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of 2020, according to Reuters has further accentuated the demographic angst of the Russian regime. The population decline has been one of Vladimir Putin's obsessions since he came to power. He sees it as both an economic and a geopolitical problem. In his speeches, he regularly calls on Russians to have more children. The government has introduced a series of incentives to boost the birth rate, such as bonuses for couples having more than one baby. But these measures have never really worked. While the standard of living has stagnated, or even declined, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the first round of Western sanctions against Moscow, Russians are struggling to look forward. The number of children per woman, 1.5 on average, is below the threshold of 2.1 needed to replace the population without immigration. It fell sharply in the early 1990s, when a severe economic crisis wiped out the meager savings accumulated by households during the Soviet era. Is Putin shooting himself in the foot? In 1989, the USSR had a population of 286.7 million, more than the United States (246.8 million). After the collapse of the communist bloc, and without the former Soviet republics, the population of the Russian Federation fell to 148.5 million. In 2020, it was 144.1 million, compared to 329.4 million in the United States. According to the latest United Nations projections, made before the pandemic and the war, it could fall to 139 million by 2040. More on this topic Subscribers only 'The Russian war in Ukraine has entered a new military, ideological and geopolitical phase' In other words, the Russian population is shrinking at a dizzying rate, and the war will only accentuate that trend. This actually explains why the army is looking for its recruits further and further away, in peripheral republics. In the long run, the brain drain, especially of young graduates, will weaken the country's ability to innovate, especially since it is occurring on an unprecedented scale, as noted by many observers who claim that Vladimir Putin is shooting himself in the foot. You have 24.79% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. "Shuffle back right, shuffle back left, three steps forward, kick left..." Who would have thought, while walking along the Norman working-class houses that line the one-street village of Damigny (a town in north-western France) on this drizzly Sunday in late November, that Nashville and Johnny Cash's music would be resonating just outside the doors of the Mazeline multi-purpose hall? Under the garlands of American flags, lines of heels and cowboy boots collectively thump the floor to the sound of "Hooked on Country": "Lord have mercy on me, I'm addicted to country music." The day before, 120 kilometers away, there were about thirty people honoring this opening ball tradition, under the disco balls of the 6711 Disco Bar in Leves (a village in northern France). The same 32 beats in harmony in Nux-les-Mines, Drancy, Palavas-les-Flots, Gresy-sur-Aix, Yvetot... November 21, 2021. Country dance amateurs met in the town hall of Damigny, near Alencon (north west). CHA GONZALEZ / CHA GONZALEZ November 21, 2021. Country dance amateurs meet in the town hall of Damigny, near Alencon (north west). CHA GONZALEZ / CHA GONZALEZ Counting country ball flyers in France for the month of November alone dozens per weekend, despite recent cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic is enough to confirm the ingrained success of this dance, which has remained popular for around twenty years despite the emergence of other trends such as zumba. Type "country dance" on Facebook and YouTube and you will find hundreds of clubs with names evoking the Wild West the Tennessee Mockingbird (Villiers-en-Bieres, Seine-et-Marne), the Wild Talons (Versailles), the Froggy Stomp (Boissise -le-Roi, Seine-et-Marne) exchange videos and choreography PDFs in various languages, advice, and schedule class appointments, balls and carpooling. What evidence is there to support the telling estimate claimed in La France sous nos yeux (Seuil, 496 pages, 23 euros), by Jerome Fourquet and Jean-Laurent Cassely: 9% of the population aged 18 and over has already practiced, or is engaged in, country dancing as part of an organization (according to an IFOP survey, conducted in 2019 and 2020 among a representative sample of 6,076 people). If no proper record exists, the authors have identified, before the health crisis, about 2,000 clubs and associations in the area. A real Yankee cultural transplant that has passed under the radar of another part of the country as the country cavalry has spread quietly, beyond the metropolises and a certain cultural elitism, into the French village halls, rural households, the MJC (Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture (Youth and Cultural House, an association open to people of all ages and promoting inter-generational knowledge exchanges)) and commercial zones. You have 83.27% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. A TEENAGE girl who sustained minor injuries in a road collision while on holidays in West Limerick has been awarded more than 14,000 in damages. Newcastle West Court was told the now 15-year-old was a front-seat passenger in a car which rear-ended another vehicle on April 25, 2018. Barrister Anne Marie Dunne said the plaintiff, who lives in the UK, had opened her seat belt and was reaching into the back of the car when the impact occurred. She sustained mild soft tissue injuries to her right shoulder and hip. Judge Carol Anne Coolican was told the teenager had some hip problems prior to the collision and it was accepted some of the pain related to this pre-existing condition. Ms Dunne said her client, who was not present in court, was taken by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick following the collision and that she was examined by a number of doctors and consultants since. In addition to the physical injuries, the teenager developed a situational anxiety and experienced some sleep disturbance for around a year. Detailed medical reports were submitted to the court confirming that the plaintiff has fully recovered physically and that the psychological injuries have also resolved themselves. Having considered the matter and noting the opinion of Ms Dunne, the judge formally approved the offer from the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. SUGGESTIONS that the local authority should place signage outside derelict properties ready for disposal in one Limerick area have been shot down by Limerick City and County Council. At a meeting of the Newcastle West Municipal District, Cllr Jerome Scanlan asked that site notices be placed on all council owned property being considered for disposal within the district. The reason I put this down is that we have run into very significant difficulty in Castlemahon village with regard to the dereliction there, he told his colleagues. The Independent public representative stressed the need for advanced notices at similar sites, adding that other local authorities were doing so. Gordon Daly, Director of Community, Tourism and Culture (pictured), responsible for the Newcastle West Municipal District said that he strongly disagrees and that no local authority in Ireland is doing it. The meeting administrator outlined that the current procedure for disposal of derelict properties ensures that For Sale signs are placed outside all properties, which are also posted online for four to six weeks, for maximum exposure. Queries can then be raised with council officials or the marketing agent, the administrator added. Cllr Scanlan vented his frustrations, stating that often, as in the case in Castlemahon, representations on derelict properties have been made for a period of up to seven years. He said that the first time that locals in the Limerick village were made aware of the disposal of these properties was when they saw a For Sale sign from a Dublin firm. It has caused consternation out there, he said. Mr Daly stated that the Dublin firm is a professional firm operating throughout the country and have been through a public tendering process to be the auctioneer for LCCC. There are hundreds of properties for disposal. We are dealing with that particular case. Changing our whole process because of one case, I dont think is the correct approach, Mr Daly added. Cllr John Sheahan suggested that if it is a case where council policy must be changed, then it should be brought to a full council meeting, to let the forty council members make a decision. Mr Daly concluded: This would put another burden on already stretched resources in that area. All the safeguards are there, it cant be disposed of without your approval. The 1916 Rising has been marked in Dublin his Easter Sunday, April 17. Irish President Michael D Higgins led the commemorations of the Easter Rising in a military ceremony outside the GPO on OConnell Street in the capital, one of the main sites of the rebellion against British rule in 1916. It was the first public event to mark the uprising since the beginning of the pandemic. President Higgins laid a wreath during the ceremony, which began at midday on Sunday. Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Minister for Defence Simon Coveney also attended the event as well as Defence Forces members, a brass band, and representatives of the Air Corps and the Naval Service. The commemoration involved prayers of remembrance, and the Proclamation was read by Commandant Daire Roache, from Ballina, Co Mayo. The Irish flag was lowered to half-mast during the ceremony and Private Vincent Murray, of the 27th Infantry Battalion, played a lament outside the GPO. Relatives of former Irish presidents and family members of the 1916 signatories were also in attendance. The planned flypast by the Irish Air Corps was cancelled due to the weather. The southern 26 counties in Ireland went on to become independent of British rule in 1922, and later became a republic in 1949 while the northern six counties remain part of the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in Belfast, huge crowds are expected to take part in Easter commemorations to mark 106 years since the 1916 Rising. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is to address the National Graves Association commemoration in Milltown Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. China Eastern Airlines has restarted using Boeing 737-800 jetliners for commercial flights less than a month after a crash that killed 132 people on board and grounded over 200 of its aircraft, data from a tracking website showed on Sunday. China Eastern flight MU5843, operated by a three-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft, took off from the southwestern city of Kunming at 09:58 a.m. local time (0158 GMT) on Sunday and landed at Chengdu, also in southwestern China, at 11:03 a.m. local time, data from Flightradar24 showed. That aircraft, which completed a test flight on Saturday, departed Chengdu at 13:02 p.m. for Kunming, according to Flightradar24. Another Boeing 737-800 jet conducted a test flight on Sunday morning in Shanghai, where China Eastern is based, Flightradar24 data showed. China Eastern was not immediately available for comment. On March 21, Flight MU5735, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in the mountains of Guangxi and killed 123 passengers and nine crew members in mainland China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years. China has retrieved both of the black boxes and has said it would submit a preliminary report to the U.N. aviation agency ICAO within 30 days of the event. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Veterinarians frown upon giving dogs any kind of "people food" but are especially adamant about keeping chocolate far away from our canine friends. During holidays such as Easter , when delicious chocolate may be more commonly found around the house, it's even more important to be vigilant about your pet gulping down this human treat. But why is chocolate milk or dark so toxic for dogs? Chocolate contains the chemicals theobromine and caffeine, and these two stimulants which dogs can't metabolize as easily as people can accumulate in the animal's body, where they can rev up a dog's bodily functions and cause dangerous side effects, according to VCA Animal Hospitals . The severity of chocolate's negative impacts on a dog are determined by the levels of theobromine and caffeine in the chocolate product, how much of it the dog ate, and the dog's weight and sensitivity to chemical stimulants. Chocolate that is dark and bitter is more toxic to dogs, as it contains a higher concentration of theobromine per ounce than milk chocolate (130 to 450 milligrams per ounce, compared with milk chocolate's 45 to 58 mg per ounce). White chocolate, on the other hand, contains just 0.25 mg of theobromine per ounce, and therefore poses a much lower toxic threat to dogs, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. What are symptoms of chocolate toxicity in dogs? Initial symptoms of chocolate toxicity typically appear within 6 to 12 hours, and may include excessive drooling and panting, increased thirst and urination, and an upset stomach followed by vomiting and diarrhea, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). The dog may experience an increased heart rate and become restless, nervous and excited, much like a caffeine-sensitive person who has downed too many cups of coffee. In severe cases, irregular heart rate from chocolate consumption can reduce circulation, resulting in a drop in body temperature. Extreme symptoms include lethargy, muscle spasms, seizures and coma, sometimes leading to death, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. And because theobromine has a long half-life, which means it takes longer for the body to break it down, symptoms of chocolate poisoning can persist for days. In some cases, dogs consume chocolate but show no symptoms; that's because the dosage size of the toxins can affect an animal's response to being poisoned, according to the Office for Science and Society at McGill University in Ontario, Canada. How do veterinarians treat chocolate poisoning? Veterinarians typically treat chocolate toxicity by inducing vomiting or administering doses of activated charcoal, which purges toxins from the dog's digestive system before they can be absorbed by the animal's bloodstream, according to the AKC. Depending on the severity of the poisoning, medication or fluids may be required to counteract the poisoning, the AKC says. What might affect a dog's reaction to chocolate? How a dog reacts to chocolate can depend on the animal's size, said veterinarian Dr. Greg Nelson, Director of Surgery and Director of Diagnostic Imaging at Central Veterinary Associates in Valley Stream, New York. A square of chocolate will therefore have a more pronounced effect on a Chihuahua, which typically weighs about 4 to 6 pounds (1.8 to 2.7 kilograms) than on a Saint Bernard, which can weigh as much as 180 pounds (81.6 kg). "One hundred milligrams of theobromine and caffeine per each kilogram of a dog's weight is enough to be lethal," Nelson told Live Science. (A kilogram equals 2.2 pounds.) "Different chocolate products have varying levels of theobromine and caffeine, and the worst offender is baker's chocolate. In my experience, one ounce of baker's chocolate per kilogram [of the dog's body weight] can be lethal." Milk chocolate is less dangerous than baking chocolate because it contains less stimulants, but Nelson warns that if your dog has ingested any type or amount of chocolate, you are always better off being safe than sorry. "I advise clients to come in instead of second-guessing and possibly creating an emergency by not having the dog looked at right away," Nelson said. "At the very least, call your veterinarian or the national Animal Poison Control center for advice." (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center can be reached 365 days a year at 888- 426-4435.) While chocolate poisoning may affect dogs at any time, pups are more likely to find and consume chocolate on holidays such as Christmas and Easter when plentiful chocolate is available as figurines (such as bunnies and Santa Claus), as well as in bars, eggs, liqueurs, cakes and decorations, researchers wrote in a 2017 paper in the journal Vet Record . In fact, during Christmastime, dogs are four times more likely to require a vet visit for chocolate poisoning than during non-holidays; and on Easter, dogs are twice as likely to be sickened by chocolate, compared with other times of the year, Live Science previously reported . Additional resources Read more from the ASPCA on their Toxicology and Poison Control web page, to learn about toxins, medications, hazards and resources that could help you save the life of your pet in the event of a toxic exposure. The Veterinary Emergency Group provides tips for identifying symptoms of chocolate toxicity in dogs, and recommends what to do in an emergency. The ASPCA also compiled a list of other human foods that are hazardous for pets to eat, such as avocados, coconuts, citrus and alcohol, among others. This article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to offer medical advice. Originally published on Live Science. Bibliography "Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs." Chocolate Poisoning In Dogs | VCA Animal Hospitals, https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/chocolate-poisoning-in-dogs. Staff, AKC. "What to Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate." American Kennel Club, American Kennel Club, 28 Dec. 2021, https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/what-to-do-if-your-dog-ate-chocolate/. "My Dog Ate Chocolate and He Was Fine, so What's the Big Deal?" Office for Science and Society, 26 Aug. 2019, https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health/my-dog-ate-chocolate-and-he-was-fine-so-whats-big-deal. Noble, Peter-John M, et al. "Heightened Risk of Canine Chocolate Exposure at Christmas and Easter." Veterinary Record, vol. 181, no. 25, 2017, pp. 684684., https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104762. "Toxicology & Poison Control." ASPCApro, 21 Mar. 2022, https://www.aspcapro.org/topics-animal-health/toxicology-poison-control. "Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs: Signs and What to Do." Veterinary Emergency Group, 21 Feb. 2022, https://veterinaryemergencygroup.com/blog/chocolate-toxicity-in-dogs/. "People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets." ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday defied intensifying pressure over his new border policy that has gridlocked trucks entering the U.S. and shut down some of the world's busiest trade bridges as the Mexican government, businesses and even some allies urge him to relent. The two-term Republican governor, who has ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico undergo extra inspections as part of a fight with President Joe Biden's administration over immigration, refused to fully reverse course as traffic remains snarled. The standoff has stoked warnings by trade groups and experts that U.S. grocery shoppers could soon notice shortages on shelves and higher prices unless the normal flow of trucks resumes. Abbott announced Wednesday that he would stop inspections at one bridge in Laredo after reaching an agreement with the governor of neighboring Nuevo Leon in Mexico. But some of the most dramatic truck backups and bridge closures have occurred elsewhere along Texas' 1,200-mile border. I understand the concerns that businesses have trying to move product across the border, Abbott said during a visit to Laredo. But I also know well the frustration of my fellow Texans and my fellow Americans caused by the Biden administration not securing our border. Abbott said inbound commercial trucks elsewhere will continue to undergo thorough inspections by state troopers until leaders of Mexico's three other neighboring states reach agreements with Texas over security. He did not spell out what those measures must entail. At the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where more produce crosses than any other land port in the U.S., truckers protesting Abbott's order had effectively shut down the bridge since Monday. But Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the protests had concluded and commercial traffic had resumed. Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel Garcia joined Abbott in Laredo, where backups on the Colombia Solidarity Bridge have stretched for three hours or longer. Garcia said Nuevo Leon would begin checkpoints to assure Abbott they would not have any trouble." Abbott said he was hopeful other Mexican states would soon follow and said those states had been in contact with his office. On Tuesday, the governors of Coahuila and Tamaulipas had sent a letter to Abbott calling the inspections overzealous. This policy will ultimately increase consumer costs in an already record 40-year inflated market holding the border hostage is not the answer," the letter read. The slowdowns are the fallout of an initiative that Abbott says is needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs. Abbott ordered the inspections as part of unprecedented actions he promised in response to the Biden administration winding down a public health law that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. In addition to the inspections, Abbott also said Texas would begin offering migrants bus rides to Washington, D.C., in a demonstration of frustration with the Biden administration and Congress. Hours before the news conference in Laredo, Abbott announced the first bus carrying 24 migrants had arrived in Washington. During the last week of March, Border Protection officials said the border averaged more than 7,100 crossings daily. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called Abbotts order unnecessary and redundant. Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country, and while Texas troopers have previously done additional inspections on some vehicles, local officials and business owners say troopers have never stopped every truck until now. Cross-border traffic has plummeted to a third of normal levels since the inspections began, according to Mexico's government. Mexico is a major supplier of fresh vegetables to the U.S., and importers say the wait times and rerouting of trucks to other bridges as far away as Arizona has spoiled some produce shipments. The escalating pressure on Abbott, who is up for reelection in November, has come from his supporters and members of his own party. The Texas Trucking Association, which has endorsed Abbott, said that the current situation cannot be sustained. John Esparza, the association's president, said he agrees with attempts to find a remedy with Mexico's governors. But he said if talks take long, congestion could overwhelm bridges where inspections by Texas are no longer being done. The longer that goes, the more the impact is felt across the country, Esparza said. It is like when a disaster strikes. The slowdowns have set off some of widest backlash to date of Abbotts multibillion-dollar border operation, which the two-term governor has made the cornerstone of his administration. Texas has thousands of state troopers and National Guard members on the border and has converted prisons into jails for migrants arrested on state trespassing charges. Critics question how the inspections are meeting Abbotts objective of stopping the flow of migrants and drugs. Asked what troopers had turned up in their truck inspections, Abbott directed the question to the Texas Department of Public Safety. As of Monday, the agency said it had inspected more than 3,400 commercial vehicles and placed more than 800 out of service for violations that included defective brakes, tires and lighting. It made no mention of whether the inspections turned up migrants or drugs. ____ Associated Press reporters Acacia Coronado. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show it's Customs and Border Protection. Click here to read the full article. Fashion, of course, is rarely just fashion it tells a story about whoevers wearing it. And in the 90s and 2000s, the preppy youthquake mall-fashion outlet Abercrombie & Fitch told a very big story. It was a story of where America or, at least, a powerful slice of the millennial demo was at. As recounted in the lively, snarky, horrifying, and irresistible documentary White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch (which drops April 19 on Netflix), As a company, Abercrombie & Fitch had been around since 1892. It originally catered to elite sportsmen (Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway were loyal customers), but after falling on hard times and kicking around as an antiquated brand, the company was reinvented in the early 90s by the CEO Mike Jeffries, who fused the upscale WASP fetishism of designers like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger with the chiseled-beefcake-in-underwear monochromatic sexiness of the Calvin Klein brand to create a newly ratcheted up you-are-what-you-wear dreamscape of hot, clubby elitism. The models in the catalogues, on the store posters, on the shopping bags were mostly men, mostly naked, and all ripped, like the missing link between Michelangelos David and Jersey Shore. The rugby shirts and fussy torn jeans werent all that special, but they were priced as if they were. What you were buying, in many cases, was really just the logo the Abercrombie & Fitch insignia, splayed across sweatshirts and Ts, which signified that you, too, were a member of the ruling echelon of youth cool. The brand was unabashed in its insider/outsider snobbery, but the problem with it and there was a major problem wasnt the clothes. It was the fact that not just the companys advertising aesthetic but its hiring practices were nakedly discriminatory. Abercrombie & Fitch was selling neo-colonial jock chic infused with a barely disguised dollop of white supremacy. Like the models, the sales people who worked on the retail outlet floors all had to conform to an all-American ideal which meant, among other things, an exclusionary whiteness. At an Abercrombie boutique, the text was: Were white. The subtext was: No one else wanted. In White Hot, Alison Klayman, the ace documentarian who made Jagged, The Brink, and Take Your Pills, shows us how Abercrombie & Fitch rose to an insane of popularity by taking a certain strain of sexy preppy entitlement that was already out there and kicking it up into the aspirational stratosphere. She traces the incredible ride the brand enjoyed (it was iconic for well over a decade, but then flamed out the way that only a white-hot fashion phenom can), and she interviews many former employees, including several from the executive ranks, who explain how the sausage was made. At colleges, Abercrombie reps targeted the hunkiest dudes at the hippest fraternities to wear the clothes, figuring that the image would spread from there. (You feel the start of influencer culture.) The mall stores were shielded by shuttered doors, and inside they were bathed in dance-club beats and musky clouds of A&F cologne. The ads were all about frat boys with the look of rugby and lacrosse jocks, who became, in the quarterly coffee-table catalogues, the stud next door. (The godfather of Abercrombie models was Marky Mark in the Calvin Klein ads.) There were some girls in the ads, too, and celebrities before they were famous, like Olivia Wilde, Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, and January Jones. Bobby Blanski, a former A&F model, says, They literally made so much money marketing clothes. But advertising them with no clothes on. But that made sense, since the clothes themselves were nothing special, according to Alan Karo, an Abercrombie fashion marketing and advertising executive. It was the label, the brand, the club, the cult. The journalist Moe Tkacik recalls that the first time she walked into an Abercrombie outlet, she said to herself, Oh my God, theyve bottled this. They have absolutely crystalized everything that I hate about high school and put it in a store. Theres a dimension of the Abercrombie story that has a perverse parallel with the movie industry. In his seminal book Empire of Their Own, Neal Gabler captured how the moguls who created Hollywood were, in no small part, forging an onscreen identity that was the opposite of their own a white-picket-fence America of idealized WASP conformity. You could argue that on a karmic level, because those moguls were Jewish, they envisioned that other world as a kind of dream, and thus elevated it into a mythology. Something comparable went on in America with youth fashion. Preppies, and the preppy look, had been around for decades. But the preppy as signifier, as advertising icon, as the image of who everyone wanted to be didnt come to the fore until the 1980s. The counterculture had been a scruffy, literally hairy affair; the 80s, throwing over all that moralistic rebellion-against-the-system stuff, would be sleek, shaved, and beige. The new rebel, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun or Charlie Sheen in Wall Street, was a rebel precisely because of how wired he was into the system: of military hardware, of finance, of high living. (He drove a fuck-you Porsche.) The WASP preppy culture that become a new symbol of cool was spearheaded, on the fashion front, by that trilogy of designer-mogul giants, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger. Two of them were Jewish, and so was Bruce Weber, the legendary photographer who created the exclusionary youths-romping-in-nature-with-a-golden-retriever image of Abercrombies Triumph of the Will meets Chippendales aesthetic. Were the Abercrombie & Fitch adds homoerotic? Yes and no. Weber, like Calvin Klein, was gay (and so was CEO Mike Jeffries), and on some level the ads were suffused with homoerotic sensation. But its not as if their effect was limited to that gaze. What was more important to the Abercrombie essence is that by the late 90s, the preppy-as-icon had become a signifier of the one percent. This is part of what you were aspiring to when you bought into the Abercrombie lifestyle, which promised a golden ticket out of the doldrums that defined everyone else. What Klayman captures in the documentary, right from its jaunty cut-out-and-punk-bubblegum opening-credits sequence, is that far more than the fashion labels that paved the way for it, Abercrombie & Fitch became pop culture. And you could chart its rise and fall through pop culture. The definitive sign that the brand had become larger-than-life arrived when LFO referenced it in its 1999 hit of hip-hop nostalgia, Summer Girls, with the line I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch, which did for A&F what Sister Sledges designer shout-out in Hes the Greatest Dancer in 1979 (Halston, GucciFiorucci) did for the fashion revolution of the 80s. There was a dumb-lunk misogynistic poetry to the LFO line, which should have read I like girls WHO wear Abercrombie & Fitch. But by sticking with referring to women as that, the line inadvertently caught the essence of the A&F mystique. Namely: I like objects wearing objects. Three years later, though, in the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film, Peter Parkers high-school bully nemesis, Flash Thompson, was dressed in Abercrombie, like a John Hughes villain of the 80s. The brand was still riding high, but one of its market managers, interviewed in the doc, says that he immediately saw this as an ominous sign. People were starting to get onto what Abercrombie stood for, and this had consequences. That same year, one of their joke T-shirts, which featured antiquated slogans displayed ironically, flaunted Chinese caricatures in rice-paddy hats with the slogan Wong Brothers Laundry Service Two Wongs Can Make It White. This drew protests from Asian-Americans, who picketed outside the stores, and by the time that kind of thing was being given a spotlight by 60 Minutes, you had a PR disaster. Klayman shows us records of the stores guide to The Look: what was acceptable for its sales people to wear and, more important, not to wear (dreadlocks, gold chains for men). The company employed very few people of color, and those it did have were mostly confined to the back room, or to late shifts where their job was to clean up. These practices were so overtly discriminatory that in 2003, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Abercrombie. The company settled the suit for $40 million, admitting no guilt but entering into a consent decree in which they agreed to change their recruiting, hiring, and marketing practices. Todd Corley, who was hired to oversee diversity initiatives, is interviewed in the film; he made a few inroads but in other ways was the symbol the company needed to try to change without changing too much. As a fashion brand, Abercrombie & Fitch was a bit like the Republican Party fighting to hold onto the hegenomy of a white-bread America that was, in reality, losing its power and influence. Yet as the documentary makes clear, the fade-out of Abercrombie as a cultural force wasnt only about the revelation of its racist practices. This was also the last pre-Internet gasp of Total Mall Culture: the mall as the place you hung out and went to buy what was cool, after learning about it on MTV. That now sounds as quaintly distant as Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But what has never gone away and may have only gained in influence is the obnoxious youth-cult aristocracy that Abercrombie incarnated: the idea that the cooler, the hotter, the more expensive you look, the more of a lout it invites you to be. Reviewed online, April 12, 2022. MPAA Rating: Not rated. Running time: 88 MIN. Production A Netflix release of an Aliklay, Second Nature production, in association with Cinetic Media, All3Media, Cannibal Content. Producers: Alison Klayman, Emmet McDermott, Hayley Pappas. Executive producers: Matt Ippolito, Smiley Stevens, Julia Liu, Adam Bardach, John Sloss, Tim Pastore. Crew Director: Alison Klayman. Camera: Julia Liu. Editors: Jen Fineran, Colleen Flanagan, Brian Goetz, Steph Ching. Music: Amy Wood. With Anthony Ocampo, Moe Tkacik, Ryan Daharsh, Todd Corley, Bobby Blanski, Kelly Blumberg, Benjamin OKeefe, Phil Yu, Savas Abadsidis, Carla Barrientos, Mark Beard, Samantha Elauf, Kjerstin Gruys, Alan Karo, Patrick Carone, Jahan Sagafi, Toya Spencer. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Laredo Police Department lauded the recent high ranking of the city in SmartAssets list of Safest Cities in American 2022, which has Laredo in 13th place. The site indicated that their methods included analysis of different types of crime, vehicle mortality rate and the engagement of the population in excessive drinking. The metrics and research methods were based on the FBIs 2019 uniform crime reporting database. It was stated that the FBI data regarding vehicle, drug poisoning and excessive drinking rates are measured at the county level, while violent and property crime rates are at the city level. According to the site, in 2021, Laredo ranked No. 19 -- tied with Palmdale, California, which remained in that No. 19 spot in 2022. At a rate per 100,000 residents, Laredo had 324 violent crimes, 1,445 property crimes, a vehicular mortality rate of 10 and a drug poisoning mortality rate of 10.9. The LPD added that they continuously work to maintain the citys continued low crime rates by finding new and meaningful ways to incorporate effective collaborations with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in our community. Comparatively, last year, Laredo saw a crime rate of 316, property crime rate of 1,771, a vehicular mortality rate of 10.1 and a drug poisoning mortality rate of 11.8. As for the excessive drinking percentage, Laredos rate lowered from 16.29% to 15.93%. With the news of the smartasset.com ranking, we proudly laud the hard work of our police officers, investigators and supervisors who work diligently for the safety of our community, LPD Chief Claudio Trevino Jr. said in a statement. "As Chief, I am proud of their efforts and sacrifices. As a law enforcement officer, I am proud to be a part of such a unique, hard working group of law enforcement professionals." A new Texas Anti-gang center will be operational this year and LPD states that it is a good example of the enhancements Laredo PD is developing to further cement our law enforcement partnerships and manage efficient resources to protect the city of Laredo for generations to come. SmartAsset added that 80% of the 25 safest cities are in Texas or California and most of the safest cities, specifically the top 10, are mid-size cities. With population sizes between 140,000 and 286,00 residents, these cities were stated to fare better than those with over 500,000 residents. With over 250,000 residents making up the Laredo population, the city is closer to the approximate population size of No. 9-ranked Plano, which is over 287,000 residents than the over 177,000 in Frisco who placed second. Recently, the Webb County Sheriff recognized the efforts of the 911 dispatchers who communicate with residents in emergencies and relay information to law enforcement officers on their patrols. Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina said he was proud of the work of the dispatchers, their attitude and their cool, and that the recognition is well deserved each year. Sheriff Martin Cuellar said that the April 2022 Telecommunication Week proclamation was a unique and special event that highlighted the synergy between law enforcement officers on the streets and the dispatchers providing information. Use the Arrows < > above to go through the gallery Longford variety group presents Are ya wide sham in Backstage Theatre Longford from April 27 to April 30 at 8pm nightly. All proceeds are going to Longford Hospice Homecare and St Christopher's, and other local charities. Join Longford Variety Group for this special show dedicated to the memory of Tom OBrien. Tom was a former cast member whose comedy skills were second to none. He loved being on stage entertaining people (sure he was born for it) and people loved him. Gone but never forgotten. The show will feature musical pieces from Hairspray, Everyones Talking about Jamie and Multi-Olivier Award Winning shows Come From Away and Hamilton. And our Irish heritage piece is dedicated to the heroes of Jadotville. This years comedy team is again led by the legendary John Kelly and will also feature some of Longfords best soloists including Denise McNamara, Riona Lynch, Sarah Hanley, David Flaherty and Tony Wadd. Longford Variety Group would like to thank all our cast members who have worked tirelessly throughout a very difficult period. Your dedication and support is greatly appreciated, Thank you to all our sponsors and to the people of Longford who have supported our four sold out shows. The leader of Sinn Fein has sought partnership with unionists to help realise the partys objective of achieving a united Ireland. Mary Lou McDonald said unionists must have an equal part in building what she described as a new Ireland. Ms McDonald made the comments during an Easter commemoration to mark 106 years since the 1916 Rising. Addressing a large crowd that assembled in Milltown Cemetery in Belfast on Sunday, Ms McDonald urged unionists to walk this journey with us. To those of a unionist tradition I say sincerely, we seek partnership with you, she added. A future of equality and freedom belongs to you. A future of progress and change belongs to you. A future of prosperity and opportunity belongs to you. Remembering the brave men and women of the #EasterRising today The vision of 1916 is still to be realised. It remains our reference point for a new Ireland #EiriAmachNaCasca pic.twitter.com/u1WKnHJCX4 Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) April 17, 2022 It is not for anybody to invite you in; that future is already yours. It is about you, it is of you, it is for you. British government after British government has disrespected and failed you, time and again. Imagine instead the liberating possibility of full freedom to make all decisions here, in a parliament here, for the people who live here. Instead of a government in London turning its back on you, imagine an Ireland where your place is assured and your rights are enshrined in law. Where who you are is woven into the very fabric of who we all are, a people as one in all our diversity. An Ireland finally taking its place again as part of the European family and amongst the nations of the world, ready to realise all of our potential. In that spirit, in that belief, there is no limit to what we can achieve together. Walk this journey with us. This is the decade of opportunity where we have the freedom to determine our future. There is so much to gain. Ms McDonald reiterated her calls to prepare for Irish unity. During the commemoration wreaths were laid for various groups, including the National Graves Association and the GAA. This was followed by the laying of single lilies by young people. A minutes silence was held for those who died during the 1916 Rising, followed by a musician playing a lament. The Proclamation was read by Roseleen Walsh. Addressing the forthcoming Northern Ireland Assembly election, Ms McDonald said that if Sinn Fein emerges as the largest party, it will nominate Michelle ONeill as first minister. She told the crowd that there is not an office off-limits or the sole preserve of one group. Those days are gone and good riddance, Ms McDonald added. After the votes are counted, the Sinn Fein team will go back to the Assembly ready to do business, ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work for the people. We want to do this in partnership with others. We will work with everyone to make politics a success. Democracy must prevail on terms set by the people, not by the DUP or by anyone else. The democratic test for the leaders of political unionism will be if they accept the will of the people. I hope they do. I hope they do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Now is the time for an Executive that is focused on delivery and the future, and which embraces the values of partnership over division. Spain's health minister, Carolina Darias, explained on Saturday that businesses will decide whether masks should continue to be worn indoors. On Wednesday, new regulation regarding mask-wearing will come into force for the whole of Spain. Masks indoors will no longer be obligatory, but with certain exceptions - public transport, care homes for the elderly, health centres and hospitals. The minister said that companies' occupational risk prevention services will determine areas where it may be necessary to continue wearing masks. The decree governing the new regulation says that "masks will no longer be mandatory in certain interior spaces", meaning that there is scope for businesses to enforce mask-wearing if they believe this is necessary. Asked about the impact of the regulatory change, given a potential increase in Covid infections because of the Easter holidays, Darias insisted that the current situation "has nothing to do with previous ones". She accepted that increases in incidence have occurred in some regions after holiday periods but that these haven't led to increased hospitalisation. Since March last year, the process for the online purchase of airline tickets that are subject to the 75% discount for residents of the Balearics requires that resident status is input at the end of the process. This regulatory change was intended to prevent the base price of the ticket being inflated. The same system is also needed for ferry tickets. Monitoring by the Consubal consumers association in the Balearics and the Aviba association of travel agencies indicates that not all airlines are complying with this requirement. Alfonso Rodriguez, sookesperson for Consubal, says that airlines are using a double rate for bookings where there is the right to a residents discount in increasing the price and so benefit from the state subsidy for inter-island travel and travel between the Balearics and the mainland. For Consubal, "the attitude of some companies is unjustifiable". The association goes on to say that it is also unjustifiable that the civil aviation directorate and the Spanish government are not sanctioning airlines which continue to fail to comply and therefore take advantage of applying higher fares in order to receive a greater state subsidy with the 75% discount. The Balearic government's director of ports and airports, Xavier Ramis, says that there is regular contact with the civil aviation directorate regarding control of this situation. The government's view is that it implies a defrauding of state money. The directorate has been notified in writing by the Balearic government that it must ensure that airlines ask for resident status at the end of the purchase process. Spain's Airline Association argues that the new system "can cause confusion" for buyers. "The system in force until the entry of the new regulations was transparent and offered clear information when giving the final price to residents and non-residents. Now it can cause confusion because if buyers see a 100-euro price, they believe that with 75% they will pay only 25 euros. When they reach the end, they will see that the ticket will actually cost 46 euros because the rates do not fall within the 75% discount." Kaleva Norman Dickson/Bear Lake schools dual superintendent Jakob Veith and Onekama Consolidated Schools superintendent Gina Hagen learned a key word from their predecessors when it comes to the 18 mill non-homestead operating millage. That key word is "renewal." For years, both Veith and Hagen listened to former superintendents Marlen Cordes and Kevin Hughes stress the importance of that message to the voters. This is the first time around that Veith and Hagen will be the leaders of the district putting out that non-homestead message. It is an important one for people to understand. Being an educated voter is vital in non-homestead millage elections because what people need to fully understand is the approval of this millage will not impact the taxes on their primary residence. The only ones impacted will be those who own business property, rental housing and vacation home property within those school districts. Legislators mandated these renewals for every public school district in the state when Proposal A came into existence in 1994, changing the way schools are funded. Proposal A changed funding to a per pupil formula, and this non-homestead approval gives the state permission to send the district those funds. There is no hidden agendas or money going elsewhere, as this is funding that goes strictly for operating expenses. And let me tell you, having covered these school districts for many years prior to my retirement, not a penny goes anywhere else except to support giving the kids of those districts a great education. I also worked for years with Veith and Hagen in their previous roles as principals in their respective districts and can personally attest to how carefully they follow that process to the letter. All three districts are lucky to have their leadership in the superintendent positions. The same can be said for their respective boards of education that are comprised of dedicated community members who donate their time and effort to do what is best for kids. Remember people, those board members do not get paid for what they do; they do it for the kids. Another vitally important thing to remember is school districts are only allowed by state law to levy 18 mills for millage. They may ask for more on the ballot language in the renewal process to offset previous declines in that millage due to the Headlee Amendment to the Michigan Constitution in 1963, but by law they can only levy 18 mills. By having those higher numbers in place it guarantees that school districts will not drop below 18 mills and guarantee they will receive the funding rightfully due to them under the per pupil funding. Case in point is Onekama Consolidated will be asking for a renewal limitation of 19.0299 mills, KND 18.3867 and Bear Lake 18.953. Once again, remember they can only levy 18 mills on the tax bill as this is a safety net to prevent it from dropping lower than that due to the Headlee reductions. The more important numbers are what would be lost in state revenue if these renewals failed. That translates into money lost from their budgets: Onekama would lose $3.24 million, KND $2.52 million and Bear Lake $970,000. Pulling those funds out of their budgets would have catastrophic consequences on the daily education process. Over the 28 years span that Proposal A has been in existence, voters of only one of the 500 plus school districts were ever misguided enough not to approve this millage. The district then went back and approved it in another election a few months later after voters learned of the impact on their schools. Not a smart move either considering elections cost money to run which comes from taxes the people pay. Its also why districts everywhere do this process before the current renewal expires in case they need to bring it back to the voters a second time. In this case, approval of the renewal would lock it in place for four years from 2023-27. With all the added challenges COVID-19 has put on the world of education, supporting these renewals will make sure teachers and staff members can keep the tools in their hands to provide a solid education to the kids. Some who read this may wonder why I would care about the Onekama, KND and Bear Lake non-homestead millage renewals considering my home is located in the Manistee Area Public Schools district. The answer is simple, I have always been an ardent booster of seeing every child gets a good education no matter what school district they attend. These kids are our future and to make sure they are ready to handle the challenges of tomorrow, its vital they get a good education. What worries school officials every time these renewal elections come up is the fear that voters might become complacent figuring they dont need to vote because it is going to pass anyway. So that is why I encourage all the voters in those three districts to be a Portager, Laker and Bobcat fan on May 3 and vote yes. It is something the kids of those districts will thank you for long after I see you again on Thursday. Update narration See full narration Real Madrid visit Sevilla in a mouth-watering encounter at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday, with Los Blancos looking to well and truly pull away from one of their title rivals. Madrid already hold a 12-point lead over third placed Sevilla, and a win would be yet another big stride towards the LaLiga Santander title. Stay with us here on the live blog for all the pre-match build-up and then minute-by-minute updates from Sevilla vs Real Madrid. Sevilla vs Real Madrid FULL TIME: 2-3 This is the very beginning of our Sevilla vs Real Madrid live blog, as we bring you all the updates from this Sunday evening meeting at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan. There are some who believe that 79-year-old Joe Biden is not in a position to be the president of a country as important on the world scene as the United States, and the truth is that he has given them a few reasons to criticise him. After finishing a speech at a university in North Carolina earlier this week, Biden turned to his right, made a shaking-hand gesture and talked to himself. Yet, no one was with him on stage, so this video has quickly gone viral. What is wrong with Joe Biden? At the end of the speech last Thursday at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, the 79-year-old president turned to his right, holding out his hand as if he was about shake it with someone else. What caught most people's attention, however, was the fact that he was the only one on stage at the time. The incident occurred while those who were present applauded him. Biden seemed taken aback for a moment and could even be seen muttering something to himself while looking to his left, before walking offstage. His video went viral on social media with some users wondering whether he saw a ghost or it was part of a protocol mistake. The Republican senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, posted a wide-eyed emoji after sharing a video of the incident. Others, however, pointed out that Biden's gesture was directed to someone else who was simply not on stage and not seen in the broadcast. The most recent US presidential election, held in November of 2020, saw Joe Biden go up against Donald Trump, with Biden 77 at the time and Trump 74. That made them the two oldest presidential candidates in the country's history and their age was even brought up in one of the presidential debates. The internet has gone wild after reports of a possible UFO sighting in the Pacific Ocean, with a spot by Scott Waring located near the coast of Nazca in Peru. The image is of a circle around 4.2 miles in diameter and visible from 352 miles off the coast of Lima, yet what is puzzling UFO spotters is the fact that the circle appears to rise from a hill or a mountain according to UFOsightingsdaily.com Strange shapes can often appear on Google Earth in the ocean floor for a number of reasons, with the company using data from multiple sources to map the seafloor, and these sources have differing resolutions and level of detail. When this data is then stitched together, it's possible that a strange shape can appear, although this is merely just a graphic glitch. What does Google say? In a blog post written by the search engine company in 2016, the phenomenon behind the aforementioned graphic glitch was explained in detail. However, with this latest sighting of a perceived UFO, the company has made clear that the exact spot of Waring's finding occurs in the middle of a transect line, where a shipboard sonar radar has passed. This makes it possible that the shape is merely a side effect of joining those multiple data sources mentioned in the blog post. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang addresses the Harvard College China Forum via video link, April 16, 2022. /Chinese Embassy in U.S. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang on Saturday called for efforts to break the stalemate in China-U.S. relations as the ice of a "new Cold War" is solidifying. Qin made the remarks when addressing the 25th Harvard College China Forum (HCCF) via video link. Noting that Harvard University has more than 1,000 Chinese students, the largest group in its international student community, he described this as a "vivid picture" in people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States. However, Qin said, the bilateral ties are faced with a "serious and complex situation," with dark clouds of misunderstanding and miscalculation between the two countries gathering and the ice of a so-called "new Cold War" forming. Both sides should carry out more "extensive, in-depth, frank and open" exchanges and dialogues, he urged, so as to use the power of facts and truth to break the so-called "general common sense" solidified by misunderstanding and prejudice, the persistent "political correctness" and the current coldness in ties that does not serve the interests of either country and runs against the will of both peoples. Qin said he hoped the forum can put wisdom and ideas together and bring about more "brainstorms" to help disperse the dark clouds of misunderstanding and miscalculation between the world's two largest economies. "I hope every single participant of the forum can become an icebreaker," he said. The theme of the 25th HCCF was "Extraordinary Times." Nearly 600 Harvard students, faculty members, Chinese overseas students and members from the business communities of the two countries attended the event. Founded in 1997, the Harvard College China Forum is North America's largest and longest-running student-run symposium on U.S.-China relations. The annual forum takes place every April at Harvard University. Lakon Williams/Courtesy Photo The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has partnered with other Michigan organizations to sponsor and oversee the restocking of lake sturgeon in the Saginaw Bay watershed and other bodies of water feeding into Lake Huron. The Michigan DNR, the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, and the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network are among the sponsors and assistants helping to bring the lake sturgeon back to its native waters. While the lake sturgeon is one of the oldest native species of fish in Michigan, its population has been low for the last few decades thanks to over fishing, dam construction in its native waters, and water quality issues thanks to nutrient surplus. According to Justin Chiotti, a fish biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, there are tributaries that supported lake sturgeon that no longer exist. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran has confirmed it relocated a centrifuge facility to its underground Natanz nuclear site, state media reported, days after the U.N. atomic watchdog said it installed surveillance cameras to monitor the new workshop at Tehran's request. The late Saturday report by the official IRNA news agency comes as diplomatic efforts to restore Irans tattered nuclear deal appear stalled. The news agency quoted the spokesman for Irans atomic energy organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, as saying authorities had moved the operation to a safer place. Irans centrifuge facility in Karaj found itself targeted in what Iran described as a sabotage attack in June. Natanz itself has twice been targeted in sabotage attacks amid uncertainty over the nuclear deal, assaults that Iran has blamed on Israel. Unfortunately because of a terrorist operation that took place against Karaj, we were obliged to intensify security measures under which we moved an important part of the machines and transferred the rest to Natanz and Isfahan, said Kamalvandi. Isfahan is the location of another Iranian nuclear facility. On Thursday, The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it installed cameras and removed seals from machines at the new workshop in Natanz two days earlier. Those machines will be used to make centrifuge rotor tubes and bellows, crucial parts for the devices that spin at very high speeds to enrich uranium gas. Talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled. There is concern that Iran could be closer to being able to construct an atomic weapon if it chose to pursue one. The nuclear deal collapsed four years ago when former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and imposed crushing sanctions on Iran. In the meantime, Iran has vastly expanded its nuclear work Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday insisted negotiations over the deal are going ahead properly, even after repeated comments by American officials that an agreement to restore the accord may not happen. The nuclear deal saw Iran put advanced centrifuges into storage under the watch of the IAEA, while keeping its enrichment at 3.67% purity and its stockpile at only 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium. As of Feb. 19, the IAEA says Irans stockpile of all enriched uranium was nearly 3,200 kilograms (7,055 pounds). Some has been enriched up to 60% purity a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Meanwhile, Iran has stopped the IAEA from accessing its surveillance camera footage. Kamalvandi reiterated Irans stance that Tehran will not provide data from the cameras to the U.N. nuclear agency if a deal is not concluded. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003. This years conference theme is Disrupt and Build Up because there must be disruption in the root causes of health inequities and the buildup of solutions to close the gap in health disparities. The purpose of this conference is to increase awareness of the importance of this month and offer actionable steps to combat against the growing health disparities that exist in the black community FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nicole Keels-McGruder 267-303-7851 contactus communityheropa.org The Largest Virtual Conference in Response to Increase in Black Health Disparities Philadelphia, PA, April 18, 2022. April is National Minority Health Awareness Month and Community Hero Action Group is hosting the largest virtual conference dedicated solely to health and wellness of the Black community: 2022 Pennsylvania Black Health Matters Conference. This conference is a free, week-long, (primarily) virtual, public event in which attendees can engage and learn from health experts. The Conference takes place from April 18-April 24, 2022. The full agenda and registration can be found at blackhealthmatterspa.org. Black Health Matters PA Conference: Disrupt and Build Up This years conference theme is Disrupt and Build Up because there must be disruption in the root causes of health inequities and the buildup of solutions to close the gap in health disparities. The purpose of this conference is to increase awareness of the importance of this month and offer actionable steps to combat against the growing health disparities that exist in the black community. The event includes presentations, moderated panels, and lightning talks that address a range of diverse topics such as the legalization of cannabis, intermittent fasting, resources for adult sickle cell patients, and sleep hygiene. Theres even a live stand-up comedy show Monday through Friday at 5p, The Laughter is Medicine Comedy Lounge. It is tragic that health care inequities such as the intolerable maternal death rate are still trending in the wrong direction. Under-resourced outreach efforts in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, a lingering distrust of the healthcare system, and inadequate bias competencies are a few of the reasons exacerbating this problem. The goal of this conference is to take complex diseases and conditions and unpack them so that they are easily understandable and provide attendees with the knowledge to advocate for equitable care for themselves and those they love, emphasizes Community Hero Founder and Executive Director, Nicole Keels-McGruder. Benefits for Attendees: One Registration = Full Access to Week-Long Programming Earn points to win prizes Access to free comedy show Monday through Friday The Ink Factory will be drawing on-screen to provide attendees with visual graphic notes for select sessions Access to exhibitor booths that are open 24/7 Virtual Cook-along sessions Mainline Health Lankenau Highlights: 30+ sessions in a variety of formats and durations (from five minutes to one hour in length Recorded Messages from several 2022 PA Senatorial Candidates providing their perspectives on disparities in healthcare in the Black community In-Person health-related community events in several cities across the state- Health in Action Days PA Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson, PA Legislative Black Caucus Chair Donna Bullock, and Health Chair Stephen Kinsey lead discussion on the state of health policy Video Drop campaign includes leaders from organizations such as Safiyaa Shabazz, the President of the Medical Society of Eastern PA, and elected officials such as State Representative Joanna McClinton About Community Hero Action Group Community Hero Action Group is a 501c3 organization whose mission is to empower and inspire members of the African-American community by providing innovative education and mobilizing resources to decrease disparities in health and wealth. To learn more visit https://communityheropa.org. CONTACT: VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the senseless war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Yet again, the pontiff didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. People's hearts are filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," the pontiff said. Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: 'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'" He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifesto's text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Easter coming on April 24 Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name Urbi et Orbi to the city and to the world. "May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that "Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims." He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that country's people. He also prayed that God grant reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. But Francis found hope in the "open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe,'' referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country, said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them forget for a moment about all the terrible things that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter. Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe. MIDDLETOWN Police say an investigation into the former superintendent of schools claims that a hate packet mailed to his home contained what he said were death threats and racist language found no criminal acts were committed. Former Middletown Superintendent of Schools Michael Conner contacted police in February after he and his wife said the letter was mailed to their home. The case was referred to the court and they determined the case had no criminal acts. It is officially closed, Middletown Police Lt. Brian Hubbs said Friday. Conner, who had been on leave as Middletowns superintendent of schools, resigned March 3. In his resignation letter to the Board of Education, Conner said, my priority is my family. His wife, Viviana Conner, said they were disappointed but not surprised by the outcome of the investigation into the letter. A letter sent directly to anyones house, whether explicit or implicit, using language and tone of that manner, is a hate crime, she said. In October, Michael Conner, who had led the district since 2017, was granted family leave and was then placed on administrative leave in January as an investigation was conducted into accusations of misconduct. The investigation was launched after unions representing district employees accused Conner and two other administrators of harassment, intimidation and retaliation. The probe was concluded this month and the findings are expected to soon be presented to the school board. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the senseless war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Yet again, the pontiff didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. People's hearts are filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," the pontiff said. Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: 'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'" He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifesto's text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Easter coming on April 24 Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name Urbi et Orbi to the city and to the world. "May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that "Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims." He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that country's people. He also prayed that God grant reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. But Francis found hope in the "open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe,'' referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country, said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them forget for a moment about all the terrible things that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter. Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peters Basilica. After Easter morning Mass, Francis boarded the white popemobile for a whirl through the square among the cheering ranks of the crowd. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. ___ Jill Lawless in London, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Medyka, Poland, contributed. News Frontrunner Vaccine Will Affact the Price of Tricobalt Tetroxide (Cobalt Oxide) (Co3O4)-Powder - Market Trend CEO of Pfizer partner BioNTech says coming winter will be hard but by April, 300 million immunization units should be ready, which will have an impact on the global pandemic. If coronavirus vaccinations are rolled out widely, life could return to normal by next winter, one of the scientists behind the front-running coronavirus vaccine told British television on Sunday. Ugur Sahin, the Turkish co-founder of the German firm BioNTech, told the BBCs The Andrew Marr Show that this winter will be hard, without any major impact from vaccinations. Together with US giant Pfizer, BioNTech is developing the leading candidate in the worldwide chase for a vaccine. Israel has ordered millions of units of the vaccine, hoping that the first deliveries will arrive in the country by January. 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Market reports systematically display information in the form of organizational charts, facts, charts, statistics and graphs, which represent the status of related transactions on global and regional platforms. In addition, the report also includes the entire business chain, through which the growth rate and decline rate of specific industries in the market can be analyzed. The report also describes the total cost of manufacturing the product and analyzing its assembly process. In addition, the report also includes major developments in the market. The report involves value chain analysis and represents the workflow in the market. In addition, the market is classified by category, process, end-use industry and region. The report divides the market based on geographic location. TRUNNANO (aka. Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd.) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12 years experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials. 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You Are Here: Mr James Terkpertey Abayateye, adjudged the Ada East District Best Livestock Farmer at the 2021 National Farmers Day, has temporally diversified into fish farming as a result of high feed prices of livestock. Mr Abayateye who is the Project Manager of JTA Redemption Farms said the diversification, was a means to adequately prepare for going back into livestock farming as the high cost of feed has affected operations. He said proper nutrition and adequate housing among others were essential in the livestock business the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) gathered during an interaction. Mr Abayateye, who is also a Chartered Accountant with the Family Health University College and Hospital explained that he had now also ventured into cassava farming to use the cassava peels to supplement the livestock feeds to reduce the cost of production. He noted that currently, he had a total of 28 pigs, 40 cattle and 25 goats adding that the numbers were more but he had recently sold out some in his pursuit to revamp the livestock business soon. He indicated that he was taking steps to combine both livestock and fish farming to provide adequate fish and meat for the local market as well as create job opportunities for the youth. Mr Abayateye said he started the fish farming with six fingerlings of catfish this year and was hoping to expand the fish ponds and double the population of the catfish by 2022 as well as get a truck tanker to convey freshwater from the Volta River. He added there were a lot of opportunities in fish farming saying that the sector, when invested in, could manage the unemployment situation in the country to boost the economy. The Project Manager of JTA Redemption Farms added that the cost of production of catfish was also moderate. He said farming required deliberate effort and seriousness to flourish and called on the youth to tap into the potential in the farming business. He appealed to the government to support the local farmers by way of inputs at reasonable costs. Immediate past Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in Rivers State and foremost governorship aspirant under the PDP, Bro. Felix Obuah on Saturday, April 16, 2022 submitted his filled and completed Governorship nomination form at the state secretariat of the party, along Aba Road, Port Harcourt. The form which was submitted on behalf of Bro. Obuah by a chieftain of the party, and serving Commissioner for Youth, Hon. Prince Ohia marks confirmation of Bro. Obuah's preparedness to take over the reins of power in the state and consolidate the legacies of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. Speaking to journalists at the PDP Secretariat after submitting the form, Hon. Prince Ohia expressed happiness that he led other party faithful in the State, to submit the form on behalf of one of the foremost and outstanding governorship aspirants of the PDP in the state, Bro Obuah. He also expressed optimism that given his pedigree as the governorship aspirant, Bro. Obuah's chances of clinching the party's ticket remain bright. "You know that the PDP is a big, strong and united family. At the nick of time, we shall sit down and look at all the aspirants, and consider them, whether through consensus or through balloting system and get the best. "Bro Felix Obuah has all it takes to win the Governorship election in Rivers State, if he gets the PDP ticket. "Bro Felix Obuah is a household name, he has touched lives of millions of Rivers people, a loyal and committed supporter of Governor Wike, an unrepentant PDP member, and he's God-fearing." Party leaders from the 23 Local Government Areas in the State and different support groups were also on the entourage to submit Bro. Felix Obuah's filled and completed governorship nomination form. Economic Advisor and Director, External Economic Relations at the Vice Presidents office, Evron R. Hughes has issued a statement seeking to school Randy Abbey on taxation. The release which details taxes reduced or abolished by the President Akufo-Addo government since taking over from the erstwhile Mahama administration comes on the back of the argument between the Good Morning Ghana host and Dr. Kabiru Mahama, an advisor in the Vice Presidents Office on April 13. During his recent lecture on the state of the economy, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, affirmed the Governments record in fulfillment of its promise to shift the focus of fiscal policy from taxation to production. In his speech, the Vice President listed eighteen (18) instances of tax reduction or abolishment, the majority of which were implemented in the first year of President Akufo-Addos government. Last Wednesday, the declaration by the Vice President fueled an argument when Randy Abbey challenged the facts after Dr. Kabiru Mahama used it as a reference for his submission on the Good Morning Ghana show. Reacting to that argument, Evron R. Hughes has noted in a statement that Randy Abbey is confused about the nature of taxes. Randy Abbey seems to be confused about the nature of taxes, how they are imposed and collected, and their impact. The key ingredients of taxes are the product or service the tax is imposed on, the tax rate, and the tax incidence, i.e., the distribution of the tax burden along the production-to-consumption chain (who pays and what proportion). By itself, the generic descriptors of taxes, such as Value Added Tax (VAT), are of less importance as the coverage, rate, and incidence, parts of the statement from the Economist at Bawumias office read. According to him, Randy Abbeys boisterous proposition might make for a good political soundbite, but it flies in the face of the basic principles of taxation. He concludes, GMG remains an influential platform for informed debate on public policy and it is my hope that Randy will take the next available opportunity to correct his clearly mistaken view in light of this brief. Find below a graph attached to the statement from Evron R. Hughes detailing the many taxes reduced or abolished by the ruling NPP government. The Ghana Paragliding Festival has become an integral part of the annual Kwahu Easter Festivities. The event rekindled the hither-to dying Kwahu Easter festival and transformed Easter celebration in Ghana into an international event. The Genesis The history of the festival goes back to March 2003 when, as the new Minister of Tourism and Modernization, Mr. Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey visited the Kwahu ridge as part of his familiarization tour of the country, and by chance crossed paths with the festival's organizer, Walter Neser. In 2005 the first ever Ghana Paragliding Festival, was launched by the then Vice President, the Late Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and in 2010, it was rechristened the Kwahu Easter Paragliding Festival through the leadership of the Chief Executive of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Julius Debrah in partnership with Adom FM. The festival since its inception had attracted both Ghanaians and foreign nationals alike who engage in various activities including paragliding from the Odweanoma mountain, in Kwahu Atibie, walk race, telescope viewing, Jams, Dubar of Chiefs and People of Kwahu, Hot Air Balloon, food Bazaars, Pool Parties, Musical Concerts, among others for a period of four days. Over the years, tandem pilots have been gathered from around the world to fly patrons during the festival. The festival since its inception had been organized every year to coincide with the Easter festivities and has become one of the flagship programmes of the Ghana Tourism Authority organized to promote tourism in the country. In 2020 and 2021, due to out break of the COVID 19 Pandemic, it was put on hold. However, this year, the festival has bounced back in grand style and promises to be a great edition with loads of activities outlined by stakeholders including the private sector to make it a memorable one. This year Ghana's first tandem pilot would also be part of the 12 pilots to fly patrons from the Odweanoma Mountains to the Nkawkaw Park throughout the period, at a fee of GHC550.00 inclusive of an Antigen Test for passengers before they would be allowed to fly. The Kwahu Easter Guide which seeks to provide information about the various events and activities and other vital information about Kwahu Easter has been published and would be made available to them on arrival. Excitement? Some stakeholders expressed outmost excitement at the return of the festival when it was launched in March as it puts Ghana on a pedestal concerning promoting both domestic and international tourism. Mr Akwesi Agyeman, Chief Executive Officer, GTA said the festival was the ideal way for Ghana to showcase that indeed, Ghana was open and ready. He said it had been two difficult years for our sector as we experienced the adverse effects of the COVID -19 pandemic across the entire value chain. Yet we kept hope alive, believing- just as the President had stated- that this too was going to pass, and we commend sector players for their resilience. He said the festival was arguably the biggest festival in the country designed to break down barriers and unite the country, saying it is a time for diverse cultures and activities, and a time to celebrate the fact that we have got a lot more in common as a people than the differences that separate us. This year, to bring more structure to the Easter activities, we have teamed up with the Kwahu Traditional Authority, the Kwahu East, West and South Assemblies and other key stakeholders to form a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to ensure visitor experience is enhanced and health and safety considerations are mainstreamed. Commendation Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, Omanhene of the Kwahu Traditional Area commended the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture, the GTA and stakeholders, saying the paragliding sport at the Odweanoma peak at Atibie, had gained prominence and added more colour to the Easter festivities. He said his outfit had followed the preparations and stakeholder engagements that preceded this year's festival and was excited about various projects and activities that were incorporated, all in a bid to add diversity and variety to the existing activities. I have had cause to set up a committee to work with Nananom and the various assemblies to fashion out a workable solution to the very chaotic traffic situation during the Easter and address other such bottlenecks. Hopefully, this year will see a free flow of revelers and less traffic, after the tremendous work done by the committee. The Omanhene noted that Kwahu was steadily evolving into a Tourist destination and urged private investors and government to continue to find ways to identify and develop the many untapped tourist sites to generate revenue and enrich the lives of my people. He urged patrons to be mindful to observe all the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols since Covid 19 was still around, be moderate in their celebrations, be law abiding and take their personal security seriously, wear decent clothing, avoid excessive indulgence in alcohol and usage of hard and recreational drugs. Mr Emmanuel Atta Ofori Snr, MCE for Kwahu South said they were excited that Kwahu Easter was back, and the euphoria was back in full force after the break from the pandemic. He said local businesses were springing back to life, and this year, the Municipality, which was the hot seat of the Easter festival was ready to host all revelers. Odweanoma Paragliding Site, the Echo Raven Drive and other tourism sites in the Municipality have all been adequately prepared to provide satisfaction to tourists. Assurance He assured that the Municipal Assembly and its departments would be on standby to provide the necessary security and sanitation support to make the festival successful. Mr Emmanuel Frimpong, Executive Secretary, Ghana Tourism Federation, said this year's festival was going to be a different experience for patrons because, government has created an enabling environment for the private sector to be fully involved in the celebrations. He said tour operators will be organising tours and other events, car rentals will also be providing car rental services, hotels will be providing accommodation services, while restaurants will provide enough for food patrons. Tour guides will also be there to guide patrons, engage them and lead them to the traditional authorities among others. He said as part of their contribution as the private sector, they have engaged the GTA to see how best to support by adjusting the prices of their service in order to attract more patrons to the festival. Normally around this time, charges for services are extremely high, so we have advised our members to try and adjust some of their prices so that together we help promote domestic tourism for people to also go and have fun. Mr Frimpong said beyond the festival, the private sector was also looking forward to making the Kwahu enclave a tourism hub, where series of activities would be organised throughout the year, probably three of four times within a year. He urged patrons to go to the festival with the mind set of going to have fun, comport themselves, stay away from all vices and coming back with some renewed energy to continue their daily routines, adding that security would also be tight during the celebrations. Significance of Easter Easter is one of the principal festivals or feasts of Christianity. It is called Pascha in both Latin and Greek and marks the Resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. Commemoration of the feast of Easter according to theological historians' dates back over 2000 years. It is celebrated by Christians as a joyous holiday because it represents the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the revelation of God's salvific plan for all of humankind. Many Christian churches, view Easter as the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence. In commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus, Easter also celebrates the defeat of death and the hope of salvation. Christian tradition holds that the sins of humanity were paid for by the death of Jesus and that his Resurrection represents the anticipation believers can have in their own resurrection. This year's feast kicked off form Friday April 15 to Monday 18. GNA Nathalie and Agnes joined France's anti-government Yellow Vest protests from the outset in November 2018. Sixty weeks of sometimes violent demonstrations failed to topple the President, but Emmanuel Macron inadvertently made them more politically aware, and they're now using that to vote him out of office. Images of violent clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Paris and other big French cities made headlines around the world in late 2018 and early 2019. Agnes and Nathalie left their sleepy small towns near Chartres, 100 kilometres west of the capital, to attend those marches. They not only witnessed the violence, they were kettled in by police and spent hours choking on tear gas. It's left an indelible mark, but they feel the Yellow Vest movement should not be reduced to violence. While fuel taxes were the trigger, their grievances were far deeper. If it had only been fuel tax I probably wouldn't have gone out [to the roundabout], says Nathalie. But it was a lot more than that it was purchasing power, the health system. When her sister, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, had to stop work and couldn't afford a carer, Nathalie started working part-time and took over the role. What happened to my sister was unjust, she'd worked for years and when she became disabled, she was worth nothing. That's how she felt. Agnes, meanwhile, had a disabled child to take care of, and had fallen into debt following her divorce. The state didn't help me, it was the foodbanks, she says. I felt ashamed. Listen to a conversation with Nathalie and Agnes in the Spotlight on France podcast The two women met on the roundabout in Chartres at the very beginning of the Yellow Vest movement, on 17 November 2018. They've since become good friends. We sit in the living room of Nathalie's modest flat in Luisant, on the outskirts of Chartres. I'm no longer ashamed, Agnes says, "because when I joined the Yellow Vests on the roundabout I realised there were thousands of people like me. "We were able to open up, help one another, find solutions. 'Manning' the roundabouts The roundabout was their HQ: they'd organise activities, write tracts, try and make France understand their demands for a decent living wage, more direct democracy and how residents in small towns with diminishing services felt they were not being heard. Nathalie went to the roundabout "everyday for about two hours after work, right through to Covid. The lockdown introduced in March 2020 effectively put paid to the gatherings. Bearing the cold and rain, they huddled around fires. There were arguments, but no fights. There were rules, alcohol was banned, Nathalie underlines. The roundabout had to be manned 24/7 to stop the prefecture taking back control. Many of those present were women. There were probably more women than men, divorced women with children and pensioners like Marie who brought us coffee and biscuits everyday, remembers Agnes. Didier, my partner, says women are tougher than men, Nathalie says. We refuse to give up. As we were more likely to do the daily shop, we were probably more aware of prices going up. And as mothers they were doubly protective of their offspring. When we saw we couldn't fill up the fridge for our kids, we were even more determined, Agnes adds. Handing out crumbs As the cost of living continues to rise and fuel prices have surged, some say the conditions are ripe for a Yellow Vest revival. Back then a full tank cost 70 euros and now it's 103 euros, says Agnes. The government recently gave out a 15 cent per litre reduction, but the women say it's peanuts. That saves me 7.50, says Agnes doing the maths on a calculator. We're sick of the crumbs they're handing out 15 cents here, a 100-euro cheque there, says Nathalie referring to the cheque the government issued to soften the blow of soaring energy prices. They're throwing us peanuts to keep us from taking to the streets, she adds. Meanwhile corruption, tax evasion, conflicts of interest, they do nothing about that". The government rolled out a number of measures to quell the Yellow Vest protests abandoning the fuel tax, launching nationwide debates, injecting billions of euros in the form of tax-free bonuses for companies to offer their employees. The women say they've seen little benefit. "We weren't included in the debates, and I got 6.57, says Agnes. Nathalie insists she didn't see a cent. Indebted to Macron But they owe Macron something which can't be measured either financially or on a calculator. His disdain for the Yellow Vests, his inability to listen, everything he said about us all of that forced me to become more politically aware, says Agnes. I thank Macron for that. She and Nathalie set up an online platform called Objectif RIC named after the citizens' referendum initiative designed to get more direct democracy into France's political system. I never would have thought back on 17 November 2018 that I'd be capable of so much, says Agnes. Both women are voting against Macron in the presidential election, though they won't be drawn on the detail. Whatever women have achieved they had to fight for it, including the right to vote, so even if it's just for that, I'll vote," Nathalie says. As I pack up to leave, Agnes thinks about what else they gained during those 16 months of protests. "We didn't get liberty, we didn't get equality, but we did get fraternity through the Yellow Vests. People are no longer just looking out for themselves." Agnes and Nathalie feature in a documentary film "Un Peuple" ("A French Revolution") by Emmanuel Gras, in which he follows the first six months of the Yellow Vests in Chartres. Ankara's support of Kyiv and diplomatic efforts to end the Ukrainian war has won plaudits from its western allies, including France, offering the hope of a reset of deeply strained relations. At March's NATO summit, smiling Turkish and French Presidents exchanged a warm handshake in front of the world's media. The two leaders were more accustomed to exchanging barbs and even insults until recently. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the tone. "Although they were not shy of invectives against each other. Now they both pat each other's backs," said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen now a presenter for news portal Mediascope. Warming ties In a sign of warming ties, both sides have committed themselves to reviving the sale of an Italian French missile Samp/T defense system to Turkey. That is seen as potentially significant as the defense system could provide an alternative to Russia's S400 missile system that Ankara purchased. The purchase remains a key point of tension between Turkey and its NATO partners, who call for its removal. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's close ties with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin while contentious, have allowed him to present himself as an honest broker in efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. "There are no losers with peace," Erdogan declared to Russian and Ukrainian delegations in a short speech ahead of peace talks in Istanbul. Turkey's geostrategic importance Ankara has close ties with Kyiv and Moscow. But Erdogan has strongly condemned Russia's assault on Ukraine, closing access to the Black Sea to most of Russia's warships. Such moves received strong plaudits from Brussels and Washington. The Ukrainian conflict could offer an opportunity to Ankara. "That the world has entered a new era, somewhat similar to the Cold War, will also emphasize Turkey's geostrategic importance," said Sinan Ulgen of the Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization in Istanbul. "And as a result of which there will be an opportunity for Turkey and its Western allies, and here particularly the United States, to try to resolve their outstanding issues on a more constructive note," Ulgen added. Erdogan's backing of Ukraine comes as he is already working to repair relations with others, including Armenia and Israel moves that have also drawn praise from the West, including Paris. But Turkey is still facing significant obstacles to any reset in relations with its Western partners, warns Sezin Oney, a political columnist for PolitikYol, a Turkish news portal. "I don't see a return to old alliance structures, not unless there is a very big change in Turkey, and Turkey moves towards democracy and the rule of law and respect of human rights. And we don't foresee that at this point, not with this government. So, I don't think so. But there might be coinciding interests. There might be new coinciding interests developing. There might be cooperation, "said Oney, Rights groups say Turkey is one of the biggest jailers of journalists globally, while its treatment of government opponents and its Kurdish minority continue to draw strong international criticism. Ankara rejects such criticism, insisting it's a law-abiding country. But some analysts suggest Ankara may be calculating that any return to Cold War-like diplomacy could, as in the past, see Turkey's Western allies placing security concerns ahead of democracy. Selcen says such a calculation is misplaced. "As long as the war is underway, Turkey's geopolitical importance and value is very high. It's not negligible at all. But once the war ends and once we step into this new world. Probably then there will be more pressure again from the West from Europe and the US on Turkey to move on democratization, and we have to keep in mind that by next year there will be elections in this country in 2023," said Selcen Mr Richard Nana Kissi Yeboah, a medical photographer has said that photography is an important tool in the medical field and can help in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Mr Yeboah in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema said patient imaging technicians (medical photographers) must have the requisite skills in taking detailed pictures of patients to aid doctors, surgeons, and other medical officers in the examination of a client. He said, We use pictures as an assessment instrument before and after to understand the condition of a patient, this helps in the valuation of the outcome of a surgery for instance. He added that for nutrition clinics, for instant, the pictures are used to tell the weight, adding that the images could be compared to see if there was a change in the weight of children suffering from malnutrition. He revealed that even though photographers abound in Ghana, those in the medical field were few and encouraged photographers to concentrate on the events, beauty, and glamour photo takings and to explore other areas such as the medical field. Mr Yeboah who has been a medical photographer for Operation Smile Ghana since 2017 said he loves telling stories with pictures, adding that he became interested in the medical field through a doctor friend, and ventured into it. He said Operation Smile Ghana, therefore, brought in experts to train him to be able to go to the theatre rooms to take pictures during surgeries. He said anyone who wants to venture into the field must be ready to learn the technicalities of photography and medicine as that would empower the photographer to capture the appropriate images for assessment. He said to guarantee that the images were well kept for assessment, the task also entailed creating folders for each patient and arranging the pictures to follow a sequence of activities. Mr Yeboah said taking pictures of children with medical issues such as cleft lips and cleft palate was challenging and therefore the need to develop the patience and art of handling and loving children to be successful in the field. Since the kids are often afraid when they see a photographer with the camera, one has to develop technics of calming them down by creating a friendly atmosphere and providing them with toys and other things they like to draw their attention for the pictures to be taken, he said. Medical Photography has been defined by Wikipedia as a specialized area of photography that concerns itself with the documentation of the clinical presentation of the patient, medical and surgical procedures, medical devices, and specimens from the autopsy. It requires a high level of technical skill to present the photograph free from misleading information that may cause misinterpretation. The pictures are used in clinical documentation, and research, among others. GNA In his Easter Sunday address to the world, Pope Francis pulled no punches as he implicitly called out Russia for dragging Ukraine into a cruel and senseless conflict. He urged world leaders to help bring peace to Ukraine. His twice annual Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world in Latin) speech was nearly entirely about the conflict in Ukraine. "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," he said. Russia has called their invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February as a special military operation that Francis has rejected outright, using the word war. It was the first Easter the 85-year-old addressed the 50,000 people in St. Peter's Square after a High Mass since 2019, due to Covid-19 restrictions. He also thanked the neighbouring countries for taking in the Ukrainian refugees. He gave the Easter mass and then went out briefly in his popemobile in and around the Vatican. He has been suffering from leg pain. On the balcony, he spoke sitting down, only standing for the opening and final blessing. Sharp words during Easter vigil services, too On Saturday night he attended an Easter vigil service, but not say Mass so he seemingly could rest up for Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar. "Please, let us not get used to war!" Francis said, looking down on the square. "I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground," he said. He did not forget, however, to call for reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as the citizens of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Myanmar. He called for peace in Libya and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he will visit in July. Security and Fraud Analyst, Mr Richard Kumadoe has said he agrees with President Nana Addo Danklwa Akufo-Addos view that Ghana is spending too much resources in trying to settle chieftaincy disputes. Mr Kumadoe said the nation must find ways of bringing all the factions within the traditional areas together as a way of minimizing the amount of resources spent in resolving the issues. Mr Akufo-Addo expressed worry that half of the National Security budget is spent on resolving chieftaincy disputes in parts of the country. He was of the view that the documentation of traditional council state books would help resolve Chieftaincy disputes. He said these while launching the Kwahu State book at Mpreaso in the Eastern region on Saturday April 16. The book is a 3000-page document containing the history, culture and customs of the Kwahu state Upon assumption of office, I realized that we spend the financial resources in resolving chieftaincy conflicts. We spend a lot of money trying to resolve chieftaincy disputes in all parts of the country, President Akufo-Addo said. Speaking on this matter on the mid day news on TV3 Sunday April 17, Mr Kumadoe said I agree with the President, we so much time in tackling old tradition in the system and we should find a way as a nation in bringing them in a coherent manner that will make them more productive. 3news.com The death toll from floods that have battered South Africa's east coast has risen to 443, including a rescuer, a regional official said on Sunday, as dozens more are still missing. "The death toll now stands at 443," Sihle Zikalala, the premier of the KwaZulu-Natal province told a media briefing, adding 63 other people are still unaccounted for. A member of the rescue and recovery team "experienced difficult breathing and was airlifted to... hospital. Unfortunately he passed away". Rains were starting to let up in the flood-ravaged east, allowing for search and relief aid operations to continue after one of the deadliest storms in living memory. Zikalala said the "inclement weather has slowed our assessment and rescue operation on the ground, but we are once again back in the full swing". Floodwaters engulfed parts of the southeastern coastal city of Durban and surrounding areas early last week ripping apart roads, destroying hospitals and sweeping away homes and those trapped inside. 'Rains clearing' The city of 3.5 million was overcast but the South African Weather Service's Puseletso Mofokeng said "rainfall is actually clearing". "The rainfall is going to clear (away) completely as we move to Wednesday," he told AFP. But recovery operations and humanitarian relief continued in the economic hub and tourist magnet city whose beaches and warm Indian Ocean waters would normally have been teeming with Easter holidaymakers. The number of flood-related emergency calls had decreased compared to early last week. "Emergency services are still currently on high alert on Sunday morning," Robert McKenzie of the provincial KwaZulu-Natal emergency services told AFP. It rained on Saturday and overnight, "however now, it has stopped," said McKenzie. Even so, emergency services were busy attending to a scene in the district of Pinetown where a house collapsed overnight. "Fortunately now the flood waters have receded and (some) roads cleared. It's a lot easier to access the community," he said. Map of South Africa, showing areas that had the most rainfall in recent days. By Elonore HUGHES AFPFile Christians congregated at churches across the city and further afield to offer prayers for those affected by the floods as they celebrated Easter Sunday. "It's a tragedy of overwhelming proportions," said Thabo Makgoba, the Archbishop of Cape Town in his Easter message, a day after his visited Durban. "The community is suffering severe emotional stress and pain," said Makgoba, successor to Desmond Tutu. Government, churches and charities were marshalling relief aid for the more than 40,000 people left homeless by the raging floodwaters. The government has announced an immediate one billion rand ($68 million) in emergency relief funding. Hospitals and schools destroyed Deputy Social Development Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, said some 340 social workers had been deployed to offer support to traumatised survivors with many still missing children and other relatives. Most casualties were in Durban, a port city and a major economic hub. Parts of the city have been without water and electricity since Monday after floods ripped away infrastructure. Scores of hospitals and hundreds of schools have been destroyed. The intensity of the floods took South Africa, the most economically advanced African country, by surprise. While the southeastern region has suffered some flooding before, the devastation has never been so severe. South Africans have previously watched similar tragedies hit neighbouring countries such as cyclone-prone Mozambique. These floods have forced President Cyril Ramaphosa to postpone a working visit to Saudi Arabia that was scheduled to begin Tuesday. The loss of hundreds of lives "and thousands of homes, as well as the economic impact and the destruction of infrastructure, calls for all hands on deck," said Ramaphosa. The country is still struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic and deadly riots last year that killed more than 350 people, mostly in the now flood-struck southeastern region. April 17, 2022 May You All Have A Happy Easter Walk Easter echoes the eons old human festivity to celebrate the arrival of spring. The dark and cold days of winter are gone. The bright time of fertility has come. Today's fertility symbols of Easter, the egg and the hare, relate to the old Germanic fertility goddess Eostre (Ostara). Another related goddess is Ishtar, a Mesopotamian representation of love, who stepped down into the underworld of death but was revived. The Christian resurrection of Jesus is probably a transformation of this older tale. When the Christian message spread from its eastern Mediterranean origin its incorporation of old local gods and fables helped to convert the multi-theistic societies to the new monotheistic believe. The gods of the pre-Christian religions were not completely discarded but their tales were transformed to support the message the Christian preachers were spreading. It is finally spring, the darkness has vanished and this is my favored holiday. Happy Easter Faberge egg with clock and rooster bigger Please join me, Johann van Goethe and Dr. Faust on our traditional Easter Walk: Look from this height whereon we find us Back to the town we have left behind us, Where from the dark and narrow door Forth a motley multitude pour. They sun themselves gladly and all are gay, They celebrate Christ's resurrection to-day. For have not they themselves arisen? From smoky huts and hovels and stables, From labor's bonds and traffic's prison, From the confinement of roofs and gables, From many a cramping street and alley, From churches full of the old world's night, All have come out to the day's broad light. ... How it hums o'er the fields and clangs from the steeple! This is the real heaven of the people, Both great and little are merry and gay, I am a man, too, I can be, to-day. Posted by b on April 17, 2022 at 7:35 UTC | Permalink Comments President Joe Bidens administration is dramatically curtailing U.S. public land available for new oil and gas development as it restarts leasing with new environmental protections. The shift is part of a Bureau of Land Management plan to resume selling drilling rights on government-managed federal lands concentrated in the western U.S. When the government holds those auctions, expected later this year, roughly 80% less land will be available for oil and gas leasing, the Interior Department said. Energy companies also will be forced to pay higher royalties for the oil and gas they extract from the newly leased land. The changes, which would ultimately boost the cost of oil and gas development on federal lands, could clash with Bidens efforts to tame persistently high gasoline prices by releasing crude from the nations emergency stockpile and authorizing wider summertime sales of a cheaper higher-ethanol fuel. For too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries above local communities, the natural environment, the impact on our air and water the needs of tribal nations, and, moreover, other uses of our shared public lands, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release. Today, we begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans resources for the benefit of all current and future generations, she said. The new leasing plan, which does not apply to U.S. coastal waters, falls far short of some climate activists demands that the administration permanently block oil and gas development on public land. The administrations plan to sell new leases is a reckless failure of climate leadership, said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. These lease sales should be shelved and the climate-destroying federal fossil-fuel programs brought to an end. Oil industry advocates argue the U.S. cant afford to restrict oil and gas development on federal lands and waters that provide nearly a quarter of the nations crude production. Theyve argued the U.S. should accelerate domestic oil and gas development amid the war in Ukraine and concerns about Europes reliance on Russian energy supplies. Anne Bradbury, chief executive officer of the American Exploration and Production Council, called the announcement of new onshore lease sales -- the first under Biden -- a step in the right direction. But to really unleash American energy, the Biden administration should continue to hold ongoing lease sales, as well as issue permits more expeditiously and provide consistent regulatory certainty, Bradbury said. Bidens Shift The changes flow from a Biden administration assessment last year that concluded the federal governments oil and gas leasing program should be overhauled to better account for climate change and ensure a higher return to taxpayers. Under the approach, the Interior Department is narrowing the amount of land available for oil and gas leasing, a shift meant to target the highest-potential territory while avoiding wildlife habitat and sensitive cultural areas. Some 173 parcels spanning roughly 144,000 acres will be available for auction under sale notices the Bureau of Land Management will release Monday. Royalty rates for competitive leases will increase to 18.75%, a boost from the longstanding typical charge of 12.5% the value of oil and gas extracted from onshore leases. Conservationists and good-government groups have argued higher royalties are necessary to avoid shortchanging U.S. taxpayers, especially since states and private landowners typically impose much higher rates. For instance, in Texas, royalty rates can be double that charged by the U.S. government. Biden paused oil and gas lease sales in January 2021 to consider the path forward, after previous campaign promises to ban new oil and gas permitting in the territory. Though a federal judge last June ruled that moratorium was unlawful, the planned Bureau of Land Management auctions would be the first sales of onshore oil and gas leases since the president took office. DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) Three police officers have been hailed for their bravery for rescuing two people from a car that ran off the roadway into a lake in southeastern Massachusetts. The officers were responding to a report of a vehicle in the water late Friday night in the town of Dartmouth, immediately east of Fall River. A Midland teen remained in jail Thursday evening after she allegedly removed her handcuffs and struck an officer. Danci Dann Demel, 18, of Odessa, is being held on a $50,000 bond for a first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault on a public servant. A police officer was dispatched to the 1700 block of North I Street early Wednesday morning in reference to a burglary in progress. When he arrived, he witnessed women drinking beer near the residence, according to the affidavit of probable cause. After making contact with the women, Demel ultimately was arrested for consumption of alcohol by a minor. The officer transported Demel to the Midland County Central Detention Center. When she got out of the back of the patrol vehicle, the officer said he noticed Demel had slipped out of the handcuffs she was placed in when arrested. "The female then spun the handcuffs around her index finger while smiling at me," the officer wrote on the arrest report. When the officer attempted to gain control over Demel and place her back in handcuffs, Demel grasped the handcuffs in her right hand and struck the officer in the forehead, the report read. He wrote he immediately could feel blood running down his face. Demel continued to struggle with the officer and wave the handcuffs in a threatening manner as he forcibly marched her into the jail. The officer added that she even attempted to throw the handcuffs in a trash barrel outside of the detention center. The jail nurse treated the officer for a large laceration on his forehead. In addition to the first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault on a public servant, Demel is being held on the original charge of misdemeanor consumption of alcohol by a minor. If Demel is convicted of the felony, she could serve between five and 99 years in prison. James Cannon can be reached at jcannon@mrt.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Alexander Meditz/Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Kerry Gladden/Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3 RUIDOSO, N.M. A wind-driven wildfire in southern New Mexico that destroyed more than 200 homes now is 56% contained and all remaining evacuation orders have been lifted, authorities said Sunday. "It's great to get folks back in their homes, especially it being Easter weekend," Southwest Incident Commander Dave Bales said at a community meeting for Village of Ruidoso residents Saturday night. The Washington Post, April 14, 2022 HERAT, Afghanistan Without work, Khangul Sadiqi found himself heavily in debt. His children often went to bed hungry, shivering in their unheated home. And so, six months into Taliban rule, he began to see his three girls through the prism of survival. Rather than all of my family members die, I decided its better to sell one of my girls to save the rest, Sadiqi said. The daughter he sold is Zahra. She is 3 years old. Her buyer is a wealthy man in search of another wife. He is 50.The cost of the sale: roughly $500. Social Media photo: A father in Faryab province sells 10-years-old daughter out of poverty. (RAWA.org) Social Media photo: A father in Faryab province sells 10-years-old daughter out of poverty. (RAWA.org) As a deepening humanitarian crisis grips Afghanistan, fueled by a confluence of economic, financial and political shocks worsened by the governments collapse in August, children such as Zahra are increasingly bearing the brunt of the growing poverty. While there is no comprehensive data available, the United Nations, aid agencies and local officials say they are receiving credible reports of a rise in child marriages and sales of babies for adoptions as Afghans seek ways to cope with their spiraling lives. Its happening all over and in different social economic spheres, said Cornelius Williams, head of child protection for the United Nations Childrens Fund. What we are seeing is a commodification of girls and child marriages becoming more of a transaction. Children in general are becoming an economic commodity in the household. Child marriage has long been prevalent in many Afghan communities. But the Taliban takeover, the subsequent plunge of the economy and banking system, and other stresses have exacerbated the problem, Williams said. The age of girls sold into marriage is dropping, a trend that could persist as long as the Taliban prevents girls from secondary school education in most areas. The shift, after two decades of Western presence brought education and opportunities for countless Afghan women and girls, raises questions about their identity and future.The evidence shows that the more girls are surviving and completing school, the less chances of them getting married early, Williams said. Families were believing that their girls should have a profession. The value they had on their girls was not as marriageable commodities but as professionals. This is rolling it back. It is important that we get these girls back to school. Culturally, too, there are signs of disintegration. Traditionally, when a child is given in marriage, she remains with her family until her early teens. Today, workers on the ground for UNICEF and other aid agencies are looking into reports that girls are moving into their husbands households at much earlier ages. Zahras buyer agreed that she could remain with her parents until she turned 15, Sadiqi said. Thats when he planned to marry her. He would be 62 by then.But when the buyer arrived last month with a $100 down payment, he changed the agreement, Sadiqi said: He wanted to take the child across the border to Iran right away. When Sadiqi, 35, asked how he would explain Zahras absence to his wife, the buyer replied: If any of your relatives ask, tell them you lost her on the street, and you could not find her, Sadiqi recalled. Desperate, Sadiqi nodded in agreement. But without his knowledge, his four other small children were nearby. And they were listening. If you give us one of your kids, I will give you the money The familys life had always been a struggle. For years, Sadiqi pushed a wheelbarrow, carting vegetables and other goods from one place to another. He earned about $2 a day. His wife, Parigul, earned the same amount, washing other peoples clothes. When business was bad, they relied on local and Western aid agencies for assistance.It was fine for us, said Parigul, 26. We could support our family. But last spring, their life began to slide. Sadiqi was struck with excruciating back pain that forced him to stop working, he said. A doctor recommended surgery he could not afford. In August, as the Taliban swept across Afghanistan, he crossed into Iran to find a less strenuous job and send money back to his family. But Iranian police deported him, he said. When he returned to Herat, the Taliban was in control of the country. And by then, Parigul, too, had lost her income: All her clients had vanished. Lots of people left because of the Taliban, she said. Those who had money fled to Iran or some other country. The groups return to power touched off a domino effect of suffering. First came sanctions, the freezing of central bank reserves and loans, and the suspension of development aid that once accounted for 70 percent of government spending. A banking crisis and cash crunch followed, shuttering businesses and investment, and spiking unemployment. Prices are rising, and millions struggle to purchase food and pay rent. Clinics have closed as health workers havent been paid their salaries. Adding to the turmoil is one of the worst droughts in a quarter-century. As the economy collapses, 24.4 million Afghans 55 percent of the population need humanitarian aid, a 30 percent increase from last year, according to the United Nations.The toll on children, in particular, is devastating. The health system has crumbled, and the United Nations estimates that 1.1 million children under 5 could become severely malnourished this year without proper treatment. As many as 131,000 children could die of hunger if no action is taken, according to a U.N. report. In a recent survey of 1,400 Afghan households, the charity Save the Children reported that a third of families had lost all their household income since the Taliban seized power. Nearly a fifth of families have been forced to send children out to work, with more than a million believed to have joined the workforce. The data also showed a large surge in families going into debt to buy food, the charity said.Mazullah Rahimi couldnt wait for his child to grow up and work. The 31-year-old former government soldier was unemployed with two wives and eight children, including Bibi Asma, their 1-year-old daughter. He was in debt for nearly $1,600 to various people. The electricity was cut, and food was scarce.He called a wealthy man, Saifoor, he had known for years and asked him for a loan. He told me we dont have any children, Rahimi recalled. If you give us one of your kids, I will give you the money. Rahimi sold Asma for roughly $800. While there is no data available on such adoptions, community leaders said they are increasingly seeing cases of childless couples with means purchasing babies from desperate parents. Rahimis wife Tajber, her eyes filled with tears, recalled explaining her departure to Asmas siblings, who couldnt understand why she left with a strange man in a taxi. I told them they took your sister, and she will not be with you anymore, she said. You have to live with this. In her room, there is a baby-size yellow dress with white frills, a reminder of the child she lost. Days later, Saifoor acknowledged buying Asma in a telephone interview. He spoke on the condition that only his first name be used. My wife and I love Asma very much, he said. In the early days, we thought of changing her name, but at my wifes request, we still call her Asma. Death is better than this life because my children have no food By October, Sadiqis family was in dire straits. He was jobless, and his back pain had increased. Parigul was asking neighbors if she could wash their clothes for food. But they, too, were facing economic hardships. I prayed to God, Please kill me, Sadiqi said. Death is better than this life because my children have no food. He spoke inside their unheated home in a poor enclave of this western city. Zahra was playing with a plastic bangle, trying to get the attention of her siblings. They were all listening solemnly to their father speak. In November, the buyer entered their lives. He was an acquaintance from their village in the province of Badghis, roughly 100 miles north of here. A former government employee, he visited their home on three occasions, each time leaving about $10 to help them buy food, offering them more assistance if they needed it.Sadiqi asked him for a loan in December. Thats when the mans intentions became clear: He offered to buy one of Sadiqis three daughters. It took Sadiqi two hours to make his decision. At that time when he told me, I was shocked, Sadiqi said. But then I started to look at my situation. He offered one of his two older girls 7-year-old Nozdana or 10-year-old Shaida. But the buyer had set his sights on Zahra. He said, I want the youngest because she doesnt know anything, Sadiqi recalled. In January, the buyer returned with the $100 down payment and the demand to take Zahra to Iran in the next three months. As he took the money, Sadiqi didnt see Zahras four siblings playing a few feet away. They heard the entire conversation and ran inside to tell their mother. Parigul walked out, shaken. She was crying, Sadiqi said, as his wife nodded. She told the buyer to leave. When she returned inside, the buyer took Sadiqi aside and told him to pocket the $100. He would send the remaining $400 when he returned from Iran. (The Washington Post could not reach the buyer in Iran.) He said, Just keep your daughter awhile, Sadiqi said. I will be back for her. With the $100, Sadiqi bought flour, rice, oil and other necessities. It was also an effort to convince his wife that selling Zahra would be beneficial to the family. But Parigul refused to give up Zahra. She told Sadiqis mother, Zibida, about the sale. I urged my son not to sell my granddaughter, said Zibida, 60. I will never forgive you, I said. But Sadiqi continued to pressure his wife to agree to the sale, stressing their poverty. By then, their 12-year-old son, Ismael, was on the street, searching for plastic to heat their house. Finally, she delivered an ultimatum, she recalled.If you sell her, I will kill myself, Parigul vowed. Her words finally sunk in. Sadiqi called the buyer. I want to cancel our deal, Sadiqi recalled telling him. A suicide could happen in my house. The buyer reminded him that he had already paid the down payment. I cannot sell my daughter to you, Sadiqi recalled telling the buyer, saying he would find a way to pay him back the $100. I regret what I did. But he did not accept the offer, Sadiqi said. He still thinks he owns my daughter. Asylum-seeking migrants walk out of the Rio Bravo river after crossing it to turn themselves in to U.S Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, April 13, 2022. Professors saga highlights nationalists reach in Israel View Photo JERUSALEM (AP) Oded Goldreich was awarded the Israel Prize, the countrys highest honor, a year ago. But the computer science professor only collected the prize this past week after overcoming a repeated public assault by Israeli nationalists over his opposition to Israels occupation of the West Bank. The year-long saga has shined a light on attempts by nationalist forces in Israel to impose their narrative on mainstream Israeli life and to stifle opposing views. That narrative, which sees the West Bank and its Jewish settlements as part of Israel and largely ignores the occupation, has become increasingly entrenched in Israel, endangering prospects for Palestinian independence. Anti-occupation actors meanwhile are often painted as enemies of the state and have been targeted with legislation that hobbles their activities. Its Made-in-Israel McCarthyism, said Avner Gvaryahu, a co-director of Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group for Israeli soldiers. There is a large number of organizations, journalists and politicians whose main project in recent years is stifling dissent. Goldreich, who teaches at Israels distinguished Weizmann Institute of Science, was nominated for last years Israel Prize in mathematics and computer science by a panel of judges. But shortly after the nomination was announced, nationalist groups called for his disqualification, claiming he supported boycotts against Israel. Goldreich, 65, and hundreds of other academics signed a petition last year calling on the European Union to halt funding for Ariel University, located in the West Bank, saying it legitimized Israeli settlements. In a research partnership with the EU launched last year, Israel itself agreed not to include the university, along with other West Bank institutions. The outcry prompted the countrys then-education minister to refuse to approve the nomination, saying Goldreich may have violated a 2011 anti-boycott law, and sparked a yearlong legal battle that ended last month when the Supreme Court decided the current education minister, who had also denied Goldreich the prize, must grant it. A person who calls for a boycott on an Israeli academic institution is not worthy of an official prize from the state of Israel, be his achievements what they may, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, from the nationalist New Hope party, tweeted after the ruling. The prize is granted each year to leaders in the arts, sciences and other fields and is awarded at a lavish celebration on Israels Independence Day. After missing last years ceremony, Goldreich said he chose to receive his award at a low-key event at the countrys Education Ministry instead, saying he dislikes formal state occasions. Shasha-Biton declined to attend the event, though she ended up contracting the coronavirus and would have missed it in any case. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and established Jewish settlements there. While it withdrew settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the other territories, complicating the establishment of a Palestinian state. More than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israels military occupation of the West Bank, which restricts their movement with a series of checkpoints and crossings and controls various aspects of Palestinian life. The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank. Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas, which calls for Israels destruction, is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Gvaryahu, from Breaking the Silence, said nationalist figures and politicians were working to normalize Israels West Bank occupation, deepening it and making it harder for people like Goldreich to challenge it. The right, which is turning into more fundamentalist and anti-liberal than in the past, has an interest to delegitimize the left and to turn it into a scapegoat and the current saga is just part of a process that has intensified over the last decade, Goldreich wrote to The Associated Press in an email. Whats amazing is the denial of the facts that residents of the occupied territory are being oppressed, he said. Goldreichs position on the occupation is shared by most of the international community, including the United States, which overwhelmingly opposes the settlements. But recent Israeli governments, prodded by settlers and nationalist supporters, have sought to squeeze opposition to the narrative that sees the West Bank as part of Israel and ignores the occupation. They have created legislation that prevents anti-occupation groups such as Breaking the Silence from lecturing in schools and forces those who receive funding from foreign governments to report that income. Many right-wing groups receive funding from private donors overseas, and therefore are spared the reporting. The current Israeli government, composed of eight ideologically diverse parties, has agreed to set aside the issue of Palestinian statehood, although it is confronting the side effects of the occupation with a current spate of deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence. Still, the government is largely dominated by right-wing parties that support the settlements, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts Yamina. Influential nationalist advocacy groups like Im Tirtzu have targeted liberal artists, professors and other figures, arguing that they shouldnt receive state funding or recognition. We will continue to expose the professors who on the one hand receive state funding and on the other call for a boycott of Israeli institutions, said Alon Schvartzer, director of policy for Im Tirtzu. His group has a website with a searchable database of liberal professors and says it exposed Goldreichs political leanings to the former education minister. He said he wasnt opposed to Goldreich and others expressing their opinions. But he said Israel couldnt let its own citizens get away with boycotting Israeli institutions at a time when it faces an international, Palestinian-led movement calling for artists, international corporations and other bodies to boycott Israel. Goldreich says he does not support the boycott movement against Israel. In what felt like a parting shot, Goldreich announced that he was donating his prize money, about $23,000, to a number of advocacy groups, including some that oppose the occupation, such as Breaking the Silence. Shasha-Biton said the move was more proof that he was unworthy of the prize. I regret nothing, Goldreich wrote in an essay last week in the daily Haaretz. I will continue to do all I can for the struggle to end the occupation. By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press Tolo TV, April 15, 2022 A family in the Watapour district of Kunar province who lost 14 members in a drone strike eight years ago is now seeking compensation from the United States. The benefit of the foreigners for us is that my brother, my nephew, my mother, my sister, my niece and 14 members of my family died when they came, said Safir Khan, a member of the deceased family. Family members claim that US forces took their wounded six-year-old daughter with them after the attack, and they have no information about her fate. We raised our voices, but no one heard us, said Safir Khan, a member of the family. These children do not have a father and do not have a supporter, said Hassan Khan, a relative of the family. When I look at other fathers that buy boots and other things for their children, I really get upset looking at them, said Shakila, the daughter of a victim. According to a family member of the victims, the airstrike on the family occurred while they were riding in a car and coming to their village from Asadabad, the center of Kunar. Based on the United Nations official figures, over 19,000 civilians were killed and more than 35,000 were injured in fighting over the past 13 years. LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future. Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol Mother, grandmother weep over a 15-year-old killed in shelling of Kharkiv Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children. Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling. The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote. Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive. ___ WASHINGTON Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city. Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city. Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames. At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified. ___ VATICAN CITY In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. ___ MILAN Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. ___ LONDON In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week the week leading to Easter he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives. The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender. It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. ___ SOFIA, Bulgaria Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen. Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone. The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe. The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. ___ NEW YORK A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. ___ WASHINGTON Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation. He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future. In 10 days, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gone from popular Twitter contributor and critic to the company's largest individual shareholder to a would-be owner of the social platform a whirlwind of activity that could change the service dramatically given the sometimes whimsical billionaire's self-identification as a free-speech absolutist. Twitter revealed in a securities filing Thursday that Musk has offered to buy the company outright for more than $43 billion, saying the social media platform needs to be transformed as a private company" in order to build trust with its users. I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy, Musk said in the filing. I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Later in the day, during an onstage interview at the TED 2022 conference, he went even broader: Having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization." Since it burst onto the scene in 2006, Twitter has been home to flourishing social and political commentary, shared news, scandal gossip, cat memes and dress color arguments. But it has also provided a platform for viral misinformation and lies, bullying and hate speech and gangs of trolls who can shout down posters they disagree with by unleashing tidal waves of vile images, threats and similar acts of online aggression. Twitter has devoted a substantial amount of effort to stanching the latter while preserving the former though not always in ways that satisfy most users. Like other platforms, it has established restrictions on tweets that threaten violence, incite hatred, bully others and spread misinformation. Such rules drove Twitter's decision to ban former President Donald Trump following the 2021 Capitol insurrection. Twitter has also become a destination for brands and advertisers, many of whom prefer stronger content restrictions, and a megaphone for high-profile figures like Trump and Musk, whos used it to rally supporters and promote business ventures. Musk, who described Twitter as a de facto town square, detailed some specific potential changes Thursday like favoring temporary rather than permanent bans but has mostly described his aim in broad and abstract terms. He said he wanted to open up the black box of artificial intelligence technology driving Twitters feed so that people would have more transparency about why some tweets might go viral and others might disappear. I wouldnt personally be in there editing tweets," he said, but you would know if something was done to promote, demote or otherwise affect a tweet. The billionaire has been a vocal critic of Twitter, mostly over his stated belief that it falls short on free-speech principles. The social media platform has angered followers of Trump and other right-wing political figures whove had their accounts suspended for violating its content standards on violence, hate or harmful misinformation. Musk has described himself as a free-speech absolutist but is also known for blocking other Twitter users who question or disagree with him. While Twitter's user base remains much smaller than those of rivals such as Facebook and TikTok, the service is popular with celebrities, world leaders, journalists and intellectuals. Musk himself has more than 81 million followers, rivaling pop stars such as Lady Gaga. Twitter shares closed at $45.08, down just under 2%, well below Musk's offer of $54.20 per share. That's generally a sign that some investors doubt the deal will go through. The stock remains down from its 52-week high of about $73. Musk called that price his final offer, although he provided no details on financing. The offer is non-binding and subject to financing and other conditions. Twitter said it will decide whether accepting the offer is in the best interests of shareholders. It's unclear, though, just how Twitters board will react after evaluating the offer. It likely will negotiate, seeking a higher price per share, or it may want provisions to ensure that the board remains independent of Musk, said John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Universitys law school and head of its corporate governance center. The board could adopt poison pill provisions to offer more shares and dilute the value of Musks holdings, if Musks stake grows to 10% or 15%, Coffee said. Even then, Musk could still take over the company with a proxy fight by voting out the current directors. At the TED conference, Musk said he has the money. I could technically afford it, he said to laughs. Should Musk go through with his takeover attempt, he likely could raise the roughly $43 billion he needs, possibly by borrowing billions using his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX as collateral. Most of Musks fortune, estimated by Forbes to be nearly $265 billion, is tied up in shares of Tesla. The company allows executive officers to use shares as collateral for loans, but limits the borrowing to 25% of the value of the pledged shares. Data provider FactSet says Musk owns 172.6 million shares worth $176.47 billion. Just over 51% of his stake already is pledged as collateral, according to a Tesla proxy statement. That means Musk could use the remaining stake to borrow about $21.5 billion. He also could borrow on his stake in privately held SpaceX. Musk revealed in regulatory filings over recent weeks that hed been buying Twitter shares in almost daily batches starting Jan. 31, ending up with a stake of about 9%. Only Vanguard Group controls more Twitter shares. A lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York federal court alleged Musk illegally delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could punish Musk for hurting other investors by taking too long to disclose his buying up of Twitter shares, but its unlikely that it will do anything to stop a takeover, said Chester Spatt, a former SEC chief economist. This is going to play out reasonably quickly, said Spatt, now a finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Jacob Frenkel, a former SEC enforcement attorney now with the Dickinson Wright law firm in Washington, said it is difficult to prove an investors intent in disclosure cases. The mere fact of the violation around the disclosure does not mean that there was fraud, Frenkel said. However, there is plenty of fodder for an investigation into whether anyone with knowledge of Musks share purchases traded in the stock before Musks public disclosures, Frenkel said. After Musk announced his stake, Twitter quickly offered him a seat on its board on the condition that he not own more than 14.9% of the companys outstanding stock. But the company said five days later that hed declined. The decision coincided with a barrage of now-deleted and not-always-serious tweets from Musk proposing major changes to the company, such as dropping ads its chief source of revenue and transforming its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. The turnabout led CEO Parag Agrawal to warn employees earlier this week that there will be distractions ahead and to tune out the noise and stay focused on the work. Twitter hasn't done as well as its social media rivals and lost money last year. The company reported a net loss of $221 million for 2021 largely tied to the settlement of a lawsuit by shareholders who said the company misled investors about how much its user base was growing and how much users interacted with its platform. Its co-founder Jack Dorsey resigned as CEO in late November and was replaced by Agrawal. Im not saying I have all the answers here, but I do think that we want to be just very reluctant to delete things and just be very cautious with permanent bans, Musk said. It wont be perfect," he said, but there should be a perception and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible. Disease trackers are monitoring the spread of new, highly transmissible versions of the omicron variant in New York state and Europe, the latest evidence of the coronavirus's ability to overhaul its genetic profile and pose a fresh threat. It is too soon to predict how far the new subvariants might spread and how sick they might make people, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "When you look at what's happening right now and try to tell the story of what might occur, you're challenged," he said. For now, scientists are left "watching and learning," Osterholm added. The first communities in the United States that have said they are contending with the new omicron subvariants are in central New York, around Syracuse and Lake Ontario. New York state officials this week announced that two new omicron subvariants, dubbed BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, have become the dominant forms of the coronavirus in the central part of the state. For weeks, infection rates in central New York have been at least twice the state average, according to data from the state health department. The new omicron sublineages in New York have picked up mutations that may help the virus enter cells faster and evade vaccine- and infection-boosted immunity, said Andy Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Whenever we see those mutations, we're a little bit concerned, but it's hard right now to really estimate how big of a concern those variants will be," Pekosz said. State officials said that the subvariants are spreading 23 to 27% more rapidly than the original BA.2 omicron variant and that the subvariants are contributing to rising case numbers. "The Department's findings are the first reported instances of significant community spread due to the new subvariants in the United States," New York state health officials said in a news release Wednesday. "At this time, there is no evidence of increased disease severity by these subvariants, though the Department is closely monitoring for any changes." In March, the two subvariants accounted for more than 70% of reported covid-19 cases in central New York. So far in April, the data show an increase to 90% of all new cases. "This may change as more data becomes available," New York Department of Health spokeswoman Samantha Fuld said. "The department is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to communicate openly with New Yorkers." Fuld said officials are expanding a wastewater surveillance program for the coronavirus "to cover all counties and to include sequencing for the analysis of covid-19 variants." Infections in central New York are approaching levels last seen during last year's delta wave. Oswego County had the state's highest reported infection rate as of Wednesday: 69.8 cases per 100,000 people during the last seven days. Neighboring Onondaga County had the state's third-highest rate, at 53.3 per 100,000. At a briefing Wednesday, Onondaga County Health Commissioner Indu Gupta said the subvariants are "more contagious than covid omicron" and that hospitalizations in the county were on the rise, although officials said they hoped to avoid the peaks reported during previous coronavirus waves by employing testing, masking, vaccination, community outreach and other tools. "I'm just here to remind everybody that the pandemic is still here, that people can be tired. I'm tired, too. But the virus is not tired," Gupta said. "I think it's important to remember that it keeps on going, and it's changing its shape, it's changing its style. It's just challenging us, and we really need to step up to its challenge." Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said officials theorized that the subvariants arrived from travelers in February. "The contact tracing that used to give us a better road map hasn't happened," McMahon said, adding that the traveler theory probably reflected "concentrated cases" in the same cluster of towns. He predicted that the new subvariants would not be contained to central New York for long. "The reality is what's happening in our community is starting to happen throughout New York and the Northeast," McMahon said Wednesday. "And in two or three weeks, it's going to be real challenges for some of these other communities. New York County and New York City is at 45 cases per 100,000 on a seven-day average. We're at 52. That's a much larger challenge for a community of that size." Pekosz, the Hopkins virologist, said some of the increase in cases is to be expected because the subvariants are emerging at the same time that most public health interventions, such as mask mandates, have been lifted. "We should see some increase in cases," Pekosz said. "What we're hoping is this will now be a manageable increase." Right now, the public does not need to be overly worried about the new sublineages, Pekosz added, though scientists are watching them closely. Researchers will have a better sense of whether the new subvariants are truly more contagious and potentially more dangerous in the coming weeks. "Omicron is evolving to be perhaps even better at infecting people - the big question is how much better is it going to get?" Pekosz said. "That's something that we'll have to wait and see." Another subvariant, called omicron XE, has been reported in the United Kingdom and some other nations, including Israel and Thailand. XE is a recombinant variant, meaning it combines genetic material from two versions of omicron, BA.1 and BA.2. One XE infection has been reported in Hawaii, among a handful of cases reported in the United States as of Friday. "The recombinant Omicron lineage XE, which was originally identified in the United Kingdom, has recently been detected in the State of Hawaii, and contains genetic material derived from BA.1 and BA.2," according to a report released Wednesday by the state's health department. As of April 5, British authorities had received reports of 1,125 cases of XE, representing less than 1% of cases in that country. Early, inconclusive data suggest XE spreads 12 to 21% more rapidly than BA.2, according to a report last week from the UK Health Security Agency. The Japanese health ministry announced Monday that the first XE case in that country was detected in a woman in her 30s who arrived at Tokyo's Narita International Airport from the United States on March 26. The ministry said the woman, whose nationality was not disclosed, was asymptomatic, according to the Japan Times. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect new lineages of the virus to emerge, and the agency will track how those subvariants change case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths. "While the prevalence of lineages and sub-lineages may fluctuate, what we are focused on is monitoring for any changes in disease burden caused by Omicron lineages," Nicholas Spinelli, a CDC spokesman, said in an email. The CDC emphasized that the same tools that have helped slow the spread of past variants will probably continue to be useful against new ones. Osterholm, of the University of Minnesota, said scientists do not yet understand why so many subvariants of omicron have emerged in recent months. To prepare for a potential surge sparked by a new subvariant, scientists must keep a close eye on case numbers, hospitalizations and other indicators. But reduced testing capacity across the United States might slow the public health response to any especially virulent variants, Osterholm said, and hospitalization numbers will be a lagging indicator, weeks behind rising case numbers. "Now, we need to know, more than ever before, what's going on out there," Osterholm said. "Meanwhile, it's getting harder and harder to get testing done." NEW YORK (AP) Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018 in a deal that is likely to keep him out of jail. Gooding also publicly apologized for the first time to two other women who accused him of similar behavior in separate encounters, calling himself a celebrity figure who meant no harm. His admissions were part of a plea deal that came nearly three years after the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire star was arrested in the case that saw several delays as his lawyers sought to get charges reduced or dismissed. I apologize for making anybody ever feel inappropriately touched, he said. I am a celebrity figure. I come into contact with people. I never want them to feel slighted or uncomfortable in any way. Gooding, 54, accused of violating three different women at various Manhattan night spots in 2018 and 2019, pleaded guilty to just one of the allegations. He told the judge he kissed the waitress on her lips without consent at the LAVO New York club. The deal lets Gooding avoid any possibility of jail time if he continues alcohol and behavior modification counseling for six months. After that, he can withdraw the misdemeanor plea and instead plead guilty to a lesser violation of harassment. Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square. The accuser in that encounter, Kelsey Harbert, was allowed to speak in court on Wednesday, recounting how, out of nowhere, Gooding grabbed her breast as if I was a piece of meat for dinner that night. Harbert, now 31, told the court she thought Gooding was getting off easy, while his accusers continue to suffer. I feel very sad and feel very lost for what I can do, she said. A few months after his arrest, Gooding was charged in two additional cases as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged he pinched a servers buttocks after making a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown and forcibly touched the woman at LAVO, both in 2018. Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that overzealous prosecutors, caught up in the fervor of the #MeToo movement, are trying to turn commonplace gestures or misunderstandings into crimes. Judge Curtis Farber earlier had ruled if the Gooding case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two additional women to testify about their allegations that Gooding also violated them. Prosecutors say the judge had since reversed that decision a ruling that factored into their decision to not go to trial. "We credit and believe all the survivors in this case," said prosecutor Coleen Balbert. But under the circumstances, Wednesday's outcome "is a fair and equitable disposition, she added. Along with the criminal case, Gooding is accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July because Gooding hadnt responded to the lawsuit, the actor retained a lawyer and is fighting the allegations. Gloria Allred, an attorney representing three of Gooding's accusers, said in a statement that they would press ahead with civil litigation to hold him accountable. Justice was significantly delayed in this case for many reasons, and I do not feel that justice was achieved today with the entry of this plea, although I do understand why under the circumstances that the prosecution offered a plea, she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HAMPTON, S.C. (AP) Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend. The shootings in South Carolina and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded. No one was reported killed in the violence at Caras Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. In Pittsburgh, two male youths were killed and at least eight people wounded when shots were fired during a party at a short-term rental property. The vast majority of the hundreds of people at the party were underage, the city's Police Chief Scott Schubert told reporters. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified the two victims as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17. Investigators believe there were multiple shooters, and Schubert said police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home. The two shootings come just a day after gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Sunday's nightclub shooting. Nine people were shot, and five people sustained other kinds of injuries while trying to flee the scene at the Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. None faced life-threatening injuries. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. The only person arrested in the mall shooting so far is Jewayne M. Price, 22, one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest. Price's attorney, Todd Rutherford, told news outlets Sunday that his client fired a gun at the mall, but in self-defense. Rutherford said Price faces a charge of unlawfully carrying a pistol because he legally owned his gun but did not have a permit to carry a weapon. Columbia police said on Twitter that a judge agreed Sunday to let Price leave jail on a $25,000 surety bond. He was to be on house arrest with an ankle monitor, police said. It was unprovoked by him. He called the police, turned himself in, turned over the firearm that was used in this, and gave a statement to the Columbia Police Department, Rutherford said, according to WMBF-TV. That is why he got a $25,000 bond. Police said the judge will allow Price to travel from home to work during certain hours each day. Price is forbidden from contacting the victims and anyone else involved in the shooting. South Carolina residents age 21 or older can get a weapons permit, which as of last year allows them to carry weapons openly or concealed. They must have eight hours of gun training and pass a background check that includes fingerprinting. The three Easter weekend mass shootings are in addition to other gun violence in recent days. Last week, a gunman opened fire in a New York subway car, wounding 10 people. A suspect was arrested the next day. Earlier this month, six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy downtown area just blocks from the state Capitol. One week ago, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. And last month, 10 people were shot at a spring break party in Dallas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire. An Ohio man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and stealing a coat rack testified that he joined thousands of protesters in ransacking the building last year on what he thought were orders from the president, Donald Trump. Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, said Wednesday he took to websites after being laid off from his exterminator job in March 2020 and in his pandemic doldrums fell under Trumps sway as he bought into conspiracy theories and went down the rabbit hole on the internet. On trial in U.S. District Court in Washington, Thompson testified that the claim that the election was stolen seemed credible to him because it was coming from the president. His defense team is the first to argue that Trump and those connected to him were responsible for the actions of the mob that day. It seems like everyone was attacking him (Trump). He needed someone to stand up for him, and I was trying to do that, Thompson said. Under questioning by the prosecution, Thompson acknowledged that he ignored signs he shouldnt be at the Capitol broken glass, alarms, chemical irritants in the air and said he stole the coat rack to keep others from using it as a weapon. He also said he witnessed fierce fighting between police and rioters outside the building, and later ran away from officers. He said he realized weeks later that what he had done was wrong and now feels shame for his actions. Thompsons jury trial is the third among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. The first two ended with jurors convicting both defendants on all counts. Thompson's defense team is the first to argue that Trump and those connected to him were responsible for the actions of the mob that day. "If the president is giving you almost an order to do something, I felt obligated to do that, Thompson testified. Thompsons lawyer sought subpoenas to call Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as witnesses, but U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton rejected that request. Jurors on Wednesday began listening to recordings of speeches that Trump and Giuliani delivered at a rally before the riot. They were expected to finish listening to recordings Thursday morning and begin deliberations later in the day. Thompsons wife, Sarah Thompson, testified that she voted for Democrat Joe Biden, as well as Democratic presidential nominees Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She said her husbands views were more moderate then but shifted during the Trump years as he started encountering conspiracy theories. She said she did not share his views but helped arrange his travel to Washington for the Stop the Steal rally near the White House because he had a right to protest and she enjoyed having a quiet house. Much of the prosecution's case was built around testimony from several Capitol Police officers placing Thompson at the scene, wearing a bulletproof vest that he said he found, and carrying a coat rack he took from the Senate Parliamentarians Office. More than 770 people have been charged with federal crimes arising from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Over 250 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. Thompson is the fifth person to be tried on riot-related charges. On Monday, a jury convicted a former Virginia police officer, Thomas Robertson, of storming the Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying Bidens 2020 electoral victory. Last month, a jury convicted a Texas man, Guy Reffitt, of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun. A judge hearing testimony without a jury decided cases against two other Capitol riot defendants at separate bench trials. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden acquitted one of them of all charges and partially acquitted the other. Thompson is charged with six counts: obstructing Congress' joint session to certify the Electoral College vote, theft of government property, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. A co-defendant, Robert Lyon, 27, pleaded guilty in March to theft of government property and disorderly conduct. Both counts are misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of one year imprisonment. Walton is scheduled to sentence Lyon on June 3. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Ri Chun Hi, North Koreas most famous state TV anchor, has announced major events for decades, including nuclear and missile tests and the death of a leader, with an instantly identifiable, passionate voice. The anchor, dubbed the pink lady abroad for her bright traditional Korean attire, became the topic of official North Korean media herself Thursday after leader Kim Jong Un gave her a luxurious residence and asked her to continue to serve as the voice of his ruling Workers Party. Experts say Kim is providing special treatment to elite North Koreans to boost their loyalty as he grapples with the pandemic, a troubled economy and a stalemate in nuclear diplomacy with the United States. (Kim) said it is the sincerity of the party that it would spare nothing for a national treasure like her, who has worked as a revolutionary announcer for the party for more than 50 years since her girlhood, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Kim expressed his expectation that she would as ever vigorously continue her work in good health as befitting a spokeswoman for the party. Kim met Ri, who is about 79, on Wednesday after inaugurating a newly built riverside terraced residential district in Pyongyang, the capital, KCNA said. It said houses in the district were presented to Ri and other people who have given distinguished service to the state. North Korea often inaugurates construction projects to mark key state anniversaries. Friday is the 110th birthday of Kims late grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung. Its the most important anniversary in North Korea, which has been ruled by three generations of the Kim family since its foundation in 1948. The new housing area is where Kim Il Sungs official residence was located until the 1970s. Pyongyang is North Koreas showcase city, and its elite residents enjoy relatively affluent lives compared with people in remote rural areas where many still suffer from poverty and malnutrition. A majority of North Koreans who have fled the country in the past two decades have come from its northern regions close to the border with China. By giving houses to those who have been faithful to him, Kim Jong Un would want to further bolster their loyalty and internal unity, said Moon Seong Mook, an analyst with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. Ri Chun Hi is a clear example of such people as shes strongly propagated his nuclear and missile tests and served as a sort of bugler for him. Kim toured Ris house with her and held her hand as they descended the stairs. Ri said she felt her new house is like a hotel and that all her family members stayed up all night in tears of deep gratitude for the partys benevolence, according to KCNA. Ri later used her trademark over-the-top speaking technique to narrate a state TV video of Kim showing her the house. Ri joined state TV in the early 1970s when the country was still governed by Kim Il Sung, and she has gradually become the face and voice of the countrys propaganda-driven news broadcasts. Her close ties to Kim were shown last year at a government foundation anniversary ceremony when she watched from an elevated veranda right next to Kim, and at one point put her hand on his shoulder and whispered to him. At another event, she was the first person to shake Kim's hand before holding his arm and posing for a group photo. Moon, the analyst, said Ri receives Cabinet member-level treatment at home, appears healthy and is expected to continue to handle key televised announcements for at least the next few years. Ri's passionate, effusive style has sometimes generated laughter in other countries. In 2011, a Taiwanese TV station apologized after one of its newsreaders mimicked the tone Ri used when she announced the death of Kims father, Kim Jong Il. Since inheriting power upon his father's death, Kim Jong Un, 38, has led North Korea with absolute authority. But he is facing one of the toughest moments of his rule after the coronavirus pandemic shocked an economy already in dire shape from mismanagement and U.S.-led sanctions. Analysts say recent missile tests were meant to advance his weapons arsenal and pressure the U.S. into recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state and relaxing international sanctions. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lankans protesting for days near the presidents office criticized a lack of progress in finding those responsible for the deaths of more than 260 people in Islamic State-inspired bombings on Easter Sunday three years ago, piling pressure on the government already embroiled in a deep economic crisis. The protesters demanded the government uncover what they called the real conspirators behind the attacks on three churches two Catholic and one Protestant that included simultaneous suicide bombings during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing 42 foreigners from 14 countries. On Sunday, hundreds of people lit candles and displayed banners and placards during a silent protest in the capital, Colombo, calling for justice for the victims of the attacks. The demonstrations were held at Colombos main esplanade, where thousands of people have been protesting for eight days to demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the worst debt crisis that has caused critical shortages of fuel, food and medicines in the Indian Ocean island nation. Protesters including relatives of the victims accused the government of failing to deliver justice for the bombings. They displayed a huge banner that read: Its been 3 years, we cry for justice and placards that read: Who was behind this attack? My entire family is gone. Today, I live a very lonely life. I have no words to explain my agony, said Shiran Anton, whose wife and only daughter died in the attacks. I want to find out who the real culprits were behind this attack and why they did it, he said, adding he was not satisfied with the investigation. Officials have charged dozens of people who allegedly received weapons training and participated in indoctrination classes from the two local Islamic extremist groups accused of carrying out the attacks. The groups had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Friction between the countrys former president and former prime minister who belonged to different political parties was blamed for the failure to act on the intelligence warnings. The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has also been critical of the investigation into the bombings. Church leaders have repeatedly blamed Rajapaksas government for not taking action against former President Maithripala Sirisena and other top officials for failing to prevent the bombings. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has said the true conspirators in the attacks could still be at large and questioned the government over allegations that some members of state intelligence knew and had met with at least one attacker. The attacks shattered the countrys tourism industry a key source of hard currency just a year before the pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the economy. Protesters also blame the governments mismanagement of the countrys debt payments, including taking loans for dubious investments. The country is on the brink of bankruptcy, saddled with $25 billion in foreign debt over the next five years nearly $7 billion of which is due this year alone and dwindling foreign reserves. Talks with the International Monetary Fund are expected later this month, and the government had turned to China and India for emergency loans to buy food and fuel. Much of the anger has been directed at Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who head an influential clan that has been in power for most of the past two decades. Like it or not, the choose-your-own-adventure period of the pandemic is upon us. Mask mandates have fallen. Some free testing sites have closed. Whatever parts of the United States were still trying to collectively quell the pandemic have largely turned their focus away from communitywide advice. Now, even as case numbers begin to climb again and more infections go unreported, the onus has fallen on individual Americans to decide how much risk they and their neighbors face from the coronavirus and what, if anything, to do about it. For many people, the threats posed by COVID have eased dramatically over the two years of the pandemic. Vaccines slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying. Powerful new antiviral pills can help keep vulnerable people from deteriorating. But not all Americans can count on the same protection. Millions of people with weakened immune systems do not benefit fully from vaccines. Two-thirds of Americans, and more than one-third of those 65 and older, have not received the critical security of a booster shot, with the most worrisome rates among Black and Hispanic people. And patients who are poorer or live farther from doctors and pharmacies face steep barriers to getting antiviral pills. These vulnerabilities have made calculating the risks posed by the virus a fraught exercise. Federal health officials recent suggestion that most Americans could stop wearing masks because hospitalization numbers were low has created confusion in some quarters about whether the likelihood of being infected had changed, scientists said. Were doing a really terrible job of communicating risk, said Katelyn Jetelina, a public health researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. I think thats also why people are throwing their hands up in the air and saying, Screw it. Theyre desperate for some sort of guidance. To fill that void, scientists are thinking anew about how to discuss COVID risks. Some researchers are working on tools to compare infection risks to the dangers of a wide range of activities, finding, for instance, that an average 43-year-old vaccinated last year is roughly as likely to be hospitalized from an infection as a bull rider is to be hospitalized after a ride. Others have studied when people could unmask indoors if the goal was not only to keep hospitals from being overrun but also to protect immunocompromised people. But many scientists said they also worried about this latest phase of the pandemic heaping too much of the burden on individuals to make choices about keeping themselves and others safe, especially while the tools for fighting COVID remained beyond some Americans reach. As much as we wouldnt like to believe it, said Anne Sosin, who studies health equity at Dartmouth College, we still need a society-wide approach to the pandemic, especially to protect those who cant benefit fully from vaccination. Collective Metrics While COVID is far from Americas only health threat, it remains one of its most significant. In March, even as deaths from the first omicron surge plummeted, the virus was still the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer. More Americans overall have been dying than would have in normal times, a sign of the viruss broad toll. As of late February, 7% more Americans were dying than would have been expected based on previous years a contrast with Western European nations like Britain, where overall deaths have lately been lower than expected. How much virus is circulating in the population is one of the most important measures for people trying to gauge their risks, scientists said. That remains true even though case numbers are now undercounting true infections by a large margin because so many Americans are testing at home or not testing at all, they said. Even with many cases being missed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now places most of the Northeast at high levels of viral transmission. In parts of the region, case numbers, while far lower than during the winter, are nearing the peak rates of autumns delta variant surge. Much of the rest of the country has what the CDC describes as moderate levels of transmission. The amount of circulating virus is critical because it dictates how likely someone is to encounter the virus and, in turn, roll the dice on a bad outcome, scientists said. That is part of what makes COVID so different from the flu, scientists said: The coronavirus can infect many more people at once, and with people more likely to catch it, the overall chance of a bad outcome goes up. Weve never seen flu prevalence how much of it there is in the community in the numbers weve seen with COVID, said Lucy DAgostino McGowan, a biostatistician at Wake Forest University. COVID Versus Driving Even two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus remains new enough, and its long-term effects unpredictable enough, that measuring the threat posed by an infection is a thorny problem, scientists said. Some unknown number of people infected will develop long COVID, leaving them severely debilitated. And the risks of getting COVID extend to others, potentially in poor health, who may consequently be exposed. Still, with far more immunity in the population than there once was, some public health researchers have sought to make risk calculations more accessible by comparing the virus with everyday dangers. The comparisons are particularly knotty in the United States: The country does not conduct the random swabbing studies necessary to estimate infection levels, making it difficult to know what share of infected people are dying. Jetelina, who has published a set of comparisons in her newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist, said that the exercise highlighted how tricky risk calculations remained for everybody, public health researchers included. For example, she estimated that the average vaccinated and boosted person who was at least 65 years old had a risk of dying after a COVID infection slightly higher than the risk of dying during a year of military service in Afghanistan in 2011. She used a standard unit of risk known as a micromort, which represents a one-in-a-million chance of dying. But her calculations, rough as they were, included only recorded cases, rather than unreported and generally milder infections. And she did not account for the lag between cases and deaths, looking at data from a single week in January. Each of those variables could have swung estimates of risk. All of these nuances underline how difficult it is for individuals to calculate risk, she said. Epidemiologists are having a challenge with it as well. For children under age 5, she found, the risk of dying after a COVID infection was about the same as the risk of mothers dying in childbirth in the United States. That comparison, though, highlights other difficulties in describing risk: Average numbers can hide large differences between groups. Black women, for example, are almost three times as likely as white women to die in childbirth, a reflection in part of differences in the quality of medical care and of racial bias within the health system. Cameron Byerley, an assistant professor in mathematics education at the University of Georgia, built an online tool called COVID-Taser, allowing people to adjust age, vaccine status and health background to predict the risks of the virus. Her team used estimates from earlier in the pandemic of the proportion of infections that led to bad outcomes. Her research has shown that people have trouble interpreting percentages, Byerley said. She recalled her 69-year-old mother-in-law being unsure whether to worry earlier in the pandemic after a news program said people her age had a 10% risk of dying from an infection. Byerley suggested her mother-in-law imagine if, once out of every 10 times she used the restroom in a given day, she died. Oh, 10% is terrible, she recalled her mother-in-law saying. Byerleys estimates showed, for instance, that an average 40-year-old vaccinated over six months ago faced roughly the same chance of being hospitalized after an infection as someone did of dying in a car crash in the course of 170 cross-country road trips. (More recent vaccine shots provide better protection than older ones, complicating these predictions.) For immunocompromised people, the risks are higher. An unvaccinated 61-year-old with an organ transplant, Byerley estimated, is three times as likely to die after an infection as someone is to die within five years of receiving a diagnosis of stage 1 breast cancer. And that transplant recipient is twice as likely to die from COVID as someone is to die while scaling Mount Everest. With the most vulnerable people in mind, Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, set out last month to determine how low cases would have to fall for people to stop indoor masking without endangering those with extremely weakened immune systems. He imagined a hypothetical person who derived no benefit from vaccines, wore a good mask, took hard-to-get prophylactic medication, attended occasional gatherings and shopped but did not work in person. He set his sights on keeping vulnerable peoples chances of being infected below 1% over a four-month period. To achieve that threshold, he found, the country would have to keep masking indoors until transmission fell below 50 weekly cases per 100,000 people a stricter limit than the CDC is currently using but one that he said nevertheless offered a benchmark to aim for. If you just say, Well take masks off when things get better thats true I hope but its not really helpful because people dont know what better means, Faust said. Layered Protections For people with immune deficiencies, the end of collective efforts to reduce infection levels has been unnerving. All of the layered protections weve been talking about for the entire pandemic, each of those is being stripped away, said Marney White, a professor of public health at Yale University, who is immunocompromised. She said families in her local school district were encouraging each other not to report COVID cases. Its impossible to calculate risk in these situations, she said. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the White House COVID response coordinator, said that the administration had helped mitigate peoples risks by making rapid tests and masks easier to get and by partnering with clinics to quickly prescribe antiviral pills. Better communication was needed to distribute preventive medicine for immunocompromised people, he said. We need a system that can very readily deliver therapeutics for them, he said. Thats very much the responsibility of government. Preparing better for the present surge and future ones could make peoples risks more manageable, even if it does not eliminate them, scientists said. By ventilating indoor spaces, guaranteeing paid sick leave, delivering booster shots to peoples doorsteps and making it easier to get treated, the government could help people make choices with less fear of catastrophe, they said. We should be setting infrastructure in place that allows us to respond rapidly when we have the next wave, said David Dowdy, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University. We should be training people that, when those waves hit, there are certain things were going to have to do, he added, like imposing short-term mask mandates. You can then live your life in respect of that possibility but not in fear that it might happen at any minute. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Pope Francis, in an Easter address delivered to tens of thousands of worshipers in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square, called for "peace for war-torn Ukraine," and for caution over conflict that could lead to nuclear war. Under the bright sun before a crowd reveling in a return to tradition after previous years' pandemic-related restrictions, the pope called Sunday's holiday an "Easter of war." "We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence," he said. "Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away to be safe from bombing." "Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets," he said, in a plea for people to take up the cause. "May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." He cited a line from a 1955 manifesto by physicist Albert Einstein and philosopher Bertrand Russell, in which scientists and thinkers warn of the risks posed by nuclear weapons, writing, "Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?" The Easter message capped a weekend of religious events for Catholics. Orthodox Christians in Ukraine and elsewhere celebrate Easter on April 24. Three Ukrainian lawmakers and the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, who was reportedly abducted by Russian forces and released in a prisoner swap, attended the pope's Easter vigil service on Saturday, where he addressed them directly. "In this darkness that you are living, Mr. Mayor, parliamentarians, the thick darkness of war, of cruelty, we are all praying, praying with you and for you this night," he said. The pope's Good Friday sermon at the Colosseum in Rome called for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, attracting criticism from Ukrainian faith leaders who disliked that Ukrainians and Russians carried a cross together during the service. While the pope has often talked raised support for Ukraine since the start of the war, he has so far avoided naming Russia as the aggressor, or calling what is happening in Ukraine an invasion. His Easter Sunday address was no exception. He said Ukraine was "dragged" into a "cruel and senseless war," but did not say by whom. He mentioned Ukraine and Ukrainians by name, but not Russia. The message highlighted the consequences of war for Ukraine and its people, especially "the millions of refugees and internally displaced people, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed." "I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war," Francis said. "As we look at them, we cannot help but hear their cry of pain, along with that of all those other children who suffer throughout our world: those dying of hunger or lack of medical care, those who are victims of abuse and violence, and those denied the right to be born." He praised European nations for opening their doors to Ukrainian refugees, but said the same welcome should be extended to other vulnerable people fleeing conflicts elsewhere. He raised his hopes for a peaceful resolution to other conflicts around the world. The pope ended his address with a call for peace: "Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone's primary responsibility!" - - - The Washington Post's Stefano Pitrelli, Lateshia Beachum and Tobi Raji contributed to this report. Tolo TV, April 17, 2022 On Friday night, the Pakistani air strikes targeted civilians in Esperai district in Khost, killing dozens of people.Strong reactions continue at national level against Pakistani militarys air strikes and rocket attacks on Afghan provinces with many blaming Pakistan for violation of Afghanistans sovereignty. On Friday night, the Pakistani air strikes targeted civilians in Esperai district in Khost, killing dozens of people. A large number Nangarhar residents gathered in Ghanikhil district in the provinces on Sunday to protest the Pakistani air strikes on Afghan soil. The protest in Nangarhar follows a big rally held by the residents of Khost on Saturday evening where they chanted anti-Pakistan slogans. Some residents of Shiltan district in Kunar also confirmed the death of five people as a result of Pakistani military attack in the district. The attacks were condemned by the Islamic Emirate and top Afghan politicians, including former president Hamid Karzai who called it violation of Afghanistans sovereignty and international norms and a crime against humanity. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN in a statement strongly condemned the attack and called it an aggression against the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and a flagrant breach of international law. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday summoned the Pakistani envoy in Kabul over the attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces. Along with the IEA Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the session also included Deputy Defense Minister Alhaj Mullah Shirin Akhund where the Afghan sidecondemned the recent attacks, the ministry said in a statement. Meanwhile, referring to the air strikes, Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry said that "the incidents" happened after "significant increase in attacks by elements of banned terrorist groups" on Pakistani forces from Afghan soil. The ministry added that Pakistan respects Afghanistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations said that over 40 people, including women and children, were killed in the air strikes. (Natural News) In a truly pathetic display of gross capitulation to the forces of evil ruling the Western world right now, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek has apologized to the Cult of LGBT for supposedly not pushing enough gender and sexuality perversion on children. In a video statement to the LGBT community watch below Chapek gushed with sorrow for failing to groom children at the level required to satisfy homosexuals, lesbians, transgenders and others who identify something other than the normal male and female. NEW: Disney CEO Bob Chapek grovels, apologizes, and pledges to be a better ally for the LGBTQ+ community. He delegated the companys moral authority to the LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council and now those internal activists have taken him as an ideological hostage. pic.twitter.com/efOSOmb47a Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) April 7, 2022 By now, I hope youve all read my most recent note in which I pledge to be a better ally for the LGBTQ+ community, apologize for not being the ally that you needed me to be, and committed to ensuring that our company lives up to its values, Chapek gushed before his virtual audience. I meant every word. And thats what were here to talk about today. I know that weve got work to do and that work starts with listening. Im glad the company will hear from todays panel of LGBTQ+ employees, and I hope that you are as impacted as Ive been by the voices that Ive heard over the past few weeks. Chapek complains about Floridas anti-grooming bill, says Disney failed to stand up against it Chapek went on to talk about all of the feedback he has received recently from LGBTs, including those who work for Disney. Based on what they told him, Chapek said he has been greatly impacted to take action. Ive read many emails that have been sent, spoken with LGBTQ+ employees and their allies, met with advocacy groups and convened my own leadership team, and I have been taken by the honesty, the openness, and the urgency of their stories, he said. I want you to know that your words have made a real impact on me. I understand that weve made mistakes, and the pain that those mistakes have caused, and I know that our silence wasnt just about the bill in Florida, but about every time an individual or institution that should have stood up for this community did not. Chapek concluded his speech by claiming that he is committed to pushing the LGBT agenda and using Disney to catalyze societal change in favor of that agenda whenever and wherever possible. I and the leadership team are determined to use this moment as a catalyst for more meaningful and lasting change, he said. Weve heard many suggestions on how to do that, and we are working to move quickly. I want to thank the LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council, their allies, and everyone else who submitted ideas on how we can take action. I am convening a meeting with all my direct reports and representatives of the Advisory Council to discuss the thoughtful suggestions that have been made. But we know the moment requires urgency and words are not enough, so we are taking some actions right now. In other words, it is urgent for Disney and its LGBT partners to come up with fast solutions for indoctrinating, brainwashing and grooming more children into a perverse lifestyle. And Chapek is committed to making that happen with the help of Disney consumers. The latest news about Disney and the LGBT push can be found at Gender.news. Sources include: CitizenFreePress.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Luis Ruiz, the co-founder of Orlando, Florida-based Fearless Identity Ministries (FIM), denounced the Walt Disney Company on the April 14 episode of Byline Anew on Brighteon.TV. He also lauded Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for standing up against the transgender agenda, a sentiment program host Fior Hernandez agreed to. Prior to establishing FIM, Ruiz was part of the LGBT community. But after surviving the 2016 Pulse Night Club shooting, he turned over a new leaf and left the LGBT community for Jesus Christ. Ruiz then founded FIM together with Angel Colon, who also survived the shooting incident that killed 49 people. Hernandez then asked Ruiz his opinion on Disneys involvement with the transgender agenda. She cited Charlee Corra, the great-grandson of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney, coming out as a female-to-male transgender as a recent example of this. Corra proceeded to condemn alleged anti-LGBTQ bills, specifically zeroing in on Floridas Parental Rights in Education Act (PREA) set to take effect on July 1. As believers, it shouldnt surprise us [because] we saw this coming, said Ruiz. I love seeing that people are standing up, I love seeing that people are rising up and saying You know what? If you choose to believe that way, were walking away.' (Related: Disneys support of LGBT movement proves costly: Nearly 7 in 10 Americans no longer want to do business with the company.) The FIM co-founder also pointed to Disneys hypocrisy which also extends to the Left. He elaborated: This side is allowed to inject curse words [and] sexual perversion into cartoons and movies. But [when the other side shows how] to follow Jesus, pick up [ones] cross, not live by the patterns of the world and abstain from [those] things, now thats not allowed. Everyone knows that if you talk to the kids [and] can change their minds, you can get Mom and Dad to buy products and change their opinions. And so what [does Disney] does? They go into the elementary schools. If they talk to the kids [and] change their minds, they can change a whole generation. So thats exactly what theyre trying to do. Ruiz: Gov. DeSantis bold and courageous for standing up against trans indoctrination Ruiz expressed thankfulness for DeSantis backbone and resolve in the current time after Hernandez asked him what he thought of the Republican governor. He said: Im so thankful for Gov. Ron DeSantis, [as] he has been bold. For such a time as this, I believe God has planted him in [Florida] where there is a massive revival happening and people are starting to be bold. I hear what other governors say: They are watching what our governor is doing and applying it to their cities [and] states. Im glad that hes leading this charge for change and just that boldness of saying You know what? Were not doing that. If all of you guys want to believe what you believe, were not teaching sexuality to [students in kinder] through third grade. I could just sit here and thank God for sending up someone really bold and courageous for this time. Despite this, both Ruiz and Hernandez acknowledged the fact that DeSantis is on the receiving end of hate from the LGBT community and its allies. They hate him, the activists and a whole bunch of people. They just dont want [anything] to do with him because he stands up for righteousness, hes standing up for what we believe in, remarked the FIM co-founder. Hernandez agreed, adding: I think whats sad is that people dont take the time to even investigate a little further into what [DeSantis] is doing, what the PREA says and the rights that he is protecting. He is not the person that critics [are] trying to make him out to be its just the narrative thats built around him. Obviously far from perfect, [but] no one is perfect, right? [In] many places I go to, when they hear that Im from Florida, the things I hear [are] You have a good governor, We want your governor or Oh, youre so lucky. And then I immediately say Hey, I know you want him for president but Id like him to stay in Florida, thank you very much.' Visit Twisted.news for more stories about Disneys adoption of the trans agenda. Watch the full April 14 episode of Byline Anew with Fior Hernandez and Luis Ruiz below. Tune in to Byline Anew every Sunday at 9:30-10 a.m. and Thursday at 10:30-11 a.m. on Brighteon.TV. This video is from the BrighteonTV channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Texas, Florida governors accused of being anti-LGBT by mainstream media for pushing for age-appropriate materials in schools. Walt Disney Company is infested with perverts is this why the company opposes Floridas anti-grooming legislation? Derek Paul: Floridas Dont Say Gay bill benefits PARENTS Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com ChristianPost.com NBCNews.com (Natural News) Pfizer is planning to ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine an emergency use authorization as a booster for children aged five to 11. The Big Pharma companys basis for asking comes from phase 2 and 3 clinical trial data that claims to show that giving children aged five to 11 a third dose of its experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccine produced significant protection against the post-vaccine omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Related: Girls are developing GENITAL ULCERS after getting the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.) This data involves 140 children who received a booster approximately six months after they became fully vaccinated. The children supposedly saw a six-fold increase in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 within one month after they received the booster dose of the mRNA vaccine. Furthermore, a sub-analysis of 30 participants supposedly showed a 36-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titers when going up against the omicron variant. These data demonstrate an increase in SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant and wild-type strain neutralizing titers following a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine compared to two doses, claimed Pfizer. These data reinforce the potential function of a third dose of the vaccine in maintaining high levels of protection against the virus in this age group. Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine was determined by New York public health officials in February to be vastly less effective against infection from the coronavirus during the omicron surge. They reported that protection from infection in children aged five to 11 fell sharply from 68 percent to just 12 percent between Dec. 13, 2021, and Jan. 31, 2022. Despite significant evidence to the contrary, Pfizer also claimed this trial on very young children showed no new safety signals. None of this data has been published in any peer-reviewed scientific journal. The data are also not available for preview on preprint servers. Pfizer to apply for emergency use authorizations all over the world Pfizer said it plans to push ahead with applying for emergency use authorization with the FDA for its booster vaccine for children in the coming days. BioNTech, the European pharmaceutical company that helped Pfizer develop its experimental and deadly mRNA vaccine, is taking the lead in submitting a similar emergency use authorization application to the European Medicines Agency. This is the main governing body in charge of evaluating medicinal products for use within the European Union. But Pfizers claims have not been subjected to any kind of scrutiny. If Pfizer has data that shows that giving an additional dose of vaccines to the five- to 11-year-old age group increases protection against serious disease, then lets see it, said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDAs advisory panel. Because otherwise, all theyve shown is exactly what you expect, which is that when you give a third dose, a booster dose. Administering the vaccines to young children has been controversial, wrote healthcare journalist Cassidy Morrison for the Washington Examiner. The majority of the scientific community, including virologists, maintain that children are far less susceptible to severe illness raising the question of whether young children need a vaccine. Learn the truth about the COVID-19 vaccines by reading the latest articles at Vaccines.news. Watch this clip from InfoWars as the network talks about how Pfizer is seeking approval to inject infants with its experimental and deadly COVID-19 vaccine. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Pfizers COVID vaccine responsible for hepatitis outbreak in children. Study: Persistent heart abnormalities observed in COVID-19 vaccinated kids. New study shows Pfizer vaccine is ineffective for children aged 5 to 11. NY health department study: Pfizers COVID shot for kids only offers 12% protection from omicron. 8-year-old girl suffers stroke and brain hemorrhage less than a day after getting Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Reuters.com WashingtonExaminer.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) It appears as though a mass genocide is currently taking place in Shanghai as government officials starve residents to death in order to keep them safe against the latest strain of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Reports are flooding in depicting troops and tanks on the streets, people screaming in terror, people jumping out of windows to commit suicide and farmers being arrested. And Big Tech platforms such as Weibo are censoring videos and picture evidence of all this horror. In the below video, agonized locals can be seen and heard screaming about how Xi Jinpings latest lockdown measures are causing people to starve as they are unable to leave their homes to buy any groceries. We are starving to death! some are heard screaming. We havent eaten for a very long time. We are really starving to death! In #China, agonized locals in some residential district in #Shanghai totalitarian lockdown screamed in horror we are starving to death we havent eaten for a very long time we are really starving to death. @SolomonYue pic.twitter.com/Yy1rB9pSKd Northrop Gundam (@GundamNorthrop) April 5, 2022 Up until about a week or so ago, China, like the rest of the world, had moved past the plandemic. The BA.2 subvariant of the omicron (moronic) variant turned out to be a dud, and life had moved on for most people. Then, out of nowhere, the Orwellian Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dropped the hammer and locked down 26 million people in Shanghai because of moronic, leaving untold millions stranded without food and sustenance. Now, Shanghai is on the verge of collapsing because of these totalitarian measures. The Chinese military has deployed to the streets of Shanghai pic.twitter.com/hMaMTOaVDl Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) April 11, 2022 Xi Jinping personally drafted zero-COVID policy of mass genocide Because of the alleged risks involved with spreading moronic to others, the Chinese government decided that area residents needed to be locked inside their homes with no escape, and no access to food. This extreme tyranny is apparently needed to stop the spread of BA.2 and flatten the curve, which we continue to be told will save lives. Meanwhile, video footage shows Chinese people jumping out of windows and hanging themselves in response to these health measures. This isnt about science but party control to keep Xi in power, reported Strange Sounds. Keep the boot on the neck of the people and they will be grateful for crumbs. Miles Guo, an exiled Chinese billionaire who claims to have been an insider in Xis circle, put out a video explaining how Chinas zero-COVID policy was personally put into place by Xi as a means of starving and humbling the masses, making them dependent upon the CCP for survival. The CCP is inciting hatred against the Chinese people around the world, he explained. According to his sources, the CCP is ordering Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, and Changchun to prepare for the deaths of one in 5,000 people, or one in 2,500 people. Those caught delivering food in Shanghai are reportedly being arrested, and officials in 21 different cities throughout the country are being threatened with removal from office if they in any way violate the dictates coming from the CCP. As the war in Ukraine appears to be winding down, according to reports, the CCP and presumably other governments are pivoting back to the Fauci Flu for another attempted round of fascism. Will people take it this second time? This extreme lockdown in China is not about anything but starving out their own people, Strange Sounds warned. Everything everywhere has the same undertone getting rid of people. I pray for China and the world. The latest plandemic news coverage can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: StrangeSounds.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Are vaccines safe and effective? Not according a 2011 study commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Instead of conferring lasting immune protection against disease as claimed, vaccines like the vitamin K shot, as one example, actually degrade immunity and lead to worse health outcomes than if the person remained unvaccinated. In fact, people who are unvaccinated tend to be healthier overall than vaccinated people. This goes against the grain of prevailing Western beliefs about vaccines. Upon investigating the U.S. governments Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the HHS study researchers found that vaccine adverse events are common. The same report concluded that less than one percent of vaccine side effects are ever reported. You probably did not hear about this study because, of course, it was widely censored and ignored. Dubbed the Control Group Pilot Study, the paper was explained by Joy Garner, the groups founder, like this: The vaccine marketing slogan safe has always depended upon the disproven adjective rare in reference to side effects. In the American Restatement (Second) of Torts 402A (comment k) vaccines are formally classified as unavoidably unsafe. But we are told vaccines are safe. Vaccines are not only unsafe, they are unavoidably so. And the injuries are common, a minimum of 100 times more common than the VAERS will report. The fact our obscenely abusive laws currently protect the pharmaceutical industry from any consequences for this fraud, and from the injuries it commonly causes, does not alter the dictionary definition of the word fraud. Few people suffer such severe cognitive dissonance that they would still believe vaccines are safe once made aware vaccines are unavoidably unsafe products that commonly injure, disable, and kill people. Childrens Health Defense discovers that unvaccinated children are healthier than vaccinated children Few scientists in the field of vaccinology are willing to talk about any of this because most of them rely on pharmaceutical industry funding. Consequently, vaccines will always be considered safe and effective no matter what the science actually shows. Most of Western medicine turns a blind eye to the shocking increase in chronic diseases that accompanies a rise in the number of childhood vaccines administered in early youth. Doctors will often say that that they have no idea why there is now an incredible number of children living on the autism spectrum. Persistent allergies are also a mystery, even though vaccines contain the very allergenic ingredients (i.e., eggs and peanut oil) that are triggering them. This farce keeps their benefactors very happy, but it requires an astounding number of scientifically obtuse experts and consistent fraud to sustain it, said Garner. Another study published by Dr. James Lyons-Weiler and Dr. Paul Thomas in 2020 arrived at the same conclusion. Children who are protected against the jabs turn out healthier than children whose parents give them the standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) schedule. The CDC is technically required by law to conduct safety studies on childhood vaccines every two years. This was supposed to be happening since 1986, but in 2018 it was discovered that the CDC has never even once performed this legal duty. As the leading governmental organization driving vaccination among Americans, the CDC refuses to incriminate itself in the epidemic of childhood chronic illness, reports the Daily Expose. It is a classic case of the fox guarding the henhouse. They are complicit in creating an evidence vacuum to deliberately manage against the possibility of the public turning against vaccination. The result of all this is millions of immune-damaged, fully vaccinated children and adults who now suffer from persistent respiratory infections and other chronic illnesses. More related news coverage about vaccines can be found at Vaccines.news. Sources include: DailyExpose.uk NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A Dutch journalist on the ground in Ukraine has an urgent message for the Western world: Stop believing the fake news and endless lies served up by mainstream media. (Article by Baxter Dmitry republished from NewsPunch.com) According to Sonja van den Ende, an independent journalist from Rotterdam, Netherlands, the mainstream media lie continuously about everything just to implement their own agenda. Unlike mainstream media hacks who are reporting on the war from their comfortable inner-city broadcast studios in Western capitals, Van den Ende is reporting from Ukraine and watching how the Russian military operation is unfolding on the ground and with her own two eyes. Van den Ende says there are only a handful of Western journalists on the ground in the hotspot of Donbass, Ukraine, while the Western mainstream press is rubber-stamping fake news about the Ukrainian crisis using the same templates it previously used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Disillusioned with mainstream media lies, Van den Ende travelled to the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics and became an embedded reporter with the Russian army to see what is really happening in Ukraine. The sound of shelling and explosion no longer frightens her. Seven years ago, van den Ende worked in Syria, months before the Russians stepped in at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and destroyed ISIS, changing the tide of the civil war. She says the parallels between the Western mainstream media coverage of the Syrian and the Ukrainian conflicts are striking. They lie continuously about everything just to implement their own agenda, said Van den Ende. Like in Syria, President Assad was the murderer and now President Putin is the butcher. They had used this script for many years in Iraq, Venezuela and [other] countries which dont comply with their agenda; they need a bad guy. But they (media) are not even there on the ground, they cant judge. Only a handful of journalists from the West are here: Graham Philips, Patrick Lancaster, Anne-Laure Bonnel and me. This is not the only striking parallel, according to the Dutch journalist. She has drawn attention to Kievs fake reports and false flag operations including the infamous Snake Island hoax, hype over Russias alleged attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the now-debunked story of Russias strike on a Mariupol hospital, and the most recent Bucha provocation. Van den Ende says that Ukrainian claims and Western media disinformation resemble false flags by jihadists in Syria and the White Helmets staged gas attacks. She specifically recalls the 4 April 2017 chemical provocation in Khan Sheikhun, Idlib, which was debunked by investigative reporters including Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh. The same happened in Bucha, says the Dutch journalist. Many witnesses are saying that the Russian army left on 30 March. Even the Ukrainian military who came in on 1 April didnt report about corpses on the streets. This happened on 3 April, according to the Western media. Also, evidence is saying that the bodies had white armbands, the sign of the Russian army, the soldiers wear them. So the soldiers are killing the Russian Ukrainians? No way. Ukrainian Neo-Nazism is No Myth Van den Ende talked to many Ukrainian civilians while travelling across Donbass. She says nearly everyone condemned Zelenskys Kiev regime for prohibiting the Russian language and depriving them of many cultural and domestic human rights. The majority of the people whom I spoke with were very happy that the [Russian special] operation has started, the Dutch journalist says. Of course, nobody wants violence and war, but they have been suffering already eight years from the war, carnage and destruction by the Ukrainian forces. The worst were the Nazi battalions, who were fighting along with the regular army. Ukrainian neo-Nazism is not a myth, insists van den Ende. When she visited the Ukrainian port city of Odessa in 2016 and 2017 she noted the fascist sentiment which has been spreading across the nation since World War II. The ideological successors of Stepan Bandera, the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the 14th SS-Volunteer Division Galicia, and the Nachtigall Battalion went underground during the Soviet period. However, after many years these forces have emerged from the shadows again and now the US, UK and EU are using them to destabilize Ukraine, she says. Sonja van den Ende says the Western media lie continuously about everything just to implement their own agenda. The way these Western geopolitical actors are using the Nazis closely resembles the way Obama used ISIS to destabalize Syria and unseat Assad, says the journalist. According to van den Ende, after carrying out a 2014 coup detat in Ukraine, the minority of neo-Nazis seized power and have been terrorizing most of the eastern part of the country using vicious and cruel Nazi-style methods for the past eight years. Feeling Protected at Long Last The West is continuously trying to blame Russia for all the damage inflicted on Ukrainian villages and towns. However, Eastern Ukrainian eye-witnesses say that most of destruction in the civilian areas was caused by the retreating Ukrainian army and neo-Nazi formations, including the notorious Azov Battalions, according to the Dutch journalist. In addition to using civilian facilities as shields, the Ukrainian military are reported to have indiscriminately shelled the positions they left and ceded to the Russian forces. To illustrate her point, van den Ende describes the shelling of a hospital in Volnovakha, in the Donetsk Peoples Republic. The building was not bombed from the air, but attacked with grenades and rockets, she says, citing a Volnovakha resident. The West claims it was bombed by the Russians, but as a lady told me, that she worked there all her life, and that the Ukrainian [military]who were quartered in the hospitalshelled and destroyed the facility and her house, which was next to the hospital. According to the Dutch journalist, Eastern Ukrainians are treated very well by the Russian army and regularly receive humanitarian aid in most locations. Whats more, the locals say that at long last they feel protected, she adds. Ferocious battles between the Ukrainian armed forces and neo-Nazi battalions on the one side and the Russia-backed DPR and LPR militias on the other side left many houses ruined. However, the people of Donbass have not given up, highlights the journalist. As a woman said: We are strong, we can rebuild it, for our children and grandchildren, to have peace, notes van den Ende. Is Russia Losing an Information War? Some observers suggest that Russia is losing the information war with the West. The Western Big Media machine is working day and night with the backing of Big Tech, while most Russian news outlets have been either censored or completely silenced in the Western countries. No, Russia is not losing the information war completely, argues van den Ende. I think its up to us, the handful of Westerners, to awaken the majority of Westerners who are still asleep and getting bombarded with fake news and made-up stories day by day. One should bear in mind that this conflict is being fanned by the Western politicians in the first place, says the Dutch journalist. According to her, the West did the exact same thing in Syria but ultimately lost that war. The world is changing and the Western establishment has yet to reconcile itself to the emerging multipolar world order, according to van den Ende. She notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the beginning of this change in his 2007 Munich speech. Although globalist elites opted to ignore his words at the time, it is now becoming obvious that a unipolar New World Order is gone for good, the journalist concludes. Read more at: NewsPunch.com Over the decades, scientific advancements in the field of medicine have allowed doctors worldwide to further examine and study the human body. One of these feats is the ability of medical practitioners to look inside the human body. This milestone has also allowed the discovery of small objects and even parasites inside our anatomy. These unsettling findings show that the human body is also susceptible to housing foreign entities that can be life-threatening if left unchecked. With this, Gilmore Health News has compiled and summarized from various sources containing cases of discovered strange things growing inside a human body: Parasitic Worm Inside a Brain In 1999, a woman by the name of Rosemary Alvarez went to the St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, due to various health conditions, including balance issues, difficulty in swallowing, and numbness in the left arm. A doctor performed an MRI scan on Rosemary's brain and initially suspected a tumor growing inside her brain. However, it was discovered that a pork tapeworm parasite was living and was slowly eating her brain. Also Read: Human Remains Found Inside Alligator Suspected of Attacking Man in Louisiana Twin Inside a Twin Also in 1999, farmer Sanju Bhagat in Mumbai, India, noticed his stomach is growing which resembles that of a pregnant woman. Sanju was reportedly experiencing breathing difficulties and was taken to Tata Memorial Hospital where doctors conducted surgery and found Sanju's deceased twin was living with him all along. Guava Sprout Growing Under a Tooth In a 2011 YouTube video of Next Media Animation News Direct cited by an article in the British Dental Journal, it can be seen a 36-year-old Taiwanese man had a growing guava sprout in his decaying third molar tooth. It was then removed by a dentist. The estimated age of the sprout was ten days old. Pea in a Lung In 2010, American Ron Sveden from Brewster, Massachusetts, started coughing severely which prompted his wife to call an ambulance. Doctors performed an x-ray on Ron and found a mass inside his lung. Initially thought to be a tumor, they realized it was a pea plant. Dandelion Flower in the Ear Canal In 2013, doctors in China found a growing dandelion flower inside a girl's ear canal. The discovery came during surgery after the girl experienced earache for almost one and a half year. Guinea Worm Disease The Guinea worm disease (GWD) is caused by a worm parasite called Dracunculus medinensis. Since the 1970s, there have been multiple cases of these parasites emerging from their infected human hosts through the skin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated the emergence of an adult female Guinea worm is associated with extreme pain for a person with GWD. The CDC says the disease is acquired from the parasite's larvae in drinking water. Hairball in Stomach In 2014, doctors removed a massive 4-kilogram hairball or Trichobezoar from the stomach of an 18-year-old girl in Kyrgyzstan. The accumulation of the hair strands was reportedly caused by the girl's obsessive eating of her hair and wools found on the carpet. Teratoma Tumor in the Fetus In 2010, 26-year-old Nicola Ellington was awaiting the delivery of her baby. However, it was a surprise of everyone when she gave birth first to a large teratoma tumor that includes various types of tissues such as bone, hair, muscle, and teeth. Nicola still successfully delivered her baby as part of an operation that led to the removal of the massive tumor which was comparable to the size of a watermelon, as per Fox News. Fig Tree in a Lung In 2009, Russian surgeons were shocked when they found that an almost 2-inches fig tree was found inside the lung of 28-year-old Artyom Sidorkin, who initially complained he was coughing up blood and experiencing chest pain. Potato Sprout in the Vagina In 2014, an unnamed 22-year-old Colombian woman reported being experiencing severe abdominal pains. Doctors eventually discovered that a potato was sprouting roots inside her vagina. The woman revealed that she placed the potato in her reproductive organ as a form of contraceptive. Related Article: Parasitic Worm That Can Grow Up to 3 Feet Inside Your Body is Transmitted by Dogs From shapeshifting fishes to glass-like jellies, the weirdest, most bizarre deep-sea creatures made the year 2021 no different than any other year, as strange new species makes themselves known to the world. Every year, researchers were able to capture video footage of these "alien-looking animals". Here is the top 10 list of weird creatures found in the deep sea in 2021 made by LiveScience: 2021 Deep Sea Expedition Sightings 10. Blood-red jellyfish The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discovered a new species of red jellyfish during its 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition, The Hill reported. According to researchers, the brand-new and unnamed species likely belongs to the genus Poralia. Found off the coast of New Jersey at a depth of 2,297 feet, the red jellyfish has peculiar number of tentacles and warts on the bell, which made it capable of stinging. Many deep sea creatures may appear black because red wavelengths of light do not penetrate into the deep ocean. 9. Elusive glass octopus Off the coast of the remote Phoenix Islands, a team of researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) released footage of an elusive glass octopus (Vitreledonella richardi) originally discovered during a 34-day expedition of the Central Pacific Ocean onboard the SOI's research vessel, Falkor. The glass-like cephalopod was "almost completely transparent" with only cylindrical eye, optic nerve and digestive tract showing. 8. Shape-shifting whalefish Meanwhile, around 6,600 feet (2,013 m) deep offshore of Monterey Bay, California, a bright orange, female whalefish of the order Cetomimiformes was discovered by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) researchers. What made the fish so bizarre was that researchers observed that they had three different appearances - one for the juveniles (tapetails), one for males (bignoses) and another for females (whalefish). It was believed that their shape-shifting transformation from juvenile to mature females is "one of the most extreme among any vertebrates." 7. 'Emperor Dumbo' 'Emperor Dumbo', a brand-new species of Dumbo octopus (Grimpteuthis imperator) was first discovered in 2016 when it was accidentally caught in a net and dragged into the surface by a German research vessel. "It was a really lucky find,"Alexander Ziegler, a researcher at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany, and chief scientist onboard the research vessel, told Live Science, "because we weren't really looking for it. Plus, the whole animal came to the surface intact." 6. Real-life SpongeBob and Patrick The real-life counterparts of the cartoon characters SpongeBob Squarepants and Patrick Star were captured by NOAA side-by-side on the seafloor, from genus Hertwigia and Chondraster, respectively. The two garnered numerous interactions on Twitter when marine biologist Christopher Mah first made the comparison on the social media site. 5. Alien-like spindly squid The rare 'ghostly' bigfin squid (of the genus Magnapinna) discovered during an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico have this "long, spaghetti-like" hands or tentacles, which is difficult to tell. The deep-sea cephalopod was first discovered in 1998 and had only been sighted a few times, fewer than 20. 4. Giant phantom jellyfish A massive jelly with 1m bell and 10m ribbon-like arms was spotted at a depth of 3,200 feet (975 m) in Monterey Bay, California. The giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea) has arms which looks like loose scarves, propelling itself through the pitch-black depths and faintly glowing bell. The species has been rarely spotted by scientists, about 100 times since 1899. 3. Photobombing squid While researchers from OceanX were filming the remains of a shipwreck from 2011, their ROV was continuously photobombed by a purpleback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis). At a depth of around 2,788 feet (850 m), scientists think it was a solitary squid, but there may have been others if only the cephalopod was identified as it zoomed across the screen. 2. Sponge tracks on the seafloor The first evidence of deep-sea sponges was captured crawling around on the seafloor, left behind by mobile creatures in the Arctic. It was first photographed in 2016 by towed cameras behind a research vessel at Langseth Ridge, but was poorly studied in the region of the Arctic Ocean since it had gotten permanently covered in sea ice. 1. See-through skull A rare glimpse of a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) with translucent forehead was caught by MBARI researchers. The strange fish seems to use a pair of bulbous green eyes inside its head. It was filmed at a depth of about 2,132 feet (650 m) in the Monterey Submarine Canyon, one of the deepest submarine canyons on the Pacific coast. According to a senior aquarist, the creature first appeared very small out in the blue distance, but "couldn't have been mistaken for anything else." Also read: Camouflaging Squid Caught on Cam in Japan, First Time to be Observed in Lab Life at the Farthest Depths of the Ocean The environment down the ocean floor is not as hospitable as it is on the surface, with conditions that exceed anything human bodies can handle. It was once thought that no life could possibly survive in the dark, cold, pressurized depths of the ocean, but several underwater explorations say otherwise. Using underwater vehicles, researchers were able to reveal an amazing world full of bizarre life forms that you didn't know even existed, like creatures straight out from fiction books. Even in the most remote and inhospitable corners of the planet, there could be a whole community adaptation that life has made to survive. Related article: Experts Struggle to Identify Bloated Alien-Like Creature Washed Up on Australian Beach A dolphin follows a fishing boat in the sea bordering Tunisia and Libya on May 5, 2015 off the coast of Tunisia's southeast port of Zarzis. (Photo : Photo credit: FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images) Dolphins are famous for their reputable behaviors and tame impressions. Aside from that, they are also "incredibly intelligent", and had interacted with humans on almost a regular basis. However, many instances prove that dolphins can be more dangerous than you thought. Just like other species, they also tend to be appalled with their environment and have been responsible for several vicious and fatal human attacks. Are dolphins truly dangerous? Here are some of the reasons provided by BestLife which proves that they are: 1. Dolphin's bite Dolphins, such as common bottlenose, have between 80 and 100 very sharp teeth that could rip apart their prey. However, on some occasions, they bite humans too. In fact, officials at the Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service said that dozens of bites from the animals have been reported, and dolphins are pulling people underwater. As recent as 2012, an 8-year-old girl was attacked by one of the animals at SeaWorld during feeding, reported in Orlando Sentinel. 2. Dolphin attack Dusty, a dolphin who has a great relationship with a group of people and regularly interacts with them for almost six years attacked a woman at the pier in County Clare, Ireland. The woman told The Guardian that the animal could be "very territorial". "Within microseconds Dusty had ploughed into me with her snout. It was very powerful and painful, and the speed was amazing. I went hurtling forwards, said Valerie Ryan, the woman who was attacked. The incident left her with six spinal fractures, three broken ribs, and a damaged lung, as well as post-traumatic stress. 3. Develops new ways to hunt prey Dolphins also develop unusual methods of hunting when they're hungry. In the shallow waters of Florida, they tend to have a special way of hunting, which has been observed almost exclusively in groups of bottlenose dolphins, by stirring up mud in a circular formation using their tails to trap fish inside. 4. Hunts in groups of 1,000 or more Typically, dolphins swim and stick to pods of around 10 to 15 individuals, but a group of a thousand of them would be a terrifying sight, hunting for food at the same time. 5. Tortures prey before eating Dolphins "beat up" their prey before consuming them, Popular Science reported. However, octopuses, which are dolphin's prey, have their own defense mechanism even after they are dead. Dolphins which plan to have a slimy octopus for dinner may end up dead themselves, which is why they "viciously and relentlessly" incapacitate and break them into smaller pieces before eating them. 6. Murders other animals for fun If other animals kill another to survive, dolphins do it for fun. According to the New York Times, dolphins "are killing fellow mammals in droves, wielding their beaks as clubs and slashing away with rows of sharp teeth." While most animal killers eat their prey, it seems like dolphins have "murderous urges" not concerning the need to eat. 7. Kills each other's babies Unfortunately, it has been evidenced that adult dolphins sometimes kill the babies of other dolphins. In a 2002 study, it was reported that nine bottlenose dolphin calves in Virginia "died of severe blunt-force trauma" and deep punctures were consistent with the tooth placement in an adult bottlenose dolphin. Also read: Genetic Link Found Between the Development of Humans and Sea Anemones Dolphins can Kill You Among many other reasons, dolphins can seriously kill you. In a 1994 case, one man passed away due to internal injuries sustained during a dolphin attack. A federal dolphin expert told the Times that there has been misconception that dolphins "are friendly, that they're Flipper, that they want to play with people". Just like other thousand-pound wild animals, dolphins can be extremely dangerous, even more than sharks, according to Huffpost. Related article: Do Animals That Lick Their Wounds Have Self-Healing Properties? Scientists staged peaceful demonstrations in multiple cities across the globe, demanding state leaders take more stringent measures against climate change and the destruction of the environment. However, some protests have met with a violent response, including arrests, from security forces. Climate Change Protests Thousands of scientists held non-violent civil disobedience in 25 countries worldwide for the past several days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report on April 4, warning it is "now or never" that greenhouse gas emissions must be significantly decreased by 2025 to avoid catastrophic climatic repercussions. The demonstrating scientists refer to the IPCC report, highlighting that there is no turning back if state leaders and industries continue to generate the insurmountable amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, which speeds up the process of the greenhouse effect that warms up the planet. In particular, the climate change demonstrations are denouncing the fossil fuel economy, seeking its stoppage, and suggesting alternative measures that will not be detrimental to the world's natural habitats, including marine ecosystems and forests. Also Read: UN Report: Measures Against Climate Change and Global Warming not Sufficient Global Civil Disobedience Dozens of related protests were reported since last week, as some protesters were seen carrying placards showing their denunciation against new oil and gas and intentionally causing widespread disruption to travel and businesses as a form of a message to their respective governments. In the United States, protesters reportedly chained themselves up to the White House fence in Washington D.C., and some scientists, including NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus, in Los Angeles did the same thing at the JP Morgan Chase compound. Kalmus stated that scientists have long been ignored for decades, emphasizing that the emission of fossil fuels, which include GHG such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, must be stopped or we will lose everything, as per the the Smithsonian Magazine. In spite of the peaceful demonstration in Los Angeles, around 100 police officers in riot gear arrested the protesters. In the UK, scientists gathered outside the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, a government agency responsible for regulating GHG in the country. Some of the demonstrators passed page excerpts of scientific papers to the windows of the said agency, as per The Guardian. A number of protesters were also seen storming the Shell headquarters with some throwing fake oil on the giant oil company's building. Related protests occurred in other countries, including Panama where scientists staged rallies outside various embassies; Germany where protesters glued themselves to a bridge; and Malawi where demonstrators held a teach-in protest at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Scientist Rebellion and The Paris Agreement Ph.D. students in Scotland established Scientist Rebellion, which was inspired by the Extinction Rebellion, a group known for its disruptive climate protests in London and other countries by gluing themselves to various transport infrastructures, including trains, and establishments. Both groups have the same advocacies against mitigating the effects of climate change and global warming by 2025, which is also the goal of the UN-led Paris Agreement that aims to decrease the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as per the UN. The agreement is also known as the Paris Treaty, the Paris Climate Agreement, or the Paris Climate Accords, where member countries are required to implement concrete measures to decrease GHG emissions. Related Article: Climate Scientists Issue Ultimatum to Reach the 1.5 Degrees Celsius Goal, Saying 'It's Now or Never' A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Among the items in chapter 2 of our new weekly feature: Unit 4's proposed capital projects, an Urbana school district building coming up for sale, a message from Danville's mayor on misinformation, plus news from Arcola, DACC, Gibson City, Henning, Mahomet, Newman, Oakwood, Potomac, Rantoul, Tolono, Tuscola and Westville. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Decreasing cloudiness and windy. High 78F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Some clouds. Low around 65F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. We cant be hashtagging Free Him' when our cousin is the alleged shooter, and yelling If you see something, say something' when our brother gets shot," says Rantoul dad Kevin Williams. Also joining the conversation: Dennis Roberts, Pete Schnabel, Julia Rietz, Emma Dorantes, Tom Garza and Monica Cherry. Sundiata Cha-Jua is a professor of African American studies and history at the University of Illinois and a member of the North End Breakfast Club. His email is schajua@gmail.com. BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank strengthened financial support for water conservancy in the first quarter of this year, pledging loans worth 35.5 billion yuan (about 5.6 billion U.S. dollars), with 22.9 billion yuan already released. The funds will be channeled to areas such as major water conservation projects, flood prevention, disaster relief, rural water supply, and environmental projects, the bank said. Major water conservation projects are a priority for the bank, and it has extended financing to 86 of the 133 projects that have started construction and need funding. (Newser) For millions of American homeowners and their communities, the problem with septic systems is not just another seemingly distant threat due to climate change. Its all happening right now; and, yes, it is projected to get worse. Per a detailed report by the Washington Post, rising sea and groundwater levels are causing sewage backups in homes, from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast. Besides backfilled toilets and stinky backyards, raw sewage is mixing with groundwater, threatening habitats and human health, plus widespread economic pain. The Post report focuses on two bays: Virginias Chesapeake and Florida's Biscayne. The former is one bad hurricane away from undoing decades of intensive effort to save the bay; for the latter, septic seepage from Miami-Dade is already creating devastating algae blooms in Americas only underwater national park. American septic systems are not faulty; the problem is that they were built to standards of a time when precipitation and water levels were relatively static. In North Carolinas Outer Banks, for example, groundwater levels are a full foot higher than in the 1980s; it doesnt take that much to cause a septic tank to essentially flood and send raw sewage into the environment. Solutions are prohibitively expensive for most communities and/or homeowners. Seeking innovation, Lewis Lawrence of the Middle Peninsula Planning District in Virginia is working with Rise Resilience Solutions to develop raised septic systems. He told the Post that, because of environmental changes, "We've got to be reimagining and designing our communities differently." (Read the full story.) (Newser) Another unusual tale from the world of Virginia real estate. Earlier this week came the story of the Fairfax home that sold, as is, with two reported squatters in the basement. Now, WAVY reports on another house for sale, this one in Norfolk. The odd thing in this case is that prospective buyers surely can't miss the large white sign next door pointing to it that reads, Do not buy that house before talking to me. The "me" in this case is the owner of the adjacent house, Conner Jewell. He says the plumbing in his house is so messed up that waste comes out of the shower when the toilet is flushed, and he says the same company is trying to sell the neighboring house. Well, I was sitting back, and I had already taken my loss and I said if I am not going to get any of my money back, then what can I do to help the buyer of that house, he tells the station. Jewell is publicly calling out Mozart Investment LLC, which rehabbed and sold him his $289,000 house, along with a home inspector who signed off on it. The city says plumbing and electrical work was done without permits and is not up to code, though an attorney for Mozart suggests no such permits were needed. The matter may be settled in the courts. In the meantime, Jewell is getting his revenge via lawn sign. (Read more real estate stories.) (Newser) Sarah Palin is running for Alaska's lone congressional seat, but she might have a problem if two stories with very similar themes are any indication. "Alaskans are tired of Sarah Palin," declares a headline in Politico, while another in the Washington Post reads, "Many Alaskans are skeptical of her." The gist of both pieces, based on interviews with locals and those familiar with the state's politics, is that ordinary Alaskans feel Palin abandoned them after she shot to national fame as John McCain's running mate. One common gripe is her decision to resign as governor in 2009. You talk to people now, theyll say, 'She quit, shes a quitter,'" an Anchorage pollster tells the Post. "Why would people vote for you again? Or as Brett Hill, who lives near Palin's own town of Wasilla puts it to Politico, "Alaskans dont quit on anything. She got sucked in by the glamor of all that Washington, DC, bul----, in my opinion. Palin did not speak to either national outlet, but in an interview with Alaska's Anchorage Daily News, she defended her national profile. If peopleand again, I believe these are going to be the political people in Alaskaif theyve taken issue that I havent been hobnobbing around, in the halls of the Juneau Capitol, and been to their cocktail parties and all that, nope," she says. "I am a normal person, using the platform that I do have in every way possible, to promote Alaska to help good Alaskans succeed. Palin, 58, is one of nearly 50 candidates vying to fill the seat of the late Republican Don Young in June's nonpartisan primary. The top four finishers will move on to a special election in August. Palin's campaignshe filed to run just minutes before the deadlinehas been relatively low key so far and short on specific policies. One line of thought is that she's banking her name recognition will secure her a top-four finish in June, at which point she will get more aggressive. (Palin has secured the endorsement of Donald Trump.) (Newser) Dozens of math textbooks submitted by publishers for use in Florida schools have flunked because they contained prohibited content, including critical race theory, state officials said. Under the headline "Florida Rejects Publishers' Attempts to Indoctrinate Students," a statement from the state education department said that 41% of math textbooks recently reviewed were "impermissible with either Florida's new standards or contained prohibited topics." That amounted to 54 texts out of 132 checked for compliance with the new Florida laws, Axios reports. The education department did not give examples of offending passages or name the textbooks, though it said its process was transparent. Some of them didn't conform to the department's Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking, per the Washington Post. Other problems included barred content, including CRT, and "unsolicited strategies" such as Common Core and Social Emotional Learning, the statement said. The officials said several publishers ignored the order last year by the state's Board of Education, sought by Gov. Ron DeSantis, banning discussion of critical race theory in public schools. DeSantis praised the education officials for rejecting the textbooks. "It seems that some publishers attempted to slap a coat of paint on an old house built on the foundation of Common Core, and indoctrinating concepts like race essentialism, especially, bizarrely, for elementary school students," he said. The president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association said she'd like to see the content that the department and DeSantis found problematic, per Click on Orlando. "Certainly in a math book, I can't imagine what he's talking about," Wendy Doromal said. (Read more Florida stories.) It appears that after several months of failed efforts to deal with TTP, Islamabad's relationship with the Taliban government is now on the edge, the media reported. Many observers had already predicted this scenario as given Taliban's close affiliation with TTP, they would never take action against such groups, the Express Tribune reported. Since the Taliban took control of Kabul, there were hopes in Pakistan that given the country's close relationship with the group the new Afghan government would take care of its security concerns. The Taliban initially tried to broker a peace deal between Pakistan and the TTP but those efforts made little impact. Pakistan seems to have run out of patience with the Afghan Taliban regime as the foreign office on Sunday issued the strongest statement yet, saying terrorists were operating with impunity from Afghan soil, Express Tribune reported. The statement came against the backdrop of a recent incident at the border that left seven Pakistani soldiers dead. The attacks were carried out from across the border, according to officials. As a result of the incident, the country reportedly carried out air strikes targeting terrorist sanctuaries in Kunar and Khost provinces. The Afghan interim government then summoned Pakistan's Ambassador in Kabul in a rare move to lodge a protest over the strikes and warned of serious consequences if such attacks did not stop. (Newser) Days after a Texas judge signed a death warrant for John Henry Ramirez, another motion was filed with the courtto drop it. Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez said a staff member sought the warrant without checking with him. Everything was in order, with the execution scheduled for Oct. 5, but Gonzalez explained that he acted out of his "firm belief that the death penalty is unethical and should not be imposed on Mr. Ramirez or any other person," the New York Times reports. He elaborated Thursday on Facebook Live. "For a while now, I've said that I don't believe in the death penalty," Gonzalez said. "My office is not going to seek the death penalty anymore." Pursuing the execution of Ramirez while telling his staff not to seek the death penalty in other prosecutions would be hypocritical, he said. The condemned man's guilt isn't in doubt; Ramirez, 37, has admitted stabbing a convenience store employee 29 times in a 2004 robbery in what he himself has called a "heinous murder." The victim, Pablo Castro, had nine children, per the Texas Tribune. His son Fernando said Friday he's outraged by Gonzalez's action. Ramirez's execution was halted hours before it was to take place in September, when the US Supreme Court intervened after he asked that his pastor be allowed to pray aloud with him and lay hands on him in the death chamber. The court decided in Ramirez's favor last month. The district attorney's decision surprised Ramirez's lawyer, who said that once the office sets its course in a case, it's not usually undone "helter-skelter." Gonzalez apologized to anyone upset by his reversal. "I have to deal with my own growth and my own rationale and thinking and logic," he said. "I did this because I thought this would be the right thing to do." The judge hasn't ruled on the withdrawal yet. (Read more death penalty stories.) (Newser) The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following Russia's failure to storm the capital and the loss of its Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave a deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were guaranteed to keep their lives, but the Ukrainians did not submit. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after a botched attempt to take Kyiv. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for a full-scale offensive in Donbas, the countrys eastern industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. In a reminder that no part of Ukraine was immune until the war ends, Russian forces carried out new missile strikes Sunday near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity before the anticipated assault in the east. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) For many Christians, this weekend marked the first time since 2019 that they gathered in person on Easter Sunday, a welcome chance to celebrate the holy day side by side with fellow congregants. US observances included a sunrise Mass outdoors near the waterfront in South Boston, the AP reports, and a joyous, hug-filled service at St. Peter Claver, a historically Black congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota. Watson Creek Baptist Church in Nashville, another mostly Black congregation, had planned an outdoors service at a downtown park. But rain forced a last-minute change, and about 700 mask-wearing worshippers met instead in the church's sanctuary for what senior pastor John Faison said was by far their biggest indoor gathering during the pandemic. "We hadnt seen a crowd like this for two years," he said. "Eyes were lighting up. People just felt good." The pandemic erupted in March 2020, just ahead of Easter, forcing many churches to resort to online or televised worship. Many continued to hold virtual services last spring after a deadly winter wave of the coronavirus and as vaccination campaigns were still ramping up. But this year, more churches opened their doors for Easter services with few COVID-19 restrictions, in line with broader societal trends. MC Sullivan, chief health care ethicist for the Archdiocese of Boston, said celebrating Mass communally is important to how Catholics profess their faith. "It has been quite wonderful to see how well-attended Mass is right now. ... It seems to have brought a lot of people back to the idea of what's important to them," she said. At St. Peter Claver in St. Paul, there was whooping, applause and exultant pounding on the wooden pews when the priest told more than 200 faithful that the church's usual sign of the peace was backno more nodding or mild handshakes. "When he said we could do it, people were all over the church" hugging each other, a parishioner said. The nondenominational Purpose Church in Pomona, 30 miles east of Los Angeles, had held its Easter services virtually or outdoors the past two years. On Sunday, nearly 4,000 people came in person to the church's newly renovated sanctuary for three morning services, with others seated outside watching on a 40-foot LED screen. It was also the first service in two years featuring the full 150-member choir, band, and orchestra. Revive LA, an inclusive Lutheran congregation of about 25 people, gathered on the beach in Pacific Palisades for a sunrise service. "Our congregation has gotten used to being outside because people are more comfortable, and they can bring their pets," the pastor said. "We had three dogs at this morning's service." (The pope's Easter message was a plea for peace.) Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy early, then off and on rain showers for the afternoon. High 41F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy with rain and snow showers this evening. Snow showers overnight. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 50%. The Better Business Bureau is committed to providing the most relevant, up-to-date information to help navigate the complex business landscape. For more business tips, visit trust-bbb.org. Contact Roseann Freitas 808-260-0643 or Roseann.freitas@thebbb.org For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including BBB Great West & Pacific, which serves more than 20 million consumers in Alaska, Central Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Western Wyoming. 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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e82e8c00d8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838945d88)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e82e8c00d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838945d88)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e838445580)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838945d88)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e838945d88)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e82e8bba70)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e83893c9b8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e83893c9b8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Staff Reporter Having approved eight vaccines to be administered to the public in its battle against Covid-19 vaccine, Bahrain now stands fourth along with Botswana, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Vietnam in the matter of giving nod to different anti-Covid vaccines. India and Mexico, which have approved 10 anti-Covid vaccines top the list. The two countries are followed by Argentina, Nepal, Moldova, Hungary and Ecuador with each of them approving nine different vaccines. The Daily Tribune, a few days ago, quoted National Health Regulatory Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Mariam Al Jalahma, who attributed the success in the fight against the virus to the remarkable feat achieved on the vaccination front. Bahrain became the first country in the world to authorise, receive and administer Valnevas Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the French biotech major. Two days ago, the Minister of Health, Faeqa Al Saleh, received the shipment of the Valneva VLA2001 COVID-19 vaccine, delivered by the Ambassador of the French Republic to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Jerome Cauchard. Al Saleh commended the co-operation between the two countries in the healthcare field. The minister also expressed her appreciation for the depth of relations and mutual interest between the two countries, especially in the healthcare sector. Earlier this month, the chairman of the Supreme Council of Health, Lt Gen Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, delivered a keynote address Harvard COVID-19 International Symposium, held in Manama, during which he highlighted Bahrains rapid and comprehensive pandemic response. Lt Gen Dr Shaikh Mohammed cited His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas directives and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifas leadership as being crucial to the success of Bahrains public health response. Lt Gen Dr Shaikh Mohammed detailed the strategies that Bahrain employed to mitigate the spread and impact of the virus. The measures implemented included the provision of free PCR tests, treatment for those infected, and vacations for both citizens and residents. Bahrain was one of the first countries to provide access to all FDA approved vacations, with other effective vaccines, such as Sinopharm, also being made available. Elsewhere, most entry restrictions for those arriving in Bahrain have been removed and Bahrain International Airport is in the process of introducing a dedicated medical protocol for COVID-19 cases. Multi-lingual media strategy A robust multi-lingual media strategy underpins Bahrains public awareness campaign, which delivers regular pandemic developments, reiterates the necessity of following restrictions, and promotes getting vaccinated. Infectious Disease Consultant and Microbiologist at the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital, and member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Lt Col Dr Manaf Al Qahtani, and Infectious and Internal Diseases Consultant at Salmaniya Medical Complex, and member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Dr Jameela Al Salman; and CEO of Primary Healthcare Centers, and member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Dr Jaleela Al Sayed Jawad highlighted the Kingdoms efforts in the battle against the pandemic. Highlighting the Kingdoms strides in this regard, Harvard University spokesperson Marcia Castro said, Bahrain is a country that is pre-emptive rather than reactive with over 82 per cent of the Bahraini population having received two doses of the vaccine, and 85pc of the eligible population having received a booster dose. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The High Criminal Court has sentenced an asian man to 15 years in prison for peddling drugs. The court also ordered his deportation after completing the prison terms. Another person implicated in the case for consuming drugs received a jail term of three months. Court files say the suspect, who was working as a baker during the day, sold drugs at night. His activities came under police radar following an investigation into a tip-off tat the man was selling hashish in Zayed Town. After confirming the information, police set up a team with an undercover agent to trap the suspect. The undercover agent approached the suspect and offered to buy BD80 worth of drugs from him. Unsuspecting the trap set, the man agreed to meet the agent with drugs in an area kept under police surveillance. Soon after handing over the drugs, officers swooped upon him and took him into custody. Police retrieved from him eight hashish-stuffed cigarettes and another 50 from his house. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to his crimes. I work as a baker in the morning while taking advantage of the night to peddle drugs, he told prosecutors. Police officers had also suspected the involve - ment of another man in the crime, as he was abetting the suspect. However, it later turned out that he was only consuming. The court, therefore, awarded him a lighter punishment. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e83848a350)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e8384c77c8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e83848a350)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e8384c77c8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x55e8384abe60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e8384c77c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e8384c77c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x55e82e8bb010)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e838448678)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x55e838448678)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, personal protective equipment costs, revenue losses, layoffs and temporary closures came with a laundry list of expenses incurred by the local business community. Now, as the severity of the pandemic sees a gradual return to normalcy, cities and towns across the state are using federal pandemic relief money in an attempt to help the towns small businesses bounce back the local efforts adding to tides of economic relief provided to businesses across the country through initiatives like the Paycheck Protection Program and the U.S. Small Business Administrations Restaurant Revitalization Fund. Last September, Bethels Board of Selectmen voted to allocate $350,000 of the federal stimulus money provided by U.S. American Rescue Plan, commonly referred to as ARPA, toward the creation of a Small Business Assistance Program. In Brookfield, a Special Town Meeting vote last month approved a similar plan to use ARPA money to fund a $200,000 grant program for small businesses that is now accepting applications. First Selectwoman Tara Carr said this week the grant program is already in receipt of several applications but can accommodate more. We just need to continue to communicate that and advertise it and get the word out as best we can, Carr said. According to Brookfield Economic and Community Development Specialist Greg Dembowski, only businesses and licensed non-profit organizations registered with a physical address in the town and who can show an annual gross revenue of less than $1 million prior to the pandemic are eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in grants through the Small Business Grant Program; but they must do so before 2 p.m. on Friday, May 6. I can say that since the pandemic, and as recently as last week, small business owners have called to say they have struggled to keep their doors open [and] have suffered significant revenue loss and are asking for assistance, said Dembowski in an email, adding his office has received 9 applications for grants as of Friday. I ask that every small business in town consider applying for a grant and to call my office if they have any questions or need more information, he said. Once submitted, a special committee consisting of the towns tax assessor, economic development manager, and three members of the Economic Development Commission will review the applications and score them based on a list of seven criteria including financial need, business viability, intended use of the funds and economic hardship. Dembowski said applications will be accepted only from businesses currently in operation that are, in good standing and current on [their] federal, state, and local tax obligations. Interested business owners can submit funding applications to Dembowski by email, gdembowski@BrookfieldCT.gov, or mail them to him at the Land Use Office inside Brookfield Town Hall. More information about the program and a copy of the application are available on the towns website, www.brookfieldct.gov. The National Weather Service issued a weather alert for the southern part of Connecticut, warning of freezing temperatures overnight Sunday into Monday morning. Parts of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties can expect subfreezing temperatures beginning late Sunday. The bilateral meetings between PM Modi and Johnson scheduled for next week will focus on trade and security relations British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described India as an economic superpower ahead of his visit, and emphasized the strategic cooperation with New Delhi, saying that while we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic governments, it is crucial that democracies and friends remain together. Johnson emphasized Indias status as the worlds largest democracy in a statement released ahead of his visit next week. In these uncertain times, India, as a major economic power and the worlds largest democracy, is a very valued strategic partner for the UK, Johnson said. Friends and democracies stick together. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will visit India next week. The bilateral meetings between PM Modi and Johnson will focus on trade and security relations. Johnson noted that his visit to India will focus on issues that are important to the people of both countries, such as job creation, economic growth, energy security, and defence. The Narendra Modi government, according to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, is bringing an economic and social revolution to the country. Bommai, speaking at the BJP State Executive meeting, said, Modi government has increased Indias status in the international community during the last seven years. The Modi administration is bringing about an economic and social revolution in India. The Chief Minister mentioned that the Modi governments Kissan Samman Yojana has benefited 60 crores of people in the country, that the Ayushman Bharat programme has provided health coverage for the common man, that the Atma Nirbhar and Mudra schemes are providing employment opportunities for the youth, that the Deendayal Upadhyaya programme is providing electricity to every village, and that the Pradhan Mantram scheme is providing housing for all. Meanwhile, the Jal Jeevan Mission is a great programme to provide tap water for every household. The state was able to successfully resist the COVID-19 threat because to Modi and BS Yediyurappas able and efficient leadership. COVID management has cost approximately Rs 15,000 crore. Karnataka holds the distinction of managing the COVID situation in the country most effectively. According to the Chief Minister, the initiative to deliver safe and sufficient drinking water through individual household tap connections has reached 49 percent of Karnatakas households. Stone-pelting incident: two to three companies of Rapid Action Force soldiers have been posted in Jahangirpuri alongside Delhi Police. The violence and stone-pelting that ensued after a fight between two groups during the Shobha Yatra in the national capitals Jahangirpuri district prompted Delhi Police to file a complaint and initiate an inquiry. Depender Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), stated, The police force on the scene promptly contained the situation in the clash during the Shobha Yatra in Jahangirpuri and preserved peace and order. Several officers were hurt as a result of the incident. In the aftermath of the stone-pelting incident, two to three companies of Rapid Action Force soldiers have been posted in Jahangirpuri alongside Delhi Police. According to Pathak, the situation has been brought under complete control. During the Shobha Yatra on Saturday evening, clashes erupted after stone-pelting instances were recorded in the Jahangirpuri neighborhood of the national capital. Some people have been hurt, including two police officers. However, now the area has been well secured by Delhi police. Miscreants vandalized several vehicles, and police officers were hurt as a result of the event. Meanwhile, to preserve law and order in the Jahangirpuri neighbourhood, substantial security troops have been deployed. Johnson is scheduled to make announcements in Gujarat about new scientific, health, and technology projects Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will visit India next week and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to strengthen bilateral ties and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The tour will begin from Ahmedabad on Thursday, April 21st, where Johnson will meet with top business leaders and discuss the UK and Indias strong commercial, trade, and people relations. Gujarat, Indias fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of about half of the UKs British-Indian people, will be visited for the first time by a British Prime Minister. Johnson is scheduled to make announcements in Gujarat about new scientific, health, and technology projects, as well as big investments in vital businesses in the UK and India. According to the press release statement, On Friday, the Prime Minister will fly to New Delhi to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (22nd April). The leaders will undertake in-depth discussions on the strategic defense, diplomatic, and economic collaboration between the UK and India, with the goal of strengthening our strong relationship and increasing security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. According to the British government, Johnson will use his impending visit to India to push forward with the Free Commerce Agreement negotiations, which are estimated to expand bilateral trade by up to 28 billion pounds (USD 36.5 billion) annually by 2035. ACMA finds Myall Coast radio station breached licence conditions New South Wales-based radio station Myall Coast Radio Incorporated has been found to have breached a licence condition following an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Myall Coast Radio Incorporated held a licence to provide an open narrowcasting service. These licenses are issued for the purpose of niche broadcasting and by law must be limited in some way, such as being targeted to special interest groups, providing programs of limited appeal or being provided for a limited period of time or for a special event. An ACMA investigation found that Myall Coast Radio FM was broadcasting a mix of content, including live-hosted and automated music programs, and news and weather bulletins that would likely appeal to a general audience in the broadcast area. ACMA Chair Nerida OLoughlin said Our investigation found Myall Coast Radio FM was not targeting a limited audience as required under its licence. Myall Coast Radio FM has acknowledged its error and ceased its narrowcasting service. It is now operating as an internet radio station instead. WIA US President Joe Biden will conduct a special in-person summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13 According to a White House statement released on Saturday, US President Joe Biden will conduct a special in-person summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13. The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States lasting commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its vital role in delivering sustainable solutions to the regions most critical challenges, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. According to Psaki, President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on an aforementioned day as the summit will honor 45 years of US-ASEAN cooperation. Psaki stated, It will build on President Bidens attendance at the US-ASEAN Summit in October 2021, where he announced $102 million in new initiatives to expand our engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, combating the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth, promoting gender equality, and deepening people-to-people ties. She further added Serving as a strong, dependable partner in Southeast Asia is a primary objective for the Biden-Harris Administration. Our mutual commitment to advancing an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient will continue to be underpinned by our shared objectives for the region. The meeting takes place in the midst of Russias and Ukraines protracted conflict, which has now entered its 51st day. Deliberations on the situation in Ukraine and Europe may take place at the summit. STAMFORD Two men were killed and two others were hospitalized Sunday after a boat capsized in Long Island Sound off Shippan Point, officials said. Rescue crews responded to the Sound around 10:20 a.m. after officials received a report of a small boat struggling to return to the shore due to strong winds and rough seas, according to Stamford Fire Department Deputy Chief Matt Palmer. The boat was being carried by the tide and wind away from Stamford when the last cellphone call was made to a family member from one of those onboard the small vessel, Palmer said in a statement. First responders were hampered in determining the exact location of the boat due to a language barrier and conflicting initial reports of the boat's last known location. Palmer said dispatchers used cellphone tracking software to pinpoint the last known location of the callers vessel. The software eventually led first responders to an area about a mile offshore from West Beach where they discovered debris from the boat and the four men in large swells. Each of the men was wearing a life jacket when they were pulled from the frigid water, according to Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesperson Will Healey. Two of the men were unconscious and unresponsive, while the other two were what Palmer called semi-responsive. Rescue crews performed CPR on two of the men before rushing then all to hospitals in Norwalk and Stamford. Two of the men were pronounced dead at the hospital, Palmer said. As of Sunday afternoon, the survivors remained in stable but critical condition. Stamford police described the deceased individuals as Stamford residents and Guatemalan nationals. Officials said they are waiting to notify the Guatemalan consulate about the incident before publicly identifying the two men. Palmer said crews from Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk, the DEEP Environmental Conservation Police and the U.S. Coast Guard assisted with the rescue operation. The boat involved in the incident has not been located, and the investigation is ongoing. The day Teresa Beatty learned she owed the state more than $83,600, she said, she had to ask what for. Thats when Beatty, who reportedly spent about two years in prison roughly 20 years before she learned of her debt, discovered Connecticut can collect money from former inmates for the costs of incarceration. If enacted in time, pending state legislation could bring relief for people like Beatty, who said she now worries about having the financial means to put a roof over her head. House Bill No. 5390, which would repeal the states prison debt statutes, is one step closer to becoming law after the Judiciary Committee green-lighted it late last month. Connecticut brings in between $4 million and $6 million annually using the prison debt statutes, according to the Department of Administrative Services, which handles debt collection. The DAS did not provide data on how many former inmates pay money on prison debt each year, but it did provide an overview of how the funds fit into its entire debt collection program. DAS collections collects just under $70 million dollars from roughly a couple thousand parties annually, spokesperson Lora Rae Anderson said in an email. Prison debt makes up for less than 10% of those dollars, at $4-6 million. DAS takes action on these cases through referrals, she said. Those referrals come from the Department of Social Services, the Department of Correction, attorneys, health care facilities, complaints from the general public, the insurance intercept database, probate court and other entities, according to Anderson. After receiving a referral, DAS verifies that the state should be taking collections action based on state law and regulations, and moves forward with contacting the appropriate parties, she wrote. Asked whether the DAS collects money from people who were imprisoned as juveniles, Anderson deferred to the DOC. DOC spokesman Andrius Banevicius said the prison debt statute does not distinguish between juveniles and adults, but deferred back to DAS for information on whether the state actually collects on people who were incarcerated as minors. In essence DAS still does the collection, he said. Im not aware of any juveniles being charged in recent memory. If they do not distinguish (between juveniles and adults), we wouldnt, Anderson said in a follow-up email. We follow their guidelines. When the state comes knocking During the 2019-20 fiscal year, inmates accrued $249 of debt for every day spent behind bars, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut that seeks to stop the practice. Beatty is a plaintiff in that lawsuit. The state does not appear to go after property such as regular wages but may come after funds earned in certain circumstances, such as lottery winnings, lawsuit proceeds and inheritance money, according to a 2018 report from the Office of Legislative Research. The state also has a claim to certain federal, state, or municipal pension, annuity, insurance contracts, and similar items that are for government employee retirement benefits, the report says. If someone who has prison debt wins money from a legal action, the states claim is a lien against the proceeds, the report says. The maximum amount of the claim is the full cost of the inmates incarceration or 50% of the proceeds, minus certain expenses, whichever is less, it says. Similar guidelines apply when a former inmate is receiving an inheritance, and thats why Beatty found herself with bill for about $83,700 years after she left prison. Ive already paid my debt to society A Stamford resident, Beatty has spent 51 years living in the same home, she said. She cared for her ailing mother there, according to the ACLU lawsuit. But when Beattys mother died in 2020, the lawsuit says, the estate was to be divided among the surviving children. Beatty now expects the probate court to order the house sold, she said. I was 7 years old when my parents bought the home, and in a matter of a month or two Im not gonna know where Im going, she said. The ACLU lawsuit estimates Beatty will receive about $230,000 from the sale and says she needs that money to acquire new housing. But because Beatty spent time in prison in the early 2000s for charges stemming from being caught with drugs, according to the lawsuit, the state is demanding about one-third of her inheritance. Beatty is a mother and grandmother, she said, and she cares for her brother, who is disabled. She works as a certified nursing assistant and has provided in-home services to the same 91-year-old woman for the past six years, she said. She worked hard to turn her life around and stay clean after getting out of prison, she said. My mom died in 2020 and now theyre coming after me for my little inheritance, said Beatty.I just think its wrong. I think Ive already paid my debt to society. Why do I have to pay twice? I dont have money to pay anybody, she said. Im gonna be homeless. When asked about the bill to repeal prison debt, Dan Barrett, legal director of the Connecticut ACLU and an attorney representing Beatty, said he supports taking these oppressive laws off the books. (Beatty) is at risk right now of losing the inheritance that her mother left her, which she needs to put a roof over her and her familys heads, he said in a written statement. The question of whether or not our named clients or other clients suffering would be stopped by legislation would depend entirely on what the language enacted said, which could change at any point in the legislative process if the statute went away starting on July 1, for instance, Ms. Beatty would still have to fight against the state before then. State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said the bill would repeal the lien process altogether so that even if someone was in prison before the bill passed, they would not owe the state money. The legislation also is meant to end ongoing collections processes, he said. I think we probably have to double-check the language, but as one of the chief proponents of this bill certainly its my intent that this bill would end those collections processes, he said. But there is one caveat: if the state already has collected debt, Stafstrom said, it would not return the money. Debt looms over reformed offenders After serving 171/2 years on a homicide charge, Daee Muhammad McKnight said, he was released from prison 17 years ago. Since then, he has worked hard to prevent situations like his own from recurring, he said. McKnight works for Family Re-entry Inc., a Norwalk-based organization that helps incarcerated individuals successfully reenter society. He is a key advocate for the bill to repeal prison debt. The state twice took money from McKnight after he won proceeds from personal injury lawsuits related to car crashes, McKnight said. And hes still not out of the woods. The state can collect on prison debt for 20 years following an inmates release, he said. I have to have this looming over my head for 20 years, said McKnight, who argues the system is not only morally wrong, but its legally wrong. McKnight was sentenced in 1988, he said, years before the prison debt statutes became law, yet still has been subject to them. McKnight also said his sentencing documents waived all fines, a point that ties in with an argument in the ACLU lawsuit. The lawsuit contends prison debt violates the Excessive Fines Clause of the U.S. Constitution. It says Beattys conviction carried a maximum fine of $10,000, the amount associated with a Class C felony, and that the court waived the fine during sentencing. Yet the states prison debt claims against Beattys inheritance far exceeds what she could have been fined as a punitive measure. Trying to move forward State Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, sees prison debt collection as double jeopardy. People released from prison have the chance to restore their families and finances and become better citizens, Porter said. Especially in Black and brown communities disproportionately affected by economic disadvantage and incarceration rates, Porter said, money from sources such as an inheritance can help build generational wealth. Prison debt makes that harder. I think after years of not being able financially to take care of yourself and your family, to have something like that happen after youve paid your time, youve done your time. Its just its not fair, she said. But will the bill pass? On March 29, the Judiciary Committee voted 28-11 to move it forward, a vote that fell largely among party lines but received support from a handful of Republicans. Many who spoke against the bill, including Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, said they thought the prison debt system could be reformed but did not want to do away with it altogether. I think its worthwhile to try to make sure that there is some compensation if for no other reason than managing money and knowing that there are some debts that you incur that you have to pay back over time, he said during the March 29 Judiciary Committee hearing, according to a recording available online. He also worried about the hole the legislation would leave in the budget. (Prison debt collection) actually raises about $6 million a year, and so for us to just move forward with this legislation and toss this program away, thats gonna create a hole of $6 million, he said. Theres programs out there that are going begging for less than that. Legislators currently are having conversations about working the legislation into the budget package, according to Stafstrom. Obviously its a short legislative session. ... Were getting short on time, the Bridgeport lawmaker said when asked whether he thought the bill would pass. But Im hopeful that well be able to do at least some piece of this bill as we get toward a final budget package. It is time to repeal the prison debt statutes, he said. Its far more advantageous to be smart on crime and invest in rehabilitation and preventing recidivism, he said. The lien process runs counter to that goal. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com The Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Sulaiman, on Saturday night, announced his defection from the All Progressi... The Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Sulaiman, on Saturday night, announced his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Abubakar, who is the chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, made this known during the Ramadan Iftar (breaking of fast) hosted by the State governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, for PDP stakeholders from Ningi, Toro, Warji and Dass Local Government Areas of the State at the Government House, Bauchi. The Speaker said that his decision to defect to the PDP was in recognition of the exemplary leadership style of Governor Mohammed and his commitment to transforming the State. According to him, Governor Mohammeds development strides endeared him (Speaker) to defect to the ruling party in the State. Sulaiman then commended the governor for what he termed his (Governor Mohammeds) ability to ensure harmonious working relationship between the executive arm of government and the State House of Assembly. According to the Speaker, this was achieved by the governor despite the party differences, adding that the harmonious relationship between the two arms of government allowed for formulation and implementation of people-oriented policies and programmes in the State. Reacting to the development, Governor Mohammed declared that it was a great honour done to him by the Speaker. The governor said his administration chose to embark on developmental projects across the State with a view to providing the dividends of democracy to the people of the State instead of promoting corruption by sharing government resources among a few people. He then solicited continuous support and collaboration with his administration, with a view to ensuring sustainable growth and development in Bauchi State. Also speaking, the State PDP chairman, Hamza Koshe Akuyam, welcomed the speaker into the PDP, declaring that Sulaiman was one of the prominent politicians who joined the PDP. According to him, with the PDPs performance and ability, it would emerge victorious in the 2023 general elections in the State and the country in general. The Chief of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen Adeyemi Yekini at the weekend, said the military would not rest until t... The Chief of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj.-Gen Adeyemi Yekini at the weekend, said the military would not rest until the killers of 15 villagers at Tiortyu, a community in Tarka Local Government Area of Benue, are apprehended. Yekini, who served as the first Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), said he was at Tiortyu to commiserate with the residents of the village over the killing of its residents. Speaking to journalists at the scene where the 15 villagers were slain at Tiortyu, he assured the public that those who carried out the heinous crime would be apprehended and served justice. He was accompanied by the Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke, Maj.-Gen Kevin Aligbe and other top officers of the unit. Yekini regretted the attack, but assured the people that no stone would be left unturned until the perpetrators were brought to justice. He described the perpetrators as bandits and said it was premature to conclude they were herders. Those that carried out the attacks must be tracked and brought to justice and for me, justice means neutralising them, he said. In an earlier address to the community leaders, the army chief appealed to the residents to return to their homes and resume their normal business activities. He assured them that no such attacks would be repeated in the area but advised them to report all suspicious movements to the security agents. The Biafra National League (BNL) have alleged that another commander in their group has been missing since after Cameroonian forces killed o... The Biafra National League (BNL) have alleged that another commander in their group has been missing since after Cameroonian forces killed one Honestly Udom, alias Black Scorpion of the Black Marine squad, over the weekend. The name of the missing commander was not disclosed at the time of this report. Udom was reportedly killed in his house in Idebato part of Atabong East area of the Bakassi peninsula. Although controlled by Cameroon, Atabong is still inhabited by the Efiks, Ijaws and Ibibios of Nigeria. In an interview, a source in BNL, who prefers to remain anonymous, said One of our members in Ekpri Ikang, near Calabar, has reported that one of our commanders has been missing since after Black Scorpion was killed on Friday by Cameroonian forces in Atabong in the ceded Bakassi. Reacting, Captain Tope Aluko, the PRO of 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Calabar said from her inquiries, the alleged killing was not correct. I made contact and competent officers said nothing of such happened, she said. Following the rebuttal, the BNL source said, men of the Nigerian military are not their friends and cannot speak for them. The Presidency has responded to the statement by Governor Nyesom Wike condemning the present administration for granting presidential pardon... The Presidency has responded to the statement by Governor Nyesom Wike condemning the present administration for granting presidential pardon to former Governors of Plateau and Taraba States. Wike had days ago described the pardon as totally against Buharis anti-corruption crusade. Senator Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, were recently pardoned on health and age grounds when they still have several years to complete their jail terms. According to Wike, Buhari ridiculed the judiciary and the anti-corruption crusade of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by pardoning the ex-governors. Reacting, Buharis spokesman, Garba Shehu in a post on his verified Twitter page, said Wikes criticism lacked moral justification. Garba Shehu wrote: I do not see the moral justification for Governor Wikes criticism of the decision of the government to pardon Governors Dariye and Nyame at a meeting to which he was duly invited but didnt attend. The Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo who had joined the Council of State meeting virtually switched off her camera, so it was difficult to determine whether she sat behind the dark screen or just walked away after first joining. Shehu stated that releasing a press release about the Governors pardon after Wike refused to attend a meeting on the decision is bolekaja politics. If the Governor (Wike) felt so strongly about the pardons, the right thing was for him or his representative to sit through the meeting and assert views. This he did not do. A press release after the meeting is bolekaja politics, Shehu said. New York, 16 April 2022 (SPS) - The New York Support Group for the Independence of Western Sahara called on the UN Security Council to find a way to enable the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to accomplish its main mission consisting in the organization of a referendum on self-determination in Africas last colony. In a letter to the members of the UN Security Council, the 308 organizations, members of the New York Support Group for the Independence of Western Sahara call on the members of the Security Council to find a way to enable to the MINURSO to accomplish its mission, which is the organization of a referendum on a free and fair basis, in order to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. In their letter written as the reassessment of the MINURSO approaches, scheduled for 20 April 2022, the signatories called also the Security Council to provide the Personal Envoy of UN Secretary General for Western Sahara Steffan de Mistura with the means to pave the way for the MINURSO to accomplish its main mission. They also called the Council to act in accordance with the objectives and principles of the United Nations (article 24-2 of the UN Charter), to consider including chapters on the human rights and the rule of law in the MINURSO mandate and transferring the issue of Western Sahara from chapter VI to chapter VII of the Charter. In this regard, the New York Group underlined that the UN Charter is based on the sovereign equality of all its members. It calls to respect the principle of equal rights and the self-determination of peoples. 062/700 Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Sunday, used his message for the Easter to warn unknown gunmen terrorising the state, sayi... Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Sunday, used his message for the Easter to warn unknown gunmen terrorising the state, saying no inch of Anambra space will be won by them, irrespective of their atrocities. He said they must therefore use Easter as an opportunity to embrace peace in their own interest. Soludo gave a subtle warning in his Easter message to the people of the state, which was made available to the media by his aide, Joe Anatune. Let me again reassure you that our dear state will continue to thrive on the trajectory of growth, peace and development despite the current wave of insecurity which is drastically being addressed. And in this spirit of Easter, I call on those who are still in the bush to surrender their arms and accept the olive branch which has been offered to them. Let me reiterate that as a people, we will never cede or yield our homeland to criminals. The irrepressible spirit of the good people of Anambra State shall always triumph, he said. He felicitated with Ndi Anambra on the occasion of the Easter celebrations the solemn occasion of Easter calls for a self-introspection and deep sober reflection. According to him, the occasion is symbolic because it marks the suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Soludo also said coincidentally that Easter Sunday marks exactly a month he assumed office as Governor of Anambra State. He added: It is, therefore, of utmost importance for us to inculcate and emulate the noble virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ and the symbolism of His Crucifixion in the redemption of mankind. On this special Easter celebration, I call on every one of us to imbibe the spirit of this solemn occasion as we rededicate ourselves collectively to the onerous task of building a prosperous, safe and livable homeland for our children, great-grandchildren and the generations to come. Recall that since Soludo took over the helm of affairs in Anambra State, there had been a series of killings and public disturbances, partly attributed to the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. But IPOB leaders have variously denied culpability in the atrocities, especially the compliance with the sit-at-home directive every Monday. While Soludo racks his head to find lasting solutions to the problem of insecurity, indications on the ground appear to show that he is yet to fully settle down to governance exactly one month since he assumed office. Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Romelu Lukaku must emulate Timo Werners work ethic in order to improve his Blues prospects ... Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Romelu Lukaku must emulate Timo Werners work ethic in order to improve his Blues prospects ahead of this weekends FA Cup semi-final with Crystal Palace. Tuchel wants Lukaku to wait, be patient, work hard, put the team first and be ready to help Chelsea going forward. Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge last year from Inter Milan, but has mostly failed to live up to his reputation despite a bright start. The Belgium international is not the first Chelsea attacker to misfire after purchase, however, and Tuchel has pointed to Werner, another who has struggled to make his mark at points, as a reference Lukaku can use to improve his game. What Timo has done is exactly what [Lukaku] needs to do, Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelseas FA Cup semi-final tie with Crystal Palace on Sunday at Wembley. Wait, be patient, work hard and put the team first, be ready to help the team, because as a striker you can help within seconds. Now [Werner] has made it difficult to leave him out. Im impressed, he was very, very good in the last two games. These were two games when he was much better than in any other game and he showed what he is capable of. Everybody thinks we as managers do the line-up, and of course we do. But in the end the players take care that you dont leave them out, they do it in training or in games, and of course, in games, its the opportunity for everybody. Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has cautioned those seeking war in Nigeria. He urged citizens to offer support for the... Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has cautioned those seeking war in Nigeria. He urged citizens to offer support for the success of the President Muhammadu Buhari led-administration. The former Bayelsa governor made the call on Saturday in Abuja in his Easter message. Sylva acknowledged the challenges in the country, noting that violence and hate speeches would not solve problems. He said apportioning blames could aggravate the situation which required collective support and prayers. The minister assured that the Buhari administration was doing its best in dealing with the security and economic issues. Those beating the drum of war should desist from it because we have no other country but Nigeria, he said. We thank Nigerians for their patience and understanding during the last fuel scarcity. Sylva added that measures are being put in place to ensure petroleum products are available at all times. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Plenty of sunshine. High 73F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 42F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. 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. Vecteezy.com Only 5% to 6% of the 46 million tons of plastic waste generated annually in the U.S. gets recycled, a big dip from the last estimate of nearly 9% just a few years ago, according to a new study by Beyond Plastics and the Last Beach Cleanup, two environmental groups. You voted: Da Truth Brass Band looks a lot different in 2022 than it did in 2004. Of its current members, only two were a part of the group of teenagers who formed the band fresh out of high school: bandleader Travis Carter and Craig Dixon, both sousaphone players. Carter describes the current group five trombones, three trumpets, two tubas, snare, bass drums and a cowbell as the fourth generation of Da Truth, which plays traditional brass, funk, rock and reggae. Some of the bands original members now play in other bands, like Corey Payton of The Soul Rebels and Larry Brown of Hot 8 Brass Band. Carter himself also plays with Hot 8 and Stooges. Each time when there's a new regeneration of [the band] ... the energy gets better, Carter says. Da Truth has put out mixtapes over the years, but the band is close to releasing its debut album, Truth Be Told. Carter says theyre pushing to release it around Jazz Fest. Back in March, they released their single Hips and Ass, which Carter says is his favorite song to play now. We put everything into [the album], like all our hardships, how we had to switch members and how people turned their backs on us, he says. Were just putting everything into that album to let people know, Sorry for the wait but here it is. Da Truth is pulling out all the stops for its first time at French Quarter Fest, including special guest appearances from a Mardi Gras Indian and a grand marshal. Carter plans on reading the crowd to determine their festival set, just like he does when he plays second lines or weddings and birthdays. Me as the tuba player, I'm pretty much the DJ of the band ... I just go there, and I read the crowd and I see what's going on, Carter says. I just go off of feeling. 5:45 p.m. Friday, April 22 Louisiana Fish Fry Stage at New Orleans Jazz Museum Big Chief Joseph Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians returned to his normal Fat Tuesday ritual in March, emerging from his home near Freret Street in bright orange feathers to lead the tribe. Now hes returning to his stomping grounds at local spring festivals, including French Quarter Festival this week. At 80 years old, the Big Chief has been in the broader spotlight this year. Boudreaux donned a more conventional suit, albeit bright peach colored, at the red carpet for the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3. He was nominated for Best Regional Roots Album for his 2021 release Bloodstains & Teardrops. Though there were several nominees from Louisiana, the award went to Hawaiian musician Kalani Pea, his third. On Bloodstains & Teardrops, Boudreaux took a step away from Indian songs and focused on blues and reggae beats. Boudreaux recorded some of the album seven years ago in Jamaica, where he was exploring Bob Marleys legacy. Early during the pandemic, he went back to the studio in Louisiana and finished the album with the help of Tab Benoit and contributions from other members of the Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, which always has bridged musical genres common in south Louisiana. Jamaican musicians Jason Welsh Bass Welsh and Wayne Unga Barunga Thompson perform on the album as well. Boudreaux addresses a range of issues, from the tragedy of street violence in the title track to dealing with false friends. There also are more playful songs, like Mr. Okra Man, and raucous tunes like Choo Choo, with its chugging beat. Boudreaux also is being celebrated at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, which opened the show Lightning and Thunder: Big Chief Monk Boudreaux on March 22. The show features photos by Erika Goldring taken over the years and detailing his suits, Mardi Gras Indian traditions and Boudreauxs role leading the Golden Eagles. Multiple generations of his family mask or have masked in the tribe. 12:50 p.m. Saturday, April 23 Chevron Stage Gambit previewed some of the bands playing the festival, plus where to eat and go drink during and after the festival. Back in 2019, New Orleans emcee Alfred Banks opened a few tour dates for his friends Tank and the Bangas. It was a good time, and once they were back home, Tavia Osbey who manages both Banks and Tank and the Bangas tossed out an idea: The rapper should hit up Albert Allenback, the Bangas sax player, and see what could happen in the studio. Allenback had been producing his own instrumentals, and his off-the-wall, progressive vibe matched perfectly with Banks swagger and clever flow. That became one of the best decisions I made because we clicked instantly, Banks told Gambit in 2020. The music started to flow. SaxKixAve debuted in early 2020, and the duo released their first EP, I Dont Wear Suits, in April that year a joyful, fun release that brought some relief during the chaotic early days of the pandemic. A couple of singles have followed, including last summers Kaleidoscope, featuring rapper Pell. At the same time, Banks also has released new material in the past two years, Allenback has been working on Tank and the Bangas new record Red Balloon (due out May 13), and both have been working with the glbl wrmng collective. French Quarter Fest will be SaxKixAves first festival performance as a duo, and theyre bringing out the king of bounce HaSizzle and New Orleans prince of pop LeTrainiump. SaxKixAve also will debut a new song, Humble Brag. 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24 Jack Daniels Stage The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia April 16, 2022 In keeping with the historical and itinerary of progressivism, the militants, ideologues, and veterans of SUP, as well, the Students' Movement, and members of the Progressives community on April 14, 2022, converged at the Palm Grove Cemetery in Central Monrovia to pay homage to the glorious memory of men and women who were murdered during the April 14, 1979 "Rice and Rights Protest." It can be reminiscence that 43 years ago, conscious Liberians took to the streets to protest against a centralized decision of the Tolbert's regime to increase the price of rice from $22 to $26 -- a decision that triggered the masses to move into history. The protest, however, became bloody predicated on the bankruptcy of the government to not allow the assembly of the people in keeping with their legitimate rights as enshrined in the so-called constitution, then. It's estimated that over 100 people were killed and several arrested and jailed for exercising their constitutional rights. The former was buried in a mass grave while the latter was granted general amnesty after it was recommended by the Brownells Commission. The cardinal message of the historical day was delivered by Veteran Alaric Tokpah, a venerated struggle icon, and participant of the April 14, 1979 "Rice and Rights Struggle." Delivering his messages of consciousness building, Prof. Alaric Tokpah asserted, "There's no statement we can make here that's more eloquent and more powerful than the statement that has already been made by our Martyrs, the revolutionary progressive Martyrs of Liberia." Prof. Alaric Tokpah also revolutionarily declared the month of April as Progressive Martyr's Month and April 14 each year as Progressive Martyr's Day. Remarking, the chairman of SUP, Cdr. Mustapha Kemal Ataturk Nuch Kanneh admonished the progressives community to see reason to take care of the Palm Grove Cemetery, especially the spot that bears the mortal remains of members of the Progressives community and the militants of the Vanguard Student Unification Party. "If the Progressive's community doesn't take the initiative to ensure a monument is erected here in honor of victims of April 14, 1979, the Vanguard Students Unification Party will take the initiative" Chairman Kanneh robustly asserted. The program was climaxed with the laying of a wreath on the spot bearing the mortal remains of victims of the "Rice and Rights Struggle" after which militants of SUP troop their way at the Center for the Exchange of Intellectual Development on Carey Street to provide sufficient enlightenment for the masses. "Gwei fei kpeh" - the struggle continues! When the French Quarter Festival kicks off this week, much of the action will take place in Jackson Square, one of the citys most recognizable landmarks. Originally known as the Place dArmes and established in the city plan of 1721, the large open area was where military drills took place, citizens gathered and even where public executions were held. In 1851, the area was renamed Jackson Square to honor Battle of New Orleans hero General Andrew Jackson. An equestrian statue was commissioned to honor Jackson, also the nations seventh president. It was created by sculptor Clark Mills in 1856. There are identical statues in Washington, D.C. (across from the White House), Jacksonville and Nashville. Since the 1920s, the square has been a gathering place for musicians and artists, many of whom display their works for sale. The 2.5-acre space was named a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 1970, Mayor Moon Landrieus administration banned motor vehicles from the streets surrounding the square, creating a pedestrian mall. Concerned about losing employees to neighboring police forces, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto is asking voters to consider a 7-mill property tax increase that he says hell use to give 20% raises to his employees. Early voting for the tax proposition, which is on the April 30 ballot, started Saturday. The millage would generate about $28 million in additional revenue for the Sheriffs Office. The department says it hasnt asked Jefferson Parish residents for a new tax since voters approved a -cent law enforcement sales tax in 1993. "I need the revenue to be able to pay employees a fair wage in the environment that we live in today," Lopinto said. "I don't have the means to go to the (Jefferson Parish) council and ask for more money." Instead of a flashy campaign, Lopinto has spent the past months quietly making his case for the new millage in meetings with business and civic groups. Ive given this presentation three times a week, whether its to mens groups, womens cooperatives, civic associations or business groups, he said. The support seems pretty overwhelming. Lopinto and some other parish officials say they have not seen widespread opposition to the proposition. Employee payraises Sheriffs Office officials say pay raises are necessary to attract employees for chronically understaffed area, sich as the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center and the 911 Center. Better pay is also crucial to retaining experienced staffers being lured away by higher-paying jobs elsewhere, Lopinto said. "I'm competing in two difference places: with other law enforcement agencies and the private sector," Lopinto said. "Everybody's hiring." The starting salary of a Jefferson Parish sheriffs deputy is $38,745 a year. An officer with the Gretna Police Department starts at $42,854. A New Orleans Police Department recruit starts at $40,391, and the salary rises to $56,566 after one year. The starting pay for a Louisiana State Police trooper is $49,448. In terms of pay for veteran deputies, a sergeant with the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office makes $57,540 a year, while a sergeant with the NOPD who can make about $87,866, Lopinto said. "I've been as cheap as I can be... but at the end of the day, there's just not enough revenue," Lopinto said. The Sheriff's Office's current 8.28 mill property tax has been in place since 1974. It generates about $32 million annually, about a quarter of the departments $126 million budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. "My parents have been paying the same [Sheriff's Office] millage rate since before I was born," Lopinto said. Comparisons Lopinto noted that his department is responsible for patrolling as well as the operation of the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center. Comparatively, NOPD patrols New Orleans while the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriffs Office staffs the jail. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In making his argument for the new millage, Lopinto compared his $126 million budget to the combined budgets of the Orleans Sheriffs Office and New Orleans police, an estimated $255 million, and called his agency underfunded. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is budgeted for 1,450 positions. There are currently about 200 open jobs, mostly in the Correctional Center and the 911 Center, officials said. In November, Lopinto said he began requiring that all POST-certified employees to serve one overtime shift at the jail per month to give regular staffers a break. The policy remained in place for about three months; now the overtime shifts are mostly filled with volunteers. An additional 7 mills would add about $87.50 a year to the tax bill of a home valued at $200,000. Under his plan, starting deputy pay would increase to $45,000, Lopinto said. Corrections officer pay would go from $35,500 to $39,000 a year and communications staffers would see their salaries increase from $32,000 to $36,000. All other positions, including support staffers such as clerks, tax collection employees and fingerprint analysts, would also see raises, their first since 2009. Tough history on tax hikes Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee tried and failed in 1992 to rally voters support for a half-cent sales tax that would have expanded the jail and generated additional revenue for his office and the parish's municipal police departments. It was rejected, with 60% of the parish voting no. A year later, Lee succeeded with a -cent sales tax dedicated solely to the parish's law enforcement agencies. "We Support JPSO" yard signs have been popping up around the parish in the past few weeks. The Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson Business Council both support the tax proposal. "We dont want him to lose those folks because they can make more money in other places," Jefferson Business Council Executive Director Larry Dale said. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng, as well as At-Large Council members Scott Walker and Rickey Templet voiced their support for the millage. "We're in a safe parish, and it has been a long time since the sheriff has gotten any new money to fund some of these raises for the men and women at the Sheriffs Office," Walker said. I think they need to continue to attract the best and brightest people. Keeping Sheriffs Office salaries competitive will allow the department to maintain its five-minute response time and the quality of life that residents have come to expect, Lopinto said. "Last year, we had the lowest crime rate ever, and I want to be able to keep that," he said. Early voting ends April 23, and absentee ballots must be received by April 29. Turkcell, a leading mobile operator in Turkey and Ericsson have recently signed a collaboration agreement for the digital transformation of industries utilizing Ericsson Private Network solution. Ericsson will support Turkcell to identify and analyse potential use cases for potential engagement opportunities in industries via a fully-dedicated, on-premise Ericsson Private Networks solution. The agreement serves as the basis for mutual collaboration between Turkcell and Ericsson for the exploration, development, and identification of use cases for different industries in Turkey like smart manufacturing, oil and gas, ports, airports, energy and utilities, and mining. Use cases range from tracking assets, real-time automation to enhanced productivity, optimizing business operations through digital twins and data-driven insights, performing better site inspections or remote-controlled robotics to increase worker safety, and leveraging the capabilities of digital technologies such as Augmented Reality to enhance worker capabilities. Ceyhun Ozata, Executive Vice President for Corporate Sales at Turkcell said: We are always looking ahead in our digital journey. Partnering with Ericsson on the Private Network solution contributes to the digital transformation of enterprises and industries in Turkey. With the support of Ericsson's leadership and ecosystem of Industry 4.0 partners, we will benefit from a high-performance, secure, and flexible private network that will open doors to numerous use cases in the diverse pool of industries in Turkey. The collaboration is driven by the successful deployment of the Ericsson Private Network trial that was conducted recently at the beginning of February in the Turkcell Office. Isl Yalcn, Vice President and Head of Ericsson Turkey at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, said: As a long-term partner and research and development collaborator, Ericsson supports Turkcell to create a future-proof, technology-agnostic network. The partnership with Turkcell will drive the collaboration between local and global Industry 4.0 partners to develop industrial solutions. We are proud of this milestone in Turkcells digital journey and look forward to the digital transformation of the industries in Turkey. Ericsson Private Networks offers secure and simple connectivity that optimizes and simplifies business operations with a cloud-based network management portal and a troubleshooting application, built to meet enterprise Information Technology (IT) and Operation Technology (OT) users' self-management needs while keeping sensitive data safe on site. Having zero downtime upgrades and keeping sensitive data on-premise, Ericssons private network provides high-performance through Service-Level Agreements (SLAs). TradeArabia News Service A whole raft of Sony Xperia leaks has turned up, mostly involving the keenly anticipated Sony Xperia 1 IV. The increasing frequency of leaks in regard to the flagship Mark 4 Xperia 1 phone indicates that an upcoming launch can be expected. However, the rumored price tag for the Xperia 1 IV will likely frustrate many fans of the series. 4 Reviews , News , CPU , GPU , Articles , Columns , Other "or" search relation. 3D Printing , 5G , Accessory , AI , Alder Lake , AMD , Android , Apple , ARM , Audio , Benchmark , Biotech , Business , Camera , Cannon Lake , Cezanne (Zen 3) , Charts , Chinese Tech , Chromebook , Coffee Lake , Comet Lake , Console , Convertible / 2-in-1 , Cryptocurrency , Cyberlaw , Deal , Desktop , E-Mobility , Education , Exclusive , Fail , Foldable , Gadget , Galaxy Note , Galaxy S , Gamecheck , Gaming , Geforce , Google Pixel , GPU , How To , Ice Lake , Intel , Intel Evo , Internet of Things (IoT) , iOS , iPad , iPad Pro , iPhone , Jasper Lake , Lakefield , Laptop , Launch , Leaks / Rumors , Linux / Unix , List , Lucienne (Zen 2) , MacBook , Mini PC , Monitor , MSI , OnePlus , Opinion , Phablet , Radeon , Raptor Lake , Renoir , Review Snippet , Rocket Lake , Ryzen (Zen) , Science , Security , Single-Board Computer (SBC) , Smart Home , Smartphone , Smartwatch , Software , Storage , Tablet , ThinkPad , Thunderbolt , Tiger Lake , Touchscreen , Ultrabook , Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) , Wearable , Wi-Fi 7 , Windows , Workstation , XPS , Zen 3 (Vermeer) , Zen 4 Ticker A quite long list of Xperia-related leaks has emerged via several sources, which if anything does point to an imminent announcement for the latest flagship smartphone from the Sony stables. Worryingly for fans, there has been mention of the cancellation of one of the 2022 Xperia models. While there is no way this would be the Xperia 1 IV phone, it could be either the midrange Xperia 10 IV or the compact Xperia 5 IV - or perhaps the PRO model has seen its last days. This actually ties in neatly with the second rumor in the headline: flagship naming. While the press has stuck with Xperia 1 IV for the 2022 Sony phone, it has been opined that a rebrand is incoming. The leaker Caybule has simply stated not Xperia 1 IV. The Z series of phones from Sony lasted three years (2013, 2014, 2015) as did the XZ range (2016, 2017, 2018) and, so far, the 1 range (2019, 2020, 2021). Could Sony be preparing for a three-year series refresh just to frustrate users a little more with a new convoluted naming scheme? Sticking with the Xperia 1 IV name for now, it appears the phone will come with the 30 W fast charging that the Xperia 1 III supported, but it will still enjoy longer battery life (up to +30%) because of a larger cell capacity (5,000 mAh vs. 4,500) and other new features such as a low-power LTPO screen. Alleged protective cases for the Sony flagship have also surfaced on a Chinese wholesaler site and there is no space for the maligned Google Assistant button. Lastly, a different leaker has had another crack at the price tag for the Sony Xperia 1 IV (no source mentioned, so pinch of salt). There have already been some leaks about the potential price tags for China; however, this new rumor plumps for a straight range of US$1,400 to US$1,600 depending on the region. We already speculated that prices could be around US$1,500 with even potential for a top-end model nearing the somewhat ridiculous US$1,800 mark. Buy the Sony Xperia 1 III on Amazon Helping Cities Achieve Just and Equitable Climate Futures Through Residential Energy Retrofits NREL Leverages Partnerships and ResStock Tool To Help City of Chicago Set Priorities for Energy Efficiency, Affordability, Resiliency, Equity, and Transparency Already a pioneer in applied building simulations, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) expanded its partnerships to the city level, utilizing its ResStock tool and place-based data to help develop a roadmap for residential energy efficiency in Chicago through the Chicago Advanced Building Construction project. As part of its partnership with nonprofit Elevate, the city of Chicago, and electric utility ComEd to perform a tailored, actionable, city-scale analysis, NREL simulated a wide range of building energy retrofits using housing stock characteristics. These simulations produced a portfolio of energy efficiency measures that could result in up to $49 billion in utility bill savings through retrofit improvements to Chicago's residential building stock, made up of primarily single-family homes. "This has been a highly significant partnership for NREL," said Janet Reyna, senior research engineer and NREL lead for the project. "From a technical development standpoint, we've strengthened our capability to take our national-scale tools and affordably adapt them to a local context with high-fidelity results." Tackling the challenges of retrofitting an older building stockover 40% of Chicago's residential housing was built before 1942required both extensive knowledge of Chicago's buildings, energy use, and communities and an understanding of how to effectively apply building modeling tools in a community context. To run its ResStock tool using an accurate baseline for Chicago's housing, NREL calibrated ResStock for Chicago to accurately model gas and electricity use, and customized inputs such as fixed and variable utility rates and city-specific housing characteristics. "Elevate and NREL's partnership has been very beneficial for the city of Chicago," said Angela Tovar, chief sustainability officer for the city of Chicago. "Elevate brought experience working in and with communities and deep knowledge of the housing types, and we are excited to apply NREL's ResStock models to Chicago to develop the roadmap for equitable home energy upgrades that will bolster community health, wealth, and resiliency." The analysis found that sizeable energy savings are achievable through the application of heat pumps and other off-the-shelf technologies, a finding especially significant given Chicago's cold climate and high heating needs, according to Elevate and NREL. In addition, heat pump upgrades would provide families with access to efficient air conditioning, helping bolster the city's resilience against future climate events, such as heat waves. "What's important about this work is that we'll be able to tell homeowners, with confidence, how their energy costs will change when they do energy efficiency and electrification upgrades," said Lawrence Kotewa, principal investigator for the Chicago Advanced Building Construction project and chief engineer at Elevate. "That's really important, because with technologies like heat pumps that a homeowner isn't familiar with, telling them what they can expect for their energy costs can help them be on board with installing this system in their home." Elevate will implement and validate these energy efficiency measures in Chicago homes through advanced whole-home retrofit packages. The project aims to demonstrate that 50% energy reduction is feasible in the existing Chicago single-family housing stock, identify opportunities in historically under-resourced communities, and ultimately decrease carbon emissions and improve energy equity. This work will also help inform municipal policy decisions by demonstrating which energy efficiency interventions are low cost, energy saving, and scalable. "This analysis prepares the city of Chicago well to deploy equitable beneficial electrification, efficiency, and solar at scale," said Lindy Wordlaw, project manager for the Chicago Advanced Building Construction project and associate director of community planning at Elevate. "With the release of ResStock's national building characterization and data, NREL is well positioned to partner with community-based organizations and municipalities across the nation." For NREL, the project is unique in that it links detailed simulations using ResStock with real-world data. This will provide NREL researchers with more confidence in ResStock results while helping identify technical and nontechnical barriers to wide-scale retrofits, making theoretical results more concrete and actionable. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Building Construction Initiative, places NREL among a select group in the published building energy space to conduct city-scale energy analyses using a bottom-up, detailed simulation model that draws on local partnerships and place-based data. It is expected that NREL's expertise in performing large-scale and detailed building stock simulations will help other cities improve energy efficiency, affordability, and equity in the future. "It's been exciting working with Elevate and the city of Chicago because our results are leading to real decisions and real outcomes that can deeply reduce energy use and improve quality of life for Chicagoans," Reyna said. "From this project, we feel well positioned to support other cities throughout the country as they tackle retrofits and electrification of their building stocks." NREL is currently working on a journal article about the project, as well as a paper for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy 2022 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. For more information, visit the ResStock website. Batelco, a leading telecom provider in the region and Ericsson have signed an agreement to collaborate on next-generation 5G technologies and innovations in line with Bahrains digital economy vision. This latest memorandum of understanding (MoU) is part of Batelcos efforts to enhance its network capabilities to achieve future goals for 5G technology, in addition to supporting development programs for new use cases that highlight the potential of 5G for consumers and enterprises. The MoU will cover collaboration on Voice over New Radio (NR) and advanced Charging System that will enhance Batelcos real-time convergent charging as well as enable the introduction of new smart and innovative Internet of Things (IoT) products. It will also include cloud-native 5G Core and 5G Standalone (SA) solutions that helped Batelco and Ericsson successfully complete the first 5G SA data call in the Kingdom. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) will also be a key area of focus for Batelco and Ericsson as they enable extended coverage and longer battery lives for ultra-low complexity devices. Batelcos and Ericssons exploration of NB-IoT will propel smart city visions with features such as smart metering, air quality monitoring, and building management seen having a significant impact on smart city development. Mikkel Vinter, Chief Executive Officer of Batelco said: As part of our continuous support for Bahrains 2030 Vision, Batelco always offers the latest and best-in-class technologies to its customers. Presently, 5G in Bahrain is at the cusp of unlocking a wide-range of opportunities in line with Bahrains digital economy goals. In addition to the strong coverage that 5G from Ericsson provides, this MoU aims to explore ways to implement 5G technologies and reap the advanced benefits for different industries in Bahrain, through providing examples of innovative use cases. By providing technical support to major industries in the Kingdom, we look forward to contributing to the further prosperity of these industries. Through this collaboration, Batelco can strengthen its enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) capabilities and meet the rapid growth in data traffic that comes with automation and emerging Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) applications in the country. It will also aid Batelco in offering immersive media and cloud gaming experiences. The MoU is also set to lay the foundation for 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) introduction which, through its higher bandwidth, higher data rates and extended range capabilities, offers great potential for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), gaming, and industry applications. Wojciech Bajda, Vice President and Head of Gulf Council Countries at Ericsson Middle East and Africa says: We look forward to working with Batelco and exploring 5G technologies that can unlock various growth opportunities for digital development. We are certain our collaboration will support Batelco in discovering new business models and in creating new and innovative offerings in the Kingdom. Moreover, as 5G adoption increases in the country, we remain committed to provide Batelco with necessary technical support to cater to the growing network complexity and ensuring that fast and reliable connectivity is accessible across the country. Ericsson partnered with Batelco in deploying the commercial non-standalone 5G network across Bahrain in 2019 and has since worked together to enhance 5G services in the country. With Ericssons 5G portfolio placing energy efficiency at the centre stage, the collaboration will also work towards reducing network power consumption and develop solutions for smart and sustainable 5G networks. This MoU is part of Batelcos efforts to enhance its network capabilities to achieve future goals for 5G technology, in addition to supporting development programs for new use cases that highlight the potential of 5G for consumers and enterprises. TradeArabia News Service As demographics continue to shift due to an aging population in the United States, many families are faced with the prospect of hiring someone to help care for a loved one. Currently, there are about 45 million Americans aged 65 or older. That number is expected to hit 73 million in the next eight years, according to AARP. By 2034, the countrys aging population will surpass the number of children for the first time ever with the U.S. Census Bureau predicting that there will be 77 million residents 65 and older and 76.5 million younger than 18. While its common for older residents to want to stay in their homes for as long as possible, those who have disabilities or struggle with daily tasks may need some help to do that. Many turn to caregivers for that help. While some are paid caregivers hired through an agency or hospital system, others are family members who fill this role. Others turn to care provided in facilities such as assisted living or adult daycare. Families weighing their options face a lot of questions. This is definitely an individual decision by each family depending on their specific circumstances, said Jennifer Malone, vice president and chief operating officer of Northwest Indiana Community Action. Questions to consider include: Which supports are needed by the individual and by the caregiver? Which environment is preferred by the individual? What support does the family want to provide and what support does the family want professionals to manage? Katelyn Schuster, manager of care management at Caregiver Homes of Indiana, says she advises that individuals be in the right care at the right setting and at the right time. For example, you may start out in assisted living, but due to disease progression or an adverse event, you then need to progress to the next level of care, which could be a skilled nursing facility, she said. Each setting has different qualifiers, and none can work individually. Care coordination and a seamless transition between care is key, Schuster says. Also, the more you can prepare, the more equipped you will be to know which setting makes the most sense for the individual and your family, she said. At Caregiver Homes, care teams correspond and work with families in the Structured Family Caregiving program, a home and community-based service provided under Indiana Medicaids Aged and Disabled Waiver. Luckily, Structured Family Caregiving (SFC) through Caregiver Homes helps to bridge this gap throughout each stage of this care continuum and works alongside the family to support decision making, Schuster said. SFC can help families to prepare in advance and understand what the options are that are available to the family. For family members searching for an in-home caregiver for a loved one, Malone says its important to lay out clear expectations for any agencies they approach about services. Dont only talk about the dos for care, but also talk about the donts for care, she said. Determine your preference on the caregiver taking personal calls, bringing children with them and running personal errands while running errands for the client. Communicate preferred schedules and share what small things make the client happy when having a bad day, Malone says. It is helpful to learn about things to avoid and things to focus more on as far as what the person needs, she said. When interviewing caregivers, ask what the circumstances were around why that person is no longer providing care to a former patient, she says. You are trusting someone to take care of your loved one and it is OK to ask about any criminal histories and prior experiences, Malone said. Dependability is important, she says. Ask the caregiver, What does it mean to be dependable? she said. How will the caregiver let you know that they are feeling overwhelmed or too tired to be a caregiver? When looking at nursing homes, Malone recommends touring as many as possible and checking the facilities ratings through the states website www.in.gov/fssa and Medicare website www.medicare.gov. Ask questions and talk to other people who have used facility-based care to learn what environment is best for the individual, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 GARY The Easter season has seen attendance rise two years since COVID-19 caused a number of shutdowns, and the Holy Week is an opportunity for "a complete reset." That started with the blessing of sacred oils at Thursday's Chrism Mass, Rev. Jeffrey Burton, pastor at St. John Bosco in Hammond, said. This year is going to be different, Burton said. Theres something refreshing, renewing about that." My hope is that people, through their experiences, see that, indeed, God makes things possible, that through the Resurrection we will rise to new life," he said. "If people are open, they will see Easter in a very powerful way this Sunday. Bishop Robert J. McClory of the four-county Catholic Diocese of Gary, presiding over the Chrism Mass, encourages the faithful to put on their Easter-friendly best. I ask you to be your friendliest, your most outgoing, your most welcoming, the bishop said. To go up to people you may not know and say, Welcome, were glad to see you. Well be seeing people this weekend we havent seen in two years or never seen before. "We need to all be those emissaries, to welcome people who come through our doors. Area Roman Catholic clergy are hoping a renewal of faith leads to an increase in church attendance. I feel very hopeful. We have be watching more and more people come to Masses over the past months and I think Easter is going to be quite busy and the church full, said the Rev. Michael Yadron, pastor at St. Thomas More Parish in Munster. On Palm Sunday, we actually ran out of palms, as well as Sunday bulletins. We ordered many more bulletins for Easter Sunday. Yadron hoped parishioners approached Easter by celebrating the entirety of the weekend, from Holy Thursday through the Vigil Mass of Easter. For Catholics, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday constitute the Sacred Triduum leading to the celebration of Jesus Resurrection on Easter. I'd also like our parishioners to come to church early or, at least, on time, and to be kind to those who have not attended often or who are visiting when they take pews where regulars are usually seated, the Munster pastor said. Most importantly, I'd like our parishioners to approach Easter with a sense of accomplishment for their successful Lenten resolutions and with a sense of awe for God's love. For the Rev. Benjamin Ross, pastor at St. Bridget in Hobart, were getting back to normal with this holy celebration. I just want to grow in holiness. For the people in the pews, Ross said, I hope for renewal in their coming back to church, finding a renewed faith in God. The Rev. John Zemelko, who serves at St. Mary in Otis, hopes everyone rises to a new and different kind of light. For advice to parishioners, Zemelko recalled a sign he saw on the Indiana Toll Road that stated, Drive carefully and live joyfully. As a young priest, the Rev. Declan McNicholas, now an associate at St. John the Evangelist in St. John, recalled having only 10 people in church for last years Easter. Im excited now over increased numbers and growth in the community, McNicholas said. With all the craziness in the world, I hope people see Christ as uniting. Revenge wont do it. Only in Christ will we find peace. The Rev. William OToole, who serves at the three LaPorte parishes that comprise the Holy Family faith community, noted, Its great to see people back. Theres a deeper faith, because these people have stayed the course. Its a different faith, and these people are inspired. They inspire me. With concern over the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, OToole hopes for a greater celebration of faith on Easter. Dont be dismayed, but be hopeful and joyful, he said. The Rev. Jordan Fetcko is looking forward to a return to normalcy in a lot of ways. Im really looking forward to joining together with the church, with my spiritual family that has been isolated the last two years. Fetcko, who serves at Queen of All Saints and St. Mary in Michigan City, said current events can be a learning experience for people of faith. Even in suffering, the priest said, we always have God. We look at the cross and it leads to Resurrection. For the Rev. Roque Meraz, who serves at St. Patrick in Chesterton, said, to see all the people back together in church is good. Meraz said he hopes people appreciate the hope of the Resurrection, especially with what theyve gone through the last two years. This is a time to live the faith in our normal lives without worrying and being afraid. I hope people see that the Lord has triumphed. The Rev. Paul Quanz, who serves at several parishes, including Our Lady of Sorrows in Valparaiso, noted, I hope people come back to church. This is a time for new life. From Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Hammond, the Rev. Charles Mosley said Easter for him has always been about the Resurrection and new life. The Hammond pastor added, I hope people will get closer to God, with a renewed commitment to their faith and love like Jesus did. Among the rites at the Easter Mass is the renewal of baptismal vows. The Rev. Thomas Mischler serves several parishes, including Holy Spirit in Winfield, St. Helen in Hebron, and St. Mary in Kouts. He said, With all weve witnessed over the past two years, theres a sense of relief. I hope people will see the value of having gone through tough times, that better times are ahead, he said. The Rev. Jaime Perea, pastor at St. Francis Xavier in Lake Station, sees Easter as a time to renew faith, knowing that God is alive and always with us. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT A Lake Criminal Court judge refused to reduce bail Thursday for a South Bend man accused of strangling, beating and repeatedly raping an ex-girlfriend during a two-day ordeal last month in Gary. Quincy R. Minor, 29, appeared in court alongside attorney Gojko Kasich, who said Minor appeared to have several juvenile cases but no felony convictions as an adult. Kasich conceded Minor has warrants out of Iowa, but the charges were not serious enough for Iowa to extradite him, Kasich said. Minor has a child in Texas but would not be a flight risk, he said. The defense attorney said Minor's family had provided him with screenshots from social media that he planned to share with prosecutors. He said he advised the family a bond hearing wasn't the time to argue the allegations against Minor were false, but that is what they were claiming. Kasich asked Judge Natalie Bokota to consider reducing Minor's bond from $75,000 surety or $7,500 cash to $45,000 surety or $4,500 cash. Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe said Minor's criminal history showed he has violent tendencies. The prosecutor's office has a video that shows a person Dafoe recognized as Minor assaulting the victim in the case, she said. Kasich objected when Dafoe began to talk about jail phone calls, but Bokota overruled him. The judge says the calls were relevant if Kasich planned to bring in social media posts and hearsay is admissible in bail hearings. Dafoe said she received information late Wednesday that three phone calls were made to the victim offering her money or "whatever she wants" not to pursue the charges. "My concern is when he gets out, a no contact order is essentially just a piece of paper telling someone not to do something," Dafoe said. Bokota denied Minor's motion for a bail reduction and set his next court date for May 25. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The farthest reaches of Northwest Indiana will get a new state representative for the first time in many years after the two state lawmakers representing portions of the redrawn House District 16 both decided to retire. Following the once-a-decade redistricting process, House District 16 now contains all of Jasper County south and east of DeMotte and Wheatfield, southern Starke County, western Pulaski County and all of White County. The three candidates competing at the May 3 Republican primary to represent the district are: Kendell Culp, of Rensselaer, a farmer and president of the Jasper County Board of Commissioners; Barbara Neihouser, of Francesville, a nurse and GOP precinct committeeman; and Bryan Washburn, of DeMotte, retired CEO of the Jasper County REMC. The winner of the primary election likely will become the new state representative because there currently is no Democratic candidate and the voting history of the district tends to favor Republicans. Culp's focus is improving rural communities in the district, and across the state, by ensuring they have adequately staffed and compensated public safety personnel, reliable energy resources and entrepreneurial opportunities unhampered by "job-killing regulations." "House District 16 needs a leader who has a vision for the future of our region and state and who has the passion to act on it," Culp said. "I will bring my rural values to make common sense decisions for Hoosiers." Culp also said his experience as a problem-solver and relationship-builder through his work in county government makes him ideally suited to tackle difficult issues, including Indiana's budget and finances, at the Statehouse. "I have dedicated my life to Christian values and being a servant leader," Culp said. "Im pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and pro-agriculture. If elected, I will be the only farmer serving in the General Assembly." Neihouser also is focused on rural issues in her campaign, including access to health care, protecting the food supply, promoting jobs and entrepreneurship and ensuring election integrity. In addition, she favors parents leading on decisions concerning their children's education; term limits for elected officials; restricting abortion; ensuring the right of senior citizens to companionship, advocacy and free movement; and protecting Second Amendment gun rights. "I am not a politician. I'm a career nurse, a teacher and a small farm owner and rancher," Neihouser said. "Supporting me for District 16 means supporting everything we love about rural Indiana. Its time to bring a fresh perspective to the Statehouse." Washburn notes he's also not a politician. But he said his business background and experience serving members of a cooperative organization have prepared him to serve his constituents if he's elected to the House. His priorities include holding the line on taxes, promoting state's rights over federal solutions, enacting term limits, defending the Second Amendment and advancing right-to-life legislation. "I am the only candidate that has executive leadership experience leading a business and maintaining fiscal responsibility to my members. I am a person that worked his way from an apprentice lineman to the CEO level, and that journey gives me a unique perspective and an understanding of the people of House District 16," Washburn said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A country incapable of providing for itself isnt much of a great power. To ensure America stays strong for generations to come, we need to bring production of goods essential to our national security back home. That starts with re-shoring rare earth manufacturing. For some, industrial policy is a dirty term associated with planned economies. But Americans have long accepted government action to help maintain domestic manufacturing in critical industries. It makes sense that we buy ships from General Dynamics, airplanes from Boeing, and missiles from Raytheon even if it would be cheaper to import them from abroad because it is clear they are goods vital to our national security. Well, the last two years have taught us that the list of such goods needs to be expanded. One urgent addition to that list is rare earth minerals. In the 21st-century economy, rare earth minerals are crucial for powering advanced electronics. They form essential components of everything from batteries and household computers to wind turbines and military weapon systems. Without them, our modern way of life and capacity for self-defense would be crippled. North America contains a considerable quantity of unprocessed rare earth minerals. However, the vast majority of rare earth manufacturing occurs in China. Even rare earth minerals mined in America are shipped to China for processing. In the wake of COVID-19, the invasion of Ukraine, and the supply chain disruptions that followed, it should be clear to everyone that relying on hostile regimes for basic goods is dangerous. Just look at Western Europes predicament. Nations like Germany remain addicted to Russian natural gas, giving Vladimir Putin leverage over them. Cutting off Russian energy will require tremendous sacrifice on their part. With expansive energy reserves, America is better positioned to counter Putin. But if China cut us off from rare earth products which Beijing has restricted in the past and could easily do again the effects would be catastrophic. Thats why I have introduced legislation to bring rare earth manufacturing back to America. If passed into law, the Obtaining National and Secure Homeland Operations for Rare Earth (ONSHORE) Manufacturing Act will provide financial assistance to entities building rare earth manufacturing plants on U.S. soil and create initiatives to secure our international rare earth supply chain from foreign disruption. The ONSHORE Manufacturing Act will also prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding rare earth manufacturing in designated entities of concern. Americans hard-earned money should not be used to prop up the industrial capacity of China, Russia, or Iran. I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join me in passing this piece of legislation, which is vital to keeping our country safe. However, we cant stop with rare earth metals. There are other industries equally essential to our national and economic security that need re-shoring. In the coming months, it is critical that we begin rebuilding our capacity to produce pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and more. This is the kind of targeted industrial policy America needs to maintain its status as a great power. The threats we face from our adversaries, especially China, are wide-ranging and immense. We will need a whole-of-society effort to ensure the 21st century is another American century, and securing supply chains will have to be a part of it. Marco Rubio, a Republican, represents Florida in the U.S. Senate. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. The opinions are the writer's. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 He is frequently described as libertarian, though that label fails to capture how paradoxical and random his politics can be. He has no shortage of opinions on the most pertinent and divisive issues of the day, from Covid-19 lockdowns (fascist, he called them) to immigration restrictions (Very much disagree, he has said). There is not much consistency in the miscellany of his public statements or his profuse Twitter commentary except that they often align with his business interests. And despite the intense partisan reaction to his unsolicited bid to buy Twitter, his opaque politics make it difficult to say whether the elation and fear about how he would run the company are justified. He has railed against federal subsidies but his companies have benefited from billions of dollars in tax breaks and other incentives from federal, state and local governments. He has strenuously opposed unionization, criticizing the Biden administration for proposing a tax credit for electric vehicles produced by union workers. He is the co-founder of an electric car manufacturer, Tesla, who quit former President Donald J. Trumps business councils after the administration pulled out of the Paris climate accord. But he recently ran afoul of environmentalists for calling for an immediate increase in domestic oil and gas production, though it would not be helpful to his own businesses in electric cars and solar energy. He is an avowed enthusiast for the First Amendment. But he has tried to force a journalist to testify in a defamation lawsuit against him, and he has often had outsize reactions to criticism. Four years ago, he floated a plan to create a website to rate the credibility of reporters, calling it Pravda, in an odd nod to the Soviet Unions propaganda publication. (Nothing much came of it.) And a venture capitalist wrote at length about Mr. Musk canceling his order for a new Tesla after the investor complained about a Tesla event. MOGADISHU, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has hailed the outgoing Ugandan troops for intensifying the fight against al-Shabab terrorists in the coastal Barawe region in southern Somalia. ATMIS Force Commander, Diomede Ndegeya awarded medals and certificates to the soldiers from battle Group 32 on Saturday for their contribution to the ongoing peacebuilding process in Somalia. "You have done this mission and your country proud. You have served with professionalism, discipline, and commitment in the advancement of the mission's mandate. And it is partly through your commitment and sacrifice that Somalia is enjoying relative peace," Ndegeya said in a statement issued on Saturday evening in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. According to Ndegeya, upon their deployment in the different military bases in Barawe and Beldamin, the soldiers conducted and sustained key military operations to degrade al-Shabab. The soldiers, who were deployed to the mission in March 2021, are due to rotate out of the mission, having completed their one-year tour of duty, and will be replaced by Battle Group 35. Keith Katungi, contingent commander of Ugandan troops in Somalia, said the troops helped secure main supply routes and population centers in their area of responsibility, which enabled local communities to go about their lives normally. Katungi also lauded the soldiers for conducting several successful offensive operations against the al-Shabab terrorists, including ensuring the successful completion of parliamentary elections in Barawe. Katungi advised the commander of the in-coming battle group to be vigilant and tactful in the execution of the Mission's mandate in his Area of Responsibility. The ongoing 131st China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) is presenting more than 2.9 million products covering eight major sectors, among which the electronic and home appliances exhibition zone will feature nearly 2,600 companies with 140,000 products. The home appliance exhibition zone will gather China's leading brands such as Haier, Hisense, Gree, Midea, Changhong, TCL, along with small- and medium-sized manufacturers and exporters, to further explore the diverse market. "The vivid gathering of the entire industrial chain of China's intelligent manufacturing at the Canton Fair will enable comprehensive presentation of the sector's cutting-edge technology as well as promote efficient cross-border businesses," said Alan Liu, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office at Canton Fair. Canton Fair presents the new stay-at-home business Since 2021, home-based and online businesses have played a significant role in major economies, stimulating the global home appliance market. According to GFK, from January to November 2021, the global retail sales of white appliances maintained steady growth with sales increasing by 14.8 percent, and small household appliances increased by 11.1 percent. China's home appliance industry, with its stable supply chain and industrial facilities, has further developed its market via the Canton Fair. Stove and smoking machine companies, as well as small kitchen appliance manufacturers, have upgraded their products to enable a healthier stay-at-home life. Large-capacity range hoods, high thermal efficiency gas stoves, and cold water-free gas heaters have further increased popularity in the market, including Schindler's Sky AI large suction range hood, which can monitor the firepower in real-time and automatically adjust the suction power during the cooking. Leading companies such as Midea, Haier, Vatti and Sacon are also focusing on developing intelligent systems for kitchen appliances, which can connect multiple isolated devices onto one super terminal to enable a smarter experience through its distribution network, application-free installation and direct supporting service. Canton Fair brings new technology to promote high-quality development According to the China Hardware and Electromechanical Chamber of Commerce, China's total exports of household electrical appliances reached $118.45 billion in 2021, an increase of 26.4 percent over 2020. With record-high export scale and growth rate of the sector in the past ten years, Canton Fair's home appliance exhibition area has developed rapidly to echo the intelligent innovation in the industry, bringing a variety of products with independent research and development technology to global buyers. Signature products at the Fair will include televisions with new display and big screen technology, such as a transformable OLED television with flexible screen presented by Skyworth. The 131st Canton Fair presents new home appliance business for the stay-at-home economy Cleaning appliances are also becoming more intelligent. Ecovacs will showcase its multi-purpose sweeping and mopping robot vacuum and cleaning station, which has mop self-cleaning and hot air drying, automatic dust collection, anion sterilization and water tank self-filling functions. The sweeping robot has enabled voice control with 12 sweeping and mopping cleaning modes. Canton Fair will conclude on April 24. TradeArabia News Service Friday was an important state holiday in North Korea, and the United States had sent an aircraft carrier to the region days earlier amid concern that Mr. Kim might mark the occasion with a major weapon test, perhaps even one involving a nuclear device. Also, the United States and South Korea are set to begin annual joint military exercises on Monday. The drills consist largely of computer simulations and are said to be defensive in nature. But North Korea has condemned all of the two allies joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion and has often responded to them with weapon tests. During former President Donald J. Trumps administration, when the American leader and Mr. Kim were engaged in direct talks, the United States and South Korea began canceling or scaling back some of their joint military drills in hopes of adding momentum to the diplomatic efforts. But South Koreas president-elect, Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes office next month, has vowed to expand the drills, saying they are needed to help deter North Koreas growing nuclear and missile threats. It was not immediately clear what type of missile the North had tested on Saturday. In the past, it has used the new-type guided tactical weapon language to refer to the short-range ballistic missiles known as KN-23 or KN-24. Those are among a variety of missiles North Korea has been testing since 2019 to improve its ability to fire short-range conventional or nuclear warheads at South Korea, Japan and the American military bases in the region. In photos released by the North Korean state media on Sunday, the missile said to have been fired on Saturday resembled the KN-23. But the work was later traced back to Mr. Henry by The Richmond Times-Dispatch, which reported that he had given Mr. Stoney and his political action committee contributions totaling $4,000 since 2016. Kimberly Gray, a member of the Richmond City Council and a Stoney rival, called for an investigation into the awarding of the contract, which was also unsuccessfully challenged in court. A special prosecutor assigned to investigate the award process later cleared the mayor of wrongdoing. Mr. Henry called the investigation ridiculous, and added, There was nothing nefarious going on. Asked to comment on the dispute, Ms. Gray, who lost to Mr. Stoney in Richmonds 2020 mayoral election, said only that the removal work should have cost much less than it did. With the first removal planned for July 1, 2020, security loomed as an unresolved concern. The city attorney believed the mayor did not actually have the authority to expedite the removal of the monuments under emergency protocols and the Richmond Police Department opted not to participate, fearing that it could be cited for acting illegally. Turning to the sheriffs department for help was another option. But the city sheriff, Antionette V. Irving, was unsure whether it was wise to get involved, Mr. Henry and city officials recalled. Mr. Henry and Sheriff Irving attended the same church. So at one point, Mr. Henry took a selfie with the sheriff and sent it to their pastor, Dr. Lance Watson of Saint Pauls Baptist Church, in hopes the pastor might give the sheriff a nudge. Sheriff Irving said that, based on public safety concerns, she agreed on the afternoon of the first removal to deploy deputies as Mr. Henry and his team began to dismantle a monument to the Confederate general Stonewall Jackson. Since 1919, it had stood along Monument Avenue, a thoroughfare studded with homages to leaders of the Confederacy. As much as the city had sought haste, statue removal is not at all the same as demolition work. Even monuments now devalued as symbols are often dismantled with immense care. In the case of the Jackson statue, Team Henry initially could not locate the bolts they needed to cut so as to detach it from its pedestal. OSLO Right about now, many members of the Sami, one of Europes oldest Indigenous groups, are embarking on a spring migration, moving the reindeer herds upon which their livelihood and culture depend to grazing areas mostly north of the Arctic Circle. But this year, a handful are headed in the opposite direction. They are going to Italy, where for the first time, a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale will be devoted entirely to Sami artists. The Biennale, probably the worlds most prestigious art event, opens to the public next Saturday. It has included Indigenous artists before. But in a show organized along national lines, the decision to devote an entire pavilion to people whose identity transcends the territorial boundaries long imposed on them makes a strong political statement. Usually, Finland, Norway and Sweden share a space at the Biennale known as the Nordic pavilion. This year, it has been retitled the Sami Pavilion, in a gesture of recognition from three nations that many Sami see as their colonizers. Jolene Rickard, a member of the Tuscarora Nation and a professor of art history at Cornell University who specializes in Indigenous art, said that the decision was significant. It acknowledges the Sami as a nation that exists across contiguous borders; it makes space for a different notion of nation, she said. Yang was followed by Kate McKinnon, in her recurring role as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. Trust me, Im not here to give you any more Covid guidance, McKinnon said. Im not stupid enough to think youre actually going to follow it. All Ill say is that Covid cases are a lot like Jesus: Theyve risen again. Cecily Strong played Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who said she had been aggressively wishing a happy Easter to her Jewish and Muslim colleagues. Chris Redd played Mayor Eric Adams of New York, who shared some good news with the audience: We got him: We got the shooter, Redd said, a reference to the man accused of opening fire in a subway car in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Sure, it took 30 hours, and the suspect turned himself in, but we got him. Case closed. Subways fixed. Ride without fear. Mikey Day appeared as the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and announced that he planned to buy Easter. I am offering 43 billion Peeps, he said. After some stilted laughter, Day added: That was a joke. Ha ha ha. Do you get it? Thats why, afterwards, I say, That was a joke. Chloe Fineman portrayed Britney Spears, who was celebrating her recent release from a yearslong conservatorship. Dont worry; Im finally free, and Im having a baby, she said. I just pray my baby is born happy, healthy and with the power of attorney. Things came to a head when Scholem unwisely confided to Taubes that he was concerned about another students mental health. Taubes reported this to his friend, whose wife he was also sleeping with. The poor unstable man was shattered, left Jerusalem and years later, after his wifes suicide, committed suicide himself before a portrait of Scholem. Scholem broke off relations with Taubes and would later say that it was through him that he had come to know the reality of moral evil in the world. Taubes, though, would remain obsessed with Scholem for the rest of his life, sending him passive-aggressive letters about a reconciliation while denigrating him to others. Scholem felt stalked and started keeping a file on him, developing a reciprocal negative obsession. Their relationship is the source of countless Taubes stories that circulate. Muller reports that once Scholem was visiting friends in Jerusalem when Taubes arrived unannounced, so he locked himself in the bathroom, refusing to come out until the monster left. Another story, not in Mullers book, has it that Taubes once knocked on Scholems door, asking for his ex-teachers blessing. Scholem raised his hand and said, May the sun of the Holy Land never shine on your face again. This was the pattern of Taubess subsequent intellectual and personal relationships: courtship, consummation, disappointment, rebellion, betrayal. The most significant of those relationships was with his wife, the novelist Susan Taubes, whom he married when she was just 21. At first they seemed to have a tantric hold on each other and drew others into their open erotic life, including Susan Sontag, who eventually made a movie based loosely but unmistakably on the couple, with the arresting title Duet for Cannibals. In the early 1960s Sontag even taught courses on eros and mysticism with Taubes at Columbia, where he had a cult following. But she also witnessed his cruelty and manipulation, especially of his wife. It was Sontag who identified Susan Taubess body after she drowned herself in East Hampton in 1969. Image Susan Taubes Credit... Courtesy of Ethan Taubes and Tanaquil Taubes Yet through it all Taubes remained on the move, accruing posts in the United States and Europe while leaving emotional wreckage behind him. And everyone knew this: That is the remarkable thing. Befriending Taubes required a kind of inner dissociation, keeping apart knowledge of his character and the pleasure of his company. A first meeting with Jacob Taubes must have been an exhilarating experience. Over the years he had crafted a seductive theological-political patter in which terms like messianism, mysticism, eschatology, apocalypse, gnosticism, redemption and antinomianism swirled around in a gravity-free vacuum, never touching historical ground. Almost all his ideas were borrowed from others, yet they still left people impressed and sometimes enlightened. Indeed, Taubes was extraordinarily well read in many languages and fields and had an excellent memory, which allowed him, at least for the duration of a conversation or lecture, to make everything seem connected and directed toward some ultimate resolution he never got around to articulating. Even conventional religion scholars who raised an eyebrow at his wilder ideas felt he sometimes understood matters from within and saw connections they had missed. As one put it, Taubes had perfect pitch for the religious imagination. The provocative essays and lectures of his that have been published since his death attest to this. The most astonishing turn in his public life came in the late 60s and early 70s, when he was teaching at the Free University in Berlin. Muller, a specialist on Germany, is at his best in the Berlin chapters, weaving together perceptive accounts of the postwar intellectual scene and the political dynamics that led to radicalization and terror. Taubes, ever on the lookout for transgressive opportunities, had a central role in both. At one point the former yeshiva bochur declared himself a Maoist and could be found running teach-ins with the Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse. At the same time he was cultivating a relationship with the disgraced legal scholar Carl Schmitt, the antisemitic crown jurist of the Third Reich, whose works he promoted for their radical potential. It took five weeks and three attempts, but around 7 a.m. on Sunday the Ever Forward, a 1,095-foot container ship operated by the same company whose vessel blocked the Suez Canal last year, was finally freed in the Chesapeake Bay. Loaded with nearly 5,000 containers, the Ever Forward was on its way to Norfolk, Va., from Baltimore when, according to the United States Coast Guard, it ran aground in the bay near the Craighill Channel on March 13. Initial reports indicated no injuries, pollution or damage to the vessel as a result of the grounding, the agency said in a statement at the time. The ship, which became stuck about 20 miles southeast of Baltimore, was not obstructing the channel, it added. More than two weeks later, after a week of dredging beneath the ship, the Coast Guard, together with the Maryland Department of the Environment and Evergreen Marine Corp., which owns the vessel, made its first attempt to refloat it. Their efforts were unsuccessful. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Greed. Betrayal. Family backstabbing. The rise of the Murdochs, the worlds most powerful media family, which was chronicled in a three-part, 20,000-word investigation published in The New York Times Magazine in 2019, had all the right ingredients for a gripping documentary series. Some might say it had Succession-level drama. The drama was brought indeed in The Murdochs: Empire of Influence, a new documentary series that premiered on CNN+ last month and will be broadcast on CNN later this year. The series relied on the reporting of the two journalists behind the magazine article, Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg, who served as consulting producers. For more insight, the team at the production company Left/Right, which partnered with CNN and The New York Times, used new voices and archival footage to expand on the magazine article across six hourlong episodes. The team even enlisted Mr. Mahler and Mr. Rutenberg to appear on camera. It can be easy to go off track or speak a little loosely in ways that we wouldnt in an actual written and edited piece, said Mr. Rutenberg. So a lot of the challenge is getting used to sticking to our reporting when were sitting in a chair riffing. Yet, believing that Jesus is risen is different than believing that Napoleon invaded Russia or that Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Though Christians say today that Christ is risen as a point of historic fact, we are saying something more as well. We say this to herald Gods power in the world and in our lives, even now. Christians believe that because Jesus is risen, the same power that raised him from the dead is alive in us. The Book of Romans says, The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. This historical event leaps out of history into the present tense. Another poem that I keep in conversation with Updikes stanzas is Gerard Manley Hopkinss The Wreck of the Deutschland, a gorgeous poem published in 1918 about a deadly shipwreck. Toward its end comes this line: Let him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us. Easter, here, is a verb. It is not only an event but its something that happens to us and in us. This poem and prayer asks that Jesus transform our lives, that he rise not just in a tomb but in us as well, that the piercing light of the Resurrection fall on the darkness in our cramped selves. Updike reminds us that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, the church is a lie, but Hopkins tells us that if he was and is raised, then absolutely everything can be changed and redeemed even shipwrecks, even death. In the final pages of the Bible, the end of the long story of the redemption of the world, the writer describes a vision of Jesus. He is sitting on a throne and says, Look most translations use behold but that sounds so churchy; I think what hes saying is closer to look, notice, hey, pay attention. And then he says, I am making all things new. Jesus promises a future when everything is made new. But the only real evidence that that is any more than wishful thinking is rooted in history, as solid as a stone rolled away. The Resurrection happening in truth, in real time, is the only evidence that that love in fact outlasts the grave, that what is broken can be mended, and that death and pain do not have the final word. Not everything will be redeemed in our lifetime but, even now, we see newness breaking in, we see glimpses of the healing to come. We believe that, because He is risen indeed, we can know God and our lives can participate in the life of God, that our own biographies and mundane days collide with eternity. When I finally talked her into leaving, we were too late: Russian troops had taken over Bucha. The first reports about locals being slaughtered by Russian soldiers started appearing; I could not stop picturing my mother as the next victim. I saw photographs of places Id been to with my mother like a shopping mall near her apartment that had been demolished. I told her not to leave the basement of her building, if possible, but she didnt listen. Only when she came under heavy shelling while shopping for groceries did she stop going out. Shes always been stubborn. For the next 10 days, she stayed in that basement. There was no electricity or heating, and she was running out of food and water. It was terrifying: Artillery fired nonstop while Russian tanks parked next to her building. When her neighbor tried to take a picture, he was shot luckily, he survived but his apartment was ruined. Not long after, Russian soldiers visited the building: They inspected residents homes, checked passports and took away mobile SIM cards. (My mother, in a remarkable flash of cunning, gave them the wrong one so she could keep in touch with me.) The ordeal was intolerable. My mother, hungry, exhausted and frightened, finally agreed to leave. Two days later, on March 10, she managed it, escaping through a humanitarian corridor to Kyiv. She was shaken up when I met her. I covered her in all the duvets and blankets I had and put her to bed. But in the night, I could hear her groaning. When I asked her what she was dreaming about, she said that the Russians were torturing her. It was the sign of a trauma that will stay with her for a long while. The next day I put her on a train to safety. Shes now in western Ukraine, staying with some relatives, an internally displaced person once again. She lost her job and her home, twice. Yet shes lucky to be alive, unlike hundreds of her neighbors buried in Buchas mass graves. They join at least 1,964 other civilians whose lives have been extinguished by Russian force. Bucha itself, or rather what is left of it, is free now. Russian troops withdrew from Kyivs environs by April 6. Theyre redeploying to the east, where a battle for the Donbas lies in store. The war, which began in the east eight years ago, is returning there for its culmination. Given Russias brutality which now extends to the possible use of chemical weapons in besieged Mariupol its likely to be a terrible contest. For Ukrainians, it will be the latest installment of horror. But the country, like my family, is standing strong. East and west, displaced and not, Ukrainians have acted with bravery and resilience. No matter what Russia does to us, we refuse to be beaten. Like it or not, the choose-your-own-adventure period of the pandemic is upon us. Mask mandates have fallen. Some free testing sites have closed. Whatever parts of the United States were still trying to collectively quell the pandemic have largely turned their focus away from community-wide advice. Now, even as case numbers begin to climb again and more infections go unreported, the onus has fallen on individual Americans to decide how much risk they and their neighbors face from the coronavirus and what, if anything, to do about it. For many people, the threats posed by Covid have eased dramatically over the two years of the pandemic. Vaccines slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying. Powerful new antiviral pills can help keep vulnerable people from deteriorating. But not all Americans can count on the same protection. Millions of people with weakened immune systems do not benefit fully from vaccines. Two-thirds of Americans, and more than a third of those 65 and older, have not received the critical security of a booster shot, with the most worrisome rates among Black and Hispanic people. And patients who are poorer or live farther from doctors and pharmacies face steep barriers to getting antiviral pills. Spring weather arrived in New York, and despite rising Covid-19 cases, partygoers got dressed up and hit the town. A sea of mermaid gowns and penguin tuxedos flooded this years Save Venice ball, held on April 6 at Cipriani South Street. Lauren Santo Domingo was joined by 500 guests at an event that raised $2.1 million to restore Venices artistic treasures. Also that night, the Poetry Project celebrated its 55th year as a harborage for contemporary poets with a gala at St. Marks Church in-the-Bowery. Rene Ricard and Patricia Spears Jones were honored. And Evan Mock, the pink-haired skateboarder and actor, held a 25th birthday party last Sunday at the Flower Shop on the Lower East Side. His ragtag crew included the model Ella Emhoff, the actor Thomas Doherty and the rapper Amine. This is a real cross-section of all the important people in my life, Mr. Mock said. The Most Dressed features great outfits from up, down and all around town. John Maley, a lawyer for Gravity Diagnostics, said on Saturday that the company would file post-trial motions challenging the verdict on legal grounds and asserting that one juror had violated court orders about obtaining information outside the trial. Mr. Maley said that the case had not met the standard for a disability claim because Mr. Berling had never disclosed his anxiety disorder to the company and had not met the legal threshold to qualify as having a disability. Mr. Maley said that the company had the right to fire Mr. Berling a lab technician whose employment status was at-will, meaning he could be fired for any legal reason because he had clenched his fists, his face had turned red and he had ordered his supervisors to be quiet in the meeting, scaring them. They were absolutely in fear of physical harm during that moment, Julie Brazil, the founder and chief operating officer of Gravity Diagnostics, said on Saturday. They both are still shaken about it today. Mr. Bucher said that the reaction the company had described was Mr. Berlings effort to calm himself during a panic attack after one of the supervisors had criticized his reaction to the party. Mr. Berling asked them to stop talking and used physical coping techniques, including a move that Mr. Bucher described as having his fists closed but up around his chest, sort of closed in, almost hugging himself. Mr. Berling was sent home for the rest of the workday and for the next day. At home a couple of hours after the meeting, he texted one of the supervisors to apologize for his panic attack, according to the complaint. Officials in Pakistan have not confirmed the strikes. Responding to news of the strikes on Sunday, Pakistani officials said that cross-border attacks from Afghanistan on its security forces had risen dramatically and urged the Taliban to secure the border area from militants. Pakistan has repeatedly requested Afghan Government in last few months to secure Pak-Afghan border region. Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan, Pakistans foreign office said in a statement on Sunday. For decades the porous border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been a stronghold for the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a banned militant group in Pakistan. The Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are separate entities, though they draw strength from some of the same ideological and religious moorings. Since 2007, the Pakistani Taliban has been responsible for some of Pakistans worst terrorist attacks. The group carried out an attack on a school in Peshawar that killed 145 people in 2014, and in 2009 it attacked the headquarters of the Pakistani military. The Pakistani Taliban also tried to kill Malala Yousafzai, the student boldly defying Taliban subjugation of women who would recover from severe gunshot injuries and go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. While the Pakistani military carried out successive offensives against the group and won substantial gains in recent years, some Pakistani Taliban commanders found shelter in neighboring Afghanistan, officials say. For years that was a source of constant tension between Pakistan and Afghanistans previous Western-backed governments, which accused Pakistan of nurturing the Afghan Taliban insurgency and sheltering its leaders. After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August of last year, the Pakistani Taliban continued to launch regular attacks against Pakistani forces, Pakistani officials say. In November of last year, Pakistani authorities worked with the Afghan Taliban to broker a monthlong ceasefire with the militant group, Pakistani officials said. The U.S. policy of diverting Haitian refugees began in 1991. It was a kind of loophole: If the refugees did not arrive at American shores, the United States was not technically obligated to hear their claims. Though no one was fooled, it kept Washington in compliance with American law, which had been written to match international obligations, as in many countries. Years later came another surge in refugees worldwide, to 20 million in 2017, a figure that has risen slightly since then, though it remains smaller, as a share of global population, than the 1992 peak. The current refugee crisis is almost certainly smaller than the one following World War II, which forced tens of millions from their homes across Europe and Asia and devastated whole societies, all but forcing world powers to act. But by the 2010s, as refugee outflows rose mostly from poorer countries, the response was very different. The United States applied similar policies to people from Central America as it had to Haitians, negotiating deals with governments, particularly in Mexico, to prevent refugees and other migrants from reaching the border. Europe and Australia pursued similar strategies. The result: concentric rings of detention centers, some notorious for brutality, just beyond the borders of the worlds richest countries. Most are along refugees paths, or near the borders they had hoped to reach, allowing governments a fig leaf of compliance. Britains new proposal, by shipping people to the far reaches of another continent, takes this a step further, underscoring how the new system really works. Some argue that enshrining new international agreements, or scrapping the old ones altogether, might more sustainably distribute global responsibility, particularly as a rise in climate refugees scrambles the boundaries between economic migrant and political refugee. World leaders, though, have expressed little interest in such plans. And if the problem is that governments do not want refugees and cannot be made to take them, replacing one half-ignored agreement with another would change little. The Emerging Order Europes seeming double standard as its governments welcome Ukrainians but continue going to extraordinary lengths to keep out migrants from the Middle East has laid the unwritten norms of the new refugee system especially bare. LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainians packed churches on Sunday for Easter commemorations that combined ancient traditions with the reality of the war. The countrys small Roman Catholic community celebrated Easter with services, which as in other churches, were full of families, many missing men who are off fighting or volunteering in the war effort. At the 14th-century Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was standing room only. With the pews full, an older woman dressed in a silk skirt knelt slowly on the hard stone floor beneath the vaulted ceiling to pray. Outside, near religious statues wrapped for protection against airstrikes, she placed a plastic cup of white spring flowers under a plaque dedicated to Pope John Paul II. Just a few steps away from the Roman Catholic cathedral, worshipers streamed into the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church, a Greek Catholic Church that like most churches in Ukraine follows the Julian calendar, in which Easter falls next Sunday. While carefully scripted television news programs still use the military operation formula, guests in the heat of the shouting that is a trademark of Russian TV talk shows often yell about war. The even angrier tone than usual when discussing the sinking of the Moskva indicated that many commentators found Ukraine culpable. Skipping the official explanation that it caught fire, for example, Vladimir Bortko, a film director and former member of the Duma, Russias parliament, said on Thursday that the assault on the vessel should be treated as an assault on Russia itself. The special military operation has ended, it ended last night when our motherland was attacked, he said, after asking the other panelists to remind him what Russia was calling the war. The attack on our territory is casus belli, an absolute cause for war for real. He suggested that possible responses included bombing Ukraines capital, Kyiv; the transportation networks that allowed foreign dignitaries to visit; or something more sinister: Bomb them once and that is it. His ranting about war brought an admonition from Olga Skabaeeva, the host of the popular 60 Minutes program, who said that he was talking in the context of NATO aggression against Russia. Some analysts think all the talk of NATO attacking Russia is meant to lay the groundwork for a possible general mobilization of the male population martial law is a necessary prior step, and a declaration of martial law requires going to war or being under threat. Russia-Ukraine War: Key Developments Card 1 of 3 Victory Day. President Vladimir V. Putin used his May 9 holiday speech to falsely depict his invasion of Ukraine as an extension of the struggle against Nazism in Europe. But contrary to some expectations, he did not make any new announcements signaling an escalation of the war. A show of support. Jill Biden, the first lady, traveled to western Ukraine in an unannounced trip, the latest show of support from the United States, which in recent weeks has significantly increased military aid for Ukraine. Canadas leader, Justin Trudeau, also made an unannounced visit. Russian oil ban. Leaders of the Group of 7 nations pledged during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky to ban or phase out Russian oil, aiming to further erode Russias economic standing. The group did not provide details but said the plan would take effect in a timely and orderly fashion. Until now, however, Russian news programs are not calling the events in Ukraine a war. They take their cues from the Ministry of Defenses briefings. It is all the presidential administration with their giant printer, there are no differences of opinion available, said Vasily Gatov, a Russian media analyst based in the United States. They will not risk interpreting reports from the Ministry of Defense. When it comes to the Moskva, Russian media reports have stuck to the official version promulgated by the ministry and echoed on TASS, a state news agency. That version held that a fire onboard had ignited an ammunition magazine, seriously damaging the Moskva, named for the Russian capital. Violence remains commonplace within the Russian military, where more senior soldiers routinely abuse junior ones. Despite two decades of attempts at trying to make the army a more professional force, it has never developed a strong middle tier akin to the noncommissioned officers who bridge the gap between commanders and lower-ranking soldiers in the American military. In 2019, a conscript in Siberia opened fire and killed eight at his military base, later asserting that he had carried out the shooting spree because other soldiers had made his life hell. Experts say that the severity of hazing in the Russian military has been reduced compared with the early 2000s, when it killed dozens of conscripts yearly. But they say that order in many units is still maintained through informal systems similar to the abusive hierarchies in Russian prisons. To Sergei Krivenko, who leads a rights group that provides legal aid to Russian soldiers, that violence, coupled with a lack of independent oversight, makes war crimes more possible. Russian soldiers are just as capable of cruelty against fellow Russians, he says, as they are against Ukrainians. It is the state of the Russian army, this impunity, aggression and internal violence, that is expressed in these conditions, Mr. Krivenko said in a phone interview. If there were to be an uprising in Voronezh a city in western Russia and the army were called in, the soldiers would behave exactly the same way. But the crimes in Ukraine may also stem from the Kremlins years of dehumanizing propaganda against Ukrainians, which soldiers consume in required viewings. Russian conscripts, a sample schedule available on the Russian Defense Ministrys website shows, must sit through informational television programs from 9 to 9:40 p.m. every day but Sunday. The message that they are fighting Nazis as their forefathers did in World War II is now being spread through the military, Russian news reports show. In one video distributed by the Defense Ministry, a marine commander, Maj. Aleksei Shabulin, says his grandfather chased fascist scum through the forests during and after World War II, referring to Ukrainian independence fighters who at one point collaborated with Nazi Germany. JERUSALEM Israels government crisis deepened on Sunday night, after a small Islamist party announced it was freezing its participation in the coalition, following a recent rise in tensions between the Israeli police and Muslims at a major mosque in Jerusalem. Raam, the first independent Arab party to join an Israeli government, said it was suspending its involvement until further notice, after an emergency meeting by the leadership council of an Islamic movement that oversees the party. The decision has no immediate impact on the government: The Israeli Parliament is on recess until May 8, by which time Raam may have decided to rejoin the government. But if Raam makes its decision permanent within the next three weeks, it would give opposition lawmakers a 64-56 majority in the 120-seat Parliament enough seats to vote to dissolve the body and send Israel to its fifth election in three years. Raams move highlights the fraying tightrope that Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, must walk in order to keep his ideologically diverse coalition together. The coalition formed last June, with little uniting its eight right-wing, left-wing, centrist and Arab parties beyond a desire to avoid a fifth election and to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu, then the prime minister, from holding on to power. BEIRUT, Lebanon When a band of scrappy rebels known as the Houthis stormed out of the mountains of northern Yemen in 2014 and took over the capital, Sana, their friends and foes alike dismissed them as unsophisticated tribal fighters running around in sandals and armed with cheap guns. But during the civil war that has shattered Yemen in the years since, the group has gone through a remarkable transformation. It now rules a repressive proto-state in northern Yemen and wields a vast arsenal that includes an array of cruise and ballistic missiles and kamikaze boats. The Houthis also assemble their own long-range drones, which have extended their reach across the Arabian Peninsula and amplified threats to the Persian Gulf powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both partners of the United States and leaders of the coalition that has waged war against the Houthis since 2015. The swift expansion of the Houthis abilities is largely thanks to covert military aid from Iran, according to American and Middle Eastern officials and analysts. Isadora Kosofsky and April 17, 2022 MEMPHIS When Russia invaded Ukraine, Marija Pyzhyk was still worried mainly about her 5-year-old daughter, Khrystyna, who was being treated for a brain tumor. The family lived in Lviv, the western city near Poland, far from the rockets raining down in the east. Soon, however, Ms. Pyzhyk was informed that the hospital was about to run out of the medication to treat her daughter; she would have to be evacuated immediately for care in another country, the doctor told her. I had truly believed we could continue our medical treatment in Ukraine, Ms. Pyzhyk recalled. Khrystynas condition, optic glioma, a cancer most common in young children, can cause blindness and even death without consistent therapy to shrink or stabilize the tumor. Khrystyna requires daily oral chemotherapy. On March 16, Ms. Pyzhyk, Khrystyna and her son, Sergei, 10, bid farewell to her husband, Volodymyr, and boarded a bus to Poland, where they joined several other evacuated families with ailing children. While other families were directed to hospitals across Europe, Ms. Pyzhyk and her children were told they would be flown to the United States. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. About this data Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. The hot spots map shows the share of population with a new reported case over the last week. Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (daily confirmed and suspected Covid-19 hospital admissions); Census Bureau (population data). Data prior to October 2020 was unreliable. Data reported in the most recent seven days may be incomplete. This chart shows for each age group the number of people per 100,000 that were newly admitted to a hospital with Covid-19 each day, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dips and spikes could be due to inconsistent reporting by hospitals. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U. patients). Tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U.s and deaths show seven-day averages. Hospitalization and I.C.U. data may not yet be available for yesterday. Figures shown are the most recent data available. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. About this data Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state governments, U.S. Census Bureau. The C.D.C. reported on Nov. 30 that booster doses are sometimes misclassified as first doses, which may overestimate first dose coverage among adults. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (tests, hospitalizations, I.C.U. patients). The seven-day average is the average of the most recent seven days of data. Cases and deaths data are assigned to dates based on when figures are publicly reported. Figures for Covid patients in hospitals and I.C.U.s are the most recent number of patients with Covid-19 who are hospitalized or in an intensive care unit on that day. Dips and spikes could be due to inconsistent reporting by hospitals. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government. Tests represent the number of individual P.C.R. viral test specimens tested by laboratories and state health departments and reported to the federal government. Hospitalizations and tests are counted based on dates assigned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and are subject to historical revisions. Sources: State and local health agencies (cases, deaths); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hospitalizations); Centers for Disease Control and state governments (vaccinations); Census Bureau (population and demographic data). The daily average is calculated with data that was reported in the last seven days. Hospitalized for each county shows the average number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized per 100,000 residents within any hospital service areas that intersect with the county and is updated once a week. Vaccination data is not available for some counties. All-time charts show data from Jan. 21, 2020 to present. This table is sorted by places with the most cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days. Statewide data often updates more frequently than county-level data, and may not equal the sum of county-level figures. Charts show change in daily averages and are each on their own scale. Pennsylvania typically releases new data each day. Weekend counts may be lower because fewer sources report to the state. About the data In data for Pennsylvania, The Times primarily relies on reports from the state, as well as health districts or county governments that often report ahead of the state. Pennsylvania typically releases new data each day. Weekend counts may be lower because fewer sources report to the state. The state reports cases and deaths based on a persons permanent or usual residence. The Times has identified reporting anomalies or methodology changes in the data. More about reporting anomalies or changes Feb. 8, 2022: Pennsylvania removed more than 4,000 previously reported cases across many counties. Pennsylvania removed more than 4,000 previously reported cases across many counties. Nov. 13, 2021: Pennsylvania added 15,414 cases from previous months representing people who were infected twice. Pennsylvania added 15,414 cases from previous months representing people who were infected twice. Nov. 10, 2021: Pennsylvania added 1,667 cases from previous months representing Philadelphia residents who were infected twice. Pennsylvania added 1,667 cases from previous months representing Philadelphia residents who were infected twice. Nov. 1, 2021: Pennsylvania was unable to release new data because of a technical issue. Pennsylvania was unable to release new data because of a technical issue. Jan. 29, 2021: Pennsylvania added a backlog of more than 4,000 cases identified through antigen testing. Pennsylvania added a backlog of more than 4,000 cases identified through antigen testing. April 16, 2020: The total case number includes lab-confirmed and probable cases starting around April 16. The tallies on this page include probable and confirmed cases and deaths. Confirmed cases and deaths, which are widely considered to be an undercount of the true toll, are counts of individuals whose coronavirus infections were confirmed by a molecular laboratory test. Probable cases and deaths count individuals who meet criteria for other types of testing, symptoms and exposure, as developed by national and local governments. Governments often revise data or report a single-day large increase in cases or deaths from unspecified days without historical revisions, which can cause an irregular pattern in the daily reported figures. The Times is excluding these anomalies from seven-day averages when possible. For agencies that do not report data every day, variation in the schedule on which cases or deaths are reported, such as around holidays, can also cause an irregular pattern in averages. The Times uses an adjustment method to vary the number of days included in an average to remove these irregularities. CAOIMHE Spain, a student at Colaiste Naomh Cormac Kilcormac, has been chosen as runner up in the ActionTalks final this year, which is national speech writing competition run by ActionAid, open to all students aged 14 to 17 year olds. After being chosen from over 130 entrants, and then winning the regional finals, six students delivered their speeches in historic Woodquay Dublin last week to a panel of expert judges. It was the first in person final of the competition since 2019. Caoimhe displayed great skill and clarity in conveying their message across to the audience, and their passion for Vaccine Inequity was something to be admired. Caoimhe was awarded with the prize of 50 One4All voucher as runner up. Judges on the day were: CEO of AkiDwA, which is a national network of migrant women living in Ireland, Dr Salome Mbugua; former MEP and Lord Mayor of Dublin and current Policy & Advocacy Manager with the Irish Development Education Association Emer Costello; Assistant General Secretary with the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and Board Member with ActionAid Ireland Moira Leydon; and Programme Coordinator with ActionAid Ireland Erick Onduru from Kenya. The competition, now in its eighth year, aims to engage young people with global issues, including gender equality and sustainable development, and challenging them to use their voice to create positive change. This year the competition focused on vaccine inequity globally, unpaid care work and violence against women. ActionAid provides long term support and focuses on the human rights of women and children in developing countries, so they can overcome the obstacles holding them back. The approach is to empower local women to take control over their own lives. Irish Aid, Department of Foreign Affairs, funds an ActionAid Womens Rights programme in Kenya, Nepal and Ethiopia. They use this funding to work with marginalised communities in an effort to prevent gender-based violence and support women gain an independent income. CEO of ActionAid Ireland Karole Balfe said: The standard and quality of the speeches submitted in this years competition was incredible. We were delighted to see so many students across the country take part this year and share their views on global issues so articulately, and with such passion. It was truly inspiring, and I can safely say, I feel hopeful for the future with these young people! You can read more about the ActionAid Womens Rights programme at https://actionaid.ie/womens-rights-programme/ 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. The Ukrainian president is rejecting Russian deadlines to surrender key cities to halt the military invasion. In an interview.. Rumble 24 Mar 2022 The head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said in his Easter sermon that the UK's plan to send some asylum.. euronews 17 Apr 2022 Yggdrasil adds the RNG Casino Provider of The Year Award to its Trophy Case Published April 16, 2022 by Florin P Yggdrasil wins the second accolade in 2022, as it claims the RNG Casino Provider of The Year Award at the prestigious International Gaming Awards. Yggdrasils remarkable achievements in 2021 were acknowledged by the judges at the International Gaming Awards 2022. The software developer was nominated in the category of RNG Casino Provider of The Year and emerged victoriously. The jury had a difficult mission, given the quality of the nominees, but decided that Yggdrasil fully deserves the award. Excellence in Product Development Yggdrasil is famous for providing top games to online casinos, so its nomination for the RNG Casino Provider of The Year made perfect sense. The award celebrates the achievements of companies that provide excellence and innovation in product development. A mix of experience, attention to the needs of gamers, and the high return to the player were the ingredients in the recipe for success. This approach has yielded solid results over the years and established Yggdrasil as one of the best in the industry. Several of the biggest names in online casino software developers were nominated for a prize at the International Gaming Awards. The event was held at the Savoy Hotel in London and brought together the most accomplished casinos and suppliers. Yggdrasil is one of the companies that make frequent appearances at the awards and it walked away with a prize in each of the last six years. The winning streak is impressive but not surprising, given the efforts they put into their products. A Celebration of GATI Technology Yggdrasil provides its partners in the online casino industry with easy-to-implement and intuitive tools that maximize the players satisfaction. The advanced GATI technology is a shining example of a tool that enables players to deliver a preconfigured and standardized solution. It has a two-pronged effect, as it provides players with access to the finest games while casinos can quickly deliver top content. Yggdrasil Gaming CEO Fredrik Elmqvist reveled at the news that the company won another award in the significant event. The RNG Casino Provider of The Year Award is one of the most important categories at the International Gaming Awards. It celebrates innovation and the reliable use of mechanics and mathematics in the development of state-of-the-art games. The GATI platform has delivered all that and it is the cornerstone of the companys success that led to this prestigious award. Top Yggdrasil Gaming Casinos HAMPTON, S.C. (AP) Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend. The shootings in South Carolina and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded. No one was reported killed in the violence at Caras Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. In Pittsburgh, two male youths were killed and at least eight people wounded when shots were fired during a party at a short-term rental property. The vast majority of the hundreds of people at the party were underage, the city's Police Chief Scott Schubert told reporters. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified the two victims as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17. Investigators believe there were multiple shooters, and Schubert said police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home. The two shootings come just a day after gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Sunday's nightclub shooting. Nine people were shot, and five people sustained other kinds of injuries while trying to flee the scene at the Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. None faced life-threatening injuries. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. The only person arrested in the mall shooting so far is Jewayne M. Price, 22, one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest. Price's attorney, Todd Rutherford, told news outlets Sunday that his client fired a gun at the mall, but in self-defense. Rutherford said Price faces a charge of unlawfully carrying a pistol because he legally owned his gun but did not have a permit to carry a weapon. Columbia police said on Twitter that a judge agreed Sunday to let Price leave jail on a $25,000 surety bond. He was to be on house arrest with an ankle monitor, police said. It was unprovoked by him. He called the police, turned himself in, turned over the firearm that was used in this, and gave a statement to the Columbia Police Department, Rutherford said, according to WMBF-TV. That is why he got a $25,000 bond. Police said the judge will allow Price to travel from home to work during certain hours each day. Price is forbidden from contacting the victims and anyone else involved in the shooting. South Carolina residents age 21 or older can get a weapons permit, which as of last year allows them to carry weapons openly or concealed. They must have eight hours of gun training and pass a background check that includes fingerprinting. The three Easter weekend mass shootings are in addition to other gun violence in recent days. Last week, a gunman opened fire in a New York subway car, wounding 10 people. A suspect was arrested the next day. Earlier this month, six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy downtown area just blocks from the state Capitol. One week ago, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. And last month, 10 people were shot at a spring break party in Dallas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire. LAKE COUNTY In the article, "Recalling the Kaleva Bank Robbery," printed Jan. 31 in the Manistee News Advocate, readers learned about one of the biggest manhunts in western Michigan, occurring Jan. 5, 1933, with vigilante forces and police officers perusing four bandits who robbed the Kaleva Bank and left a bank cashier dead. While a few readers have asked for a follow up, one reader, David Oros, who grew up in Kent County, reached out to share what he knew about the bank robbery from one of the four bandits himself. When Oros read the article and saw the picture of three of the bandits who were arrested in the Colfax Swamp in Oceana County, a flood of memories came back when he recognized Elmer "Mike" Zellers in the photo. From being captured in that cold icy swamp in 1933, exhausted and hungry with frozen, swollen feet, time had "worked on" and warmed the heart of Zellers, who a little more than three decades later became a very positive influence in young Oros's life, leading him in a good direction. 'Mike kept me out of trouble' Oros was 13-years-old, living at a residence on Fulton and Lake Drive in the Grand Rapids area, when Zellers (about 60 years old), answered an ad for caretaker in August 1967. At that time, Zellers had been out of prison for four years, working different jobs, after serving 32 years from the original 60-year sentence at the state prison in Marquette. "Mike got out of prison after 32 years, and had changed a lot in that time," Oros said. "He had a fishing pole and would take me fishing on his day off. If it weren't for him taking me fishing I probably never would have been fishing. Mike kept me out of trouble. He told of how he went from stealing candy as a kid, to robbery, which cost him time in prison. He made me promise to never get in trouble. " Oros talked about how Zellers became a trustee in prison after a while, and helped with tasks such as working with clothes and operating the sewing machine. "I would skip school and went from home to home. Having Mike in my life kept me out of trouble," Oros said. Oros would spend a lot of time at the duplex Zellers rented on Wealthy and Henry streets. He remembers Mike's baby blue Chevy Truck, a station wagon, and how he rode motorcycles. With the bond of friendship that formed between Oros and Zellers, the reformed man would confide to young Oros some of the details about the robbery, including how on the bandits trail of crime from Indiana all the way up to Manistee, a man also was shot in Grandville by the same bandit who later killed the bank cashier (Ellsworth Billman) in Manistee. "I am probably the only one who knew this, Mike told me a guy also was shot in Grandville. The one who pulled the trigger also deliberately shot the guy in Kaleva. Mike told me everything. No guy bumped into the clerk and the trigger went off. He killed before," Oros said, pointing out how Billman's death certificate indicated he was shot in the heart, and the cause of death was labeled as murder. Zellers told Oros that the bandit who was shot by the farmer during the manhunt was the actual one who pulled the trigger. Zellers also said the stolen money (more than $2,000) was buried in the Colfax Swamp. When officers were narrowing in on the three bandits, they used their hands to dig and bury the money. "I was the only friend Mike had after he got out of prison. He said if he had life to do over, this wouldn't have happened. Not because he sat in prison, but because he regretted the kind of life he had. He felt just as responsible as the trigger guy. He felt bad for the victims' families. "When Mike's parents died, he only knew because the prison guard told him. He wasn't sure on the whereabouts of his siblings. He said he hurt three families: the family of the guy in Grandville, the family of the guy in Manistee and his own family. At one time he wanted to say sorry to the people he victimized, but the courts said to never contact any of the people at all. He said there will be a judgement some day for him. He did turn out OK, but what he did wasn't right. He never got held on anything else." Oros said, as a smoker, Zellers ended up on oxygen, and for better treatment became a resident at a nursing home on Leonard Street in Crestview in Wyoming. Zellers died on March 26, 1974, at the age of 70, and is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Grand Rapids. "I was the only friend he had. I used to visit him all the time at the nursing home. He knew he was dying, During our last conversation, he held my hand and made me promise him to never get in trouble and I never did. It brings tears to my eyes," Oros said, reflecting on all the good times they had. "God has blessed me with a pretty good life. I am 67 now, and am in Puerto Rico. Mike was really good to me. If it was not for him, I would probably be in jail. I was skipping school, and in foster homes. Mike was there to help me," Oros said, mentioning how he was able to give back during recovery of one of the worst hurricanes in Puerto Rice shortly after he arrived there. "Life went fast for me, riding motorcycles and traveling different places. I had kind of a rough childhood, but I turned out OK. I met President Ford in East Grand Rapids, once," Oros said, describing how Ford had a rough start to childhood. "You can be really, really poor, but end up with a really good life. What happened to me? I have a really good life." Oros said he is hoping to travel back to Michigan in June to see old school friends. The aftermath Here is a quick summery of the victim and bandits. Ellsworth Billman, the 51-year-old bank cashier who was shot and killed at the Kaleva holdout, had four pastors pay tribute to him at his funeral at the Finnish Lutheran Church. There was standing room only at the church, which seated 1,000 people, according to the Northport Leader. The procession was led by the Michigan State Police, and interment was in the Oakwood Cemetery in Traverse City. During sentencing of the four bandits, they were each given a 60-year-term by Honorable Hal Cutler, who criticized the state for its lack of capital punishment. The Northport Leader, Jan. 12, 1933, reported him saying, "It is almost as great a crime as they committed, that the state should be required to keep them for the rest of their lives." Robert Veneman: Released before the 60-year-term, and died Feb. 10, 1994, in Muncie, Indiana. Henry Shelton: Escaped from prison in 1949. Before midnight Sept. 17, 1949, he and another man hijacked a vehicle and kidnapped an electrical worker, in Amasa, Michigan, and traveled to Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana stealing three more vehicles, threatening each owner with a knife. He was apprehended June 23, 1950 by FBI agents. He drew a .45 caliber automatic weapon on agents during the arrest, and they shot and wounded him. He was incarcerated the remainder of his life. Wayne Robinson (alias Wayne Thompson): a former stone cutter from Bloomington, Indiana, turned bandit, was shot by a farmer during the manhunt. At the time of publication, newspaper reports stated it was thought there was little chance of survival. More research determined he did survive. He was arraigned Feb. 17, after being hospitalized from his wound. In 1940, he is recorded in the census at Marquette Prison. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The military and political tension in Libya, exacerbated by the existence of two rival governments unable to resolve their differences, risks plunging the country into a new armed confrontation Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) A mom said that she had difficulty with the hospitals' rooming-in policy when she gave birth to her baby as she had no one to help with the baby. While the rooming-in ensures that the baby has ready access to the mom for breastfeeding and provides skin-to-skin contact, the policy is strenuous for moms who need rest after giving birth. According to Today's Parents, while many moms commend the practice of making sure the baby learns to breastfeed, other moms have mixed experiences. Rooming-in Policy Rooming-in is one of the policies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to meet breastfeeding goals worldwide. The recommendation is Step 7 in Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (Ten Steps) by WHO and UNICEF, which stipulates "rooming-in" at hospitals for at least 24 hours to encourage mothers and newborns to remain together during their hospital stay. The practice is recommended for healthy, full-term infants receiving routing care regardless of the feeding method, as per the National Center for Library Information (NCBI). The steps also include training staff to help mothers breastfeed, not giving the babies pacifiers, encouraging feeding on demand, and doing skin to skin after birth. Hospitals that follow the 10-steps are certified as "baby-friendly hospitals." Hospitals with baby-friendly certifications refuse money from formula companies, avoid advertising formula to patients, and cannot offer formula milk to babies unless medically necessary. Read Also: Woman Pressured to Get C-Section Shares Ordeal While Giving Birth Night two phenomenon However, for some moms, the rooming-in policies were quite an ordeal. Vanessa Milne said her first night with her baby was a breeze. She was induced and gave birth 15 hours after. Her baby latched and snuggled on her quickly. She thought things would be easy the next day. However, she did not know about the "night two phenomenon" when the baby becomes more alert and is quite adjusting that he is out of the warm, snug womb. The baby would incessantly cry, seeking comfort and milk. However, in some cases, milk has not come in yet for moms making the babies more distracted. Meanwhile, the mom is tired from less sleep and the birthing labor she went through. Milne said she kept swaying after one to two hours and decided to walk to the nursing station to hand off the baby. However, she was sent back with a swaddle. Mom not in good condition Ally Glyndon had a c-section because her baby was breech. After birth, she had a violent reaction to the spinal block that doctors gave to her. She said she had difficulty breastfeeding, and nurses encouraged her to walk up every two hours to express her colostrum. She later found out that the baby was tongue-tied, making nursing difficult. The mom had a low milk supply and Reynaud's syndrome, making nursing a painful experience. She was stressed out as the baby was hungry, and she felt she had to beg for formula milk for the baby. More relaxed practices and a nursery for babies In 2016 JAMA Pediatrics publication wrote concerns raised by pediatrician Joel Bass about the unexpected consequences of rigidly enforced baby-friendly practices. Bass recommends that every hospital have a nursery for healthy babies so moms can rest. He also suggests offering a small amount of formula in the early days as it would not likely impact breastfeeding success. Bass also argues that newer evidence shows that pacifiers do not interfere with breastfeeding and may even encourage it. While breastfeeding is the best for babies, looking after the mom's mental and physical well-being is also essential, the Hiltrud Dawson, a nurse and lactation consultant, also cites. Related Article: 4 Reasons Why Women Chose Not to Get Married Two Ghanaians have died while three others are in critical condition after armed robbers attacked five tomato importing vehicles at Tambolo near Dakota in Burkina Faso and about half a mile from the Ghana border at Paga. The five vehicles were on their way from Ghana to Burkina Faso to buy tomatoes when the armed men attacked and shot at them sporadically killing one instantly at about 1900 hours, Saturday, April 16, 2022. The other passed on shortly after arriving at the War Memorial Hospital in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, where the injured persons are currently receiving medical attention. Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr David Fianko-Okyere, Public Relations Officer, Upper East Regional Police Command, who confirmed the accident to the Ghana News Agency, said the injured were responding to treatment, while the bodies of the deceased have also been deposited at the morgue of the hospital for preservation. ASP Fianko-Okyere who could not give details investigation into the matter was ongoing. We still trying to get in contact with authorities in Burkina Faso to know the report that was sent there so that we can get more information, he said. According to one of the drivers, Mr Kofi Nti, the armed robbers shot at their vehicles compelling them to halt movement and this led to the robbers driving out all the traders and demanding they surrounded all their monies to them which they did. But the armed robbers who were heard speaking twi demanded more and subjected all the women traders to severe beatings, severely injuring three, he added. They also shot through the windscreen and killed one instantly, while the other who died afterwards sustained severe injuries and was bleeding profusely. The traders said the armed robbers numbering about seven fled on motorbikes after the attack. Nana Yaa, one of the traders told GNA that her sister was the person who died instantly after the armed robbers shot at them through the windscreen. She, apart from losing a relative and receiving beatings, also lost CFA 870,000.00 Madam Sophia Nsiah, another trader told GNA that she lost all the CFA 90,000.00 that she was sending to buy her goods to the armed robbers. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Roads in cocoa growing areas in the Western-North Region have seen a major boost under Year of the Roads project touted by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. As a result, cocoa farmers can cart their farm produce to the Produce Buying Company (PBC) on time. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr.Joseph Boahene Aidoo said this when he inspected works on the 38km Benchema-Adjoafua road. The CEO of COCOBOD said that stretch of road was the heart of the cocoa industry and would be completed in no time. He said the US$43 project was funded by COCOBOD and the Government of Ghana and commended the Amandi Construction Works for the quality of work and the solid layer used to asphalt the road. He said reports from drivers of long trucks loaded with cocoa found it difficult to climb the hills on the serpentine portion of the road in the past. "As a result, bad boys used to climb the trucks to offload the cocoa as the trucks moved slowly in trying to climb the hills which is now a thing of the past". The CEO said construction of a steel bridge at Bia which used to be narrow, was underway and would be completed in the coming months. Mr Aidoo said the government had done well in terms of roads and rejuvenated cocoa farms and assured cocoa growing areas of witnessing unprecedented construction works on their roads in the coming months. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Volta River Authority (VRA) is to deploy drones to monitor and police the Akosombo Dam from encroachers as people have built hospitality facilities close to the upstream of the Dam into the Volta River. Mr Andreas Andoh, VRA Officer, Environment and Sustainable Development Department disclosed that although the authority had a quarterly monitoring mechanism, the encroachers managed to outwit the team. Mr Andoh stated this at a workshop organised by VRA at the Ada East District Assembly on Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP). He noted that deploying the drones would enable the authority to deal with the encroachers and protect the dam from selfish individuals and groups from exposing the dam to danger. Last year, we identified some communities from where people invaded areas VRA have fully planted and established dense forest to protect the dam. These invaders destroyed the vegetation to construct a hotel, Mr Andoh said. He mentioned that a task force had been constituted to engage the residents along the dams catchment area and to deal with the encroachers. Mr Andoh explained that the Authority had concluded with the entity to monitor with drones and was awaiting clearance adding that, we are anticipating that by June, we should have our first flight. He said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated the VRA to protect the Volta Lake against siltation so that the users of the water would not have any adverse effects. Mr Andoh said the Authority also engaged the Forestry Commission to establish within the gorge area a 10- hectare bamboo demarcation zone adding that, the EMP exceeded most of the tasks given to them. All that we want to achieve is to ensure that we can tell people that, if you want to do anything within the gorge, yes you can but in this particular area you cannot encroach it, he said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Joseph Boahene Aiddo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has appealed to traditional rulers to stamp their authority to uproot the galamsey menace especially in Cocoa growing areas of the country. According to him, galamsey activities continued to wreak havoc on cocoa farms, which was taking a toll on the Cocoa industry. Mr Boahene Aidoo was addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Suaman-Dadieso when he led officials of COCOBOD to visit the KUMAD Global Impact Ltd and Afarinick company Ltd. Planting Seedling Nursery Site for COCOBOD Rehabilitation Project at Suaman-Dadieso in the Western -North cocoa Region. He said as custodians of the land, traditional authorities wielded more power and owed it a sacred duty to conserve, preserve and protect the land from all forms of degradation. Mr Aidoo bemoaned that many of the cocoa farmlands had been depleted with the indiscriminate cutting of cocoa trees for galamsey activities. The CEO said: Of much concern to COCOBOD, was the wanton pollution of river bodies and land degradation. Mr Aidoo said COCOBOD was yet to roll out an irrigation system of farming and farmers cannot rely on polluted streams with all the toxin to irrigate their farmlands. He said there had been a considerable decline of cocoa production in the Western-North cocoa Region which used to produce a chunk of cocoa in Ghana and COCOBOD was moving heaven and earth with major innovative interventions to reverse the trend. The Chief of Suaman-Dadieso, Nana Kofi Armah lauded the efforts of COCOBOD to streamline issues in the cocoa industry to boost production. He admitted that the galamsey menace had become a source of worry to farmers in the Western-North Region. The Chief lauded Mr Aidoo for holding the key to the future of the cocoa industry in Ghana and appealed to COCOBOD to release money given to cocoa farmers on time. Nana Armah stressed the need for an irrigation system to irrigate cocoa farmlands all year round. On the shortage of fertilizers and the use of faeces of fowls, the Chief suggested to COCOBOD to set up a poultry farm to use the faeces as fertilizer on cocoa farms. The traditional ruler acknowledged that the Plantain Seedlings Nursery, which would feed cocoa farms, had given employment to a sizeable number of youths in the area. Nana Armah lauded the efforts of Mr Aidoo, adding that when the history of the cocoa industry is revisited, he would stand tall with Tetteh Quarshie, who introduced cocoa into the country. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Apostle General of the Royal House Chapel International, Reverend Sam Korankye Ankrah says the passing of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills' son is heartbreaking. He, however, sent a message of condolences to his colleague man of God and his family. The first son of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills was reported dead on Friday, April 15, 2022, after a short illness. He reportedly died in the United State at age 31. It is with deep regret and great sorrow that we announce the sudden passing away of David Heward-Mills, after a short illness. David was the first son of our Founder and Presiding Bishop. The church said in a statement In a social media post, Sunday, Rev. Korankye Ankrah described the development as heartbreaking. He prayed for his colleague and prophesied over his life. His post on Facebook read: This news about Dr David Heward-Mills is heartbreaking, especially for my friend Bishop Dag and his wife Adelaide. My wife, children and our entire church extend our sincere condolences to the family and the entire UD-OLGC (Lighthouse) family. We pray for Grace and fortitude in this difficult moment. God will heal. God will restore. The next phase of your life and ministry will be greater than before. The body of Christ stands with you, my brother. We pray for Grace and fortitude in this difficult moment. God will heal. God will restore. The next phase of your life and ministry will be greater than before. The body of Christ stands with you, my brother. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A book documenting the divisional stools, the paramountcy of Kwahu and a historical account of lineage in the Kwahu area of the Eastern Region has been launched as part of the 2022 Easter Kwahu festivities. The rationale behind chronicling the lineage and succession is to help identify the rightful royals to ascend divisional stools and ultimately help do away with chieftaincy disputes in the Kwahu Traditional Area. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Saturday [April 16, 2022] launched the 2000-paged book entitled Kwahu State Book. The compilation of the book was based on the findings of the Ghana State Book Project which gives vivid account of successions to the various stools in the country of which the National House of Chiefs, Centre for National Culture and the Bureau of Ghana Languages made inputs. At the durbar to officially launch the the new book at Mpraeso on Saturday, President Akufo-Addo said most of Ghana's security challenges were due to chieftaincy disputes and mentioned some of such challenges as the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute. According to him, the launch of the voluminous Kwahu State Book would help to avert chieftaincy disputes in the Kwahu Traditional Area. Chieftaincy disputes costly The President said since he became the Head of State a lot of money had been spent on the settlement of chieftaincy disputes. He explained that the book would ensure that only rightful royals would be made chiefs and therefore urged various factions to take note and make good use of the book. "Let's do away with chieftaincy related disputes and misunderstanding among each other and forge ahead in unity to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Kwahu Traditional Area", the President indicated. The Kwahu State Book The Paramount Chief of Kwahu, Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, said the Kwahu State Book is the first edition of the historical data and cultural practices among others of towns and villages including the migration pattern of constituents from various places to Kwahu. He stated that the book would be subjected to proper reviews as and when its contents were to be updated. Daasebre Agyapong indicated that the original records which were collected from all corners of Kwahu were subjected to further investigations and authentication or otherwise by a Review Committee comprising three members from the Kwahu Traditional Council including the Registrar and a member each from the National House of Chiefs, Ghana Tourism Authority, Bureau of Ghana Languages, National Commission on Culture and the Daasebre Development Advisory Board with the Coordinator from the Ghana State Book Project as Chairman. He noted that the Review Committee which met the rank and file of Kwahus for several months did a good job and had to be commended. Portuguese era Giving the historical account of Kwahus, the Paramount Chief stressed that the Kwahu Kingdom was in existence long before the 17th century and that, during the Portuguese era in the 16th and 17th centuries, Kwahu was already in existence. Daasebre Agyapong intimated that, it was therefore not surprising that the Gold Coast map of 1629 by the Portuguese captured two Kwahu settlements. Reference material He emphasized that the book which could pass for a reference material for academics, researchers, lawyers, members of Judicial Committees and the general public was expected to address chieftaincy related conflict and others which unnecessarily cost litigation factions, time, huge sums of money and property that could otherwise go into supporting development. Lineage succession The President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohuo Yaw Gyebi II, praised the Kwahus for documenting their traditional and culture especially lineage succession that would help avoid chieftaincy crisis. Next generation The President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Nene Sakite II indicated that the book would make it possible for Kwahus in the next generation to know what the Kwahus truly stand for. He urged all traditional councils to emulate the Kwahu example. Earlier, the Coordinator of the Ghana State Book Project, Isaac Bright Botwe said similar books detailing lineage succession had already been launched in Awutu in 2012, Techiman, 2014, Offinso, 2016, Ahafo Hwiediem, 2017 while that of Tepa would soon follow. According to him, each of the state books had been divided into 14 sections, each dealing with peculiar issues relating to chieftaincy disputes. Present at the event included traditional authorities and other dignitaries such as the Omanhene of Asante Akyem Domeabra, Baffour Owusu Bediako who represented the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Seth Kwame Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister, Julius Debrah, Former Chief of Staff and representative of former President, John Dramani Mahama, members of the Council of State, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Municipal and District Chief Executives and Kwahu indigenes both in Ghana and the diaspora. Source: Graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has warned the NPP government about the path it is using the judiciary against them. He says the party will go for a review of the Supreme Court ruling that bars their Member of Parliament for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself an MP. Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that there are rules and as government you cannot decide to bend those rules in your own favour. "But for us in the NDC there are questions on our mind that need answers, and so we will not let things go just like that," he said. According to him just like what the National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah said, the judiciary ought to thread cautiously and not act like a rubber stamp. They should work to ensure fairness and not seem to be working for any political party. But like I said they are chatting an indelible path that cannot be erased Supreme Court ruling on Assin North MP Case The Supreme Court has, in a majority 5-2 decision, ruled that Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, can no longer perform Parliamentary duties. This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court. A Cape Coast High Court in July, 2021 nullified the election of Mr Quayson after it found he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls. Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency who filed this election petition in January, 2022, initiated another action at the Supreme Court. He urged the Court to give effect to the Cape Coast High Court Judgement and prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP. Watch video below Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected] 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 Former President John Mahama has described the Supreme Court (SC) decision against the Member of Parliament for Assin North constituency, James Gyakye Quayson as "a travesty of justice" He said to restrain the MP from representing his constituency is "an affront to our democracy" SC ruling The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that James Gyakye Quayson cannot act as the MP for his constituency until the determination of the substantive case filed against him. The Apex Court by a 5:2 majority ruling said The application succeeds. The MP is restrained from holding himself as MP for Assin North and restrained from attending Parliament to conduct business on behalf of the people of Assin North. The restriction remains until the final determination of the substantive matter. We direct that the case hearing be expedited However, the former President in a post on social media said: "I cannot understand how an MP can be restrained from carrying out his duties when the substantive case to give finality to the question of his legitimacy has not been determined". "Or is it the case that the outcome of the substantive case has been predetermined against him? The representation of the people is at the heart of our democracy. Any decision that denies the citizenry of representation is a travesty of justice and an affront to our democracy," he added. 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 Residents of Assin North in the Central Region have expressed concern about the ruling of the Supreme Court over their Member of Parliaments citizenship. According to them, they will not vote for any other candidate, be it from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or his National Democratic Congress (NDC), in case a by-election is called. They are demanding that he returns to contest and take back his seat. Speaking to Media Generals Thomas Vincent Cann a few moments after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, April 13 that James Gyakye Quayson cannot hold himself as MP for Assin North until a case against him at the Cape Coast High Court is completed, residents said they are saddened by the outcome. We saw a lot of good things in the man that he will come and help Assin North, an elderly woman by name Akua Ataa said. We knew he was going to do good things for us so we massively voted for him and he won. Even it was President Akufo-Addos fault that he did not get his documents on time because [the president] shut the borders in the peak of the coronavirus. She added: We are not going to vote if [Gyakye Quayson] is not made to stand even if the candidate comes from NDC, we wont vote. Another resident, Quashigah Simon, popularly known as Rasta, said the barred MP embarked upon several projects which endeared him to the constituents and not only NDC folks. He said Mr Gyakye Quayson provided over 1,000 street lights and started enrolling street kids into schools to fulfill a promise of sending 500 of the children back to school. This told us that politicians who had stayed outside the country are more honest. The man is loved all over. Meanwhile, the NDC has hinted at returning Mr Gyakye Quayson as its candidate in case a by-election is held. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The embattled member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has hinted at a return to Parliament to discharge her duties. In a post on social media, Adwoa Safo intimated that she has a social contract with her constituents and will come to Ghana at the right time to advance their interest in Parliament. Adwoa Safo said she is not unaware of the promises she made to her constituents and the country will always fight for their interest. "I wont stay in the USA forever. I have a social contract with the good people of Dome-Kwabenya which I consider sacrosanct. In good time, I will be back to continue the good work we have done in the constituency and ably represent their interest and aspiration in the august House of Parliament, she shared. Adwoa Safo was responding to an activist of the New Patriotic Party who had opined that Adwoa Safo was holding the party to ransom. Adwoa Safo explained to the user with the name Domprehba Kwame that she is not unaware of her position in the party and will not assume that she is bigger than the party. She also commended the user for promoting the works of the party on social media. I truly admire your zeal for our dear party. Been following your exploits on Facebook. Keep up the good work." Indeed the NPP is bigger than any individual but again, it is these individuals who make up the party. Let us learn to know before we pass judgement," she posted. Adwoa Safo and two other MPs on the majority side have been referred to the Privileges Committee for not missing fifteen sitting days of Parliament. On April 5, 2022, Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, ordered the aforementioned committee to probe the alleged absenteeism of Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong of Assin Central, and Henry Quartey of Ayawaso Central. The Speaker's direction has however been challenged by the Muntaka Mubarak who is the Chief Whip of the Minority caucus. Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Russia has banned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior UK ministers from entering Russia over the UK's "hostile" stance towards Russia on the war in Ukraine. The UK government has been very critical towards Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and has sent millions of pounds and thousands of military aid to Ukraine which has helped stave off the Russian military's assault. Russia announced on Saturday, April 16, that UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other members of the Cabinet have been barred from the country. Moscow said the decision was made in retaliation to the UK's sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said: "London's unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy" were responsible for its decision. It added: "In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of Nato." The full list of UK politicians banned by Russia include; -Prime Minister Boris Johnson -Foreign Secretary Liz Truss -Defence Secretary Ben Wallace -Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab -Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps -Home Secretary Priti Patel -The Chancellor Rishi Sunak -Minister of Entrepreneurship, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng -Minister of Digitalization, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey -First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon -Attorney General for England and Wales and advocate general for -Northern Ireland Suella Braverman Conservative MP and former British Prime Minister Theresa May The move comes after the UK and US governments announced further sanctions on Russia this week. 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 caribou moves through the Algar region of northeastern Alberta in a September 2017 handout photo. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeaults ultimatum to the Quebec government on caribou protection is a sign Ottawa is losing patience with provinces that arent upholding their responsibility to protect wildlife, experts say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-University of British Columbia, Cole Burton, *MANDATORY CREDIT* A man seeking a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives has been certified to run but may not be eligible for the office. South Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Jay Parmley said the party certified House District 82 Democratic candidate Brian Doyle on April 5 after asking him, as they do all candidates, whether he was eligible or not. He added Doyle confirmed he was eligible during the conversation and the party has no simple way of determining whether the candidate the party is certifying is eligible. Doyle, who is running against S.C. Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken, added Wednesday afternoon he had hired a lawyer who determined that he was eligible. Doyle is registered to vote in Aiken. The questions about Doyle's eligibility begin with a 2003 conviction related to Medicare fraud and the timing of a provision in the South Carolina Constitution that prevents people from filing to run for office until 15 years after they've served their sentences including probation and parole. Doyle said a man who owned a medical supply business and two doctors worked in the same building and could have been working to defraud Medicare. He said prosecutors wanted him to testify against the doctors but he refused because he didn't know enough about what the doctors were doing. "One of the things that the people of South Carolina and Aiken and Edgefield counties can look forward to is that I'm not a puppet," Doyle said. "You're not going to put something on paper and expect me to say it." Doyle said he was charged with failure to report Medicare fraud and obstruction of justice. A judgment in a criminal case form that Doyle filed when he was seeking to get out of prison in 2004 says Doyle was convicted of four counts of conspiracy to file false claims to Medicare and one count of making false statements or representations to Medicare. Doyle filed paperwork in 2004 saying he was named in 21 counts of a 2001 indictment, 12 counts were dismissed and he was acquitted of four counts. Doyle was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and restitution to Medicare in the amount of $503,762.89. Doyle said he was released from prison in late 2004. Later, when he was asked about his eligibility to run for office, Doyle said he was released from prison in March 2004. On Sept. 20, 2004, Doyle filed a habeas corpus and administrative procedure petition in South Carolina asking to be transferred to a community corrections center or home confinement by Jan. 26, 2005 to serve the remaining six months of his sentence. The court ultimately ruled this petition was moot because Doyle was transferred to a halfway house to serve the remainder of his sentence in the spring of 2005. Also, a 2005 court order says Doyle was released from prison on July 1, 2005. Doyle confirmed Wednesday afternoon that he had three years of supervised release (federal probation) after he was released from prison, meaning his supervised release would have ended in March 2007, late 2007 or July 1, 2008. If the supervised release ended in March 2007, Doyle would be eligible because he would have filed more than 15 years after he completed his sentence. If the supervised release ended in the fall of 2007 or on July 1, 2008, he would not be eligible because it would be less than 15 years since he completed his sentence. There is also a possibility that Doyle still owes restitution and this could also make him ineligible to run for the House District 82 seat. Doyle said he felt like he had completed paying the restitution he owed. He added he had paid it for quite a while and that two other people had been paying it. The judgment in a criminal case form says Doyle must pay $250 per month to Medicare to pay back the $503,762.89 he and one other defendant owe Medicare. The Aiken Standard reviewed the court records and did not locate any court order lowering or raising the amount Doyle owes in total or per month. Assuming the other defendant who owes the money was required to pay the same amount each month and that both have been paying since they were convicted in late February 2003, Doyle and the other defendant would still be required to pay $250 per month each for the next 64 years. A spokesman with the South Carolina Election Commission said the issue of federal restitution for a political candidate had never come up. The official added there was an attorney general's opinion on the issue of someone making restitution payments in state court was eligible to vote. He said that case was distinguished from Doyle's because sometimes state courts will convert the restitution to a civil matter which would make the potential voter eligible. The election official also said it is ultimately up to the party whose nomination the candidate seeks to certify the candidate is eligible for the election. Parmley said at this point the only option is for Clyburn to sue to remove Doyle from the ballot. In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP Adam Seger credits a family holiday visit during the COVID-19 lockdown with the idea to build one of the largest speculative warehouse projects in the Charleston region. "My wife's mother lives in West Ashley and we were visiting around Christmas in 2020 and my mother-in-law could tell I was bored," Seger, an executive with Indianapolis-based Pure Development, said during a groundbreaking event April 13 at the construction site off Interstate 26 near Summerville. "My mother-in-law was like, 'Get your butt out of the house,'" Seger said. "So, I went out and just got super enthused about everything that's going on at the port and the harbor deepening it seemed like a macro wave that it would be smart to get in front of." Seger reported his findings back to the home office in the Hoosier State and was told to start making offers on available land. Pure Development ultimately teamed up with Citimark Realty, paying $8.75 million a year ago for the 131-acre site at the Jedburg exit. The 1.1 million-square-foot Coastal Crossroads project is expected to attract a retail distributor that will move cargo from the Port of Charleston to an inland network of stores. It's one of just three speculative deals meaning no tenants have been secured at the time construction starts topping the 1 million-square-foot mark in the region. A surge in retail imports and the growing Southeast consumer market means there likely will be more in the near future. "The interest of companies wanting to locate in Charleston and South Carolina is only expanding," said Micah Mallace, senior vice president of marketing and sales for the S.C. State Ports Authority. Mallace said the port operator is fielding inquiries from some of the nation's largest retailers looking for storage and distribution space. "The pandemic really solidified the place of the giant retailers the Walmarts, Targets and Amazons it's really accelerated their pace of growth," he said. "It's a story of the 'bigs' getting bigger." And the big retailers need big buildings. "The market is still vibrant we're definitely seeing larger buildings than we've ever seen," said Bob Barrineau, senior vice president with the Charleston office of CBRE, the commercial real estate firm in charge of marketing the Coastal Crossroads property. Barrineau said he's seeing a mix of retail and manufacturing customers looking for space in the region, with the Volvo Cars plant in Ridgeville attracting attention from electric-vehicle suppliers like battery manufacturers. And they are wanting space quickly, with lead times of typically months instead of a year or two. "We're getting to the point where we can find out just how vibrant our market is with the big-box buildings," Barrineau said, adding he expects a 1.5 million-square-foot warehouse eventually will test the local market's strength. A report by Daniel Island-based Charleston Industrial shows that 5.1 million square feet of speculative warehouse construction is in the pipeline for 2022, and 85 percent of that space is expected to find a tenant before work wraps up. The report predates the start of construction of Coastal Crossroads and the announcement by Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial of a 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse the area's biggest to date planned for Palmetto Commerce Park in North Charleston. Interest in the Dalfen project "has been a lot more than we were hoping for and expecting, which is great," said Kevin Caille, the Texas developers Southeast market manager. A single e-commerce retailer is expected to fill that space, he said. All of that new construction is in addition to 1.9 million square feet of space that was leased during the first quarter of this year. "Shockingly, there is no existing 'Class A' space over 40,000 square feet available to be leased and occupied today anywhere in Charleston," said Mike White, broker in charge for Charleston Industrial. "Warehouse users will have to commit now but wait until (at least) the third quarter of 2022 to occupy their new warehouse space." Imported consumer goods continue to break records at the port, which moved 263,344 20-foot-long containers through its terminals in March the most in a single month and topping the previous high hit in November. Mallace, the maritime agency's marketing chief, said the flood of imports means more warehouse space is needed. "We have to be able to continue to develop more," he said. "If we don't want to run out of toilet paper and we want to continue buying gym equipment for the home which we've learned we're not going to use we have to have available buildings to do so." These are trying times for renters who have been facing double-digit rent hikes and a general lack of affordable places to live. Unfortunately, scammers thrive when times are tough. Social media sites have made it easy for unscrupulous schemers to pretend they have a place to rent. And then they vanish after collecting a security deposit or even the first month's rent. In some cases, scammers manage to gain access to vacant homes often houses going through the foreclosure process or apartments. And sometimes people actually move in, only to later learn they have no legal right to live there. Like most scams, none of this is new, but when people get desperate that's when scammers seem to pounce, and people trying to find an affordable rental these days in a hot real estate market like the Charleston area must be pretty desperate. Just last month Goose Creek Police warned that it was investigating "several" home rental scams. "Victims are responding to advertisements" they found on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, the department said. "The scammers are requesting payments for initial deposits and rental payments through services such as Venmo, Apple Pay, Cash App, and Zelle." The department warned that "in some cases the victims move into the properties" only to learn they'd been swindled and could expect to be evicted. A month earlier, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office issued a similar warning. So, what are warning signs of a rental scam? Here are some red flags to watch out for: The alleged landlord is unable or unwilling to meet in person to show the property. They might claim they're out of town or caring for a sick relative but they urge you to send them money for a deposit. The price is suspiciously low. Scammers will sometimes copy actual rental listings, then repost them with attention-getting cheap rates, after changing the contact information. In one brazen case in 2013, in Ridgeville, a woman who was renting a home posed as the owner and collected deposits and money from four separate would-be renters. The victims didn't realize they'd been tricked into parting with their hard-earned cash until they all showed up to move in on the same day April Fool's Day. Some other red flags: They want money but have not asked that a lease be signed. They want money to be wired. The Federal Trade Commission warns that wired funds can't be recovered. One precaution that potential renters can take is to look up a property. Simply Googling the address and the name of the purported landlord can help determine if there's anything fishy. Most counties also have online search tools that will show the legal owner of a property. Listings on Craigslist and Facebook, as the Goose Creek Police Department noted, should be treated with extra caution. A 2018 survey by apartmentlist.com found that more than 4 out of 10 people looking for rentals online encountered fake listings, and more than 9 percent of younger renters surveyed (18 to 29-year-olds) had lost money to real estate scam artists. Remember to be suspicious if something appears to be a suspiciously good deal. COLUMBIA Nine people were shot and five more injured when they were trampled by shoppers fleeing gunfire in a crowded Columbia shopping mall on the afternoon before Easter. Police arrested a 22-year-old man and are looking for at least two more suspects in connection with the shooting around 2 p.m. April 16 near the Gap clothing store inside Columbiana Centre. The shooting led to an evacuation of the popular mall packed with holiday weekend shoppers. The search for suspects led to closing roads around the Harbison area, snarling traffic in one of Columbia's major retail hubs. No motive was released in the mass shooting. Victims were treated at area hospitals. Five people suffered broken bones, cuts and head injuries while they were escaping from the mall, Columbia police said. No information was released on the wounds suffered by the shooting victims. The injured ranged in age from 15 to 73, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said. Only one victim, a 73-year-old woman, remained hospitalized, police said. All of the other victims were treated and released. Three people were initially detained by authorities, Holbrook said. Police said early April 17 that they released two of them after officers found they were not involved in the shooting. The third person, Jewayne M. Price, 22, was arrested on the charge of unlawful carrying of a pistol. More charges were expected, Columbia police said. Evidence indicated at least three people pulled out guns and two of them were fired, authorities said. Holbrook said the shooting was not random and involved some sort of ongoing conflict among the suspects. Law enforcement officers and paramedics swarmed the mall after 911 callers began reporting gunfire. Police shutdown roads in the surrounding area and evacuated the mall. Frightened shoppers who were able to escape the chaos inside the building sat in their vehicles or gathered in the parking lot. Authorities spent hours after the shooting checking the more than 100 stores in the mall for people. Employees and shoppers who hid during the shooting were told to wait for officers to escort them from the building 10 miles northwest of downtown Columbia. A Fairfield Inn hotel on Columbiana Drive was established as a center to reconnect people with loved ones after the shooting. Zrael Harrari, who owns Dragon's Breath ice cream shop in the mall's food court, said he was at a kiosk store when he heard 12 or 13 rapid gunshots. At first thought, he thought it was a terrorist attack, as people began sprinting for the exits. Harrari said he tried to help someone who had fallen before checking on his employees in the food court. Harrari said he saw several gunshot victims before police asked him to leave the mall. Taylor and Erin Logan said they were clothes shopping in Belk department store when people ran in reporting there was a shooting. "All of a sudden, everybody started freaking out," Erin Logan said. The mall announced on its website it was closed until further notice. Todays isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," Columbiana Centre said in a statement through police. "We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement. Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said the shooting was one of those events everyone prays never happens in their community and it was awful that people out shopping on the eve of Easter found themselves party to such a tragedy. "My thoughts are with those families, all the people who were there," the mayor said. Holbrook praised the response of mall staff and security during what he called a "very chaotic" situation. "Obviously it's unfortunate that we have to do this, but you can tell that the training and preparation paid off in this situation," the chief told reporters. Columbia police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call the department's investigators at (803) 545-3525. Pete Camelo was in his office meeting with colleagues when one of them got an alarming text: There was an active shooting at Tanglewood Middle School. Camelo is the director of the Greater Greenville Mental Health Center, and one of his department's 73 school counselors was stationed at the school. When Camelo got hold of the counselor, he was relieved to learn the therapist was locked down with others in a guidance counselors office. More updates trickled in. Camelo learned that when it was safe to do so, the school would be taking students to the local Brookwood Church to reconnect them with families. Hearing that, he and the colleagues in his office rushed to the church. Camelo didnt know exactly how theyd be needed, but he knew they could help. The Greenville County School District's response to the March 31 shooting has been so streamlined largely thanks to pre-existing partnerships with community groups like churches, nonprofits and other government agencies such as Greater Greenville Mental Health. When it comes to his department and the district, they're so entwined, Camelo said, there was no pause to wait for a formal ask. They trust what we do, Camelo said. Greenville County has leaned hard on those relationships in the days since 12-year-old Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson was shot and killed by a classmate at the school. No school ever wants to be in this situation, Camelo said. But when faced with it, he said, the coordinated response seen in Greenville over the past two weeks is the right way to approach it and is a model for other districts to follow. 'Open your doors' Tanglewood Middle sits at the far east of Greenville County in one of its poorest ZIP codes. Nearly all of the schools roughly 800 students are living in poverty. Many have experienced trauma and other adverse childhood experiences that can undermine a childs sense of safety and stability. Those are problems a school cant solve alone. Schools have to be open and collaborative, former Tanglewood Principal Edward Anderson preached in a 2019 TEDx Talk. Without partnerships, they will quickly exhaust their own limited resources. You have to be willing to open your doors and allow others to assist you, Anderson said. To tell if a student is struggling, Greenville County has long looked at three measures as a sort of early warning system: attendance, behavior and grades. When one or more start to slip, intervention teams get involved to try to get children back on track. Thats the standard of care at all of the countys schools. But Tanglewood whose motto is it takes a village is one of six schools along a high-poverty stretch of U.S. Highway 25 that get extra support through a United Way-led community partnership called OnTrack Greenville. The result is a bevy of resources that would be the envy of many schools. Its through OnTrack Greenville that Tanglewood has its own health center staffed with Prisma Health providers. Communities in Schools, a group that helps bring local organizations into schools, offers case-management services and support for parents. Public Education Partners, a nonprofit aimed at strengthening student achievement, offers support and training to teachers. Any time you can put qualified and committed additional personnel in a school, thats a positive, Superintendent Burke Royster said in an interview. The value of these existing relationships was clear almost immediately after the shooting. Catherine Schumacher, the president and chief executive officer of Public Education Partners, pointed out that a lot of the community partners the school already had relationships with through OnTrack were the same ones it would have reached out to after this tragedy. Instead of having to bring in outsiders who'd be trying to guess the school's needs, Tanglewood was able to utilize these pre-existing relationships. Theyve literally physically been in the school for years, Schumacher said. OnTracks leadership team has been helping coordinate support, surveying groups that have offered to help to find out where they can assist and making sure the help that's being offered is actually, well, helpful. The idea is, who has been working with the school in a certain capacity already, and how can we leverage this relationship thats already existing, Schumacher said. On the community partner side, we were really eager to be helpful, but not get in the way. The partnerships helped Tanglewood in the shooting's immediate aftermath, but the challenge now is figuring out the best way to provide long-term support to all the school's students and staff, Royster said. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! Emergency response, and moving forward The day of the shooting, the district focused on immediate needs, like the lockdown and initial police response, initiated after the schools resource officer called for help. Later that day, there were the logistics of coordinating dismissal and pickup at Brookwood Church, and the need to calm anxious parents and students. The districts after-care plans kicked in the next day. The district deploys after-care teams regularly, though its usually on a smaller scale. A team might be sent to a school if a child has died in a car crash, or if an employee dies after an illness. After-care teams typically include counselors, psychologists and social workers who can help students talk about and process their feelings after such a traumatic event. Greater Greenville Mental Healths counselors are usually part of the after-care teams and helped here, too. The day after the shooting, Greater Greenvilles head of school counseling met with school staff and the districts director of counseling to make a plan. They knew the first day, and first week, wouldnt be normal but wanted to make sure students felt safe and to restore as much routine as possible. It was also important to make sure students knew it was OK if they were struggling, and who they could turn to for help. Principal Graysen Walles shared their plan with parents over the weekend, telling them the school would be flexible and excuse absences but encouraging students to come anyway so they could get support. We know from our mental health experts that having students return to the building and resume as much of a normal and predictable schedule as possible will help them heal and lessen the long-term trauma, Walles wrote. About 80 percent of students returned Monday, according to Walles. For the first block, each of the schools 38 classrooms was staffed with two mental health counselors from Greater Greenville or Prisma Health. The district also sent a central office administrator to every classroom to backstop Tanglewood faculty if they needed to step out to collect themselves. Camelo was among the counselors who met with students on Monday. Each pair talked with students about what had happened and how students were feeling. They also made note of individual students that might benefit from more continued, individualized support. The district has peeled back the additional staff a little each day, Royster said. Mid-week, they brought in counselors to meet with parents and family members after school and into the evening. Walles continued with daily updates and advice for guardians. The students exhibited great resiliency, he told parents at the end of the first week. But I want you to know that we will continue to pay close attention to how they are doing. Royster said school and district administrators have been talking constantly about how to best support students and staff at Tanglewood. Hes also gotten advice from a network of other school administrators who have experienced school shootings. Its unfortunate there is even such a thing, but its fortunate that they were there, he said. The day of the shooting, Royster talked with another South Carolina administrator thats part of the network. Hes talked with other administrators elsewhere in the days since. Royster said he wanted to know what others in the situation have learned from their experiences. What types of support was the most helpful? What wasnt helpful? We kind of got the immediacy part, Royster said. But its this long term, how can we support and help people in the long-term thats going to take this broader effort. Donate to our Investigative Fund to support journalism like this Our public service and investigative reporting is among the most important work we do. Its also the most expensive reporting we do. We cant do it without your support. Donate Now COLUMBIA Hundreds of thousands in corporate dollars have helped Republican incumbent Reps. Nancy Mace and Tom Rice maintain significant leads over their opponents as they enter the closing months of the 2022 Republican primaries. After former President Donald Trump endorsed her opponent, Mace turned in one of her best fundraising quarters ever, leaving her a cash on-hand advantage double that of her largely self-funded opponent, Katie Arrington. And Rice, who attracted the ire of conservative activists in his district for his vote to impeach Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots, ended the first quarter of 2022 with nearly $2 million in cash to spend, leaving him in a healthy position to defend himself in a primary and a potential runoff. However, their Trump-endorsed challengers, Arrington and Russell Fry, have found success among small, grassroots-level donors, a critical metric for gauging voter enthusiasm. "We are raising our money focused on South Carolina donors primarily from SC7, and we continue to raise more each quarter," said Phillip Habib, Fry's campaign manager. "Tom is focused on K Street PACs. Almost half of Toms money came from D.C. Thats why he should be called PAC man Tom." Friends in high places Of the nearly $342,000 Rice's campaign raised this quarter, more than 40 percent came from corporate political action committees, a sharp increase from the 31-percent average he'd reported through all of 2021. While substantially outraised by Rice, Fry brought in significantly more donations by quantity even with an average donation amount of several hundred dollars. Fry also accepted fewer donations from PACs, with his returns showing just $10,000 in donations from the Trump-aligned Madison Project. Mace also received a fair amount of PAC support, though significantly less than Rice. Of the more than $1.17 million Mace's campaign raised this quarter, approximately 19 percent came from political action committees, though groups like the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity have pledged tens of thousands of dollars more to aid her reelection through various campaigns in district. While Arrington pledged a half-million dollars of her own money to support her campaign, the former state lawmaker from Summerville raised more than $287,000 in seven weeks. Of that number, one quarter came via small donations, though a significant share of her major donor support came prior to a March 12 rally with Trump in Florence. Mace, however, found sizeable success with small donors, outraising all candidates in regards to unitemized, small donations ($115,000) and total number of contributions. The average donation size, her campaign said, was approximately $47. "Our small dollar donors drove our support," McCubbin said, noting that the average donation to the campaign was less than $50. Long-term viability Though Fry has nearly $450,000 to spend heading into the June primaries, he still faces a well-funded incumbent in Rice and several challengers with tens of thousands of dollars to spend. And several months to go. Russell Fry had the former president of the United States come to his district this quarter yet only banked a net of $122,000," said Rice campaign manager Walter Whetsell. "Thats an embarrassment for him. He is no longer a viable candidate as this will prove to be a fatal blow to his campaign. Whos going to tell Donald Trump there are County Council candidates that raised more than Russell Fry this quarter? But other candidates in the race appear to be overextended. Rice challenger Barbara Arthur reported a war chest of roughly $108,000 to end the first quarter of 2022 but also carried $90,000 in debts on her campaign account. Another Rice challenger, Garrett Barton, currently owes twice as much money as he has in his campaign's coffers. And Ken Richardson, who has loaned hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign to unseat Rice, reported $27,000 more in debts than he reported in cash on hand, a sign that he would need to spend a significant amount of his own money to compete. The race in Mace's Lowcountry district only has one additional candidate conservative hardliner Lynz Piper-Loomis. However, her campaign faces significant financial questions entering the home stretch of the Republican primaries. While she raised more than $38,000 in the first quarter of 2022, she also spent most of it, leaving her with just over $4,300 to spend in the coming quarter. A significant share of her expenses, according to her paperwork, included consulting fees and a $6,000 redesign of her website her second since announcing her campaign in 2020, according to a review of campaign finance records and screenshots of her web page. It was nearly dusk on a Friday, and a cigar boat was blasting techno-pop across Shem Creek. In its cockpit, an old man with an age-appropriate gut was dancing to the blaring music and quite suggestively with a not entirely age-appropriate young woman. She mightve passed for a college student, but most clerks wouldve checked her ID. Id agreed to meet a guy for happy hour and made the mistake of letting him pick the place. The cigar boat was one of a dozen tied up at the bars dock, and other than that scene out of AARP spring break, the thing I remember most is briefly wondering: How long before folks in the Old Village have had enough of this? Turns out, that would be right about now. Mount Pleasant this past week started a 90-day pilot noise ordinance, a modest proposal to cap decibel levels at a dull roar and, more importantly, ensure some balance to the livability in one of the fastest-growing towns in South Carolina. Of course, some people are already grousing about the plan, because these days misinformation flows even more freely than Bud Light on the creek. Fact is, nobodys going to storm into any bar with a decibel meter or shut down any house band. Because and this makes all the difference the noise ordinance that Town Council is considering making permanent would apply only to the location of the complaint, not the source. In other words, if someone on Mill Street calls the cops about the noise, there is no violation if the offending sound level is 55 decibels or less in the caller's yard. Which is roughly about as loud as the typical HVAC outdoor unit. Mayor Will Haynie says the town studied this issue for some time, looked at noise ordinances across the state, and then he went out and tested it. On a recent Saturday night, he stood 100 feet away from one of the louder bars with police officers and a decibel meter. Across the water, where noise travels easily, the errant sounds of the party registered less than 55. I think this is a fair trial, Haynie says. Weve just got to have some balance. Haynie says theres no desire or intent to hurt anyones business, and despite the concerns of a couple of council members, this eventual noise ordinance wont do that. But, Haynie says, the towns popularity cannot come at the expense of residents quality of life. Hes absolutely right. This is what city planners call growing pains, and they're particularly pronounced when you have established, pricey neighborhoods bumping up against a popular nightspot. Its the same thing the French Quarter in downtown Charleston went through with the Market Street bars, a problem that lingered for years and no matter what city officials did dissipated somewhat only when upper King Street became the new scene. This shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone who knows Mount Pleasant. You may remember the project that prompted the rise of the Save Shem Creek group was a parking garage/office building near the creeks bank. Well, the parking garage was needed because there wasnt enough space in the gravel lot to accommodate all the people flocking to the creeks bars and restaurants. Actually, the activists in Mount Pleasant have been pretty polite about this. There have been modest complaints about other areas around the Old Village, but no ones going all "Footloose" on Shem Creek. Locals can even joke about it. They say Shem Creek used to be a shrimping creek with a drinking problem; now its a drinking creek with a shrimping problem. Mount Pleasants growing pains arent limited to its most popular drinking destination. The town gets regular complaints about various parties, particularly weddings, from IOn up to Boone Hall. When a town doubles in population over a quarter-century, this is the sort of stuff you can expect. Mount Pleasant seems to be handling this the right way. The trial noise ordinance police will respond to calls but wont ticket offenders is a good way to measure the problem and work out kinks before settling on a permanent ordinance. Town officials want to make sure folks arent gonna sic the police on kids playing in backyard swimming pools or the like. And if the pilot program finds that 55 is too restrictive, Town Council is prepared to adjust that, too. Thats a town being completely reasonable, and looking for true balance. And, luckily for some, Mount Pleasant won't even fine folks for noise that is just particularly annoying. Like techno-pop. Participants were hopeful the South Carolina Governor's Cup Billfishing Series might be expanding this year, but ongoing construction projects will keep the series at three tournaments in 2022. The Billfishing Series opens with the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament set for May 25-28. The next event will be the Carolina Billfish Classic, fished out of Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina on June 22-25. The Series will wrap up with the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament on July 20-23. "There were plans to have four tournaments this year and the Megadock Tournament (fished out of the Charleston City Marina) was deciding on a possible date for 2022," said series coordinator Amy Dukes. Dukes said infrastructure requirements and ongoing construction led the Megadock tournament officials to withdraw from the series. Also, the Bohicket Marina Invitational Billfish Tournament, last held in 2019, remains on hold because of construction at the marina. "There was no way they could have a successful tournament this year. They have requested a bye for 2022," Dukes said. For the Megadock Tournament to return to the schedule, Dukes said, a qualifying tournament would have to be held and then approved by the Governor's Cup board of directors for inclusion in the following year's Governor's Cup. Dukes said that was the case for Edisto in 2016. Dukes, who is succeeding Wally Jenkins as head of the Governor's Cup Series, said having one tournament spaced out monthly in May, June and July is a nice break for the staff, which also includes Elizabeth Gooding and Cameron Rhodes. Jenkins, who began working as an hourly employee in 1975 for what is now known as the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, retired last July and had been heading the Governor's Cup for the past 14 years. "We lost our sounding board, one of the members of our team but we are very excited about this upcoming season," Dukes said. "It did take us a minute to catch our breath, to find stable footing and be able to move forward. But Wally and I stay in contact quite regularly. He's still a sounding board for the staff. The rising cost of diesel fuel has been a topic of conversation between Dukes and regular Governor's Cup participants. She said many anglers plan to cut back on their fun fishing days in order to compete in the tournaments. Dukes said there are no major changes for this year's series, other than a reduction in the overall dolphin limit per boat. She said the National Marine Fisheries Service recently enacted a reduction from 60 to 54 dolphin per boat, although the individual angler limit remains at 10. Scoring in Governor's Cup tournaments for released billfish (white marlin, spearfish and sailfish are mandatory releases) remains at: 600 - blue marlin; 300 - white marlin, spearfish; 200 - sailfish. Blue marlin that are boated score one point per pound and must measure at least 105 inches, six inches longer than the federal minimum size. A total of 94 boats participated in the three S.C. Governor's Cup Billfishing Series tournaments in 2021, releasing 65 blue marlin, three white marlin, one spearfish and 55 sailfish. There were two billfish landed a 445.3-pound blue marlin caught by Sporting' Life during the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament when 46 blues were released, and a 505-pound blue caught by Glazed in the Edisto Invitational Billfish Tournament which had 10 blue marlin releases. The overall winner of the 2021 S.C. Governor's Cup was Inappropriate, a Miami Beach boat owned by Frank Holtham and captained by Andy Crews, which finished the series with 3,675 points, 200 more than Home Run. Home Run, a Charleston-based boat, is owned by Steve Mungo and captained by Grant Bentley. Sporting' Life was third with 2,521, followed by Glazed, 2,180 and Mister Pete, 2,075. America's Boating Club America's Boating Club Charleston will hold boating safety classes April 30 and May 14 at 1376 Orange Grove Road, Charleston. Classes begin at 9 a.m. and end around 4 p.m. Successful participants earn the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Boater Education Card. The cost is $25 for adults and youth 12-18 are free. Call 843-312-2876 or email dauntlessness. Charleston Inshore Anglers The Charleston Inshore Anglers' 29th annual "Big Ed" Sheepshead Tournament will be fished April 30. The captain's meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. on April 28 at American Legion Post 147, located at 968 Folly Road. The weigh-in also will take place at Post 147 from 4-5 p.m. on April 30. The entry fee for the tournament is $40. Contact Kevin Mischke at 843-324-1006; Nick Kvestad at 843-557-2811 or Gene Broderick at 843-224-6826. SC Mahi Series The captain's meeting for the 2022 South Carolina Mahi Series (scmahiseries.com) will be held from 1-4 p.m. April 30 at the Pioneer Boat Factory, located at 208 Upchurch Lane in Walterboro. Fish days are May 1-28, with boats allowed to choose two fishing days and weigh two mahi (dolphinfish) each day. A boat's two heaviest dolphin count toward the $15,000 winner's prize. The sexual assault complaint involving a local doctor has apparently seen no movement in a court of law. In fact, no criminal case has been lodged. The complaint involves the alleged 2021 sexual assault of a woman under the medical care of Dr. Ugochukwu Akoma, a local doctor with a history of similar allegations in Guam and in the mainland United States. The woman was the first alleged victim on island to come forward with accusations. She filed complaints against Akoma with the Guam Board of Medical Examiners and the Guam Police Department. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. While the medical board is still investigating, the police department completed its criminal investigation and forwarded it to the Office of the Attorney General in January, three months ago. "This still remains the current status," said OAG spokeswoman Carlina Charfauros. She reiterated the following response sent to The Guam Daily Post on Jan. 12: "We communicate with the victims and provide updates directly to them. We are limited in our response to the media because there is currently no case lodged with the court, and I am unable to say at this time how or if a criminal case will move forward. We will continue to provide updates to the victim." The complainant has been in communication with a government victim's advocate but has not had any contact from OAG or Assistant Attorney General Basil O'Mallan, despite her multiple attempts to follow up on the status of her case. With no case lodged with the Superior Court of Guam, the Post asked the OAG how much time is left to act on the complaint. "The OAG has up to one year to lodge misdemeanor charges and three years for felony charges," Charfauros said. According to Charfauros, there are several protocols that are followed after police forward a case to the OAG. "A notice to appear can be issued to individuals who are booked and released, which is part of the criminal justice process. Other times, charges are presented to a grand jury and if an indictment is produced, the judge can issue a summons or warrant. Also a routine part of the criminal justice process," Charfauros said. However, not all cases go before a grand jury only those involving felony charges. In the 2021 sexual assault complaint, police classified the case as a misdemeanor and no arrests were made. At this time, it is unclear whether the OAG will be pursuing criminal charges against Akoma. However, Charfauros confirmed that contact would be made with the victim if the case is not to be lodged with the court. The time frame to provide that information to the victim is laid out by the charges. Although there has not been any movement on the woman's complaint in the courts, the GBME issued a patient restriction on Akoma's license. The restriction calls for a chaperone to be present at all times Akoma is with a female patient. The restriction remains in place for the duration of the investigation into the 2021 complaint. The decision was made in light of the history of complaints against Akoma. Prior to the 2021 complaint, Akoma had settled a case with IHP Medical Group, in which an IHP staffer accused Akoma of making inappropriate comments and touching her inappropriately. The GBME, on Aug. 8, 2021, unanimously voted there was no violation of the Physicians Practice Act. However concern was expressed about Akoma's lengthy history of workplace boundary issues, according to Post files. Earlier allegations IHP was Akoma's first place of employment after he left the states following similar allegations in 2017. Akoma left Iowa for Guam following allegations of sexual misconduct against him that led the state's medical board to require that a female chaperone accompany him when seeing patients in the state. On Jan. 8, 2018, Akoma signed a settlement agreement with the Iowa Board of Medical Examiners listing four allegations of sexual misconduct at medical facilities he worked at in Arkansas, Iowa, California and Texas. The settlement agreement alleges "unwanted sexual comments" and "unwanted sexual advances" toward female co-workers. He is also alleged to have "violated appropriate examination procedures for female patients." Akoma had previously indicated that the allegations in the states carried no merit and were put forward by his ex-wife. Guam's road to tourism recovery remains long and slow as arrivals fell below 50,000 in the first half of fiscal 2022, and the full-year numbers could end up below 100,000 if Korea and Japan prolong their COVID-19 travel restrictions. Arrivals from October to March, when Guam was affected by the delta surge, followed by the omicron surge, reached only 48,576 visitors, based on preliminary data released Friday by the Guam Visitors Bureau. The most recent six-month arrival numbers were the equivalent of about three weeks of arrivals prior to the pandemic, based on a review of 2017 to 2019 GVB data. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. GVB Vice President Gerry Perez and other tourism officials previously said it would take years for Guam to be anywhere close to its pre-pandemic, record-breaking arrivals of 1.6 million in fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 started strong until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing the arrival numbers to about 752,000 that year, before plunging to a staggeringly low 60,000-plus in 2021. Guam started posting increases in its monthly arrivals at the start of fiscal 2022, but the omicron scare hijacked that momentum. This fiscal year, actual arrivals exceeded GVB's monthly projections between October and January. But February arrivals were 16.4% lower than projected, while March arrivals were 15.5% below forecast. Overall, the 48,000-plus arrivals in the first half of fiscal 2022 were far more than the 15,000 Guam saw in the first half of 2021, based on GVB data. The March arrivals of 7,710 reflect only civilian air arrivals, GVB said. The bureau expects to have the final numbers in the next few days. GVB currently is projecting 130,000 arrivals for all of fiscal 2022, hoping that most airlines will resume their pre-pandemic flight schedules starting this quarter. There are no charter flights anticipated this quarter, but Air Seoul will start flying twice a week to Guam beginning May 14, according to GVB spokesperson Josh Tyquiengco. Accusations During the past two GVB board meetings, GVB President Carl Gutierrez's accusations against the agency's board members over alleged micromanagement, conflict of interest and conducting meetings in violation of the Open Government Law have overshadowed any progress reports about the visitor industry. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, who just came back from Palau for the 7th Our Ocean Conference, has not made a public comment so far about what's been transpiring within GVB since March, at a time when her administration has been championing tourism recovery. Using federal funds, the administration released financial assistance to tourism-related and small businesses, on top of federal aid, such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, to some 30,000 workers in the tourism industry and other businesses. Arrival figures From October to March, arrivals to Guam came from: US/Hawaii: 28,104. Korea: 8,091. Japan: 2,900. Philippines: 1,958. Taiwan: 131. China: 106. Russia: 37. Hong Kong: 19. GVB officials recently visited Korea to meet with airline executives and other travel industry partners as part of efforts to encourage more Koreans to once again spend their vacations on Guam, but the officials have yet to report to the full board the results of the recent work trip. Bureau officials also will be traveling to Japan to help beef up Japanese travel to Guam. Japan and Korea remain Guam's major sources of tourism. There have been contradictions about our local government's strategy on COVID-19 testing and limitations for those who have come in close cont Read more California has always been like a trendy nightclub that can get away with a hefty cover charge because everyone wants in. I once asked Arthur Laffer, of the famous curve, how California could keep getting away with such a high cover chargei.e., high taxes and crushing regulationwhen virtually no other state could get away with it. I was expecting a technical economic termexploitable asymmetriesthat is, the great climate and abundant natural beauty that many people are willing to pay a premium to enjoy (like me), but no. Instead, he said, Thats like asking why pretty girls are mean. Answer: Because they can. But maybe California cant any more. Even the pretty mean girls age, and start to show wrinkles, gray hair, and such. The Census data showing more middle class people leaving California than coming in reminds of the old Yogi Berra line about a popular New York restaurant: Nobody goes there any more; it got too crowded. The latest IGS/Berkeley poll reports the following: As Californians confront Tax Day, April 15 the latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds that about two in three voters (64%) consider the federal and state income taxes that they and their family have to pay are too high. This represents a ten percentage-point increase in the proportion of voters who said this six years ago, the last time a comparable question about income taxes was included in a statewide voter poll. Contributing to the growing perception that income taxes are too high is the fact that many Californians report that their economic fortunes have declined over the past year. The poll finds twice as many voters now describing themselves as financially worse off than a year ago (42%) as report being better off (21%). Six years ago, the reverse was true with about twice as many voters saying they were financially better off than in the prior year (48%) as felt they were worse off (25%). If you take a closer look at Table 3 of the poll, it looks even worsethe number of people who think things will get better, and the number of people who expect their own prospects will get worseare at all time worst level going back 60 years. If only there was an opposition political party in California that could take advantage of this voter discontent. . . Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, a reliable barometer of certified liberal opinion inside the Beltway, has a column up about the matter of Dianne Feinstein, which even a careless reader can make out as another loud note in chorus of coordinated voices that has determined that Feinstein needs to be forced from office. The article breaks no new ground in terms of news value or reporting, as with one small exception it simply recycles the details of the San Francisco Chronicle story. The one small exception is this passage: Feinsteins handling of the 2018 Brett M. Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in particular, her decision not to alert fellow lawmakers to the allegations by Christine Blasey Ford prompted a near-insurrection by her Democratic colleagues. I hadnt heard previously that other Democratic Senators had been annoyed by being blindsided by the Blasey Ford allegations, and I am not sure I believe it. The column pretends to be a high-minded meditation on the general problem of people staying too long in office, and here, too, there is an interesting tell. As Marcus explains it: Feinstein is the oldest sitting senator, but she is far from the only official whose mental acuity has been called into question. . . So one question raised by the focus on Feinstein must be whether, as some of her defenders insinuate, there is sexism at work. I think I have pretty good radar for sexism, and I just dont see it. . . To the extent that there is differential treatment, the explanation might be less gender than ideology. Progressive Democrats long frustrated by Feinsteins centrism are eager for a more liberal replacement. There it is. (Never mind that Feinsteins centrism is largely a myth, but it is easy to pull off that con when your fellow Senator is Barbara Boxer and then Kamala Harris.) And beyond this candid admission, we have to wonder whether this effort to drive Feinstein from office is a dry run for how the left will try to remove President Biden at some point soon. Nigerian tailors are one of the most talented globally, but their patrons say their peculiar attitudes make them one of the most problematic. Nigerians often patronise tailors to make attires for their weddings, birthday, photoshoot, Owambe, and generally slay. Consequently, they have had their fair share of experience with some inherent attitudes common amongst Nigerian tailors. In this PREMIUM TIMES article, a cross-section of Nigerians shares five common annoying attitudes of tailors. 1. Incessant delay If youve ever contracted a tailor to make a dress for you, you could be almost sure not to get it on the agreed date. Recounting her experiences with a tailor, Eucharia Lekara, a mother-of-two, lamented the continued delays, several tailors, subjected her to. She said: I gave my tailor a dress to make for me a month before an event. She took measurements, and it was a Holandis wax material to be cut into a blouse and wrapper. The tailor assured me the dress would be ready in the next two weeks. I made it a point of duty to keep my tailor in constant reminder of the dress and how important it is that I have it as early as possible. Whenever I ask about the dress, she told me I had no worries, after all, its just to cut the wrappers and make a blouse, in her words, that one no be a problem, guess what? Then, a week before the event, I went to collect the cloth. The tailor told me that she had forgotten my measurement. Thats why she did not deliver on the agreed outfit. She took my measurement she assured me that the cloth would be ready in two days. Two days after, she said she was almost done and asked me to come the next day. So, that was how I began to frequent the tailors shop every day, and after much pressure, I got my dress on the Eve of the event. Mrs Lekara added that if one does not constantly pester their tailors, they could ruin your entire plans. 2. Wrong measurement As part of their job, the measurement of their client is very pivotal to how the dress would be made. Thats why a tailor is identified first with his measuring tape. However, according to some of our respondents, the irony is that after taking your measurements, some tailors would still sew something entirely abstract from what they had initially documented as the client measurement. Is it that they dont use the measurement or measure something else? Lawrence Ukommadu asked. Describing his hurdle in the hands of tailors, he said some tailors are a total catastrophe. After taking my measurement, you need to see how he was meticulously measuring my shoulder, the length of the suit and even the breadth, and then he wrote what only he would understand in that his book, he assured me that the suit was good to go. I thought I was getting a new suit for a wedding. When he finished making it, the shoulders of the suit were sagging. I could have managed it, but the hand of the suit was longer. What he made for me was not a suit. 3. Disappointment Many Nigerians have fallen victim to several disappointments from their tailors, especially during festive seasons, when it seems as though almost everyone is getting a new outfit. But unfortunately, no matter how engaged a tailor is, they would still take more clients and fail to deliver on time. Martins Nwachukwu, a lover of Senator attire, who patronises a tailor almost every month for new outfits, seems to be already used to the tailors disappointment, The core of a Nigerian tailors wahala is centred on disappointment, he said. He advised that the best time to patronise a tailor is months ahead of the event to avoid disappointment. They either disappoint you in keeping to time and deadline or with the design or output. For example, you would give them a design that they know very well that they cannot sew, but they would take up the job, and at the end of the day, it will be a case of what I ordered and what you got, Mr Nwachukwu said. 4. Misplacing clients material Most clients are always frustrated when they cannot find their materials with tailors anymore, especially when it is due for collections. Some tailors are very careless and are in the habit of misplacing their clients dresses. Mr Benjamin Ebube, a young entrepreneur, told our correspondent how he found himself in a situation where his tailor misplaced his trousers. He said: In some instances, a tailor would misplace your cloth and accuse you of not giving them any cloth, only in a few cases that they would come clean with the truth. I have had my own experience in my brothers shop, who is also a tailor after giving him my cloth to mend, black trousers, he misplaced them. If he werent my brother, I would have believed that he had stolen it, but the most annoying part was that he kept denying it. So its just frustrating. Advertisements Although not all tailors have this trait, due to a lack of an organised database system, most tailors have continued to misplace several clients materials because they cannot correctly account for clothes kept in their custody. 5. Material economy Regardless of how much a client makes material available, they micromanage the fabric so they can keep some for themselves. Some tailors are dubious regardless. Eyibe, mother-of-five and textile entrepreneur, said she doesnt trust tailors with her clothes. Even after managing the material you have made available so that they would have something left for them for their personal use, they will still sew something not befitting the exorbitant price they bill you. Some tailors will use substandard materials, especially when you dont trust them enough to buy the materials. Then, when you get the materials yourself, they use substandard accessories, such as zip, button and ruin the design. Mrs Eyibe added that if only tailors were consistent, honest and reliable, they would be one of the wealthiest skilled workers in Nigeria. However, because they do not run out of clients jobs, these days, even burial people sew clothes, every occasion has an outfit, they can misbehave. So if these tailors are honest and reliable, they will cash out every time. About 21 days after the attack on a Kaduna-bound train by terrorists, dozens of passengers abducted by the gunmen have not been freed. The exact number of passengers kidnapped has not been ascertained. However, over a hundred people on the trains passenger manifest have not been accounted for and are believed to have been kidnapped by the gunmen. One of the victims, a senior government official, who was released by the gunmen is quoted to have said at least 68 passengers were kidnapped. The gunmen have since released two videos showing some of the passengers. On Monday, family members of some of the abducted passengers gathered in Abuja and asked the government to save their relatives from the bandits. Speaking on behalf of other family members, Abdulfatai Jimoh said they were yet to determine the status of the abducted passengers, who have been missing since March 28 the day of the attack. The kidnappers said we should be ready that they are going to contact us. We have not had any communication with them since then, he said. Since this incident happened, we expected that by now, the government, the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the federal ministry of transportation are supposed to have identified relatives of the victims to tell us what efforts they are making or not to rescue our loved ones unhurt. On Wednesday, the Nigerian government said it is doing all it can to free the victims. Information minister Lai Mohammed, however, refused to disclose the specific steps the government was taking to free the victims. What the federal government is doing wont be the subject matter of a press conference, because we have lives at stake, Mr Mohammed said, adding, What I can assure you is that as we speak, the respective arms of the government are actually engaged in getting those victims released. Remaining passengers According to the manifest released by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), there were 362 passengers on board the train. The NRC said a fortnight ago that a total of 186 passengers on the train have been confirmed to be safe. Of the remaining 176 passengers, nine have been confirmed dead, while the families of 22 passengers have formally declared them missing. This indicates that a total of 167 passengers were yet to be accounted for including the 22 declared missing by their families. It is not yet clear if all the 167 were kidnapped by the attackers or have just not been accounted for. However, one of those kidnapped was the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Alwan Hassan, who was later freed by the bandits, reportedly after the payment of ransom. What do the terrorists want? In the two video clips released by the bandits, they asked the government to meet their demands or they would kill the captives. In the second video clip, the passengers called on the government to reach out to the gunmen, meet their demands, and rescue the passengers. The terrorists, popularly referred to as bandits, did not, however, state their demands. PREMIUM TIMES asked security experts and those with knowledge of banditry what the demands are. A social historian and lecturer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Murtala Ahmed-Rufai, said the demands are known to the federal government, the Kaduna State Government and security agencies. He said that based on his investigations, the attack was orchestrated by the duo of Dogo Gide and Ali Kawajo, two notorious bandit leaders believed to have ties with two terror groups: Ansaru and Boko Haram. Dogo Gide is known for making demands whenever he abducts people with relations to government. These requests are always the same. He and Kawajo have some commanders that were captured at different times and places by security agents. Even when he abducted the FGC Yauri students, he didnt demand money but prisoner swap, he said. Mr Ahmed-Rufai, who wrote the book, Im a Bandit, said elements of Ansaru and Boko Haram were among those who undertook the attack. Remember that both Dogo Gide and Ali Kawaje live in the same axis with Malam Abba (a notorious Ansaru Commander). So, the demands could be many, especially now that there are other interests. But overall, its all about prisoner swap, he added. Advertisements Another expert in banditry in the North-west, Yusuf Anka, corroborated Mr Ahmed-Rufai. If they needed money in the first place, they would have continued discussing with the family members of the abducted passengers. From what I learnt, some of their key men were being held by the government so its possible that theyre demanding a prisoner swap, the journalist said. Although the federal government did not state what the specific demands of the bandits are, or what specific efforts are being done to free the victims, it confirmed that the gunmen were now partnering with Boko Haram terrorists. What is happening now is that there is a kind of an unholy handshake between bandits and Boko Haram insurgents, Mr Mohammed said at the Wednesday press briefing after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting. Preliminary reports of what transpired at the Kaduna train attacks show that there is a kind of collaboration between the bandits and the dislodged Boko Haram terrorists from the North-east. While the government remains coy about its actions, for the family of the victims, their priority is to secure the release of their relatives. In fact, the primary duty of any government is to protect the lives and property of citizens. We believe our government can do it and its capable of doing it, Mr Jimoh said. Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has said over 90 per cent of actors and sponsors of insecurity in Imo State and Igboland are Christians. Mr Uzodinma disclosed this in his Easter message on Saturday, which was also posted on his verified Facebook page. It is truly ironic and disheartening that over 90 per cent of both the actors and sponsors of insecurity in Imo State and, indeed, all over Igboland, claim to be Christians. Are these Christians the true followers of Christ? Do they even remember the fifth commandment which says, Thou shalt not kill? The answer should be obvious, Mr Uzodinma said. The governor, who said he had appealed to the sponsors of insecurity in the state to sheath their swords so as to move the state forward, insisted that violence is abhorred in Igbo culture. In several fora, I have literally gone on my knees to appeal to the sponsors and perpetrators of these senseless killings to sheath their swords and embrace peace and reconciliation irrespective of whatever grudges they may have. I have also asked for forgiveness from anyone who feels offended by any of the policies or actions of the government of Imo State which I lead currently. In the spirit of the Easter season, I would like to repeat this appeal for forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation in our state, he said. The former lawmaker in the Nigerian Senate, who regretted that the state has become a killing field where the blood of innocent citizens flow freely, further appealed to the people sponsoring the unrest to make their complaints. He assured that his administration would address their grievances. As peace-loving people, I appeal to you to follow the proper channels to lay down any complaints you may have. As I have done before, I promise to look into these complaints and make efforts to resolve them to the best of my ability, he said. Attacks by armed men have increased in the South-east in recent times. The attacks often target security agencies and government facilities. On Thursday, gunmen attacked a polling unit where the Continuous Voter Registration Exercise was being held in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State. An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Anthony Nwokorie was killed in the attack. INEC has announced the suspension of the registration exercise in the local council area following the attack. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), an outlawed group, has been linked to the deadly attacks in the South-east. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks. IPOB is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria. The leader of the separatist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for treason. Terrorists have turned Kaduna State into a war zone and made travelling between the state and Abuja a nightmare with impudent attacks on road, rail and air facilities. The growing infamy of Kaduna as the most terrorised state in Nigeria in recent times despite the heavy presence of the military and police in the state is raising concerns in the security community. Experts say the security situation does not reflect the fact that Kaduna has some of the most critical military and police establishments in the country. While most states have one military base, a police command and a few other security outfits each, Kaduna has at least 15 military establishments. These include the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Nigerian Army School of Artillery (NASA), Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology, the Nigerian Army School of Military Police, a depot of the Nigerian Army and a training centre for soldiers. The existence of these establishments has earned the historical capital of Northern Nigeria the nickname The Garrison City. Yet, terrorists activities have wrapped the state in fear and anxiety. In 2021, bandits killed 1,192 people in the state and kidnapped 3,348 others, according to a report by a Lagos-based geopolitical advisory outfit, SBM Intelligence. Deaths from insecurity in the state in 2020 were three times higher than those recorded in the Northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa battling terrorism. Terrorists almost daily attack public and private institutions, schools and communities with impunity. In August 2021, they attacked the countrys foremost military training institution, the NDA in Kaduna city, five months after an attack on Kaduna Airports FAAN Quarters. Milestone Insecurity in Kaduna reached a milestone on March 28 when bandits ambushed a train heading for the city from Nigerias capital Abuja after bombing the rail track. At least eight passengers were killed in that incident, while 168 others were kidnapped and are still missing. This unprecedented attack, attributed to the failure of the authorities to act on intelligence reports, happened only a couple of days after PREMIUM TIMES reported that unidentified gunmen had invaded the Kaduna airport, killing an official on the runway. Soldiers reportedly repelled the attack, and the airport was shut down. Within 24 hours, the terrorists carried out another assault on the same stretch of rail track, using improvised explosive devices, forcing the train travelling from Kaduna to Abuja to stop. Terrorists first hit the rail line between the two cities in October 2021, when they destroyed a portion of the track with explosives. But the recent attacks were more severe, forcing the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to suspend operations on the route one of the most popular in the country. A week after they attacked the train, the bandits raided a military facility in Birnin Gwari, killing 10 soldiers and injuring an unconfirmed number of others. These attacks have left many Nigerians wondering how a state with so many elite military agencies, with both intimidating artillery weapons and infantry personnel with global battlefield medals, is battered by bandits. But security experts argue that the bandits are emboldened by governments lack of political will to frontally engage them, weak engagement, and exclusionary or sluggish response to intelligence. They said the situation is compounded by the expansion of the security crisis across the North-west region and mismanagement of military equipment and personnel. Lack of political will As more people avoided the Abuja-Kaduna expressway due to the menace of kidnappers, and opted to travel by air or rail between Kaduna and Abuja, it was predictable that the bandits, starved of potential abductees by the development, would try to attack the airport and trains. In his immediate reaction, President Muhammadu Buhari described the train attack of March 28 as callous and a matter of grave concern. He then directed the immediate conclusion of all the processes for the implementation of the integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution for the Abuja to Kaduna railway line, and that this be extended to cover the Lagos-Ibadan railway line. He also directed the NRC management to speedily repair the damaged lines and resume normal service without delay.The president gave these directives a day after the attack, after receiving briefs from his service chiefs. But security and policy experts have said the measures are not enough. It is startling that no known arrests have been made. No official has been sacked or resigned and we are just moving on with politicians focusing on the upcoming 2023 elections as if what happened is not unprecedented, Chikwado Anyoku, a political analyst, fumed. Its difficult to sack the terrorists because the government has simply refused to sack them, Confidence MacHarry, a security analyst at SBM Intelligence, said. A good counterinsurgency requires a whole state approach, which sporadic military operations alone cannot solve. Its not that the Nigerian security agencies and the military cannot wipe out these terrorist bandits in two months. But the political fallout is what is holding such full-scale operations, a security expert and Chief Executive Officer of Agent-X Security Ltd., Timothy Avele, said. As many are aware, most of these bandits are bad Fulani herders. What do you think will happen if the military should go full blast or think of also doing that to the Eastern Security Network in the Southeast or in the Niger Delta militants? But something must be done at whatever cost. For Mr MacHarry of the SBM, regime security takes precedence over national security in the Nigerian context. And so, as far as theyre not threatening oil facilities or the heart of Abuja directly, they can go ahead. Families of those kidnapped during the train attack held protests last week in Abuja, decrying the scarce attention given to the plight of the victims by government. According to a report by Aljazeera, the families claimed an official called their protests an embarrassment to the government. Ignored warnings, unfulfilled promises After the first attack on the train in October, the government had promised to improve security along the route. Advertisements What this has done to us will fasten the procurement of the digital security system that we are trying to put in place, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had said then. The essence of the security system is to enable us to know if there is an impact on the censor. We will try to get the police involved before we install the security system. But five months later, after the March 28 attack, the minister said the security system he proposed had not been procured, blaming this on a sluggish federal government procurement system. A recent investigation by Daily Trust detailed how Nigerias security forces failed to act despite repeated warnings by the intelligence service about the plan of bandits to attack trains and other facilities. The newspaper also reported that the Kaduna State Security Council and the 1 Division Nigerian Army headquarters had also separately requested the NRC to suspend the late-hour shuttle between Kaduna and Abuja, but they were ignored. Attacks in Kaduna corridors could have been averted if Nigeria has an active intelligence response network and there is collaboration, rather than rivalry, among the intelligence and security agencies, experts said. The truth is that if the obvious lack of actionable intelligence is properly addressed among all the security and intelligence agencies and the military, then insecurity would have been solved 50 per cent, Mr Avele said. Overstretched security forces: poor funding and equipment The response to the crisis in Kaduna has been impeded by rising insecurity in virtually all parts of Nigeria. The state security response to the rising insecurity in the region is compromised by the decade-long war with Boko Haram in the north-east, deteriorating security in the Niger Delta, farmer-herder conflicts in north-central and southern Nigeria, and the secessionist activities among other forms of criminality across the south-east. In fact, the Nigerian military services are on active deployment in no fewer than 30 states of the federation, tackling internal security threats that ordinarily should have been left to the police to contain. With security forces stretched, terror groups have been able to operate with little resistance in the northwest Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto and the neighbouring Niger. The areas porosity and large land mass makes room for easy penetration, security experts sa. Kaduna continued to be a hotbed for insecurity despite heavy military presence partly due to the ease to attack and escape to other equally hotbed states of Niger, Kastina or Zamfara, said Mr Avele. It has to do withthe terrain, lack of needed equipment like attack helicopters for quick response to attacks. Nigeria has only 15 attack helicopters of the total 52 in service. Again, both local and foreign weapon merchantsbenefit from war and insecurity like were experiencing,and it is also fueling rising security issues. Weak engagement strategy A couple of days ago, the U.S. government announced it has approved the sale of attack aircraft and other equipment to Nigeria for the fight against terrorists. According to a statement by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the equipments are to cost Nigeria about $997 million. The acquisition of the aircraft and other equipment comes less than a year after the U.S. government supplied the country with 12 units of super tucano aircrafts paid for by Nigeria in 2018 for about $1bn. PREMIUM TIMES had last year reported that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had taken delivery of the second batch of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the United States. The first batch also comprising six aircraft was delivered in July 2021. The Tucanos have not been of much use as security deteriorates since they arrived. Meanwhile, the rampant crashes of NAF aircrafts have raised concerns on whether the super fighter jets would be put to good use. Within six months, from January to July 2021, the NAF lost at least four of its aircraft and several personnel in air mishaps. At least 20 officers also died during these tragic incidents, including senior army personnel. The most notable of the crashes was the one involving the late Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, and 10 others. For Mr Avele, beyond the fact that efforts in acquiring weapons and increasing budgetary allocations is good but not enough, the right type of weapons and strategy needed are not being prioritised. Are the available weapons suitable to do the task at hand? he queried. For example, if you buy drones, can they work at night or can it fly for at least 10 hours monitoring, what distance can it cover or can it penetrate dense forests? Secondly, without actionable and timely Intelligence no amount of weapons will do to solve the problem of insecurity, he said. Way forward For Mr Avele, there is no easy way forward. First, there must be a political will from the federal government to end this once and for all but there could be political consequences in doing so. Secondly, modern equipment is urgently needed. Thirdly, there must be actionable Intelligence. For example the sources of weapons and funding must be found and blocked, and sponsors found and brought to justice, is vital. Fourthly, the security agencies must change their current reactive methods of battling this insecurity and terrorism to a proactive one by incorporating stealth, surprise and speed (SSS) to all of their engagement. The issues of partiality to one side only by those in authority should be avoided and justice to the wronged must be done swiftly. Lastly, all of us must play our individual part if we hope to see improvement in security nationwide. Mr MacHarry said any plan to address the Kaduna crisis should factor in the geography of Northern Nigeria. The whole of the Southeast is not as big as Borno. The military is fighting multiple insurgencies at the same time. The expansive forests in the Northwest do not make for easy operations unlike the Southeast that is mostly urban. Conventionally, urban warfare is the more difficult between the two, but you must remember within the Nigerian context that the military is too stretched to cover the expansive forests of the northwest. The security expert said there is also an ethnic connotation to the crisis that needs to be addressed. Kadunas socio-politics creates opportunities for terrorism. It has decades old ethnic strife that is now being taken advantage of by armed groups. The presence of military installations does not automatically translate into better security because the military was not designed for national security. Nigeria witnessed its deadliest week in 2022 last week (April 10 to 16) as armed non-state actors killed at least 215 people in various attacks. This implies that an average of 30 people were killed daily by armed persons in the West African country, last week. More than half of the victims, 142, were killed in Plateau State by yet to be identified gunmen. Apart from Plateau, other states that witnessed mass killings include Ebonyi (26) and Benue (23). The victims also include four police officers. Before the latest tally, the highest figure this year was recorded in the first three weeks of 2022 when at least 486 people were killed. PREMIUM TIMES also reported that at least 2,968 people were killed in the first three months of 2022. Each geopolitical zone of the country recorded at least one fatal incident last week, except the South-south geopolitical zone which recorded none. The figure for last week indicates a sharp increase when compared to the previous week when at least 25 people were killed. PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases are not included. Below are the recorded incidents: North-west A village head, Isiaku Madaki, and 14 others were reported killed at Kakura, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the early hours of Monday. A resident of the area, Baban David, said the deceased village head was only installed as leader two days before. South-west Gunmen on Monday killed the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Atakumosa East Central Local Government Area of Osun state. The late Gbenga Ogbara was shot dead in his sitting room in the early hours of the day in Igangan, his hometown. South-east Masked gunmen, on Monday, killed a passenger and set a Toyota Sienna vehicle ablaze at the popular Holy Ghost roundabout, Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. The gunmen, said to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), enforcing the suspended Monday sit-at-home order, also snatched a minibus during the attack. In Anambra, gunmen Wednesday attacked the Police Divisional Headquarters in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area killing four persons. The Anambra State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the attack, saying it happened around 11 a.m. About 24 hours later, some gunmen attacked another police facility in the state. The police in the state said the Nteje Divisional Police Headquarters in Oyi Local Government Area of the state was attacked on Thursday around 3 a.m. The police said one of the gunmen was killed during a shootout. In Ebonyi State, gunmen killed an Abakaliki-based businessman, Issac Chukwu, a week before his wedding. PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Chukwu, who traded in provisions, was killed by suspected assassins in Abakaliki on Monday night. In the same state, the death toll from the recent attack on residents of Effium/Ezza-Effium community in Ohaukwu and part of Ebonyi Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State climbed up to 26. Advertisements This followed the invasion of the affected communities by assailants in the area early hours of Sunday. In Imo, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) suspended the Continuous Voter Registration Exercise (CVR) exercise in a local government following the murder of its official. The official, identified as Nwokorie Anthony, was shot dead at Nkwo Ihitte (PU 004) in Amakohia Ward (RA 02) of Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area in the state by gunmen on Thursday. The gunmen attacked an INEC centre where continuous voter registration was ongoing. Apart from killing Mr Anthony, the gunmen also injured at least four other people during the attack. North-central Gunmen in Plateau State killed at least 142 persons in attacks on some communities in Kanam and Wase local government areas of the state. The attacks, which happened on Sunday, were carried out in Kukawa, Gyambawu, Dungur, Kyaram, Yelwa, Dadda, Wanka, Shuwaka, Gwammadaji, and Dadin Kowa communities of the state. Three days after the Plateau attack, the lawmaker representing the region said 92 people were killed in the attack. However, an aide to the state governor said 142 people were killed. In Benue, at least 23 locals were killed when some persons believed to be herders attacked two communities. The attacks occurred on Monday night at Mbadwem and Tiortyu communities in Guma and Tiortyu local government areas respectively, state authorities said. North-east Armed persons, on Monday, invaded a mosque at the Maisamari community in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, killing its District Head, Abdulkadir Sufiyanu. Residents said the assailants stormed the area around 8 p.m. after the breaking of the Ramadan fast and shot dead the traditional ruler while he was performing night prayers. No mercy Reacting to the killings in Plateau, President Muhammadu Buhari directed security agencies not to spare or forgive those behind the atrocities. According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Mr Buhari ordered law enforcement agencies to work strenuously with the government of the state to bring the situation under control and take steps to bring the culprits to justice quickly. They should not be spared or forgiven, Mr Buhari said. Armed men Saturday evening attacked Kadna and Naknuwape, suburbs of Gwada in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, killing at least two people including a police officer. Residents said a group of gunmen invaded their communities shooting indiscriminately while residents were breaking their Ramadan fast. The spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), Salis Sabo, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, said the criminals were increasingly waxing stronger, reaching the Tapila Junction of Gwada town, a community thought to be safe from attacks. At least two persons have been killed. One policeman and one civilian in Tapila, the group said in the statement. The gunmen reportedly abducted two persons the son of an official of an electricity company and a young girl whose identity was not disclosed. They looted a business centre and stole mobile phones, Mr Sabo added. He said communities attacked by the gunmen include: Chiri, Kwakwa, Jewi and Kadn. The communities are only a few kilometres from Gwada LGA. The terrorists continue to expand their tentacles even to the towns that were considered relatively peaceful. We now live at the mercy of terrorists. The government has failed woefully, the group said. The police spokesperson in Niger State, Wasiu Abiodun, did not respond to our reporters enquiry about the incidents on Sunday morning. Attacks by armed groups have continued in the North-west region and neighbouring Niger State despite repeated assurances by the government to address the problem. At least 151,380 people, mostly peasant farmers, have been displaced, with unspecified numbers of people killed by the gunmen, locally called bandits, in the last two years in Niger State, the state government said. The displaced persons were registered in the frontline 13 local government areas of the state, with the Rafi council area, neighbouring Zamfara and Kaduna, topping the chart with 28,987 displaced persons. In Shiroro Local Government Area, where the latest incident happened, over 27,678 persons have been displaced in the last two years and several others killed. Islamic scholars in Northern Nigeria have charged parents to discharge their responsibilities to their families effectively. The scholars who spoke during the annual Ramadan public lecture, organized by Islamic Forum of Nigeria on Saturday in Kano, urged parents to assume full responsibility of their wards. Speaking on the theme Everyone is Shepherd, Director, Centre for Quranic Studies, Bayero University, Mohammad Babangida, explained that parents would be held responsible how they train their children. Mr Babangida, who raised concern on the increasing rate of security threat and crime in the society, blamed parents for failing to take full control of their entrusted responsibilities. Parents owe their children responsible and quality education. Children should not be sent out in the name of seeking knowledge without parents taking care of their feeding, clothing and shelter as well as taking responsibility of the teachers. Anything short of that is an aberration of responsibility and the Almighty God will query such parents, he said. Earlier, Chief Imam, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Salihu Abubakar, also challenged heads of families and concerned authorities to ensure proper management of their affairs. According to him, The prophet of Islam clearly states the responsibility of parents and the problem Nigeria is now facing in terms of security and society vices are due to the lack of family values. Parents have failed to inculcate the moral values as emphasized. Also speaking, Vice Chancellor, Al-Istiquma university, Kano, Salihu Shehu, explained that the annual lecture was organized to address vital societal challenges with a view to finding solutions. Mr Salihu, who described the theme of this years lecture as apt, added that it was carefully selected to reawaken individuals and parents on their responsibility instead of blaming government. (NAN) The Chief of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters, Adeyemi Yekini, says the military will not rest until the killers of 15 villagers at Tiortyu, a community in Tarka Local Government Area of Benue, are apprehended. Mr Yekini, a major-general, who served as the first Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), said he was at Tiortyu to commiserate with the residents of the village over the killing of its residents. Speaking with journalists at the scene of the 15 slain villagers at Tiortyu, he assured the public that those who carried out the heinous crime would be apprehended and served justice. He was accompanied by the Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke, Kevin Aligbe, a major-general, and other top officers of the unit. Mr Yekini regretted the attack but assured the people that no stone would be left unturned until the perpetrators were brought to justice. He described the perpetrators as bandits and said it was prematured to conclude they were herders. Those that carried out the attacks must be tracked and brought to justice and for me justice means neutralising them, he said. In an earlier address to the community leaders, the army chief appealed to the residents to return to their homes and resume their normal business activities. He assured them that no such attacks would be repeated in the area but advised them to report all suspicious movements to the security agents. Also speaking, Mr Aligbe said that the military would do its best to ensure those behind the attacks were found and advised them to report all suspected people to security personnel. Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Shitile community in Tiortyu, Sabastine Hule, commended the federal government for its prompt response in sending the high-power delegation for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. He said that with the assurances from the Defence Headquarters, the fleeing residents would return home. The News Agency of Nigeria Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tiortyu village, situated along Makurdi-Gboko highway, was attacked by gunmen, who killed 15 residents, an action that was condemned by the state government and other corporate entities both within and outside the state. (NAN) The abducted traditional ruler of the Bukpe community in Kwali Area Council of Abuja, Hassan Shamidozhi, has regained freedom after weeks in the kidnappers den. Mr Shamidozhi was whisked away from his palace amidst sporadic gunshots on March 30 and resurfaced on Saturday night after payment of ransom to his abductors. As reported by Daily Trust, the traditional ruler was released alongside Ahmad Joel and his daughter, Precious Joel, both residents of the community, after paying N2.5 million. Unlike the duo, the kidnapper who had demanded N20 million as a ransom for the monarch later collected N4 million before letting him off on Saturday evening. As reported, the newly released abductees were released in a forest near Zokutu village, from where they trekked to Abaji-Toto road before getting a vehicle home. In his interaction with sympathizers at his palace on Sunday, Mr Shamidozhi said he did not believe he could make it back home back alive. Recounting his experience at the camp of his abductors, the monarch described his bitter experience as one he would not wish for his enemies. He pegged the number of the kidnappers at over 200 with sophisticated weapons and different camps. I dont pray for my enemy to be a victim, because with what I saw with my eyes, I couldnt believe I will return home alive. These bandits were over 200 with sophisticated weapons and different camps, he reportedly said. Mr Shamidozhi and the two freed residents were among the growing list of living casualties of insecurity in Nigeria. The FCT, like its neighbouring states, recently became a soft target for kidnappers as the number of victims in satellite towns continues to grow daily. Communities in Abaji, Kuje, Bwari and Kwali have recently witnessed high cases of abductions with little or no resistance from the police or other security operatives within the areas. A Chief Imam of Yangoji Central Mosque in Kwali Area, Abdullahi Gbedako, and his sons, Aliyu Abubakar and Ibrahim Abubakar, were also kidnapped from their home in late 2021. Residents of the Kuje Area Council have also recorded a similar trend of abductions in recent years. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said that he would make a pronouncement on his potential bid for the presidency on Tuesday. Mr Ngige said this at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, at a reception organised by members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) South-East Progressive Forum, according to a statement made available by his media office in Abuja. The group is among the numerous other political and apolitical groups across the country, urging Mr Ngige to join the presidential race. The statement said Mr Ngige, while addressing the crowd at the airport, said he had consulted widely and the time has come for him to speak. He recalled that last December, he received a similar call from his brothers of the APC stock and some that have not even practiced politics who came to his hometown, Alor, and pressurised him to join the presidential race. Make no mistake about it, the presidency is due to us in the southern part of Nigeria. It is also truism that of all states in the South, only the South-East has not tasted the presidency. That gives much weight to the demand you are making. In PDP, they are arguing whether it will be North or South. In our own party, APC, we have already agreed that it is South. I told my supporters when they came on December 31 last year that I will speak after the spiritual season of Lent, to enable me consult my God, angels and archangels. Easter is tomorrow. It is the resurrection day. We shall rise with the resurrection and after Easter Monday, I will make a pronouncement on my journey to the presidency, he said. Mr Ngige, who is also a former Anambra State Governor, said he had done consultation with mortal and immortal people and they are now going to speak. According to him, I have ears and heard your message clearly. You should all come to my hometown, Alor, in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday. I will make a pronouncement that day. Regarding the issue of consensus among the APC aspirants in the South-East, he said the issue has not arisen now, saying such discussion would come after the expression of interest and buying of forms. He commended members of the APC South-East Progressive Forum for trooping out in large numbers to receive him and prayed God to honour each and every one of them the way they have honoured him. Earlier, the spokesman of the group, Tony Chime, told Mr Ngige that they trooped out to plead with him to join the race for the presidency. Mr Chime said they had screened many people presenting themselves for the post of president, but are yet to see the material wanted. We appeal to you, our father, brother and son to please come out and join the race. We know that it is the turn of the South and when it comes down South, we know that it is the turn of the South-East and you are eminently qualified to deliver, he said. Mr Ngige later paid a visit to the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as part of his consultations with political leaders across the country. (NAN) Some consumers have expressed concern over the continuous hike in prices of foodstuffs and other items in the country. The citizens who spoke in a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kpirikpiri and Margaret Umahi International Markets, revealed that prices of food items are skyrocketing, a situation which is making life unbearable for the citizens. Akunna Nnachi, a housewife, pleaded with the government to urgently address the situation as it was taking a toll on her family. She said that a kilogram of cow and goat meat now sell for as high as N3,200 against N2,500 it sold previously. Prices of food items and transportation have continued to increase, and addressing factors that cause the hike will be stop the increase. I was told by a meat seller that a live goat now costs between N50,000 and N70,000 because of expenses done when transporting them to Abakaliki, Mrs Nnachi said. Ejike Egbo, a consumer, also appealed to government to look into the matter as the situation has become so intense that an average family now requires double the amount used previously to cook a pot of meal. She said, a life bird was sold for N3,500 and N8,500 depending on the sizes. Egbo lamented that after she expended such an amount of money on just a food item, it would be difficult for her to purchase other food items that would be needed for her to prepare her meal. Ada Madu, another housewife, revealed that a basket of tomatoes sells for between N20,000 to N22,000, depending on the freshness and the specie. Before now, I bought it between N6,000 and N8,500; this is really on the high side and to top it all, about four pieces is sold for N200, Mrs Madu said. Chineye Egbo, another consumer, also said she bought a custard-bucket of Garri between N1,000 and N1,300 depending on the brand, a situation which she described as not good. However, Ogonna Eze, a trader at Kpirikpiri market who reacted to the consumers complaints, sympathized with them and said that they were not responsible for the hike in food prices. (NAN) A former Governor of Zamfara state, Abdulaziz Yari, has joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside some of his supporters from the states chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Chairman of the PDP in Zamfara State, Bala Mande, made this known to journalists in Gusau, the state capital, on Sunday afternoon. Mr Mande said the former governor would be joined by other APC bigwigs, including Kabiru Marafa, a former senator. He said the party met with representatives from Mr Yaris faction of the APC and an agreement was reached. We met with our members today, Mr Mande, who was a former military governor said. And I informed them that the immediate former governor of the state, Abdulaziz Yari and all his supporters as well other party chieftain have agreed to decamp to the PDP. As I speak with you now, the deal has been sealed because theyve agreed to join us and weve agreed to welcome them so that we can continue the process of salvaging the state. Their decision to join PDP has no doubt motivated us and it will improve our chances of winning the election in 2023, Mr Mande said. Mr Yari and an unending crisis Messrs Yari and Marafa have remained opposed to incumbent Governor Bello Matawalle who got to power on the platform of the PDP but later defected to the APC. His ascension was itself through a Supreme Court verdict that declared that the APC in the state didnt conduct a proper primary elections following disagreement between Mr Yari and a faction led by Mr Marafa. In 2021, Mr Matawalle decamped to the APC, a development that unsettled Mr Yari and his supporters. His deputy, Mahdi Ali, the House of Representatives member representing Talata Mafara/Anka, Kabir Yahaya; and some other top officials of his administration, however, remained in the PDP. The deputy governor, Mr Ali, was eventually impeached earlier this year. Mr Yari has been protesting the dissolution of the executive council of the APC by former caretaker chairman of the party, Mai Mala Buni. He then set up a parallel faction of the party in the state. Mr Marafas faction also conducted a parallel congress but the national body of the APC recognised the executives produced by Mr Matawalles faction. Mr Yari contested for the position of the APC national chairman in the recently concluded convention of the party. He later stepped down after former Governor Abdullahi Adamu was chosen as the consensus candidate for the position. He could not be reached Sunday afternoon to comment for this story. His known telephone number failed to connect the several times it was called. Standard Chartered Plc has announced the commencement of a strategic move to fully exit some African and Middle East markets. The bank in a statement said the markets are Cameroon, Gambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and two other markets in the Middle East. The global banking group said the planned exits will enable it redirect resources to markets where it has the greatest potential to grow and scale. As part of the restructuring, the statement said Standard Chartered will also do away with all aspects of its private and business banking operations in Tanzania and Ivory Coast, whilst focusing only on corporate, commercial and institutional banking in those two countries. The planned exit is, however, subject to regulatory approval, the bank said. ALSO READ: Standard Chartered Bank to close half of its branches in Nigeria The banking groups Chief Executive Officer, Bill Winters, explained that the bank is sharpening its focus on the most significant opportunities for growth while also simplifying its business. We remain excited by a number of opportunities we see in the AME region, as illustrated by our new markets, but remain disciplined in our assessment of where we can deliver significantly improved shareholder returns, he said. Collectively, our actions will position the AME franchise for the next phase of growth after a very strong 2021 performance. We are grateful to our colleagues and partners in each of these impacted markets for their hard work and dedication and are committed to supporting them through this transition. The Kano State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Murtala Garo, who was arrested and detained for tearing election results for Nasarawa Local Government Area in 2019, has resigned his appointment. It is believed that Mr Garo resigned to join the race to become the next governor of the state. Mr Garos resignation followed a directive by the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, to all political appointees and other public servants aspiring to contest for elective offices in 2023 to resign before Monday, April 18. Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, provides that political appointees aspiring to contest elections must resign their positions before the conduct of political party primaries. No political appointees at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election, the section states. In a swift response to the directive, Mr Garo submitted his resignation letter and indicated interest to join the governorship race in 2023. Abubakar Ibrahim, an aide to Mr Ganduje, announced that Mr Garo will join the governorship race in the state under the All Progressives Congress (APC). PREMIUM TIMES in 2019 reported how police personnel arrested Mr Garo, alongside the states deputy governor, Nasir Gawuna, at the Kano State collation centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after he tore the result of the poll in the local government. The two top officials were arrested after they moved to the venue of the state collation centre and started interfering with the collation of results. The tearing of the results eventually led to the declaration of the election inconclusive by the electoral body. The then state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Riskuwa Shehu, who briefed journalists, observers and party representatives, said suspected thugs invaded the local government collation centre and disrupted the process. As we were waiting to reconvene with the intention to continue with the collation, we heard a disturbing report that just as they were about to conclude, results collation in Nasarawa local government were disrupted and the result sheet is torn away and there was a lot of commotion and the police had to rescue some people, the INEC official said in 2019. Others resignations Other commissioners who have resigned since Mr Gandujes directive was issued are the commissioners for budget and planning, Nura Dankadei, and of rural and community development, Musa Kwankwaso. Mr Dankadei stated in his resignation letter that he resigned to pursue his future political ambition. It is believed he will vie for the House of Representatives position for Doguwa and Tudun/Wada federal constituency. Meanwhile, Mr Kwankwaso, a retired police officer turned politician, said he is resigning to contest for the House of Representatives for Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam federal constituency. Senator Barau joins Kano guber race One of those who will be slugging it out with Mr Garo for the APC governorship ticket in Kano is Barau Jibrin, the senator representing Kano North. Mr Jibrin declared his intention to contest the 2023 gubernatorial race in the state during a ceremony on Saturday to inaugurate his campaign committee. He has appointed a former deputy governor of the state, Hafiz Abubakar, as his campaign director. A 17-person committee will oversee Mr Jibrins campaign in the three senatorial districts of the state, while another 27-person central committee will be in charge of his campaign across the 44 local government areas. In his acceptance speech, Mr Abubakar said the committee will soon inaugurate other subcommittees that include social media, student associations and a committee for the business community. We will soon unveil a reach out a strategy for the Barau I Jibrins campaign that will involve going to the grassroots, business communities, religious leaders and associations. You all are free to start soliciting for support in respect of the candidacy of Senator Barau I Jibrin, he said. Mr Jibrin thanked members of the committee for their sacrifices. He charged them to work closely with the campaign director to succeed in the partys primaries. Advertisements About time we re-enthroned common sense and selected as presidential candidate for any and all of our political parties, whoever the cap/headgear fits! If you ask me, it is people like Adesina and Jibrin that we should be lobbying to be our chief servant. Why is nobody putting me under pressure to contest for an office? Where are my people?, asked Jibrin Ibrahim on Twitter. One of the interesting replies he provoked was by M J Balogun (@balogunjide1), a former director-general, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria: We, your people, are here! We want you to run. We have the brain and all. But here is the but we have no money, no thugs, and no certified poll riggers. Still ready to run? That exchange is no laughing matter. It shows the obstacles stacked against honest people with capacity to make a difference in their country but who have to be consigned to political irrelevance on account of lacking the triune factors of money, agents of violence and electoral manipulation. At the last count, 35 politicians have signalled their intention to vie for the highest office in the land. Some are serious aspirants while others are serious jokers, but most are either moneybags or have access to limitless funds with which to buy the office. It is difficult not to be bemused by the ambition of Madam Nonye Josephine Ezeanyaeche, the 102-year-old grandma who made her presidential ambition known through the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). Party-less as at the time of declaration, the grandma is miffed that younger politicians have so far come up short. If not for the fact that this is Nigeria where the river bathes in the women and mango trees climb children, I would have laughed at Madam Ezeanyaeches joke. As it is, the joke is on the rest of us non-centenarians. There are five other women presidential aspirants from the SDP, PDP, APC, PRP and APGA. It is not prophetic to say that, as far as the presidential race in todays Nigeria is concerned, they are going nowhere. Lets now take a random look at the probables, the possibles and the outright charlatans. Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Tinubu seem to be frontrunners in the All Progressives Congress (APC) but appearances could be deceptive. So far, Osinbajo has conducted his campaign with dignity and restraint, while the same cannot be said of Tinubu, whose supporters are irritating the public with their claims of his entitlement, as if Nigerias presidency is an APC heirloom. The tag of Judas does not sit well on Osinbajo but it diminishes Tinubu and exposes him to dangerous controversy, for, if Osinbajo is Judas, is Tinubu Jesus? However, Osinbajo had better realise that the serious business of presidential aspiration requires very exacting due diligence. I hope he has benefitted from Victor Oladokuns masterful assessment of the declaration speech: Why VP Osinbajos presidential declaration got it wrong on so many levels: Why Communication and Branding Matters. Going forward, let the masters design and review your communications stratagems. Intellectual endowment without tying the bolts and nuts of communication and branding is vacuous. The next president must be able to synthesise Gandujes ranching programme with Zulums total devotion to alleviating the suffering of internally displaced persons, Akeredolus and el Rufais zero tolerance for insecurity and Soludos refreshing common touch, to deliver a new Nigeria. Nigeria does not need another monarchical president. Some political technicians within the APC are trying to engineer the candidacy of Emeka Nwajiuba, current minister of state for Education, as the ultimate dark horse. Dont laugh! More frightening stratagems are known to have been hatched in this land, which is home to the worlds happiest people (haw-haw-haw)! Whatever our ideological persuasions, I think it is good to keep our reactions civil. That is why I find the description of Rochas Okorocha, Anyim Pius Anyim, Dave Umahi, Yahaya Bello, Ayodele Fayose, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ihechukwu Dallas Chima, Tunde Bakare and Nwachukwu Anakwenze as gap-fillers rather uncharitable. These are presidential aspirants for crying out loud! But I think we all agree that they are probably in the race as a bargaining chip for some other political appointment if and when. One of the most hardworking aspirants on the field is political economist Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the central bank. He has managed to cast himself in the mould of a man with a mission, without the toxic verbiage of some of his co-aspirants. In addition, he is not known to carry any ethical baggage which is more than can be said of another credible aspirant, Peter Obi. But I havent yet come across anyone who can fault Obi on his capacity (the new magic word in our political lexicon) for the job. Dont ask about Amaechi. I have heard the whispers of some patriots who want to draft a continental champion, Akinwumi Adesina, to come and fix the country of his birth. Noble idea! If a man can do it on the continental stage, he certainly can help his own country. But I foresee two hurdles: (a) the protagonists of this view assume that they can easily persuade Adesina to leave the presidency of the African Development Bank for the presidency of Nigeria; (b) they assume that their idealism for the transformation of Nigeria is shared by the political leadership. Perpetual aspirant Atiku Abubakar has all it takes to give Bukola Saraki, Nyesom Wike, Udom Emmanuel, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Bala Mohammed a run for their money within the PDP. However, Nigerians dont seem to consider any of them attractive enough. Tambuwals strategy of basing his messaging on the false premise that only a Northern muslim candidate can win Nigerias presidency is already backfiring. There ought to be more intelligent arguments against zoning than this ethno-religious fib. Sam Ohuabunwa and Dele Momodu are also in the race. I know both men personally. I suppose the ethical thing to do is to leave the Nigerian public to decide on their aspiration. Sam got to the zenith of his career at Pfizer/Neimeth Pharmaceuticals and went on to attain the presidency of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria. Dele is a General in journalism and public relations. The most any well wisher can do is wish them well. In the APC, the impression is given that whoever the incumbent president favours will emerge as the Nigerias president. Fallacy! If the party operates on that wavelength, it will find out in the general elections that Nigerians dont set their political clocks by Buharis timepiece. It is understandable, though, that all aspirants will try as much as they can to humour the incumbent president for the simple reason that it is better to have him on ones side. But dont oversell his value because he comes with a lot of baggage. So, what should Nigerians do? Simple! They should, this time around, apply good old common sense in choosing the countrys next chief executive. The next president must be able to synthesise Gandujes ranching programme with Zulums total devotion to alleviating the suffering of internally displaced persons, Akeredolus and el Rufais zero tolerance for insecurity and Soludos refreshing common touch, to deliver a new Nigeria. Nigeria does not need another monarchical president. Under normal circumstances, a country should be throwing up its best elements for leadership. A situation where a school certificate failure is all the qualification required to become president, while a local government councillor must have a pass certificate cannot take any country out of underdevelopment. This commonsensical reminder in the shape of an obituary published in the London Times brings the point home: Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isnt always fair; And maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (dont spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldnt defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust; by his wife, Discretion; by his daughter, Responsibility; and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his five stepbrothers: I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame; Im A Victim; Pay me for Doing Nothing. Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. Advertisements Under normal circumstances, a country should be throwing up its best elements for leadership. A situation where a school certificate failure is all the qualification required to become president, while a local government councillor must have a pass certificate cannot take any country out of underdevelopment. About time we re-enthroned common sense and selected as presidential candidate for any and all of our political parties, whoever the cap/headgear fits! If you ask me, it is people like Adesina and Jibrin that we should be lobbying to be our chief servant. Wole Olaoye is a public relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on wole.olaoye@gmail.com, Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021. The truth is that Kperogis diatribes emanate from a hellish terrain of his own negative inflections. Many of his teeming followers on social media have deified and venerated him disproportionately; eulogised and swallowed his barefaced mendacity and ascribed to him a larger-than-life image to ride roughshod on our national psyche like a demi-god. His contributions are not in the least altruistic but capable of instigating monumental conflagration. Socrates and Eleanor Roosevelt, at different times, said, Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. It is on that premise that I categorise the many treatises of Mr Farooq Kperogi, a professor of Journalism, on many issues bedevilling our country. I also have to borrow an Indian author, Salman Rushdies book title, Satanic Verses, as part of the title of this critique. One wonders what Kperogis preoccupations always are with character assassination, deployment of incendiary adjectives in describing people, his obsessive and compulsive approach, coupled with patronising and condescending attitudes, while desperately trying to pull others down. He plays hubristic tunes always, as if he remains the only de facto repository of knowledge on all matters of national importance. The frenzy with which he dishes out outrageous diatribes about people is frighteningly appalling, when there are many issues crying for fertile minds to address. His analyses are frighteningly and disturbingly twisted to suit his own narratives and those of his paymasters. He disparages everybody contributing their quota to the development of our country. His penchant for obfuscation and make-believe sainthood and puritanism on all issues is sickening. Why always reel out toxic and acerbic write-ups to discredit people? The truth is that Kperogis diatribes emanate from a hellish terrain of his own negative inflections. Many of his teeming followers on social media have deified and venerated him disproportionately; eulogised and swallowed his barefaced mendacity and ascribed to him a larger-than-life image to ride roughshod on our national psyche like a demi-god. His contributions are not in the least altruistic but capable of instigating monumental conflagration. Our pleonastic warring warrior, truth bender and wailing wailer on any issue concerning his adversarial targets is relentless in fabricating apocryphal, unsubstantiated and damning critiques, as if hes immune to the putrefying decadence inflicted on our society. His incurable gusto to pull people down by deploying all the weaponry in his dangerous arsenal is petrifying. What he calls analyses are farcical and dishonest claims on many matters, which bear the unfortunate insignia of coarseness, brazenness and vulgarism. Kperogi reminds me of a histrionic, scurrilous midget with gargantuan complexes that later graduated to a crescendo, where the gratification of his fantasies and tales by moonlight always spell the fate of bewildered innocents. His stock-in-trade is to pervasively vilify every imaginary enemy, while he himself sails in the tide of self-abnegation. Having hugged the limelight, he seems unstoppable in his inveterate and dastardly attempts to rubbish every individual with so much bile, vile, Philistinism and sadistic ferocity that diminish his standing as a teacher who should be proffering solutions to issues confronting us as a people. He goes obscurantist and escapist on germane issues of national importance, while alarmingly chasing individuals head-on by deploying infantile adjectives against them. The recent declarations of many individuals for the office of president of Nigeria had Kperogi going for their jugulars. From his scathing and damning remarks on Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amechi, Nyesom Wike to the previous ones against Ndidi Okereke-Onyiuke, Dame Patience Jonathan, ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and many others, his repertoire of acidic and acerbic adjectives against these individuals, at every twist and turn, smacked of an ideologue with an unbridled tongue who lacks reciprocal respect. His indecorous, uncivil and boorish tirades against these persons were outright repugnant. Why is Kperogi playing God by condemning everybody but himself, who is known to be ensconced in the narcissistic and brutish repetitiveness of gutter language? No one is advocating that all write-ups have to be flattering of the bestial egos of individuals but for one who teaches in the U.S.A and knows how people sue for anything serious, mundane, frivolous and absurd matters he should have had some introspection and circumspection before hurling expletives at many. I am not holding brief for anybody here, as I have never met any of them, who also have a rich coterie of acolytes to do their public relation for them. But Kperogi needs to backtrack on this path he is trudging on. It is no news that Nigeria is on the precipice. The number of innocent people being killed, displaced, maimed and raped unconscionably, with gruesome glee and psychotic relish, on a daily basis in our killing fields, are staggering. Solutions to stop these heinous crimes should occupy our jaded minds, rather than throwing tantrums at every opportunity at individuals. Kperogi feigns ignorance of the massacres in Benue State, the near-total annihilation of the entire southern Kaduna people, attempted land annexation in the South for some clannish mongrels, and terrorism that has ravaged the entire North, among others, but choses to leave a festering leprosy in pursuit of an innocuous sore! His unholy alliance with that extremist figure, Ishaq Akintola, in his toxic and lachrymose sermons of seeing everything within the cauldron of Christianisation of the polity, is a human antithesis of angst and banal platitude. To put the record straight, I am a Christian deeply rooted in Anglicanism. To sell a putrid summary to the people about a candidate as being a Pentecostal radical slowly enacting an entrysm into our national consciousness, is to lie to the whole world when worse carrots had been dangled at us in this dispensation and in the past. To attribute a General Overseers dream of seeing a member or a pastor of his church become the president of Nigeria at a point in our chequered history as a cunningly-choreographed edict, is to take recourse to false syllogisms and paralogisms. A sixteen-year old Bill Clinton dreamt of a day he would superintend over the U.S.A when he represented his State of Arkansas as one of the students that visited then President J.F Kennedy in the White House on July 4, 1960. The dream actually became a stark reality for Bill Clinton later. Anybody can dream of brighter future prospects and that shouldnt form the basis of any luciferous umbrage. We are not all oblivious of those of other faiths, in which any rumour of sacrilege or anti-faith rhetoric by a perceived kafir is greeted by snafus, bedlam and all forms of violence better left to our conjectures. If Christians occupy some pole positions, just like members of other faiths, why the hues and cries? The exactitude of what Kperogi insinuated in Osinbajos perceived bigotry is difficult to substantiate. Academics should rather show objectivity and impartiality in any discourse of this type. Cases of cronysm in every facet of Nigerian life, nay that of the whole world, is as old as time. The first thing every employer who wishes to succeed in his business does is to recruit those he knows and can trust. To crucify Osinbajo for daring to employ the services of some trusted and known individuals, among many other appointees, as akin to religious bigotry, is being hypocritical by Kperogi, because when mistresses, henchmen, friends children, traditional rulers favoured lots were employed by President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) and his cabal, people cried of this perceived skewness, while Kperogi maintained a deafening silence. The president stuck to his appointments in a manner of do-whatever-you-like and we are all living witnesses to this lopsidedness till today. Only President Obasanjo did not get cocooned and encumbered by the nepotism mantra in his appointments, as he put meritocracy before ethnic appendages. What have been the contributions of Kperogi in the popular clamour for a brand new constitution that would birth a new order after decades of injustices, nepotism, clannishness, religious intolerance, a flawed admission quota system, unfair taxation etc?. He maintained a facade of indifference on all of them since the status quo favoured him and his paymasters. What of the perennial issue of Al majir in the north that is a blight on our our nations development and a blemish on our sartorial and immaculate white apparel? This and many other issues are what academics, polemicists and good citizens should crack their brains on, rather than be mudslinging individuals. Three short stories will substantiate the question that has always been on every lip in Nigeria: Are we really a country? When i was superintending over the General Hospital in Birnin-magaji, Zamfara State, a nurse who was an indigene was seconded to be a health attache to pilgrims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Normal courtesy demanded that he should inform me of this formally. But he never did. When he came back, I feigned ignorance of his assignment to the holy land and demanded to know where he had been. He responded rudely that if I asked him such a question again, he and others would kill me because it was their land and they could do whatever they liked in it. Again, it is no secret that ghost workers abound everywhere in Nigeria but they are astronomically more in the North. As the head in that same hospital, only a few workers occasionally came to work, which was a far-cry from the bogus list of workers given to me by the Hospital management board. I complained to the Medical Director in the board but he stonewalled all my suggestions designed to force his people to be coming to work to justify their pay. I then decided to write the banks where the supposed workers were getting their salaries to interdict these. The following day, the hospital was filled with so many strange faces complaining that they were workers but they could not get their salaries. I told them it was the board that stopped their salaries and they should go to Gusau to officially lodge their complaints. The Medical Director invited me to Gusau in a jiffy and praised me profusely for boldly stopping the salaries of the truant workers. He said the board ought to have interdicted those salaries a long time back, but that their hands were tied. He then said i should write the banks to release the salaries because many of those staff members had four wives and numerous children. I was catapulted into a state of utter consternation and disappointment. I soliloquised why I, from Ekiti, should be teaching and begging Zamfara indigenes to work for their people and justify their remunerations. I resigned myself to fate, helplessness and just continued doing my work with the few staffers who occasionally showed up for work thereafter. What of the gory case of a Christian woman hacked to death for having the temerity to preach the gospel on the street of Abuja? What of the unfortunate case of a female teacher who was invigilating an exam in a secondary school in Gombe, while an errant student was copying some of the answers already written on the pages of the holy book? Hell was let loose when the teacher seized the Quran and placed it on the window beyond the reach of the cheat, whilst the ensuing pandemonium led to the untimely death of the teacher that same day. What of the taxes on the sale of liquor in the South being jointly shared as a common patrimony, while Southerners resident in the North who were selling those products were incurring the opprobrium of the chauvinist Hisba brigade in those precincts, by having their products confiscated or destroyed? These are the kinds of issues that all patriotic individuals should critically and analytically busy themselves with, rather than engage routinely in character assassination and incessant glib writings that do not address our needs. Dele Afelumo is a practising physician. Email: drdeleafelumo98@gmail.com Key Points Covered in the Civil Engineering Market Report: Am I engaging with the right suppliers? Which KPIs should I use to evaluate my incumbent suppliers? Which supplier selection criteria are relevant for ERP Software? What are the ERP Software category essentials in terms of SLAs and RFx? Key Global Suppliers in the Civil Engineering Market: AECOM Jacobs Engineering Group VINCI. 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Contact SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us SOURCE SpendEdge WASHINGTON, April 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 18, to discuss the status of the next wet dress rehearsal test of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Complex 39B at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission. Due to upgrades required at an off-site supplier of gaseous nitrogen used for the test, NASA will take advantage of the opportunity to roll SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to replace a faulty upper stage check valve and a small leak on the tail service mast umbilical . During that time, the agency also will review schedules and options to demonstrate propellant loading operations ahead of launch. The teleconference will stream live on the agency's website. Teleconference participants include: Tom Whitmeyer , deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems development, NASA Headquarters in Washington , deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems development, NASA Headquarters in Charlie Blackwell-Thompson , Artemis launch director, NASA Exploration Ground Systems program, Kennedy Mike Sarafin , Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours prior to the start of the event to: [email protected]. Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars. For updates, follow along on NASA's Artemis blog at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis SOURCE NASA RTHK: Russia bombs Kyiv and Kharkiv, bears down on Mariupol Russian forces have renewed missile strikes on Kyiv and intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in an apparent attempt to hobble Ukraine's defences in preparation for what is expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. With the port city of Mariupol under siege, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country needs more heavy weapons from its Western allies immediately to have any chance of saving the city. Moscow vowed to step up missile strikes on Kyiv following the loss of its Black Sea Fleet flagship last week. It claimed to have hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko advised residents who had fled the city earlier in the war not to return. Were not ruling out further strikes on the capital, he said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where its safer, do it. The mayor said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of normality started appearing following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal from surrounding areas. Zelenskiys office also reported missile strikes and shelling in eight other regions. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by Russian firepower, reported airstrikes by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighbouring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. They said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. Zelenskiy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, who came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland. (AP) This story has been published on: 2022-04-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Beirut, April 17 : Lebanon's security forces have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 20 Syrian refugees out of Lebanon by sea, the National News Agency reported. The 20 refugees were arrested on a boat in the Lebanese territorial waters off the coast of Arida, a village in northern Lebanon, according to security forces on Saturday. The Syrian nationals, who were trying to flee Lebanon illegally, were detained and handed over to authorities for investigation and other legal procedures, said the report. Syrian refugees in Lebanon have attempted to escape the crisis-ridden country over the past several months, seeking to enter Europe, Xinhua news agency reported. Baghdad, April 17 : Two members of Iraq's Hashd Shaabi paramilitary force were killed in an attack launched by the Islamic State (IS) militants in the north of Baghdad, while four others died in a traffic accident in western Iraq. The two Hashd Shaabi members were killed on Saturday when IS militants attacked their base in the rugged area of al-Eith in the eastern part of Salahudin province, the Hashd Shaabi said in a statement. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since spread into urban centres, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians, Xinhua news agency reported. On Saturday, four Hashd Shaabi members were killed and six others injured in a traffic accident near the town of Rutba, nearly 390-km west of Baghdad, Lt. Col. Mohammed al-Dulaimi, a police officer from Anbar province, told Xinhua. According to al-Dulaimi, the accident occurred when a vehicle carrying Hashd Shaabi members on vacation overturned on the highway near Rutba. Baghdad, April 17 : Two soldiers were killed and two critically injury while defusing a bomb in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala. "Two soldiers of the engineering corps in the Iraqi army were killed and two others wounded while dismantling an explosive device planted on the outskirts of the town of Qara-Tappa, some 175 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad," the town's Mayor Wasfi al-Tamimi told Xinhua news agency. Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants to crackdown on their intensified activities, Xinhua news agency reported. The security situation in Iraq has improved after Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. Yet IS remnants have since spread into urban centres, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Khartoum, April 17 : Chairman of Sudan's transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan received a high-level Eritrean delegation, including Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Adviser to Eritrean President Yemane Gebreab, the Sovereign Council said in a statement. The delegation on Saturday conveyed a written message from Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, wishing Sudan progress, development and stability, according to the statement. The delegation also reviewed an Eritrean proposal aimed at narrowing the differences among Sudanese parties in order to settle the current political crisis, Xinhua news agency reported. For his part, Al-Burhan stressed the deeply-rooted Sudanese-Eritrean ties, commending Eritrea's support to Sudan and the issues at the regional and international forums, the statement said. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after the General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government. Khartoum, April 17 : The Revolutionary Front alliance, which brings together several armed groups in Sudan, welcomed Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan's decision to create a suitable atmosphere for dialogue. "The implementation of these requirements constitutes a goodwill and serious gesture to start a dialogue that will lead to a comprehensive political settlement," Osama Saeed, Spokesman of the Revolutionary Front alliance, said in a statement on Saturday. Al-Burhan announced in a speech in Khartoum on Friday that he would take measures to create a suitable atmosphere for dialogue, including the release of all detainees, and considering the lift of the state of emergency that has been in place since October 25, 2021. The Revolutionary Front alliance urged civilians to refrain from escalating the conflict and accept a political settlement through dialogue, Xinhua news agency reported. Al-Hadi Idriss, a member of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, called Al-Burhan's remarks "a positive step that opens the way for comprehensive dialogue among all Sudanese and revolutionary forces." With a consensus of all the forces of the revolution, a solution to the Sudanese crisis would soon be reached and a democratic transformation would be achieved, he said. Abdul-Rahim A-Sunni, a Sudanese political analyst, believes that the country's political crisis could be resolved through serious dialogue. "Fulfilment of Al-Burhan's promises to release the detainees and lift the state of emergency would definitely create a suitable environment for dialogue," Al-Sunni told Xinhua on Saturday. He stressed the need for the opposition, especially the forces leading the protests on the street, to stop escalating the conflict and resort to dialogue. "Due to the crisis, there is an economic, political and security deterioration that has been going on for nearly six months, it is time to search for solutions to get the country out of this crisis," he said. The major opposition groups, including the Resistance Committees, the Sudanese Professionals Association and the Forces of Freedom and Change alliance have yet to respond to Al-Burhan's remarks. Sudan has been suffering a political crisis after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the government. Since then, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other cities have been witnessing continued protests demanding a return to civilian rule. Rabat, April 17 : Morocco has "strongly condemned" Israeli actions against Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque, saying such actions will "fuel feelings of hatred and extremism and destroy the chances of reviving the peace process in the region." In a statement on Saturday, Morocco's Foreign Ministry calls on the United Nations and the international community to act promptly to put an end to the actions, Xinhua news agency reported. Upon the instructions from Morocco's king, the condemnation was delivered directly to the Head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, according to the statement. The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past three weeks as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Palestinians clashed with Israeli police forces on Friday at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, leaving more than 160 people wounded. Moscow, April 17 : The entire urban area of Mariupol city in eastern Ukraine has been fully cleared of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries, the Russian military said. The remnants of the resistant forces have been blocked inside the Azovstal iron and steel works plants, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing on Saturday. He said 1,464 Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered during the fighting in the city. As a key port city on the Azov Sea, Mariupol is witnessing one of the worst violence in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Xinhua news agency reported. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces were still fighting against Russians in Mariupol after nearly seven weeks since the city was besieged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the elimination of Ukrainian troops in Mariupol would put an end to any negotiations with Russia. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Washington, April 17 : Twelve people were injured during a shopping mall shooting in the southeastern US state of South Carolina, local authorities said. Police said three people have been detained in connection with the shooting at the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia on Saturday afternoon, adding that they do not believe this is a random incident. Police Chief, Skip Holbrook told the media that among the injured, 10 people were hit by gunfire, while two others were trampled in the crowd as people tried to escape, Xinhua news agency reported. Tehran, April 17 : The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has said the International Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEA) continues to monitor activities in Iran's nuclear sites, but it has no access to the recorded information in its cameras. "Monitoring continues, but until a (nuclear) agreement is reached, the information will remain with us and will probably be deleted," Behrooz Kamalvandi, Spokesman for the AEOI, was quoted by Iran's Arabic language news network Al-Alam as saying on Saturday. Regarding the transfer of some nuclear facilities in Karaj, near the capital Tehran, to Natanz complex in central Iran, he said "unfortunately due to the terrorist operation against Karaj facilities, we had to intensify security measures and moved an important part of these machines." "Centrifuge machines have been moved to a safer location because of their importance, and they are now operating," he noted. On April 4, Iran informed the UN nuclear watchdog about its plan to transfer the producing machines of centrifuge parts from Karaj to Natanz, Xinhua news agency reported. The AEOI Spokesman added that with the agreement reached with the IAEA, the issues regarding the past activities of Iran would be solved by June. "We do not have any technical issues at the moment, although there might be some small issues that are being solved," he said. In 2015, Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers, including the United States. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties to revive the deal. Chamoli, April 17 : In Latu Devta temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, neither the priests, nor the devout are allowed to see the deity. Uttarakhand is also known as Dev bhoomi housing religious places which are full of mystery and allure, and one such temple is the Latu Devta temple in Van village in Dewal block. About the temple: It is mysterious Nagraj resides with mani The devotees are not allowed to enter the temple and have darshanEven the priest at the temple worships the deity with a cloth tied around his eyes and mouth so that he does not get scared by the formidable form of the god. It is believed that the Naagraja (the serpent king in Hindu mythology) resides in the temple with a precious gem, popularly known as a 'mani', which cannot be seen by the common people. Locals also believe that if people see the mani, they will lose their vision due to its dazzling light. Every year, a fair is organised at the Latu Devta temple. As per mythology, Latu Devta is believed to be the brother of the presiding deity of Uttarakhand, Nanda Devi. The Latu Devta temple is also the 12th stopover of the Nanda Devi Raj Jaat (holy procession) which is held once in 12 years. Legend has it that Latu Devta welcomes and accompanies Nanda Devi on this journey till Hemkund. The portals of the temple open only once on Baisakh Purnima. After the portals are open, Vishnu Sahasranaam and Bhagwati Chandika 'path' (prayers) are organised. The portals of the temple are closed on Margseesha Amavasya. The story of Latu Devta: Latu Devta is believed to be the "dharma bhai" of Nanda Devi and brother-in-law of Lord Shankar. Nanda Devi is a form (aspect) of Goddess Parvati. Nanda Devi did not have a brother. One day, she thought that if she had a brother, he would have definitely come to visit her at Kailash and brought her "bhitoli" (gifts given to a married woman). That way, she would have got to know about the well-being of her parents also. Thinking all that, she started feeling homesick and became sad. When Lord Shiva asked Nanda Devi why she was sad, she replied, "I am feeling homesick. I don't have a brother, if I had a brother, he would have come to meet me and brought bhitoli and kaleva for me." After listening to Nanda Devi, Lord Shiva told her to make Latu, the younger son of the ruler of Kannauj, her brother. After this, Nanda Devi thought that in this way, she will also get an opportunity to visit her parents house. She sought permission from Lord Shiva which was granted. Nanda Devi reached her parents' place Riyasu and after taking permission from her father Hemant and mother Mainawati, proceeded to Kannuaj to make Latu her brother. Goddess Durga is the Kuldevi of Kannauj. The name of the queen of Kannauj was also Maina Devi who had two sons Batu and Latu. But Maina did not have a daughter. When Maina asked Nanda Devi the reason for coming to Kannauj, Nanda Devi told her that she does not have a brother and wanted to make Latu her brother and take him along with her. Initially, Maina said no, considering the long distance from Kannauj to Kailash. But when Nanda Devi insisted, Maina Devi agreed to her request. Nanda Devi accompanied by Latu visited Riyasu and was happy that now she also had a brother who will come to visit her at Kailash and bring "Bhitoli" for her. When Nanda Devi left for Kailash, all the people of the area came to see her off. When Nanda Devi's palanquin reached Van, she went to a river for taking a bath, and Latu, who was thirsty, started searching for water. In the search for water, he entered a room where he asked an elderly man for water. The old man told him that of the two pots kept in the corner of the room, one contained water. Latu drank from the pot which was filled with country-made liquor. Latu in an inebriated state created a scene and irked the villagers. Infuriated over this, Nanda Devi ordered the villagers to tie Latu. When Latu regained his senses, he sought forgiveness telling Nanda Devi the reason for his unruly behaviour. Nanda Devi told Latu that a temple will be built in his name and he will be worshipped on the last day of Vaishakh. Every 12 years, when the Nanda Devi Raj Jaat will take place, Latu will be worshipped. Since then these customs are being observed. Aizawl/Imphal, April 17 : India and Myanmar's official trade through Mizoram and Manipur has been closed for many years although various drugs, arms and ammunition, endangered animals and other items valued at hundreds of crores of rupees are being traded illegally across the border. Traders on both sides of the border are keen to resume the India-Myanmar trade through the Moreh and Zokhawthar trading points to curb the rampant illegal trade in various items, especially highly addictive drugs. Moreh in Manipur and and Zokhawthar in Mizoram are the two important international trading points along the 1,643-km long India-Myanmar unfenced border. The official trade through the Moreh Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been closed since March 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak while trade through Zokhawthar has remained closed for many years due to various reasons. Moreh, 110 kms from the state capital Imphal, is one of the oldest trade points in India along the border with Myanmar, with the city of Tamu on the other side of the border. The India-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Moreh connects India to Kalewa in Myanmar's Sagaing Division. A senior ICP official said that given its strategic location, ICP Moreh has the advantage of acting as India's gateway to the East through the Moreh-Tamu border point, which is presently the only feasible land route for trade between India and Myanmar and other South East Asian countries. Moreh ICP is situated along the proposed 1360 km-long India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. The Mizoram based International Trade Initiative Forum (ITIF) recently urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to resume the trade with Myanmar through the Zokhawthar border point. An ITIF delegation led by its President P.C. Lawmkunga apprised the Mizoram governor that the non-functioning of the formal India-Myanmar border trade could be one reason for the smuggling activities in this area. Lawmkunga, a retired IAS officer who was the Chief Secretary of Manipur, said that Indo-Myanmar border trade at Zokhawthar in Champhai district of eastern Mizoram was first started as traditional trade in 1995 until the Government of India formalised it on December 2015. It has become almost nonexistent today due to various reasons. The Governor assured the ITIF delegation that the Central government is very much committed to the promotion of trade with neighbouring countries and to facilitating the ease of doing business for its citizens. He suggested that ITIF Mizoram try to identify all the potential traders who might have been discouraged by the present situation and bring them to the table for discussion. "In the absence of the formal and regular official border trade between India and Myanmar, not only is smuggling and illegal trade going on unchecked but the government is losing crores of rupees in revenue," Lawmkunga told IANS. He said that smuggling of areca nuts (also known as betel nut) in large quantities from Myanmar into Mizoram and Manipur has been going on without any major restrictions. "The Assam Rifles and the other security forces often intercepted truck loads of areca nuts. Smuggling of areca nuts in large quantities also affected the Indian farmers and traders," the retired IAS officer said. He said that the Indian government as part of its "Act East Policy", has been keen to promote trade and the economy with the neighbouring and the South East Asian countries, but without the regular formal trade how can this policy be successful. Contraband including gold and highly stimulating 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 items as well as arms and ammunition valued at hundreds of crores of rupees are smuggled from Myanmar. A defence spokesman said that Assam Rifles has been at the forefront in combating cross-border narco-terrorism and insurgency emanating from Myanmar. "Narco-terrorism is a major source of finance for the terrorist groups based in Myanmar. It has linkages with the other players in the 'Golden Triangle'. "This scourge is the main reason for the rise in drug addiction among the youth of India, especially in the northeast region. It is also a source for fuelling terrorism in the region," the spokesman said. Besides the large-scale smuggling from Myanmar, the northeastern states of India, especially Mizoram, bear the brunt of other problems after a military coup in the neighbouring country on February 1 last year. Around 24,000 Myanmar refugees, including women and children, have taken shelter in Mizoram. Of Mizoram's 11 districts, Siaha district, located along the India-Myanmar border, is currently sheltering around 9,500 refugees, followed by Champhai that accommodates 7,900 refugees. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) Jaipur, April 17 : The divide that emerged between students and schools during the pandemic over the issue of non-payment of fees by the students continues to widen in the desert state, with schools penalising students in one way or the other. The schools are also withholding the results and transfer certificates from parents who, unable to pay the fees, are trying to shift their wards to other schools. Many schools have increased their fees by 25 per cent after re-opening and have changed uniforms and doubled the transport fees. The state government is yet to act strictly against any such school despite continuous follow-ups being given to it, said Manish Vijayvergiya, state president of the Abhibhavak Ekta Andolan, Rajasthan. He said, "The first example in this case can be given of a girl whose hand was broken recently by a school teacher over non-payment of fees. The teacher stopped the girl after school hours and twisted her hand so hard it led to a fracture." Her father Badal said that he deposited the complete fees except three months for his 10-year-old daughter Shivani Panchal. However, the school continued harassing the student. "Recently her teacher detained my daughter in the school, slapped her and twisted her hand hard, which broke the bone of her hand. When the girl's health deteriorated, the teacher called us and misbehaved with us," he said adding that they have got a FIR registered in this matter. I work at a petrol pump and have deposited the fees with the money that came to me. Three months' fees were pending which were promised to be paid back, he said. In another school, students were reportedly made to stand in the sun because their parents could not pay the fees. Around 500 children were made to sit in the library in Vidyashram School, and their parents were not given their results. In fact, the school management threatened the parents that the children will not be promoted on which hundreds of parents protested against the school. They gathered outside the school and demonstrated and filed a report at the Bajaj Nagar police station against the school. Vijayvergiya meanwhile told IANS that the parents of Vidyashram School students have lodged a complaint that despite 80% of the fees being deposited, innocent children were being kept in the library for hours. Education is a fundamental right of children in India, the Supreme Court had also clearly said that children will not be expelled from online and offline examinations nor their examination results withheld if there are fee arrears. Despite this, many schools of Jaipur are doing this. We have complained but till date the government has not taken any action against any school, said Vijayvergiya. In the third case, he quoted one Mohammad Ishlaq who in his application said that he has sustained major losses in his business and hence could not pay the fees for his daughter studying in class 3. Now he wants to shift his child to some small school but he is being denied the transfer certificate and report card. While the state government has ordered investigations against such schools, however, the officials seem to be in no hurry so no update has been coming from the committees formed to probe the complaints, said Vijayvergiya. Another parent Sunil Yadav said that the Jayshri Periwal school, though counted amongst the best private institutes, did not have a parent-teacher association till 2019. It was formed only after the parents created a fuss. A case was also filed against it in the High Court for flouting the Supreme Court norms on the Fee Act. The schools have been increasing the fees without any criteria and the case against them is sub-judice as of now, he added. Anita Khichad, a government officer deputed to a committee for investigation, told IANS that the board exams kept them busy. We shall resume the probe from Monday, she added. Another senior official Vishnu Dutt, also deputed for the investigation, did not take the call from IANS. Vijayvergiya alleged that officials are hand in glove with the schools and hence the latter are ruling the roost. Guwahati/Agartala, April 17 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent announcement to make Hindi a compulsory subject in all the Northeastern states up to Class 10 has evoked mixed reactions. The region presents a complex linguistic mosaic which has jealously preserved over 200 dialects. Various political and apolitical bodies have strongly advocated promoting and protecting the indigenous and local languages for the all-round integration. India's Northeastern region is home to 45.58 million people (2011 census) and the indigenous tribes constitute around 28 per cent people and they mostly speak in their mother tongue or their indigenous language. Of the eight states, a majority of the people in three Northeastern states -- Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya -- are Christians dominated while a considerable percentage of people in other Northeastern states -- Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh are either Hindus or Muslims or Buddhists. The data shows that of the total of 31,205,576 population in Assam (2011 Census), 15,095,797 are Assamese speakers, 9,024,324 are Bengali speakers, 14,16,125 are Bodo speakers and 21,01,435 are Hindi speakers. According to the 2001 Census there were 13,010,478 Assamese speakers, 73,43,338 Bengali, 12,96,162 Bodo and 15,69,662 Hindi speakers. Increase in the absolute number of speakers of these four languages over the decade 2001-2011 in Assam was Assamese 20,85,319, Bengali 16,80,986, Bodo 1,19,963 and Hindi speakers 5,31,773. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 10 while chairing the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee had said Hindi should be accepted as an alternative language to English but not to local languages. "The nine tribal communities of the Northeast have converted their dialects' scripts to Devanagari while all the eight states of the Northeast have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to Class 10. There is a need to give elementary knowledge of Hindi to students up to Class 9, and pay more attention to Hindi teaching examinations," the Home Minister had reportedly said in the meeting. While the political parties in the Northeastern region are divided on the Hindi learning issue, the linguistic experts and political commentators said that while teaching in English and Hindi, local and indigenous languages must be given equal propriety for their promotion and practical use. Assam's influential apex literary body, Asom Sahitya Sabha (ASS) has opposed the move to make Hindi a compulsory subject till Class 10 in the Northeastern states. ASS Secretary General Jadav Chandra Sharma said making Hindi a mandatory language will endanger the indigenous language. Renowned political commentator in the Northeast region and a celebrity writer Sushanta Talukdar, said that language is an important identity marker for ethnic communities in the Northeast. "The language debate has not been settled and even after formation of state on the basis of language, the region continues to witness identity movements by various linguistic groups for statehood and autonomy. It is in this backdrop, any proposal to push a particular language either as official language, or as a medium of instruction or as a compulsory subject sparks off protests and opposition," Talukdar, the editor of multilingual online portal 'Nezine', told IANS. He said that the replacement of Assamese by Hindi as a lingua franca in Arunachal Pradesh and increase in population of Hindi and Bengali speakers in Assam in 2011 language Census has stoked fears of Assamese language being further marginalised which also resonates with smaller ethnic communities in the state and other states in the region. At a time when ethnic communities have been striving for the promotion of their own language, including as medium of instruction, making Hindi a compulsory subject up to Class 10 is seen as a move contrary to their linguistic aspirations, Talukdar observed. Communist Party of India-Marxist, Congress, Trinamool Congress, and few other local parties have strongly opposed the move while National People's Party (NPP), a national party from the Northeast, supporting the Centre's move, demanded to promote local and indigenous language. CPI-M Central Committee member and veteran tribal leader Jitendra Chaudhury said that the BJP government at the behest of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) trying to impose Hindi on all communities. "If the BJP government at the Center continues to insist on imposition of Hindi on all communities, it would affect the national integration of the country. Such an attempt is against the unity in diversity and the philosophy of India's freedom struggle," Chaudhury, a former Tripura tribal welfare and forest minister, told IANS. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Member Sushmita Dev, who hails from Bengali dominated southern Assam, told IANS that the imposition of Hindi is a RSS agenda. "Instead of protecting and promoting the local languages of the Northeast, the BJP with a motive is trying to impose Hindi," she said. NPP Supremo and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma supporting the Centre's move said that the Union government must also take steps to promote the local languages. "Institutional and financial support must be given to protect and promote the local and indigenous languages of the northeast," Sangma said in Shillong. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that there is no instruction from Centre to make Hindi learning compulsory. "Assamese is the mother tongue of the majority of Assam citizens. The Assam government in consultation with Asom Sahitya Sabha and tribal dominated organisations prepared a language policy where a student will learn Assamese and a tribal language besides English and Hindi. Bodo Sahitya Sabha has some opposition and that's why the state government has yet to announce the policy," the Chief Minister said. Sarma said that Shah had said one must know Hindi even though "we want students to learn English and Hindi". "Amit Shah has not said one must not stop learning Assamese and learn Hindi. He said that one must, after learning Assamese or their mother tongue, learn Hindi. We also want the same for by learning Hindi a student from this region would be able to apply for government and non-government jobs in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra," he said. Assam's Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia (Congress) said that Shah's announcement is in contradiction to the New Education Policy introduced by the BJP-led Central government which seeks to support primary education in the mother tongue. Manipur Pradesh Congress committee President Keisham Meghachandra said in Imphal that his party strongly opposes the Union Home Minister's statement "on imposition of Hindi language in Manipur and other Northeast India states". In Meghalaya, former Congress leader and sitting MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, who along with 4 party legislators recently announced to support the BJP-backed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, also strongly opposed Shah's announcement. "The Central government is unilaterally trying to impose Hindi in the Northeastern states," Lyngdoh told the media on Sunday in Shillong. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) Lucknow, April 17 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks urging people to speak in Hindi as an alternative to English have evoked strong reactions in the whole country with some supporting the move while others despising it. Many people also believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is raking up the issue of Hindi as the country's official language in north and south India for immediate political dividends. Amid the debate, former Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Assembly and senior BJP leader, Hriday Narayan Dixit said what the Union Home Minister actually said was that the states must use Hindi instead of English for communication and continue to speak in their respective local languages. However, Dixit said speaking in Hindi is being opposed by some states. The social workers and other eminent scholars of the country must convey to the people that Hindi is our country's official language and there is no competition with any local language, the BJP leader added. "The regional languages of respective states have no conflict with Hindi. Hindi and Indian languages belong to one family." The former Speaker said when a proposal for declaring the country's official language was introduced in the Constituent Assembly, Iyengar, the proponent of this proposal, had said he wanted to announce Hindi as the country's official language but it was not the right time to do so. At that time Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said he accepted English as the preferred language but added that Hindi is our country's language and we must take it forward which is well documented in the Constituent Assembly. Hriday Narayan Dixit added, "Hindi is the country's official language. It is the responsibility of the nation and the state to make all efforts to promote and encourage it. There is no point in imposing Hindi in any state. Those who call the suggestion of using the official language as "cultural terrorism", then I only have pity over their knowledge." Congress spokesperson Sudhanshu Bajpai said: "Hindi will not be enriched by plain speech or rhetoric, it will not be encouraged by imposition, for this Hindi will have to be linked with employment, it will have to be linked with the world of knowledge, this is practical advice." He further said, "We have different dialects in India, there are languages which are part of our identity, I do not think it is appropriate to put a brake on it. The BJP is already raising a debate over food, today they (BJP) are talking about language, tomorrow they will tell people to wear only dhoti-kurta." "The Constitution is sacrosanct in this country, if the Constitution has guaranteed us freedom of expression, food and clothing, then BJP should not indulge in politics dividing people on these critical issues," he added. Samajwadi Party National spokesperson Ali Khan says: "Hindi is the native language of only 43 per cent of the people in the country, so it is unfair to forcefully impose it on all the people. All languages of India are equal. Federalism is the soul of the country and the Constitution. Actually this fight is not on the basis of language, but BJP is preparing its election strategy through such a move. By playing politics over language, religion, culture, the BJP wants to ensure communal divide which goes against India's identity of 'unity in diversity'." On the other hand, famous litterateur and critic Virendra Yadav says that Amit Shah's statement is that the people of non-Hindi speaking areas must communicate in Hindi. "It is bound to receive criticism in south India or non-Hindi speaking states because if a Malayalam speaking person can speak to a Tamil speaker in Malayalam or Tamil, then it is like imposing Hindi on them, it is unnecessary encroachment on linguistic freedom." "His (Amit Shah's) statement is unnecessary. In a country like India which has subcontinental expansion, if the dominance of any one language will be imposed on the other, then it is not right for the unity and integrity of the country, this should be avoided." Panaji, April 17 : Goa's beaches are under increasing threat of erosion and the phenomenon may impact its tourism economy in the years to come. Experts have called for urgent intervention and the need to create short term and long term plans to safeguard the state's coastline. Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha earlier this month that 19.2 percent of Goa's 103 km long coastline was facing the threat of erosion, which includes some of the top beaches in the state like Anjuna, Keri-Tiracol, Morjim in North Goa and Agonda, Betalbatim, Majorda in South Goa. According to the Goa government's water resources department statistics, as many as 19 beaches in the state face the threat of erosion. The authorities have embarked on measures like building protection walls, reinforcing erosion-affected areas with tetra-pods, geo-fibre barriers to salvage affected areas. However, according to Sujeet Dongre of the Centre for Environment Education and a member of the state government's Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority, there was scope for a lot more planning in order to combat the erosion threat. "Whichever area is more prone to such erosion, we have to ensure that it is protected by rejuvenating beach ecosystems, sand dunes and ensure that beach vegetation is not tampered with. In the long term, we need more research data. There is also a need to undertake mechanical and biological means of protection of such areas," Dongre said. In the absence of mining, the tourism industry has been the backbone of the state's economy accounting for more than a quarter of the state's gross domestic product. And while erosion is a common phenomenon along the country's coastline, in Goa it gains relevance because of the state's overwhelming dependence on the tourism industry for revenue and employment generation. Just before the advent of Covid, nearly 8 million tourists visited Goa's beaches, while the construction of a new airport at Mopa in North Goa could bring a few million more visitors, according to government estimates. Environment experts have called for a detailed study of the carrying capacity of Goa's beaches. Some years back Manguesh Nagararan, a senior faculty at the Goa Institute of Management, among the nation's premier B-Schools, said that 1.47 lakh people could become jobless in Goa in the wake of rising sea levels which he said have already begun to show, estimating that the state could lose as much as 30 percent of its economic activity due to global warming. Faced with the threat the state government has also written to the Pune-based Central Water and Power Research station to recommend a solution to check the erosion of Goa's popular beaches and remedial measures to be undertaken in order to arrest erosion. Dongre said there was a need to protect the existing biological ecosystem on the beaches, especially sand dunes, which he said serve as a protective barrier against cyclones. "The sandy portion, landward-side dunes are very important. They serve as a protective zone. They not only provide protection from cyclones, but they also stabilise beaches," Dongre said. New Delhi, April 17 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will pay an official visit to India from April 21-22. This will be his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday. During the two-day meet, the British Prime Minister will first land in Ahmedabad on April 21 and then proceed to Delhi. The ministry statement said, "At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Rt. Hon'ble Boris Johnson MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will pay an official visit to India from 21-22 April 2022. This will be his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom." During the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UK PM are likely to discuss trade, defence and the Ukraine crisis. "The Prime Ministers will review implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and set their vision for further intensifying cooperation across the full spectrum of bilateral ties. They will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," said the ministry. "Prime Minister Johnson will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and will hold bilateral consultations with the Prime Minister on April 22. Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will also visit Gujarat on April 21. "India and the United Kingdom enjoy a long and historical relationship which was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK Virtual Summit in 2021," said the ministry in a statement. Kolkata, April 17 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent statement that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English, and not to local languages, across the country is "premature", "impractical" and an "impossible proposition to implement" in a country like India, especially in a non-Hindi speaking state such as West Bengal. This is the opinion of academicians and civil-society representatives with whom IANS spoke on this issue. The Bengali intelligentsia feels that promoting Hindi as a replacement to English requires the setting up of a huge infrastructure where Hindi should be a compulsory subject in the school curriculum. They also feel that most of the schools, especially government-run or government-aided ones, in non-Hindi speaking states do not have the infrastructure to make Hindi a compulsory subject for all students taught in the school. And hence they feel that Shah's proposition is "premature", "impractical" and "impossible" to meet. They also apprehend that forceful imposition of Hindi might result in an internal civil-war between the Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi speaking population in the non-Hindi speaking states like West Bengal. Historian and professor at Kolkata's Rabindra Bharati University, Ashis Kumar Das, told IANS that Hindi imposition is like what happened in undivided Pakistan, where the Urdu-speaking leaders in then West Pakistan tried to impose Urdu on the Bengali-speaking population in the erstwhile East Pakistan. "The rest is history. I want to ask the Home Minister whether he wants an internal civil-war by forceful imposition in Hindi? The people of every state have their sentiments about their mother language. So do the Bengalis. "But the Bengalis and the non-Hindi speaking population do not have any hatred about Hindi as a language. But forceful imposition will give birth to that internal hatred, which might result in bloodbath in certain cases," Das said. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, the principal of a leading state-run higher secondary school in South 24 Parganas district, while speaking to IANS, pointed out the infrastructure bottlenecks behind the implementation of the Home Minister's proposal. "The government-run or the government-aided schools form the backbone and foundation of the education system in West Bengal, since the majority population do not have the financial backup to afford high-profile schools that can provide separate infrastructure for three languages, namely English, Bengali and Hindi, for all the students. "So, including Hindi as a subject for all students in any non-Hindi speaking state like West Bengal will require development of huge infrastructure such as syllabus formulation, separate classrooms and appointment of dedicated Hindi teachers. "That will involve time and huge cost. How many state governments have that reserve to spend money behind such an avoidable expenditure? Will the Union government provide the funds to the state governments to bear the cost? So, in my opinion, this proposal is simply insane," Bhattacharya told IANS. Kolkata-based academic administrator, Subhosmit Bauchi Sen, told IANS that there is a system which is followed by the Union government for a long time to make the Central government employees aware of the working knowledge of Hindi. "But that is restricted to an extremely small fraction of the population. Making the entire population, or even the state government employees in all non-Hindi speaking states, adapt to both verbal and written Hindi cannot be accomplished in a short period of time. "And also, my question is who will provide the funds for setting up the requisite infrastructure for this purpose? Replacing English with Hindi is not an easy task. I have been to Kerala a number of times. There the owners of local grocery shops are more comfortable in communicating in English rather than in Hindi," she said. Pro-Bengali civil society group 'Bangla Pokkho' has already launched a state-wide campaign on this issue, describing the proposal as a latent attempt to convert West Bengal into an "extended cow-belt" or "greater Uttar Pradesh". The executive member of Bangla Pokkho, Arindam Biswas, who is also a prominent city-based physician, told IANS that his organisation will resist the attempt of Hindi imposition in West Bengal at any cost. "We are not against Hindi or Hindi-speaking people. For years people speaking various languages have been residing in our state peacefully, with none trying to enforce a particular language on the other. We will not allow BJP to forcefully impose Hindi and hurt our pride with Bengali as our mother tongue," Biswas said. Seoul, April 17 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the successful test-firing of a new tactical guided weapon meaningful in improving the efficiency of tactical nuclear operations, Pyongyang's state media announced Sunday. The new weapon system is "of great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes of the DPRK and diversification of their firepower missions," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The test-fire was carried out successfully," it added without giving other details of the tested weapon, including its type, Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea's military said later that it detected the North's launch of two projectiles into the East Sea at 6 p.m. Saturday (local time). They flew 110 km at an apogee of around 25 km and a top speed of Mach 4, it added. Immediately after the launch, the presidential National Security Office, military and intelligence agencies held an emergency meeting to discuss it, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Observers here say the North seems to have tested a newly developed heavy artillery system or upgraded KN-23 missiles -- its own version of the US' Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). Photos released by the KCNA show that the transporter erector launcher (TEL) has two tubes, while the tactical weapon itself bears an external resemblance to the KN-23 missile, modeled after Russia's Iskander ballistic missile. The North might have modified the missile to be fit for multiple TEL tubes. The KN-23 is known to have a flight range of 400 to 600 km that can target South Korea. Rather than following a general parabolic trajectory, the missile shows a more complicated path by doing a so-called pull-up maneuver over the course of its flight. Inspecting the latest launch, Kim gave important instructions on "further building up the defense capabilities and nuclear combat forces of the country," the KCNA reported. Kim highly praised the national defense scientific research sector for its "continuous successes in attaining the core goals of securing the war deterrent" set forth at the eighth party congress last year. He then clarified that the long-term plan for the ruling party's central committee is to bolster up the defense capabilities of the country. During the Workers' Party congress in January last year, the North laid out plans to advance its weapons, including developing tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic gliding flight warheads, nuclear-powered submarines and reconnaissance satellites, among others. The North's latest test-launch comes as South Korea and the United States prepare to kick off their major springtime combined training on Monday. Concerns have grown that Pyongyang may conduct another nuclear test in the near future. It marks the country's 13th known flight test of projectiles this year, and the first since Pyongyang fired what it claims to be a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last month. On Friday, the North also commemorated the 110th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung with massive celebratory events, but there has been no report of a military parade. San Francisco, April 17 : Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday said that the Board of Twitter should be more concerned about other potential bidders than him who has made a fair offer to acquire 100 per cent of the micro-blogging platform for $43 billion. He was reacting to a follower who said that the Twitter board has threatened to dilute their shareholder's stake in the company which is a sort of criminal negligence. The Musk follower commented: "The Twitter Board, excluding Jack Dorsey, only owns 0.12% of Twitter. They have not only, behind closed doors, rejected @elonmusk's offer to purchase the company 20% above market value.AAThey have threatened to dilute their shareholder's stake in the company. Criminal negligence?" Musk replied: "In fairness to the Twitter board, this might be more of a concern about other potential bidders vs just me". With 9.2 per cent stake, Musk is one of the largest shareholders in Twitter. Asset management firm Vanguard Group disclosed last week that its funds now own a 10.3 per cent stake in Twitter which makes it the largest shareholder. Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who rejected Elon Musk's offer, has about 5.2 per cent share in Twitter. Global investment firm Goldman Sachs, advising the Twitter Board to decline the deal, currently has a $30 price target on Twitter's stock, 45 per cent below Musk's offer. As Twitter adopts the 'poison pill' strategy to stop Elon Musk from forcefully buying it, the Tesla CEO is reportedly speaking to investors who could partner with him on acquiring the micro-blogging platform. According to a report in The New York Post citing sources, "a new plan that includes partners could be announced within days". Musk may join "private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, which was planning to co-invest with him in 2018 when he was considering taking Tesla private". Egon Durban, who is the co-CEO of Silver Lake, is a Twitter board member. "He led Musk's deal team during the 2018 failed effort to take Tesla private," the report said. Chandigarh, April 17 : Chandigarh, the city a symbol of post-Independence and modern India, and planned by the famous French architect Le Corbusier is once again a political flashpoint between two neighbouring states -- Punjab and Haryana -- first over the claim to the joint capital Chandigarh and second over sharing of river waters. The latest cause of provocation is the BJP-led Union government decision that the city employees will get salaries and emoluments on a par with the central government. Cutting across the party lines, the legislative Assemblies of AAP-ruled Punjab and BJP-ruled Haryana this month adopted unanimous resolutions separately to stake its legitimate claim over the Union Territory of Chandigarh, a five-decade-old political tussle over the capital. Interestingly, the BJP and the Congress in both the states have demanded Chandigarh, known as the City Beautiful, be transferred to the state. In the war of words, Haryana has enlarged the capital tussle by reviving its two contentious demands -- language and its share of river waters. It has been insisting that Chandigarh can be given to Punjab only if Punjab agrees to give its Hindi-speaking Fazilka-Abohar areas to Haryana as compensation. Also Haryana seeks its constitutionally established right over Punjab to share waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers with the construction of the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. Chandigarh's Capitol Complex buildings comprise the Secretariat complex, the legislative assembly complex and the high court Complex, shared by both Punjab and Haryana. "The right of Haryana to share waters Ravi and Beas rivers by the construction of the SYL Canal 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 an assembly resolution adopted by the Haryana assembly led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on April 5. Four days ahead of this resolution, the Punjab Assembly adopted the resolution, moved by the leader of the House and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging the Centre to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab. The House 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). Joining the war of one-upmanship, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation headed by the BJP announced to allow the city to remain a Union Territory and asked Punjab and Haryana to have its own capital cities. Officials told IANS one of the most contentious moves that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the time being has 'deliberately' kept under wraps is appointing an independent administrator for Chandigarh that would end a 37-year-old system of the Punjab Governor also controlling Chandigarh as Administrator. The BJP-led NDA government in 2016 decided to appoint Kerala BJP leader and former bureaucrat K.J. Alphons as the Administrator of the union territory but decided against it following apprehensions expressed by Punjab's ruling and BJP's coalition partner Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). At that time Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh termed it a blatantly unjust move aimed at snatching away Chandigarh from Punjab and an attempt to deliberately weaken Punjab's claim over Chandigarh. Then Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had said, "Punjab will never allow its legitimate right over the capital and other Punjabi speaking areas to be compromised or diluted." Interestingly, the passing of the latest resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is not the first such one. Earlier six resolutions were passed in the Assembly. The first one dates back to May 18, 1967, and that was a 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 on 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 latest provocation over Punjab's claim on Chandigarh is the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Chandigarh on March 27 where he announced that the Centre would notify Central Service Rules for employees in the Union Territory instead of the Punjab Service Rules. A day later the rules were notified. 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. The SYL, a proposed 214-kilometre-long canal connecting Sutlej and Yamuna rivers, has been a contentious issue between Punjab and Haryana over river water sharing for decades. It was planned in 1966 after the state of Haryana was carved out of Punjab. The Congress government in Punjab had, in 2004, scrapped the water sharing agreements with neighbouring states and refused to give any water to other states, especially Haryana. The presidential reference was sought after the Punjab Assembly unilaterally passed the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004, categorically stating that it was nullifying all agreements on water sharing and that no more water would be given to Haryana. The SYL canal, which was planned and major portions of it were even completed in the 1990s at a cost of over Rs 750 crore, is still entangled in a political war. Punjab and Haryana are unwilling to give up their respective stand on the canal issue and sharing of river waters. Haryana in its latest Assembly resolution urged 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 Chandigarh. The House also urged the central government to take measures for the construction of the SYL in compliance with the Supreme Court's directions. Responding to the AAP-led Punjab government's resolution on Chandigarh, Congress two-time Chief Minister and Leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda told IANS in an interview: "The resolution of the Punjab Assembly signifies nothing. This is a ritualistic tactic of every government in Punjab to divert the attention of their people from the real challenges before them." Haryana Chief Minister Khattar has asked his party's government in the Centre not to take any steps until all concerns related to the Punjab Reorganisation Act were addressed. He 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. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) New Delhi, April 17 : A number of issues between the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the opposition-ruled states are leading to friction with the BJP, which once constantly criticised the Congress for hurting the federal system in the country, now being accused of doing the same. In an earlier article in February, Ramachandra Guha wrote that the rejection of Republic Day floats designed by the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal was seen as a symbolic attack on those states, which are ruled by parties other than the Bharatiya Janata Party. Several Opposition MPs vigorously attacked the Centre for undermining the rights of the states in violation of constitutional norms and principles, he added. "However, with the BJP achieving a majority in the general elections of 2014 and 2019, Indian federalism has, once again, come under threat. In the seven-and-a-half years that Narendra Modi has been in office, Article 356 has been invoked eight times, or roughly once a year. When judged by this single criteria, Modi may be said to be more respectful of the rights of states than Indira Gandhi. Yet, in other ways, he has undermined and weakened Indian federalism far more than any previous prime minister," Guha wrote. Guha wrote that important policies are framed and major laws passed without consulting the states that have to implement them. This was most strikingly true of the (now withdrawn) farm laws, of course, but policies and laws relating to such vital subjects as education, co-operatives, banking and so on were decided beforehand by the Centre and then sought to be imposed on the states. Although law and order is a state subject, Guha said the Modi government has done all it can to undermine the capacity and autonomy of state governments to enforce their writ in the territories under their legal jurisdiction. The free and almost reckless invocation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to suppress political dissent (rather than to identify actual terrorists) and the sending of the National Investigation Agency (set up in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks for a limited, and specific, purpose) into state after state are examples of how the Modi government seeks to centralise punitive powers in its hands, he added. Designed to handle specific disasters in a time-bound fashion, the NDMA has become in this government's hands merely another tool to increase its powers over the states, he said. The Modi government has used investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to weaken and threaten parties and state governments opposed to it, Guha said. In so systematically attacking the state governments opposed to it, the Modi regime has sought to exact insidious loyalty tests from officers of the Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service, he added. The promotion, at vast expense and with enormous amounts of institutional energy, of a personality cult of the prime minister, also weakens the idea of India as a federal republic in which the states and the Centre are equal partners, Guha said. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha in the February session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Sonia Gandhi-led party for delivering lectures on federalism, as per media reports. PM Modi noted that when Congress was in power at the Centre for decades, several chief ministers were removed over 'petty issues'. The Prime Minister went on to name Congress' Chief Ministers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and underscored that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn't work with such a narrow mindset, the reports said. One of the former Chief Ministers that the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech to the Rajya Sabha was former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister T. Anjaiah, who was ousted because then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi did not like the arrangements at the airport. Prime Minister Modi said, "Have we forgotten those days when CMs would be ousted owing to small incidents at the airport? Many leaders of this House know very well what happened with former Andhra Pradesh CM T. Anjaiah Ji. He was ousted because the PM's son didn't like the arrangements at the airport. This had hurt the sentiments of crores of people of Andhra Pradesh," the reports said. The Prime Minister underscored that "We do not see a conflict between national targets and regional aspirations. We maintain that we must address regional aspirations with the utmost respect and resolve issues. India will progress when we address regional aspirations keeping in mind development. When states progress, the country prospers," the reports added. K.K. Kailash of the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad said in a February article that the One India framework has allowed the BJP to simplify and rationalise complex tax and reform policy measures and frame them in terms of being universally beneficial. While they are supposedly based on sound administrative and economic judgement, this goes against the principle that in federations states could be the 'laboratories of democracy'. The framework has a top-down agenda and does not necessarily allow the best solutions to emerge since it assumes that the Centre knows best. As states are always looking for money, they are incentivised into accepting central schemes even if they have other ideas. Policy centralisation reduces the space for innovation at the state level and ignores the possibility that states have better information about what works locally. To make matters worse, consultations between the centre and states have been few and far between, he added. Kailash said similarly, the idea of simultaneous elections is a unitarian proposal piggybacking on economic logic. It ignores the fact that in a federation, states have their priorities and, as autonomous units, are definitely not subordinate to the central government. The One Nation, One Election idea attempts to change the electoral logic of different states and artificially manufacture a uniform electoral agenda. Simultaneous elections are a technocratic solution that disrespects democracy by viewing elections as a burden and an impediment to efficiency and "good governance". The One India thesis fits with the party agenda on national unity, uniformity and homogenisation. But it is a frontal assault on the federal idea and does not live up to the multiple values that federalism seeks to achieve, Kailash said. Kabul, April 17 : Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and Chief Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabiullah Mujahid condemned Pakistan's recent airstrikes on Khost and Kunar provinces in the strongest terms adding that repetition of such moves will have dire implications, Khaama Press reported. Zabiullah Mujahid added that Afghans by defeating the US have proven that they can defend their country hence, Pakistan should not examine the patience of the people of Afghanistan. "We are trying our best to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels and negotiations. Such acts will create tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan which will lead to conflicts that are in favour of no one," Said Mujahid. Further, Mujahid added that Waziristan's refugees were targeted in Khost province wherein women and children were killed. Pakistan's aircrafts bombed civilians' homes in the Spera district of the southeastern Khost province killing at least 60 civilians. The Foreign Ministry of the IEA also summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan to the ministry and asked for the prevention of such attacks in the future. Afghan officials condemned the bombing and asked for the prevention of such strikes in the future. "All military encroachments including those in Kunar and Khost provinces must be prevented as acts as such will deteriorate bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Deterioration of relations will have dire consequences," Afghan Foreign Ministry said. Beijing, April 17 : With the lockdown in China's business capital showing no signs of ending, citizens are getting impatient and there have been reports of protests and clashes with police. Chinese social media posts have shown residents of Shanghai come out in the open to protest as authorities ask them to move out of their homes to make way for Covid-19 patients. The complete lockdown in the city of 25 million has put China's Covid-Zero policy under the scanner as overwhelmed authorities try to balance economic considerations with the need to fight the surge in the number of cases. Amid reports of food scarcity, desperate people are reportedly scouring social media. One resident IANS got in touch with in Shanghai told this correspondent how it was becoming increasingly difficult to find food in modest quantities. "I am not getting the vegetables I need as the minimum amount available comes for 5340 Yuan", said the resident, who lives in downtown Shanghai. Requesting anonymity, she added that she was looking for friends and relatives online so that all of them can come together to buy the large quantity. "I can't purchase the entire quantity myself," she said. Another resident this correspondent tried to speak to was too busy looking for food. "I am very busy finding food at the moment, if I don't find food I will have no life," she said, requesting anonymity. Shanghai, which has been under complete lockdown for weeks, reported 23,000 Covid-19 cases on Friday, part of a spike that has put authorities on high alert. The sudden spike in cases in China has seen several cities step up precautionary measures. This includes the tourist city of Xian that has proclaimed a partial lockdown until Tuesday. Meanwhile, China's neighbour South Korea has decided to end most Covid-related restrictions from next week as Omicron cases show signs of coming down, the government announced on Saturday. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, April 17 : Around thousand armed people had assembled during the communal clashes in Jahangirpuri, Police Sub-Inspector Arun, who got injured in the violence, said on Sunday. While the older persons and youth were carrying arms, the women were seen possesing stones during Saturday's violence, he added. "Two processions passed peacefully, it was the third procession which was suddenly attacked and the situation went out of the hands," he said. Eight police personnel and one civilian had got injured in clashes. They were rushed to BJRM hospital. The clashes erupted when a group of armed people attacked 'Shobha yatra' taken out to mark Hanuman Jayanti. Currently, the local police assisted by a team of Special Cell and Crime Branch, is investigating the case, which is likely to be transferred to the Special Cell. The police is also preparing a detailed report in the matter which will be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Meanwhile, police claimed to have recovered the pistol used in the violence from Aslam (one of the main accused's) possession. Ten police teams have been formed to look into the matter. Senior police officials are on the spot. Extra police forces have been deployed in the area to avoid untoward incidents. Following the incident, a case was lodged under sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 323, 427, 436, 307, 120B IPC read with 27 Arms Act. "A total of nine persons (8 police personnel and 1 civilian) were injured. All were removed to BJRM hospital. One Sub inspector sustained bullet injury. His condition is stable," said a police official. Earlier, Delhi Police registered an FIR. "We have lodged an FIR into the incident and an investigation has been initiated," Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, New Delhi, Dependra Pathak told IANS. He said the situation was now peaceful and under control. The area where the clashes took place continues to be under heavy police security cover. Hyderabad, April 17 : Superstar Pawan Kalyan's most-anticipated mythology-based movie 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu' is under making, as the actor is busy shooting for a couple of high-octane action sequences. A source has revealed exciting things about Pawan's appearance in the movie, his fans can't contain the thrill. Pawan will reportedly appear in the film in three different avatars. According to the producers, he will be seen in 30 completely different theme outfits. "His appearance will be the main attraction of Hari Hara Veera Mallu," the source added. 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu,' billed as 'The Legendary Heroic Outlaw,' will reportedly star Pawan Kalyan as a warrior. Apart from Pawan Kalyan and actress Nidhhi Agerwal, the film's producers spell out the names of the prominent cast members. The 'Bheemla Nayak' actor is also training in martial arts for this Krish directorial, and he hopes to finish filming for this project as soon as possible because it has been in the works for a long time. Chennai, April 17 : Changing from 'Madhiya Arasu' (central government) to 'Ondriya Arasu' (Union government) while terming the BJP-headed Indian government; demanding the recall of the Governor R.N. Ravi, scrapping NEET, CUET, NEP, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been crossing swords with the Centre. Tamil Nadu government has also voiced against the storage of spent fuel at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant complex in Tirunelveli and also the setting up of the India based Neutrino project. "The anti-central government stance is nothing but continuity of DMK's anti- Narendra Modi stance it took since 2017. The party thought it can reap political benefits with an anti-Modi stand," political analyst Kolahala Sreenivas told IANS. The anti-Modi stance fetched bumper harvest for the DMK alliance in the Lok Sabha polls and in the Assembly polls. The DMK will continue with this strategy, Sreenivas added. Since the DMK assumed power last May, it has been calling the Centre as 'Ondriya Arasu' and it was the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who had first used the term which riled the state BJP. The DMK leaders cite the Indian Constitution, which terms India as the Union of States in defence of the term 'Ondriya Arasu' and not a confronting term. On the other hand, the opposition parties BJP and Puthiya Tamizhagam say it is demoting the Government of India's status. According to DMK, the term 'Ondriya Arasu' signifies the federal structure of the country. Stalin, also the DMK President speaking at the CPI-M function recently said: "Let us fight for state autonomy. Let us create a truly federal India." He also called for amending the Constitution to empower the states and said the latter cannot be the 'yes men' of the Union government. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan at his maiden GST Council meeting last year had stressed on the federal structure of the country. While the 'Ondriya Arasu' term signaled the direction of the DMK government against the Indian government, the Governor Ravi returning the Bill passed by the state Assembly seeking exemption for the state from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) upped the ante further against the central government. The NEET is the common entrance test for admissions to medical colleges. Majority of the political parties in Tamil Nadu demand scrapping of the NEET and admissions of medical colleges be done based on the plus two marks. Angered by the NEET Bill's return by Ravi to the state Assembly for reconsideration instead of forwarding the same to the President, DMK's Parliamentary Party Leader T.R. Baalu demanded his recall. Meanwhile, the Assembly again passed the NEET exemption Bill and it was sent to Ravi. The Governor is yet to forward the same to the President. The ruling party also said several Bills are pending for Ravi's sanction. One of the famous arguments of the DMK against the Governors is: "Goats do not need a beard and the states do not need a Governor." It is a different matter that the goats may also say the same thing about the human beard and moustache. "The DMK which said it knows the trick to get the NEET exemption during the polls finds itself in a sticky wicket now. One NEET exam was held after it came to power," Sreenivas said. Stalin's son and actor-turned-politician Udhayanidhi Stalin during the poll campaign said the DMK knows the strategy to get NEET exemption. As the DMK is stuck and it knows it cannot do anything. On the other hand, the previous AIADMK government had brought in 7.5 per cent reservation for students who had studied in the government schools as a way out to help the poor students to secure medical seats. According to Sreenivas, with the friendly media's support, the DMK will see that the poll claim of Udhayanidhi Stalin would be forgotten and the blame will be on Governor Ravi. Continuing further he said: "The only solution for the NEET issue is to approach the Supreme Court. But the DMK government will not do that as it cannot do politics once the matter goes to the apex court. So, the party is targeting the Governor." Similar is the case with the release of the seven convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. "The DMK will continue to keep these issues alive for political gains like the television serials. The opposition to the Governor is one of the episodes," Sreenivas added. Be that as it may, the Tamil Nadu Assembly recently adopted a resolution moved by Stalin calling on the Union government to withdraw the proposal to conduct a Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The resolution was supported by all the political parties except the BJP. As per the resolution, entrance tests based on the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus does not provide a level playing field to students who had studied in different boards. The DMK government is also opposed to the National Education Policy (NEP) and wants it to be scrapped. The government has formed a committee to form an education policy for the state. The DMK government is also opposed to the levy of cess and surcharge on petrol/diesel and other taxes by the central government and has demanded their merger with the basic tax rate so that the states receive their legitimate share of revenue. The DMK and its allies are also opposed to several central government projects like the eight-lane expressway connecting Chennai-Salem, exploration of oil and methane, India Based Neutrino Observatory in Theni district, nuclear spent fuel storage facility at Kudankulam. Stalin in a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested dropping the Neutrino Observatory project in the larger interest of conservation of wildlife and biodiversity and prevention of ecological damage. "The site which is being proposed for the Neutrino project falls within the Mathikettan Periyar Tiger Corridor as mapped by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The Corridor has the critical function of maintaining the genetic flow, which will be destroyed due to project activities," Stalin said. Opposing the storing of spent fuel at Kudankulam nuclear power plant complex, Stalin has urged the central government to send the spent fuel to Russia. The DMK government also tried to have a hand in the central government's sphere of activities like sending party leaders and bureaucrats abroad to coordinate and bringing back Tamil students in Ukraine, sending food and other essential times to Tamils in the economic crisis ridden Sri Lanka and also sourcing the Covid-19 vaccine directly through a global tender. The global tender for the Covid-19 vaccine did not evoke any response from the domestic and foreign companies as they preferred to deal directly with the Indian government. As regards bringing back the Tamil students from Ukraine and sending food to Lankan Tamils did not get the central government's nod. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in) Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : While Union Home Minister Amit Shah's forceful direction that Hindi be accepted as an alternative to English was met with stiff resistance from most of the non-Hindi speaking states, Kerala remained silent. Several states and opposition political parties came out against the Union Minister even though he had meant that communication between people of two states could be done in Hindi rather than in English but the local languages should never be ignored. However, states like Tamil Nadu started protests against the statement with Chief Minister of M.K. Stalin shooting off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister against "imposition" of Hindi. While the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu was live with all political parties, including the state unit of the BJP forcefully, stating that the imposition of Hindi in the state would not be allowed, Kerala was silent. There were no protests and even the politicians of the state did not speak their mind out. The reason why there is no opposition to Hindi in the state is that almost all people have learnt Hindi in schools as the state had a three language education policy. English, Hindi and Malayalam are taught in almost all schools and most of the people knows Hindi well, even if they are not able to communicate. This is one reason for Kerala not entering into an agitation mood after the announcement of Amit Shah. Another reason is the historic nature of Keralites, not to enter into major confrontations unnecessarily. Kerala has never witnessed strong agitations at a national level unlike that in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the other two southern states. Even the decades-long water sharing issue of the Mullaperiyar dam between Kerala and Tamil Nadu has not led into a violent agitation in Kerala unlike the Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu wherein many people lost their lives and properties damaged including motor vehicles, shops and establishments. This nature of the Malayalee populace is reflecting in the language controversy as well. The middle class of Kerala is a migratory society and after education, many in North Kerala travel to middle east for a living those in central Kerala and South Kerala prefer both middle east, US, UK and Canada. A large migration to other North Indian states are also evident from Kerala. This has led to a cosmopolitan outlook for the Malayalis in their language, dress code, food habits and even in marriages. So Kerala as a society stands apart for barriers in language and hence there was not much impact on the statement by Amit Shah in the southern most tip of India. While there are voices of dissent in some parts of Kerala, it is mostly confined to political parties like the CPM who want to oppose as the person who had brought the idea is Amit Shah. However, even those voices of opposition are turning shriller by the day. More than this Kerala has the history of protecting its linguistic minorities with Tamil and Kannada minority communities getting reservation in schools and colleges and even in Public Service Commission. Still there were agitations in certain predominantly Kannada language speaking areas of Kasargod district in Northern Kerala for posting officials with Kannada language knowledge in areas where Kannada speaking people are in the majority. The presence of a large number of migrant workers from North Indian states and Bengal have led to even the nook and cranny of the state knowing Hindi as a colloquial language that is used in vegetable shops, meat shops, local tea shops and even in buses and Keralites have adapted to the language of Hindi. V. Manivarnan, BJP, Kannur district vice-president while speaking to IANS said: "Keralites as a society has always been shy of major agitations and with Hindi being a language used in every part of the state now, thanks to the arrival of a large number of migrant workers, the people of the state know that there is no point in agitation against the imposition of Hindi language. If objections and oppositions come up at a later stage, that would be politically driven for the sake of publicity." Kolkata, April 17 : Trinamool Congress' war-cry against Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent statement on replacing English with Hindi as the country's official language at a meeting of Parliament's Official Language Committee is nothing but an extension of the ongoing battle-points that Mamata Banerjee and her party have raised against the Narendra Modi-led Union government. According to political observers in the state, it is a fact that Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee wants to play a role at the national level in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and to do that she needs to open multiple battle-fronts against the Union government. "She is already fighting a number of battles with the Union government on issues concerning West Bengal, where she has already claimed that the current Central government is stunting the country's federal polity. However, her party's resistance to the issue of Hindi- imposition has a national angle where her resistance can easily find support from the politicians of other non-Hindi speaking states, said political observer and analyst, Nirmalya Banerjee. Now let us have a look at the other battle-fronts that the chief minister has opened against the Union government. Central agency probe spat: Chit funds, Narada bribery video scam, cattle and coal smuggling, West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities, Jhalda Congress leader murder and minor rape at Hanskhali -- there are some of the burning issues in West Bengal in which central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are conducting probes. In the Narada video scam, heavyweight state ministers like Firhad Hakim and late Subrata Mukherjee were even arrested by the CBI. Even Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the Trinamool Congress' national general secretary, Avishek Banerjee had to face central agency grilling in the alleged coal smuggling. Mamata Banerjee had tried to build up an opposition consensus against the Union government that the latter is deliberately using the central agencies against the prominent opposition leaders. West Bengal government- state Governor spat: Cross-firing of salvos between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the state governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar on various state issues is almost a daily affair. A number of heavyweight ministers of the state cabinet, including the chief minister, have alleged that the Union government is not only trying to interfere into the affairs of the state government but also the state Assembly using the Governor, which goes against the federal structure of Indian democracy. The West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee has raised the issue a number of times in the all- India conferences of the different Assembly Speaker. BSF's jurisdiction extension issue: The Union home ministry's decision to expand the area jurisdiction of Border Security Force (BSF) to 50 kilometers from the state's borders with Bangladesh and Pakistan have been opposed tooth and nail by Mamata Banerjee and her party. According to the chief minister, this is a clandestine attempt by the Union government to give BSF a chance to interfere in the jurisdiction of the state police in the Indo-Bangladesh bordering districts in West Bengal. The recent killings of alleged cattle-smugglers in BSF firing at the Indo- Bangladesh bordering Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, some of whom were Indian citizens, have prompted Trinamool Congress to sharpen its attack against the Union government on this count. Two-time Trinamool Congress MLA from Dinhata Assembly constituency in Cooch Behar district, Udayan Guha even went to the extent of alleging that male BSF personnel molest women in the borders of West Bengal under the pretext of frisking. The BSF authorities, however, have issued strong rejoinder against such allegations. Dues in state's share in GST: This is yet another issue that Mamata Banerjee is trying to develop a consensus among the non- BJP ruled states. On April 7, 2022, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told the media that a massive amount of Rs 90,000 crore of GST dues is pending from the Centre. She also said that she had talks with the chief ministers of other non-BJP ruled states and they too have similar complaints about huge unpaid Goods & Services Tax (GST) dues. MGNREGA dues: The West Bengal government has recently issued a statement claiming that a massive amount of Rs 2,876 crore is due from the Union government under the MGNREGA scheme. The state government has alleged that these dues are being deliberately being held back by the Union government. Srinagar, April 17 : A joint team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the state investigation agency (SIA) on Sunday carried out raids at the office and residence of jailed local journalist, Fahad Shah in J&K's Srinagar city. Police sources said a joint team of the NIA and the newly constituted SIA raided the office and the residence of jailed journalist Fahad Shah in Srinagar. "His residence in Dawood colony in Anchar area of Soura and the office of his magazine 'Kashmir Wala' in Rajbagh area of Srinagar are being searched", sources said. Fahad Shah is under detention as police and intelligence agencies allege that he is 'an anti-national element working under the cover of journalism'. New Delhi, April 17 : The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit India this week to "deepen" the long-term partnership amidst the global economic challenges and "threats" from autocratic states. The visit will commence from Ahmedabad on April 21, wherein he will meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India's thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time that a UK Prime Minister would visit Gujarat, India's fifth largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. The British Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi on April 22, a statement by the British embassy here said. The leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India's strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering the close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific. In Gujarat, Johnson is expected to announce major investment in key industries in both -- the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology. He will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year -- a deal with India is predicted to boost our total trade by up to $36.57 billion annually by 2035 and increase wages across the UK by up to $4 billion. Speaking ahead of the visit, Johnson said: "As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world's largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times." "My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations -- from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence," he added. In 2021, the British Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than $692 million in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting people of the two nations. India was identified as a priority relationship for the UK in the 2021 Integrated Review and was invited by the UK as a guest to last year's G7 in Carbis Bay. The UK is leveraging post-Brexit trade opportunities with India's growing economy to drive down prices in key commodities for consumers, open opportunities for UK businesses in areas like green tech and services, and create high-wage, high-skill jobs. Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK, which is expected to be boosted by upcoming announcements and a future free trade deal. Houston, April 17 : At least two people were killed after a train struck a vehicle on Saturday evening in northeast Harris County, US' Texas, local authorities have said. Harris County Sheriff's Office tweeted that preliminary information showed two were confirmed dead, Xinhua news agency reported. The crash took place at about 8 p.m. local time, according to local media reports. The cause of the crash is not immediately clear. Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : The debt-ridden Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) which was unable to pay salary to its employees even during Vishu and Easter, two major festivals being celebrated by Keralites, is seeking an overdraft to disburse the payment from Monday onwards. Earlier, the KSRTC had announced that it would make part payment of the salaries. The transport corporation requires Rs 82 crore a month for salary disbursal and the corporation had sought an assistance of Rs 75 crore from the state government. However, only Rs 30 crore was sanctioned and even that was not transferred to the KSRTC account from the state treasury due to the holidays in the state since Thursday following Vishu and Easter. The Management is now planning to take an overdraft of Rs 42 crore to make the salary payments with the balance being arranged from the state assistance. Already Rs 30 crore is sanctioned as assistance by the state and with a Rs 42 crore overdraft it would add upto 72 crore and the balance 13 crore will be sought from state as an added up assistance, sources in KSRTC management told IANS. Trade unions in the KSRTC is on a warpath against State Transport Minister Antony Raju and the Managing Director of the corporation due to the failure to disburse salaries and mismanagement of the corporation. Both the CITU and AITUC, the powerful trade unions of the CPM and CPI respectively are also on warpath which has invited wrath. Notably, both the CPI-M and CPI are part of the government and the unions have come out against the Transport Minister who incidentally is from the Kerala Congress, an alliance partner of the CPI-M and CPI in the cabinet. The CPM backed KSRTC employees union secretary, V. Santhakumar lashed out against the minister and the Managing director publicly and said that the minister and the MD were working against the interests of the employees. The pro Congress, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) is also launching an indefinite strike from Monday. K. Sasidharan, its president while speaking to IANS said: " We are launching an indefinite agitation against the management and minister in front of the KSRTC headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram." The KSRTC employees sangh of the BMS is also on a warpath and its state general secretary, K.L. Rajesh said that his union had conducted a fast in front of all the 92 depots of the KSRTC across the state. He said that the organization would hold protest marches across all the district headquarters of the corporation and the state secretariat. The KSRTC has been a white elephant in Kerala for the past several decades and a study by the renowned management expert Dr Sushil Khanna had in a report to the management and government called up for scrapping the middle management of the corporation. He had also said that the number of employees working in the transport corporation was much higher when compared to the number of services it was operating in the state. New Delhi, April 17 : A number of issues between the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the opposition ruled states are leading to friction with the BJP, which once constantly criticised the Congress for hurting the federal system in the country, now being accused of doing the same. The friction cuts across several issues and the most conspicuous being the rejection of the Republic Day floats of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal ruled by the Opposition. There has been persistent criticism of the BJP government at the Centre from the Opposition leaders that there is no consultation on issues and policies like farm laws are imposed on the states. The biggest friction point is of course what the Opposition alleges is the misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to threaten other parties especially before elections. In late March, in a letter addressed to her counterparts in the non-BJP ruled states and senior Opposition leaders, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led Centre of allegedly attacking the federal structure of the country. Asking the Opposition parties to unite against the BJP, Banerjee said the government should be "held accountable for their actions". Recently, after the Centre proposed to amend the IAS rules and sought opinions from the states, the Chief Minister had shot off another letter asking the non-BJP states to oppose the move. Banerjee's letter read, "I am writing to you to express deep concern over direct attacks on this country's institutional democracy by the ruling BJP. Central agencies such as the ED, CBI, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Income Tax Department are being used to target, harass and corner political opponents across the country for vendetta." Alleging that the BJP is attacking the federal structure of the country, she wrote, "BJP is trying to attack the federal structure of this country by attempting to influence a certain section of the judiciary. As the Opposition parties, it is our constitutional responsibility to hold this government accountable for their actions, to resist the stifling of voices of dissent." She added, "Central agencies are jolted to action just when elections are round the corner. It is amply clear that the BJP ruled states get a free pass from these agencies to paint a rosy picture of their hollow governance." Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the February session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Sonia Gandhi-led party for delivering lectures on federalism, as per media reports. PM Modi noted that when Congress was in power at the centre for decades, several chief ministers were removed over 'petty issues'. The Prime Minister went on to name Congress' Chief Ministers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and underscored that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn't work with such a narrow mindset, the reports said. One of the former Chief Ministers that the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech in the Rajya Sabha was former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister T. Anjaiah. who was ousted because then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi did not like the arrangements at the airport. PM Modi said, "Have we forgotten those days when CMs would be ousted owing to small incidents at the airport? Many leaders of this House know very well what happened with former Andhra Pradesh CM T. Anjaiah Ji. He was ousted because the PM's son didn't like the arrangements at the airport. This had hurt the sentiments of crores of people of Andhra Pradesh," the reports said. The Prime Minister underscored that "We do not see a conflict between national targets and regional aspirations. We maintain that we must address regional aspirations with the utmost respect and resolve issues. India will progress when we address regional aspirations keeping in mind development. When states progress, the country prospers," the reports added. K.K Kailash of the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad said in a February article that the One India framework has allowed the BJP to simplify and rationalise complex tax and reform policy measures and frame them in terms of being universally beneficial. While they are supposedly based on sound administrative and economic judgement, this goes against the principle that in federations states could be the 'laboratories of democracy'. The framework has a top-down agenda and does not necessarily allow the best solutions to emerge since it assumes that the Centre knows the best. As states are always looking for money, they are incentivised into accepting central schemes even if they have other ideas. Policy centralisation reduces the space for innovation at the state level and ignores the possibility that states have better information about what works locally. To make matters worse, consultations between the centre and states have been few and far between, he added. Kailash said similarly, the idea of simultaneous elections is a unitarian proposal piggybacking on economic logic. It ignores the fact that in a federation, states have their priorities and, as autonomous units, are definitely not subordinate to the central government. The One Nation, One Election idea attempts to change the electoral logic of different states and artificially manufacture a uniform electoral agenda. Simultaneous elections are a technocratic solution that disrespects democracy by viewing elections as a burden and an impediment to efficiency and "good governance". The One India thesis fits with the party agenda on national unity, uniformity and homogenisation. But it is a frontal assault on the federal idea and does not live up to the multiple values that federalism seeks to achieve, Kailash said. Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : The back to back killings of a Popular Front of India worker and a former RSS activist has created a tense situation in Kerala as this could lead to communal flare up. The state intelligence, according to sources, has warned the government of serious issues if stringent action is not taken against the perpetrators of the crimes. Popular Front of India worker, Subair (44) was killed after being knocked down by a car while he was returning home with his father, Aboobacker after attending prayers at a local mosque on Friday. Barely 24 hours within the murder of Subair, RSS local leader and a former 'Pracharak', Sreenivasan (45) was hacked to death by suspected PFI/ SDPIR gang. Police said that the killing of Subair was suspected to be in retaliation to the murder of RSS worker Sanjith on November 15, 2021. The Central intelligence agencies have also warned the state government that if the issue was not dealt with strongly, things could get out of control. Recently an SDPI activist M.K. Ashraf from Muvattupuzha in Kerala was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for embezzlement of wealth and for disproportionate sources of income. It is alleged that Ashraf is one of the main sources of funding of the SDPI and PFI. The arrest of Journalist Siddique Kappan in Uttar Pradesh while he was travelling to Hathras in 2020 was also a blow to the SDPI after the Uttar Pradesh Police alleged that the Keralite, who was living in New Delhi for several years, was part of the PFI group. Police and central agencies had opposed Kappan's bail stating that he was involved in several anti-national activities and this has also a bearing on SDPI in Kerala. With the killing of the RSS leader, there are possibilities of more action from the central home ministry and, hence the state government will have to act strongly against the perpetrators of the crime. Sources told IANS that around 50 RSS and PFI activists were under detention in Palakkad and some district level leaders of both the organisations would be interrogated and taken into custody if necessary. The killings witnessed in the last two days, have taken the sheen out of the festivities in the state. Vishu the Kerala new year was celebrated on Friday while Easter is on Sunday and for the Muslim community this is the holy Ramzan month. A strong contingent of Police headed by Additional Director General of Police, Vijay Sakhare is camping in the area to prevent any further untoward incidents. New Delhi, April 17 : Delhi Police are in talks with the members of the Aman committee following the severe communal clashes that erupted during a Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. "In order to maintain peace and tranquility in the area, a meeting was organised at Kushal Chowk in the area of Jahangirpuri police station with the members of Aman committee of Jahangirpuri, Mahendra Park and Adarsh Nagar," Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Usha Rangnani said. She informed that during the meeting, all the members were asked to appeal to the public in their areas to maintain peace, harmony and tranquility. "They were also requested to counter any rumour or misinformation, be vigilant towards the activities of any mischievous and anti-social elements, to keep in touch with police and to ensure immediate reporting of any thing suspicious that comes into their notice," the senior official said. The Delhi Police have assured the members of the Aman Committee of professional and fair investigation and due legal action on the part of police. The police have so far arrested 14 accused persons under sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 323, 427, 436, 307 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and section 27 of the Arms Act. Hubballi, : April 17 (IANS) Prohibitory orders were clamped in Hubballi city following incidents of violence over an objectionable post on social media in the wee hours of Sunday. The city has been turned into a virtual fortress to avoid any untoward incident. The violence started after an objectionable photo appeared on social media in the midnight. Protesting against the post, hundreds of people from minority community gathered in front of Old Hubballi police station seeking an action. The miscreants started stone pelting. The situation turned serious as two groups indulged in stone pelting. Four police vehicles were damaged in the incident and 12 persons, including policemen, were injured in the clash. Further CCTV footage showing the incident of violence had gone viral, worsening the situation. The violent crowd had also torched the vehicles. The police had even fired teargas to control the violent mob. A youth, who had put up the objectionable post, was also arrested. Hubballi-Dharwar Police Commissioner Labhu Ram stated that 12 people, including policemen, have been injured in the incident. He had appealed to the people not to come out of their houses. Police have taken CCTV footage into their custody and are investigating the matter. New Delhi, April 17 : L'Oreal India's manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, has achieved 100 percent carbon neutrality for scopes 1 and 2 of the Green House Gas Protocol. Scope 1 emissions include those from the use of coal, oil, and natural gas, while scope 2 emissions include those from electricity, steam, and heat. This achievement is consistent with the brand's global sustainability commitment, L'Oreal for the Future, which states that by 2025, all brand-operated sites worldwide must achieve carbon neutrality. To achieve 100 percent neutrality, the Baddi plant replaced conventional boilers with electric boilers, reducing diesel consumption to zero, and switching the source of electricity to a hydropower plant. The brand aims to reduce CO2 emissions and operate within planetary boundaries by improving energy efficiency and using 100 percent renewable energy. Jai Ram Thakur, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh said, "Himachal Pradesh Government is committed to contributing towards India's sustainability goals and has been taking pragmatic steps for environment protection and initiatives to reduce CO2 in the state. It is a matter of happiness that L'Oreal, a leading global cosmetics group has also been supplementing the efforts of the State Government in the protection of the environment by setting up a carbonneutral state-of-the-art factory at Baddi. I extend my good wishes for achieving this distinction." Commenting on the milestone, Amit Jain, Managing Director, L'Oreal India said, "Our Baddi Plant's 100 per cent carbon neutrality marks a major milestone, as it's aligned to the global sustainability targets we set for ourselves and also is in line with India's net-zero goals. We are happy to report that the emissions associated with electricity and fuel consumption have been reduced to zero, thereby having no carbon impact on the environment." L'Oreal India is committed to the communities surrounding its Baddi factory and has implemented a variety of socioeconomic initiatives to improve their lives and fulfil its sense of purpose. The school near the Baddi factory, established by the brand in collaboration with the NGO Nirmala Niketan, provides free education to approximately 200 students ranging in age from 6 to 14 years. The company assisted the Himachal government in providing critical oxygen equipment, medical supplies, food, and hygiene kits for Covid-19 relief. To uplift and assist women affected by the Covid fallout, the company launched a livelihood support programme to assist them in rebuilding their lives. The brand collaborated with the Primary Healthcare Centre in Baddi as part of the global solidarity programme to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to medical personnel as well as food and essentials to migrants and their families. (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) Bhubaneswar, April 17 : Language experts from Odisha have raised a strong voice against Union Home Minister Amit Shahs controversial statement on imposition of Hindi language on non-Hindi speaking states. Presiding over the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee in New Delhi recently, Shah had said that Hindi should be the alternative to English for communication among Indians drawing ire from all. This statement from a tall leader like Shah has left the people of Odisha a worried lot as they have an emotional attachment with Odia language and feel proud of it. The roots of Odisha begun from the Odia language. Odisha was declared as a separate state on April 1, 1936 (pre-independent) for its language. In fact, Odisha is the first state, which has been declared as a separate province on linguistic basis. "We strongly oppose the forceful imposition of Hindi on us. We had raised our voice in the past and we will never allow imposition of Hindi language on the Odia people," said Dillip Dashsharma, from Utkal Sammilani, which had played a major role in the formation of Odisha. In the National Education Policy (NEP), the Union government says that the medium of teaching at primary level will be in the mother tongue. However, the union home minister is contradicting the policy, he said. Similarly, Tathagata Satpathy, a former MP from Odisha, has also strongly opposed this statement of Shah. Writing an editorial titled "Hindi Again" in his English daily newspaper, Orissa Post, Satpathy said forcible imposition of Hindi will squeeze other regional languages and probably the present political leadership hopes fluent Hindi speaking leaders will then seem more appealing to voters all across the country. "It is up to the states to decide what their language of communication should be. There cannot be a fiat from the Centre not to use English. There is no doubt that English is a foreign language but it is equally foreign for all citizens," the former Parliamentarian said. Stating India too is a very diverse country, he said any use of force today could possibly result in unforeseeable disasters tomorrow. Hrushikesh Mallick, president of Odisha Sahitya Akademi, too expressed his displeasure over Shah's controversial statement. Mallick said he is not against the Hindi language. However, it should be forcefully imposed on all, he said. "Hindi should be an optional language. Mother tongue, in Odisha, it is Odia, must remain the first language for the people of our state," said Mallick. Patna, April 17 : The demand for inclusion of Angika in the list of mother tongues and giving it the status of second language in Bihar has once again surfaced in the state. People who are agitating for it believe that the use and protection of the language is the fundamental right of every Angika speaker. Prasoon Latant, who has been vocal about Angika, says that the non-inclusion of Angika language, spoken by crores of people, in the code list of 277 mother tongues recognised by the Census of India "is a systematic way of eliminating the existence of the language and the Anga culture by vested interests. It appears to be part of a deeper conspiracy". "Initially, Maithili was given place in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by categorising the Angika-speaking population as Maithili speakers. Later, on the same basis, a ground for a separate Mithila state is being prepared by describing Angika as a part of Mithilanchal," Latant claims. "Providing mother tongue code to Angika is constitutional responsibility of the government," he said. People who are demanding mother tongue status for Angika argue that the Prime Minister, who talks about 'Local for Vocal', should take cognisance and provide mother tongue code to the language for census. Angika, recognised as the second official language of Jharkhand, is one of the 38 languages, that is pending for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution since 2003 and is yet to be included in the list of Indian languages for the census. Kumar Krishnan, who agitated for Angika, says: "Angika has been identified in the first place among the 38 mother tongues that have been recommended for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by the Sitakanta Mohapatra Committee constituted by the Government of India in 2003." He said that in case the government does not provide mother tongue code to Angika, the matter will be taken to the High Court and the Supreme Court. Dr Yogendra, Hindi author and Head of Department of Angika in Bhagalpur University, argues: "Not providing code to the language which is being spoken by five to six crore people in 18 districts is a conspiracy. Does the state or the Central government do not know about Angika? It is a conspiracy against Bajjika and Angika." "This is quite regrettable. I have also sent a letter to the Census Registrar highlighting the issue," he asserted. Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : Churches across Kerala are witnessing a heavy rush of devotees for Easter celebration to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Devotees are thronging the churches in large numbers attending masses on Saturday late night till Sunday morning. At the St. Baselicus Church, Ernakulam, Cardinal Mar George Alenchery led the prayers. There was a large presence of devotees in the Church to attend the late night and early morning masses. After two years of close down due to Covid -19 pandemic, churches are now open and the devotees have made use of this opportunity and area attending in large numbers to attend the Holy mass. At the St Josephs Cathedral in Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Latin Catholic Church Arch Bishop, Thomas J.Netto led the holy mass and prayers on Saturday late night and Sunday morning. Like the heavy participation in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram also witnessed a heavy rush of devotees. Christians from all walks of life thronged the church premises. Cardinal ACleemis AMar Baselious of the Syrian Malankara Church led the holy mass and prayers at the Pattom church in Thiruvananthapuram. Here also a large presence of devotees were seen. The Christian community is celebrating Easter after 50 days of penance that include prayers and renouncing of non vegetarian food and Easter brings joy and celebrations take place. Joseph Antony, a businessman from Dubai who is on a vacation at Kochi, his ancestral home while speaking to IANS said: "Easter is a time of celebration after the pain and penance that was undertaken for the past fifty days and we are now celebrating the festival of resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have decked up our home and children are wearing new clothes and we are eating out today so that we can go and meet our friends. Easter is happy time and several of my friends who are working at Dubai are here at home town." After a lull of two years when Easter and for that matter all other celebrations were low key affairs following Covid -19 pandemic, the present celebrations are done with pomp and galore and the Christians are upbeat with festivities to welcome Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. New Delhi, April 17 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar on his birth anniversary and described him as a towering personality widely admired for his commitment to democratic values and efforts to remove poverty. "Chandra Shekhar Ji was a towering personality who was widely admired for his commitment to democratic values and efforts to remove poverty", Modi tweeted. He always worked for the welfare of the downtrodden and marginalised. Tributes to him on his birth anniversary," PM Modi further said in his tweet message. Chandra Shekhar had served as the 8th Prime Minister of the country from November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991. He headed a government of a breakaway faction of the then Janata Dal with outside support from the Indian National Congress. Known as 'Tung Turk', he was also jailed during the emergency period and after that he became the President of Janata Party also. New Delhi, April 17 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Centre was hiding data after reports emerged that India is stalling data on Covid deaths. Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said, "Neither Modiji speak truth nor he allows anyone they have been saying falsely that no one died due to oxygen shortage,I have already said that not five lakhs but 40 lakh Indians have lost their lives." He said that the Prime Minister should give Rs 4 lakhs to every family who died due to Covid. Meanwhile, India has shared its concerns with the methodology along with other member states through a series of formal communications, including six letters issued to the World Health Organisation, said the Union Health Ministry in response to New York Times article titled "India Is Stalling the WHO's Efforts to Make Global Covid Death Toll Public" dated April 16, 2022. "India has been in regular and in-depth technical exchange with WHO on the issue. The analysis, while using mortality figures directly obtained from Tier -I set of countries, uses a mathematical modelling process for Tier II countries (which includes India). India's basic objection has not been with the result (whatever they might have been) but rather the methodology adopted for the same", said the health ministry in a statement. The ministry has raised the question on how the statistical model projects estimates for a country of geographical size and population of India and also fits in with other countries which have smaller population. Such one size fits all approaches and models which are true for smaller countries like Tunisia may not be applicable to India with a population of 1.3 billion. The WHO is yet to share the confidence interval for the present statistical model across various countries, said the ministry. "The model gives two highly different sets of excess mortality estimates when using the data from Tier I countries and when using unverified data from 18 Indian states. Such a wide variation in estimates raises concerns about the validity and accuracy of such a modelling exercise", the ministry said. Srinagar, April 17 : The Army on Sunday paid tributes to Lance Naik Nishan Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice on April 16 near village Watnar of South Kashmir's Anantnag district. In a solemn ceremony at BB Cantt in Srinagar, Lt Gen DP Pandey, Chinar Corps Commander and all ranks paid homage to the gallant soldier. Based on inputs received from JKP about the likely presence of terrorists in general area of village Watnar, the Indian Army and JKP had launched a cordon and search operation at about 3.15 p.m on April 16, the Army said. "While the initial cordon was being laid, the terrorists opened heavy volume of fire on Cordon party. Unmindful of his own safety, Lance Naik Nishan Singh, who was part of the initial cordon party, charged at the terrorists, valiantly returning fire and in doing so sustained a gun shot won his chest. He was immediately evacuated to 92 Base Hospital, where he was declared dead by medical authorities," Army said. "Braveheart Lance Naik Nishan Singh, 29 years, made the Supreme sacrifice in the true traditions of the Indian Army. He had joined the Army in 2013. He belonged to Vill - Bhaudin, Distt - Sirsa in Haryana and is survived by his Wife." The mortal remains of Lance Naik Nishan Singh will be taken for last rites to his native place, where he would be laid to rest with full military honours. "In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved family and remains committed to their dignity and well being," the Army stated. Hyderabad, April 17 : About 3,000 delegates will attend the plenary session of Telangana's ruling party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on April 27. The plenary will be held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) to mark the foundation day celebrations of the party. A day after TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao decided to conduct the celebrations, TRS working president and state minister K.T. Rama Rao visited the venue to review the arrangements. KTR, as the TRS leader is popularly known, directed the party leaders to ensure fool-proof arrangements to avoid inconvenience to participants. He said the members of TRS general body alone will be invited for the plenary and passes will be issued to them. He advised other party leaders not to come to the venue. KTR said the foundation day celebrations will reflect Telangana self-respect. He said the plenary would take decisions to take Telangana forward on the path of development. Chandrasekhar Rao will kick-start the day-long plenary by hoisting the party flag. Later, he will deliver a welcome address and introduce 11 resolutions. The meeting will debate these resolutions and adopt them. The meeting will conclude in the evening. The meeting is likely to be significant in view of the next year's Assembly elections. This is after a gap of two years that TRS will be holding foundation celebrations on a grand scale. For the last two years, the celebrations were low-key due to Covid-19 pandemic. In October last year, the party held its plenary at HICC. KCR was re-elected as the party president. KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, floated the TRS on April 27, 2001 to revive the movement for separate state. After the formation of Telangana in 2014, he has been heading both the government and the party. KTR asked the party cadre to celebrate the foundation day by hoisting TRS flag in every town and every village. TRS village presidents will hoist the party flag in all 12,769 villages. Similarly, there will be flag-hoisting in 3,600 towns. State Cabinet ministers, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, MLCs, MLAs, TRS State Executive, Corporation Chairpersons, District party unit Presidents, Zilla Parishad Chairpersons will attend the meeting. Chairpersons of District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and District Cooperative Marketing Societies (DCMS), district library presidents, district Rythu Bandhu Samithi chiefs, women coordinators, ZPTC members, municipal mayors and chairpersons Mandal Parishad Presidents, Town and Mandal party unit chiefs, Agricultural Market Committee Chairmen, etc., will also attend the daylong meeting. Former ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs have been invited as special invitees. New Delhi, April 17 : Delhi Police on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man who was involved in conspiring the communal clashes in the national capital's Jahangirpuri area, an official said. The accused was identified as Ansar, a resident of Jahangirpuri. DCP (northwest) Usha Rangnani said that the accused Ansar was arrested after his name came up during the probe of the incident. As many as eight police personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in violence that erupted during Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The accused was also found to be previously involved in two cases of assault and was also arrested repeatedly under preventive sections and booked 5 times under Gambling Act and Arms Act. Further investigation is in progress, the senior official added. With this latest arrest, the police have so far arrested 15 accused persons under sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 323, 427, 436, 307 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and section 27 of the Arms Act. That 'those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it' is a truism. One of the abiding lessons of the World Wars has revealed the enormous destruction a submarine can cause in terms of obstructing trade and serving as a weapon of war, accompanied by the fact that the best way to deal with the submarine is through an airborne platform. Today, 51 years ago, the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 330, popularly called the 'Harpoons' was commissioned on April 17, 1971 with a motto, 'Any Sea, Any mission, Any deck'. The squadron began operating the Sea King Mark (Mk) 42 Anti-Submarine Warfare helicopters acquired from British Westland Helicopters -- equipped with dunking sonar and lightweight air-dropped homing torpedoes. These helicopters increased the navy's anti-submarine capabilities significantly. "INAS 330 has its origins in the developments that followed helicopters being optimised into advanced roles for detecting and attacking submarines. Apart from that, advanced Navies also developed the capabilities to operate such helicopters from helicopter-capable surface ships. "This led to INAS 330 to operate from India's lone aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in 1971" says, Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, NM (Retd), Former Flag Officer Naval Aviation, who was a fully operational pilot and a flying instructor on all marks of Sea King and had also commanded the Indian Navy's Marine Commando flight. The Sea King helicopter is a multi-role helicopter and has been used for all-around surveillance, search and rescue operations, warfare, and as a transportation platform for the last several decades. The first Sea King landed on INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy in July 1971. "Though inducted into the Indian Navy a few months before the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, Sea King operations were restricted during the war given certain training shortfalls," says, Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, NM (Retd). However, Sea King did pick up a suspected submarine contact and carried out a vectored attack for the first time in Nov 1971. Besides this, extensive operations were also undertaken, and the Harpoons clocked over 156 hours of the war effort. Post the war, the Indian Navy worked tirelessly to adapt, integrate and understand the full potential of the Sea King helicopters. And in the decade after the 1971 war, the Indian Navy carefully charted out options for all the upgradation of military equipment. "The aircraft was to be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, communication systems, navigation systems, torpedoes, depth charges, radar, tactical Air Navigation and certain modifications that included an additional tail rotor blade to overcome certain aerodynamic limitations," says, Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai (Retd). He further added that 'INAS 330 had pioneered such adaptations and heralded a legacy that now has been extended to India operating helicopters from smaller platforms like the Taragiri- and Godavari-class frigates and follow-on ships of the Brahmaputra, Delhi and Kolkata class...' Between 1988 and 1990, the Sea King MK 42B (Bravo) arrived in India through possibly the best induction process. The core team was deployed to the UK for almost five years of extensive training of over 30 aircrews and an adequate ground crew. "Sea King 42B are known as the Flying Frigates. Rightly so, as they could do almost anything the frigate that carried them could do. And due to the massive coverage of its radars, the Arabian Sea became a pond for the Indian Navy," says Commodore G. Prakash, NM (Retd), a specialist in aviation and anti-submarine warfare. Simultaneously, Rear Admiral BS Parhar (Retd), who commanded INAS 330 from 1997 to 1999 and is the only person in the Indian Navy to have flown the Sea King from the rank of Sub-lieutenant to Rear Admiral, states that a few important roles of the Sea King are to maintain surveillance, to sanitise the area along with other aircraft and surface ships and to conduct underwater scans for an enemy submarine. India's nuclear test in 1998 brought on the US Sanctions. Due to this, maintenance support for the Sea King became negligible. The Harpoons had a challenge to not only continue flying but also experiment, adapt, reorient, and add on several equipment to continue to remain operationally credible. Rear Admiral B.S. Parhar shares that when he took over the command of INAS 330, there was only one functional aircraft available with the squadron due to various limitations. Even then the Harpoons continued to execute incredible rescue missions, delivered supplies to disaster-hit areas, and provided service beyond their logical capabilities. The Harpoons were also known to be the "Best Frontline Squadron" and 'Best Naval Air Squadron' of the Indian Navy. Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai (Retd) mentions that INAS 330 has always been mission critical to Indian Naval surface ships and is integral to their anti-submarine capabilities. With the missile-age dawning, the anti-submarine helicopter was further evolved for anti-shipping roles with advanced maritime radars, electronic support, and intelligence suites. This role pioneered by INAS 330 has evolved the Indian Navy into becoming one of the most advanced Navies of the world. "One important change that the Seaking MK 42Bs brought into our Fleets was a quantum jump in the size of the areas which we marked out for our exercises. The excellent ESM system onboard would pick up far away 'enemy' contacts even as aircraft were still on deck, ready for launch. This, combined with the capabilities of the Sea Eagle missiles of the 42Bs, brought in massive standoff ranges, at which the Indian Navy was confident of dealing with the enemy," says Commodore G. Prakash (Retd). Today, the Harpoons turn 51, an auspicious number in India and the Indian Navy. As the Indian Navy seeks to induct MH60R, a modern and very capable multi mission helicopter, the Harpoons are all set to begin their third avatar.Whatever the odds, the Harpoons will continue to relentlessly toil and fight with zeal against lurking sharks even at the greatest of depths. (Swapna Nair is a Senior Research Associate (Academic Operations) at the Maritime History Society) Mumbai, April 17 : With two web series on release - 'Guilty Minds' and 'Murder In Agonda' - actress Shriya Pilgaonkar, says how her parents taught her to be focused on her craft instead of indulging in the debate of nepotism. In a conversation with IANS, Shriya, daughter of two veteran actors Sachin Pilgaonkar and Supriya Pilgaonkar, shared that even though she is aware of the privilege she has, opting for an independent way to create her space in acting was completely her choice. Shriya told IANS: "I think one of the most important things my parents have taught me without teaching me anything is, the life of an artist is filled with uncertainty and only talent is not rewarded to achieve success, fame and stardom." "It is a combination of talent, opportunity and luck. But we can remain an artist by expanding our creative horizon." Citing the example of her father who explored multiple creative avenues, the actress said, " My dad is not only an actor but also a film director, a writer, a theatre artist and he is also into music. "When our mind is so happily occupied with creative work, we do not find room for dull moments. Rather we start enjoying the journey. I know it is a privilege to be born into a family of artists and well-versed with reality, as opposed to someone who is a complete outsider but every artist has a journey." Considering the fact that the actress set her journey quite slowly and with each of her acting projects in film and shows like '13 Mussoorie', 'Mirzapur', 'Beecham House', 'Crackdown', film 'Fan', 'House Arrest', 'Kaadan' - she also expressed her opinion on existing nepotism. She said, "If we take the example of Alia Bhatt, she is a superstar for sure and an incredible actress and no one can deny that. Alia is pure talent." "Yes, how you are starting your journey and how filmmakers are casting an actor is their choice, but I also believe that the more work you do, you become visible. The more visible you are, our fraternity notices you, and gives you work." "If the talent and craft are not there, an opportunity cannot be justified. So, my ambition is to work with all my favourite directors and I know that is only possible if I keep working. It is only natural that we try to work with someone whose work we have already seen and liked. That is why I focus on the journey and not too much on the destination," Shriya signed off. Created by Arre Studio, directed by Vikram Rai, the five-episode series 'Murder In Agonda' also features - Aasif Khan, Kubbra Sait and Lillete Dubey, released on Amazon miniTV. Srinagar, April 17 : Six policemen were injured on Sunday in clashes over a land dispute between two groups in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district. Police sources said six policemen were injured in stone pelting after clashes erupted over land dispute between two parties in the Arwah village of Beerwah tehsil in Budgam district. "All the policemen have minor injuries and are being treated" sources said. Following the clashes, a cowshed belonging to a local was also burnt by the opposing party. Chennai, April 17 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday mourned the death of a farmer who protested against the GAIL pipeline project in Kariappanalli hamlet in Dharmapuri district. He also announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund to the deceased's family. C. Ganesan had committed suicide in protest against the GAIL project by hanging from a tree at his farmland on Wednesday. Chief Minster Stalin, in a statement, said that the DMK government was following the footsteps of former Chief Minister and party patriarch late M. Karunanidhi whose policy towards farmers was 'a friend in need'. The farmers are protesting against the proposed pipeline against GAIL in the Kariappanahalli hamlet and the farmers had blocked the Dharmapuri- Hoggenackal highway with the body of the deceased farmer for nearly six hours. Farmers complained that GAIL officials jointly with the police and revenue officials had conducted surveys in farmlands that they own and the officials were taking photographs of the farm land. Ganesan's wife C. Chinnavel told reporters that her husband was upset by the surveys that were being carried out in their farmlands and adjacent farmlands. She said that this was the only reason for his suicide and that the family was in dire straits after his passing away. Meanwhile, former MLA of the CPI-M, C. Dillibabu said that the Chief Minister must increase the solatium amount to Rs 15 lakhs as Ganesan was the only bread winner of the family. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Jammu and Kashmir on April 24, the first after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, a contrasting picture has emerged in the union territory. On one hand is the record number of tourists visiting Kashmir, increasing investment and development activity; on the other is the terror push from Pakistan that seeks to renew fear among the people and derail the normalisation process. The Prime Minister's visit to the UT is being seen as a message to showcase grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir. Modi will address the rural local bodies across the country on April 24, which is being observed as the Panchayati Raj Diwas, from Palli village in district Samba of the Jammu region. The village will also be showcased as a carbon-free village. The fact that Modi is visiting a village on his first visit to the UT after the massive change in the status of J&K indicates the Centre's resolve to strengthen the pillar of democracy and to decentralise power. It was to strengthen grassroots democracy that the Centre amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 for the first time in October 2020 and paved the way for the creation of District Development Councils (DDCs). The DDC is a directly-elected local government body with jurisdiction over the entire district, excluding areas designated as a municipality or municipal corporation. The first-ever elections to DDCs were held successfully in 2020. It was for the first time in the UT that the DDCs, along with the Halqa Panchayats and Block Development Councils (BDCs), set up a three-tier Panchayati Raj system, which was never before attempted by the previous governments. It is this success that is being sought to be showcased when Modi visits Palli. The Prime Minister's visit also comes at a time when Kashmir is seeing record tourist arrivals despite terror strikes. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha has said: "I think this is the golden period for Jammu and Kashmir in which all the records of the last 15-20 years have been broken. More than 80 lakh tourists arrived here in the last few months. This has brought prosperity and is helping people establish peace." Almost all of the valley hotels are running at full capacity. The heavy rush of tourists to the valley has made the Srinagar airport one of the busiest in the country. On April 11, the airport handled a record 102 inbound and outbound flights with a total number of 15,199 passengers. This year, the Amarnath yatra has been given the green signal after remaining suspended during 2020 and 2021 because of the onslaught of Covid-19. Religious tourism is expected to bring a windfall to the UT economy, especially to the valley. In a boost to the economy, which has been badly hit by terrorism, the Centre is aggressively pushing for investments in the UT. Recently, a 34-member delegation of businessmen from the UAE, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Hong Kong was on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to explore investment opportunities. In his address, the Prime Minister is expected to talk about tourism and the investments made, and those on the anvil. Even as the Prime Minister prepares to visit the UT, terror strikes continue in the valley. Almost every day there are gunfights between the security forces and terrorists, targeted killings of Hindus, non-locals, sarpanches and security personnel. Recently, the Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, said the number of militants was fast decreasing, but militancy was alive in Kashmir. Till the first week of March, 20 anti-terror operations were conducted in Kashmir in which 35 terrorists, including three top commanders and nine Pakistani terrorists, were eliminated. The security forces have also managed to arrest 16 active terrorists so far this year. Despite efforts to neutralise terrorists, targeted killings are being carried out by militant outfits. Four sarpanches have been killed since the beginning of this year, the latest being on April 14. By attacking sarpanches, political workers, non-local resident and Kashmiri Pandits, the terror outfits are trying to recreate the fear that used to prevail in the 1990s. Resorting to targeted killings, in fact, is being seen as a change of strategy by the terror handlers sitting in Pakistan. Infiltration from across the Line of Control has been curbed and most of Pakistan's supporters in Kashmir are behind bars, so the terrorists are choosing soft targets. Several Kashmiri Hindu bodies believe that the situation in the valley is returning to what it was in the 1990s, when threat letters used to be issued against them and targeted killings were the routine. In this backdrop, the Prime Minister's words will be keenly heard, especially because Pakistan's new dispensation has parroted its age-old sinister line on Kashmir. (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ianns.in) Mumbai, April 17 : Director Prashant Neel has heaped praises on superstar Yash for taking the franchise 'KGF' to a new high. He says the only person who had the vision to see the success of the film was the actor, who has gained major fandom, courtesy his portrayal as the rugged and fierce Rocky. Director Prashant Neel mentioned that 'KGF' was an eight year-long journey that gave them the confidence which helped them take the film to another level. The filmmaker also added: "When we started we never thought that we would be where we are today." Crediting Yash, Neel extended his gratitude and said, "The only person that had this vision was Yash. We started this as a small Kannada project and today the film is really big and the expectations are very high." He also credits Yash for making a singular big Kannada origins movie, into two parts and taking it to the world. Yash also penned his own dialogues since he believed in Rocky and could see through him. Chennai, April 17 : AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam has attacked the DMK government for its 'double standards' over the Hindi language. The former Chief Minister on Sunday said that the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) has been issuing the Chief Minister's statements made on the floor of the legislative Assembly in Hindi. Stating that the Chief Minister had made strong remarks against the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the language day that Hindi should be the communicating language between the states, Panneerselvam said Stalin's speech on the floor of the Assembly was still in Hindi. He said that the DMK has been trying to project Chief Minister M.K. Stalin as a national leader and spread his fame to the North Indian states, but on the other side the party has been relentlessly carrying out the opposition to Hindi language within Tamil Nadu. OPS said that while on the one hand the DMK was 'advertising' for the Chief Minister in the North Indian states, on the other hand in Tamil Nadu the party was 'pretending' to be against the Hindi language, which was a clear case of 'double standards'. He said, "People have been asking why the DMK president has not been using English, one of the two languages put forward by former Chief Minister, C.N. Annadurai, but has been using Hindi, one of the three language policy," O. Panneerselvam, adding, "Probably the sermon seems to be only for others." New Delhi, April 17 : The central agencies are trying to establish whether Delhi's Jahangirpuri violence has any links with the recent violent incidents in Karauli and Khargone in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively during the Ram Navami processions. According to sources in the central security set up, the probing agencies are examining all aspects of the Jahangirpuri incident and ascertaining whether it was local in nature or planned under a conspiracy. The modus operandi of the recent brawls are very similar indicating a larger conspiracy to disturb the peace and harmony in the country. They also said that the recent alleged attacks on the religious processions have been noticed in places where the both communities have been living since a long time. The last few weeks saw communal tension in parts of the country. Communal riots broke out in several states during the Ram Navami in Rajasthan's Karauli, Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, Gujarat, Jharkhand and in some parts of West Bengal. On April 2, in Rajasthan's Karauli, the violence started when the procession of a few Hindu organisations on the occasion of 'Nav Samvatsar', the first day of Hindu New Year was attacked with stones while passing through a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood. Over 42 people were reportedly injured when stones were pelted at a motorcycle rally passing through a minority dominated area after the brawl between the two communities, shops and vehicles were set on fire. Similar incident occurred in MP's Khargone on the occasion of Ram Navami this year. In the religious procession near the Talab Chowk area of Jama Masjid in the city, clashes erupted between the two communities where they were allegedly provoked by the people coming out from the local mosque after prayers and the stones were pelted from both sides. The Jahangirpuri incident occurred in the similar manner wherein the both communities brandished weapons and iron rods at each other and stones were also pelted in the same manner, the officials added. Though, the 'Shobha Yatra' was taken out with the Delhi Police's permission, but the number of police personnel deployed was not adequate to handle the incident which unfortunately happened on Saturday evening, the locals said in the Jahangirpuri. Soon after the violence erupted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and directed him to send additional security forces in Jahangirpuri to control the situation. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has arrested 14 accused in this case, including the alleged conspirator and main accused Ansar. Vijayanagara : , April 17 (IANS) In a clear message to elements aiming to foment trouble in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai warned that no one should dare to take law into their hands. Reacting to the communal tension that erupted in Hubbali on Saturday night, the chief minister said that the state government would not tolerate it. Bommai was speaking to media persons on Sunday ahead of the BJP State Executive meeting here. "The police are already taking action. Police will not hesitate to take stringent action against those who take law into their hands. We will act against those who instigated it too. Let us not give political colours to it. We should look at it as a law and order issue. Then only such incidents will stop," Bommai said. Police have arrested as many as 40 persons in connection with the violence that erupted after an objectionable social media post surfaced in Hubballi city. Violence broke out late Saturday after hundreds of people belonging to minority community came onto streets and indulged in violence. Soon, the incident took a communal turn and two groups indulged in stone pelting in the city known as 'Chota Mumbai' as it is the commercial hub of north Karnataka. In 1994, Hubballi had made it to the headlines over the controversy around hoisting of national flag on the premises of the Eidgah maidan here. "In Hubballi yesterday some elements took law into their hands. Though the police had arrested the person who had posted a Whatsapp message, some people assembled in front of a police station and incited trouble. Some policemen too were injured in the incident. Later stone pelting too has happened in some parts of old Hubballi which is an unpardonable crime," Bommai said. The violence in Hubballi is the latest development in a series of controversies that have roused communal polarisation in Karnataka. New Delhi, April 17 : China has constructed three mobile towers at Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh very close to the LAC, local councillor Konchok Stanzin said on Sunday. "After completing the bridge over Pangong lake, China has installed 3 mobile towers near China's hot spring very close to the Indian territory. Isn't it a concern? We don't even have 4G facilities in human habitation villages. 11 villages in my constituency have no 4G facilities," Stanzin, who is the councillor from Chushul, said in a tweet. In January, India had strongly objected China's illegal construction of a bridge on part of the Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh and said that it is monitoring the situation. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had stated: "Government has been monitoring this activity closely. This bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now. As you are well aware, India has never accepted such illegal occupation." The bridge to connect north and south banks of the Pangong Lake will allow the Chinese People's Liberation Army quick access to both sides. India and China have been engaged in the border face-off for around two years now. Guwahati, April 17 : At least five youths were killed and ten others injured in a road mishap in Assam's Biswanath district, police said on Sunday. Police officials said that the victims, part of a Rongali Bihu troupe, met with a road accident when the driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling, lost control and the vehicle overturned at Gohpur in Assam's Biswanath district late on Saturday night. The Bihu troupe, comprising 20 boys and girls, was returning home after performing Husori (traditional Assamese Rongali Bihu song and dance). All the injured were rushed to Gohpur Civil Hospital and Catholic Hospital at Borgang for treatment as condition of many are stated to be critical. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who condoled the deaths, has asked the administration to monitor the situation and provide the injured all necessary help. He tweeted: "Deeply pained by the loss of five young lives in an unfortunate road accident at Biswanath last night. My condolences to the bereaved families of Sanjay Basumatary (17), Koliman Basumatary (21), Bornali Boro (15), Budhimoti Boro (14) and Radhika Daimary (15)." People in Assam were fully in the spirit of Rongali or Bohag Bihu, the beginning of the Assamese New Year, giving a glimpse of pre-pandemic festive fervour. Vijayanagara, : April 17 (IANS) Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Sunday termed the Hubballi violence a "preplanned conspiracy" and asserted that no one who took law into their hands will be spared. The violence had started after a youth shared a controversial post on WhatsApp. The forces have brought the situation under control. Several, including the accused who shared the post, have been arrested in this connection. No matter which religion they belong to, there is no question of sparing anyone if they indulge in violence. It is seen as a preplanned conspiracy at the outset, he said. "According to information I received, piles of the stones were collected before violence. While one PSI has been injured seriously and admitted to hospital, others have sustained injuries," he said. He stated that the violence incident is similar to the one at D.J. Halli where the mob gathered in front of police station in Bengaluru, torched police vehicles and even the house of sitting MLA. The D.J.Halli violence erupted after a youth shared objectionable post hurting religious sentiments. The curfew has been extended till April 20 in Hubballi and pro-military forces have been called in along with state Reserve forces to control the situation. Though, the police have controlled the violence, the situation is still volatile in the city, according to sources. Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : Kerala state president of BJP K. Surendran on Sunday said that the situation in the state is a threat to the nation and that the party would approach the Union Home Minister regarding the same. He was speaking to reporters after attending the funeral of the slain RSS leader Sreenivasan at Palakkad. It may be noted that the RSS leader was killed by the workers of Islamist organisation, SDPI after barging into his office at Melamuri in Palakkad. Surendran said that the state BJP would apprise Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the situation in Kerala who will be visiting the state on April 29. The BJP leader said that the Kerala Governor was supportive of the Islamist terror organisation and that the state police is tied up by the CPI-M-led political leadership preventing them from taking action against the assailants. He said that the recent killings of RSS, BJP workers at Palakkad, Alappuzha and Vayalar were unilaterally done by the Islamic terrorists. Surendran said that Kerala police didn't take any attempts to bring out the conspiracy angle in the previous murders and added that it was a gross failure and negligence on the part of the state police. The Kerala High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the murder of RSS worker Sanjith who was killed on November 15, 2021 by the Islamists, the BJP leader said. He added that the Kerala Government has taken a stand in the high court that before a CBI investigation was ordered, the court should listen to the accused. Surendran said that this was a clear indication that the state government was hand in glove with the Islamic terrorists. He said that the state government is apprehensive of the CBI taking over the case and that the present killing at Palakkad of Sreenivasan is a fall out of the failure of the left government's inaction. London, April 17 : Boris Johnson's first visit to India as Britain's prime minister - twice postponed because of covid - is at last scheduled on the anvil for April 21-22. "My visit to India", he said, "will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations - from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence." Johnson's is no stranger to India. He was married to a half-Indian barrister - Marina Wheeler - for 25 years and undertook trips to India often for family occasions. He also went to India as Mayor of London and the UK's Foreign Secretary. This, though, is his first sojourn since Britain formally exited the European Union (EU) as a member state at the end of 2020. The EU accounted for over 50 per cent of the UK's total exports. Data put out by the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS) underlined the country's exports to the EU fell by 20 billion pounds last year - the first year post-Brexit - compared with 2018 - treated as a base year. Clothing exports plunged 60 per cent, vegetables were down 40 per cent and cars 25 per cent. Exports to the rest of the world dropped by 10 billion pounds, thereby emphasising the importance of the UK-EU trade relationship, which Brexiteers like Johnson spurned and are now desperate to compensate, notwithstanding the fact that there is a recovery from January 2021 - month on month - when UK exports to the EU collapsed by 40 per cent. Britain obtained a Comprehensive Economic Partnership with Japan in 2020. However, free access to the big market of the US has been rebuffed by the current American administration of President Joe Biden, regardless of Britain's enthusiasm for it. It has, thus, turned to India, among other countries, to make up for the decline in exports to the EU. Consequently, Johnson is perceived to be arriving in India with a relatively weak hand, keen to increase British exports to India and to induce Indian companies to invest in the UK. The British government, however, visualises India to be in vulnerable circumstances, with China posing a military threat its borders, and the Indian economy having gone pear shaped, including exports struggling to move upwards. Johnson's office at 10 Downing Street stated: "He will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year - a deal with India is predicted to boost our total trade by up to 28 billion pounds annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds." The FTA aimed at will be selective rather than comprehensive, with a target to conclude it by the first quarter of 2024, or before general elections in spring of that year in both countries. 'Data, Fintech and Information Technology,' will be the key focus, a source disclosed. A year ago, Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Following this, the former announced a 530 million pounds Indian investment in Britain arising out of this, including vaccine maker Serum Institute of India setting up shop in Britain. Downing Street was asked how much of this inflow has materialised so far. It failed to provide an answer. However, the PM office indicated: "Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK." Much of such employment is generated by the Tatas, among who interests are Tata Steel, Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Johnson will be heading for Modi's home state of Gujarat first. Here on April 21, he will "meet with the leading businesses". It will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will be setting foot in the state. The purpose is seen in informed circles in Britain as being as much political as anything else, since about half of the British Indian population in the UK are estimated to be of Gujarati origin. On April 22, his talks with Modi in Delhi will cover bilateral cooperation in defence and diplomatic affairs. Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, senior fellow at the International Instutute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, commented: "Defence has been an 'under-performer'. From several decades ago when the UK was the largest source of arms for India, its share today of is less than 3 per cent of India's defence." He thinks maritime security cooperation in the western Indian Ocean offers a "value add". As for the political aspect of diplomatic ties, there has rarely been a convergence between the two country in the 75 years since Indian independence from Britain. Presently, the UK is gung-ho about siding militarily with Ukraine in its face-off with Russia, whereas India, despite unprecedentedly tilting towards the US under Modi, has reverted to Jawaharlal Nehru's policy of non-alignment on Russia-US conflicts, which the hostilities in Ukraine are seen to be. Chennai, April 17 : The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP has come out strongly against the DMK-led groups trolling music mastero Ilayaraj for his foreword in a recently released book, "Ambedkar & Modi: Reformers ideas, Performers implantation" published by Bluekraft Digital Foundation. In the book Ilayaraja has said that Dr B.R. Ambedkar would be proud of several social achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tenure. The DMK supported social media groups and the left liberals who had recently lauded another Tamil music composer A.R. Rahman for his position on the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the language controversy has come out strongly against Ilayaraja. BJP state president K. Annamalai while speaking to IANS said: "What wrong has Ilayaraja sir done. No one can silence Ilayaraja Sir just like his music and no DMK-led ecosystem can throttle his voice now. The power brokers of the DMK are rattled at the foreword he has written in the book and they are bringing out this ire through social media posts against the mastero which will not have any impact on him or the people of Tamil Nadu". Union minister L. Murugan in a statement said: "The Constitution of India allows freedom of expression and by denying the same to Ilayaraja Sir, DMK has shown its anti-Dalit and anti-Constitutional nature". He said that the pro women legislations like the "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" movement which has brought in social transformation and the banning of triple talaq is something that Dr Ambedkar would be proud of and that the great musician has only mentioned that in the foreword which is a reality. Murugan said that the intolerable nature of the DMK and the so called left liberals are obviously seen in the anger and ire expressed in the trolls against Ilaiyaraaja Sir. The Union minister said that Ilaiyaraaja had just expressed that both Dr Ambedkar and Prime Minister Modi are practical people and that they succeeded despite all odds that the people from socially backward communities face and that the DMK groups are rattled by this frank statement from the great music mastero. In the book Ilaiyaraaja has also said: "Both Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dreamt big for the country and both are practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercise. The Atmanirbhar Bharat that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is building is a fitting tribute to the dreams of our freedom fighters." With the Tamil Nadu BJP coming out against the DMK-led groups on trolling the noted music director from South India who has a huge fan following, it is to be seen whether this would escalate into a major war of words in the days to come. New Delhi, April 17 : The Supreme Court has commented on the nature of the Indian Union in several judgments, and plays a significant role in establishing and evolving "Indian federalism", say experts. The Central government and the state governments - constituent units -- do not have identical powers in all matters, and there are differences in the way constituent units relate to the Central government. This generates a distinguished complexity in the functioning of Indian federalism. The Supreme Court is required to preserve the delicate balance of governing forces -- allocated between the Central government and the constituent units. The apex court is also much needed to negate any effort by either - by Centre or states -- to penetrate the territory entrusted to the other, which is one of the fundamental characteristics of a federal state. For example, in the ongoing litigation between Delhi government and the Centre in the Supreme Court, the former -- in connection with the control over administrative services in the capital -- has alleged that the latter has been "negating" federalism by taking away its power of transfer and posting. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave said: "The Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution of India." He added that in the conflict between the Centre and state governments, the top court must decide, so that nobody encroaches on each other's turf. "In the past, the Supreme Court has upheld federalism and it is clear that it has supported the principles of federalism," said Dave. Some legal experts say the Constitution provides all features, which are essential for a federal structure, and a state derives its existence from the Constitution, which includes powers -- executive, legislative or judicial. The Central government and state government exercise their legislative and executive power assigned under the Constitution, and in case of any disputes surfaces, the courts are the final arbiter. However, recently, situations have arisen, where state governments have claimed that the Union of India is trying to upset the balance, under the Constitution. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi said the power of the state government is required to be protected, as it is a weaker party when compared with the Central government, which holds a major share of power. and the Centre has many ways to interfere with power of state governments. Citing the implementation of GST, he said the state's exclusive power of taxation has been reduced, and sales tax and entry or exit tax etc., are gone now. On the aspect of various incidents occurring in a state government, Dwivedi said the courts whenever faced with the question of transferring the probe to the central agency like the CBI, should instead form a special investigation team (SIT) in the matter. However, senior advocate Aman Lekhi said: "While affirming division of powers mandated balance and even while accepting preeminence of the Centre in some areas..(its) not usurpation of powers... treating the idea as a dynamic not rigid one as can attain the objectives of our constitutional democracy." According to legal experts, the Constitution has not described India as a federation, rather quasi-federal -- where the distribution of powers between the Centre and the state is not equal. Senior advocate Sanjay Hedge said the Indian Constitution is not a federal structure, where independent states came together to form a federation like the US. He cited the ongoing litigation between the Delhi government and the Centre, and also petitions in the Supreme Court against Centre's decision regarding the abrogation of Article 370. He also pointed at inter-state disputes -- river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and the boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland. Hedge said: "The Indian Supreme Court broadly operates on principles of quasi-federalism and tries to harmonise conflicts." Moscow, April 17 : Kiev ordered the militants located on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, surrounded and blocked in Mariupol, to shoot those who want to lay down their arms, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence, Major General Igor Konashenkov said. "The Kyiv nationalist regime, according to radio interception, forbade negotiations on surrender," the general said, RT reported. According to him, the Azov Nazis were ordered to shoot on the spot all those who wanted to lay down their arms from among the Ukrainian military and foreign mercenaries. Earlier, Konashenkov said that the entire urban area of Mariupol was cleared of Ukrainian troops, the remnants of the group were blocked at the Azovstal plant. The Russian Defense Ministry has called on the remaining Ukrainian forces, besieged at a steel plant in the coastal city of Mariupol, to lay down their arms, offering safety guarantees, if they accept the proposal and halt all hostilities on Sunday. "Considering the catastrophic situation at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, and being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces offer militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries to stop hostilities and lay down their arms starting 6 a.m. Moscow time on April 17, 2022," the Russian Defence Ministry said. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Srinagar, April 17 : A Ph.D. scholar in Srinagar was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir's State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Sunday for an allegedly "highly provocative and seditious" article published in an online magazine. "The Ph.D scholar, Abdul Aala Fazili was arrested from his residence in Humhama on the outskirts of Srinagaras part of the searches carried out at several locations in the city durung crackdown on terror and anti-national networks," sources said. According to the sources, the SIA carried out the searches in connection with an FIR registered under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IPC against Fazili and the editor and other associates of monthly digital magazine "The Kashmir Walla". Searches were also conducted at the office of 'The Kashmir Walla' in Rajbagh and at the residences of Fazili in Humhama and at the residence of the jailed editor of the magazine, Farhad Shah and "incriminating evidence, including material in computers, laptops and other digital equipment" seized. "Fazili's article, titled 'The shackles of slavery will break', is highly provocative, seditious and intended to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism. "The article also promoted and propagated the false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist-cum-terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India," the source said, adding that it "has used prescriptive language with instructional intent, encouraging secessionist elements to carry out terror activities". "Repeated reference to freedom and terror outfits' rhetoric make it amply clear that the article is not merely propaganda. Rather, it is articulation of Pakistan ISI and the vision of its sponsored terrorist secessionist networks." The source also said that the Central government paid Fazili Rs 30,000 per month for five years till March 2021 through the Maulana Azad National Fellowship so that he can sustain himself and complete his Ph.D. in the department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the university. Chandigarh, April 17 : In a bid to effectively check the fast depleting water table, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday exhorted the farmers to go for direct seeding of rice (DSR) technology in a big way during the current Kharif season. Chairing a meeting of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) led by its coordinator Darshan Pal here, Mann sought inputs from the representatives of 23 farmers' organisations present in the meeting to suggest the state government for providing staggered power supply to the agriculture sector, thus facilitating the farmers for sowing paddy through DSR technique and the conventional paddy transplantation. The Chief Minister said the proposed staggered power supply would help avoiding the peak load during the paddy sowing season. He also suggested ensuring equitable power supply through PSPCL as per region wise demand thus dividing the entire state into four zones. Mann also directed the officers to visit villages to encourage farmers to adopt the DSR technique during the paddy season in order to save water and electricity. Earlier, Bharti Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan led by its President Joginder Singh Ugrahan called on the Chief Minister at his residence who also solicited views from him for the promotion of the DSR technique. Showing concern over the findings of study conducted by PAU experts, the Chief Minister said it is a high time to shift from the paddy transplantation to the eco friendly and economically viable DSR technique which would go a long way in saving the ground water up to 15-20 per cent, besides enhancing recharging the underground water by 10-15 per cent and saving nearly Rs 3,000 per acre on input costs, including labour. Motivating the farmers to opt diversification of agriculture by sowing alternative crops like sugarcane, maize, pulses and oil seeds, Mann assured the farmers that the state government would soon take up the issue of giving MSP on these crops with the Centre, adding state agencies like Markfed would also be roped in for procurement of alternative crops on the MSP. He also urged the farmers to go for sowing of paddy varieties viz. PR 126 and PR 121 with short duration of maturity while the cultivation of Pusa 144 should be discouraged. The Chief Minister also asked the representatives of farmers' unions to encourage the farmers at ground level to sow basmati as it was less water intensive crop and fetches remunerative price as compared to paddy. He assured the farmers that the government would extend all possible marketing support for the purchase of basmati. Emphasizing the need for restoration of the canal irrigation system, the Chief Minister directed the Water Resources Department to chalk out a detailed action programme for the cleaning of water channels, distributaries and canals so as to ensure smooth flow of water up to the tail ends. New Delhi, April 17 : Alarmed at the recent fraud allegations at some of its portfolio startups like BharatPe, Zilingo and Trell, top investor Sequoia Capital India on Sunday said it will continue to respond strongly when it encounters "willful misconduct or fraud", and take tough action wherever needed. One of the biggest investors in the Indian and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem, it said that recently, some portfolio founders have been under investigation for potential fraudulent practices or poor governance. "These allegations are deeply disturbing. We have always strongly encouraged founders to play the long game. We focus on the enduring, and discourage focussing on vanity metrics. Despite that we find some counter-examples of what we espouse," the VC said in a blog post. BharatPe co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover, along with his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, has been charged by the fintech platform of "extensive misappropriation of company funds" and using "company expense accounts" to "enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles". The Grovers are no more a part of the fintech company which initiated an internal probe against them. On the other hand, online fashion marketplace Zilingo has suspended its founder and CEO Ankiti Bose following a probe over wrongdoing in accounting books. Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital India's head, has left the board of the Zilingo. Live commerce startup Trell also probed claims that its founders siphoned off money. Without naming the startups, Sequoia Capital India said that all it "makes us reflect on what we could have done, along with other investors who have partnered in these companies, to prevent such situations". "It is easy to think of this issue as ascribed to poor due diligence. But let's remember that when investments are made at seed or early stage there is hardly a business to diligence. Even later stage investors can face negative surprises, post investment, if there is wilful fraud and intent," the company noted. It said that the board is there to govern and help make decisions in the best interest of the shareholders. "The board is not responsible to investigate on an ongoing basis unless something formally is brought up with them, which is often through a whistleblower," said the top investor. "Better corporate governance is a shared responsibility between founders, management and the board. And to get there the ecosystem needs to come together and commit to some changes." Sequoia Capital India said it will continue to have zero tolerance towards proven wrongdoing. "We won't hesitate to act to protect the interest of the company and employees, even if it costs us financially. We will take tough calls where needed in the interest of doing what is right," the leading investor stressed. "Our worst days are when we hear about breaches of integrity or ethics in the portfolio. This is the stuff that pains us deeply. And it's time we speak about this," it added. New Delhi, April 17 : Delhi Police has arrested a total of 20 people and apprehended 2 juveniles in case of a communal violence that erupted during a Shobha Yatra procession on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in the national capital, officials said on Sunday. The accused were identified as Zahid (20), Anshar (35), Shahjad (33), Mukhtyaar Ali (28), Mohd. Ali (18), Amir (19), Aksar (26), Noor Alam (28), Md. Aslam (21), Zakir (22), Akram (22), Imtyaz (29), Mohd. Ali (27), Ahir (37), Sheikh Saurabh (42), Suraj (21), Neeraj (19), Suken (45), Suresh (43) and Sujeet Sarkar (38), all residents of Jahangirpuri. Apart from them, two juveniles were also apprehended. Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Usha Rangnani said three firearms and five swords have also been recovered from the possession of the arrested persons. The accused were booked under sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon),149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 436 (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.), 307 (Attempt to murder), 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and section 27 of the Arms Act. The clashes broke out between the two groups of people when the Shobha Yatra procession was passing through the road just next to Kusal Cinema Hall, on the opposite side of which is a mosque. As per several videos of the procession accessed by IANS, people can be seen wielding swords and chanting religious slogans just before the clashes broke out. According to the FIR lodged at the Jahangirpuri police station, the Shobha Yatra procession was passing off peacefully, but at around 6 p.m., when they reached outside a mosque, the accused Anshar came there with his 4-5 associates and started arguing with the participants of Shobha Yatra. The argument soon turned violent and both the sides started pelting stones at each other. "I, Inspector Rajiv Ranjan Singh, tried to pacify the situation and separated the two groups, however, within some time, they again started pelting stones after which I informed the Police Control Room about the development," read the FIR. Soon after this, more police force reached the spot along with senior officials, however, by that time the mob had turned completely violent. The mob pelted stones on the police force and also fired shots at them. At least 8 policemen were injured. To contain the situation and disperse the crowd, the police fired 40-50 tear gas shells. Amid the pandemonium, one scooty was torched and 5-6 cars were vandalised. The Police normalised the situation with the help of paramilitary forces and at around 8 p.m. in the evening the situation was under control, yet tense. Later, the area became the epicentre of the heavy police deployment, with the road, where the violent clashes took place, extensively barricaded from all sides. On Sunday, the situation was under control and an adequate number of police force was deployed there to avert any untoward incident. The police said that area domination, foot patrolling and deep deployment has been ensured to assure people and to maintain law and order in the area. Meanwhile, the personnel of Delhi Police carried out preventive patrolling and area domination throughout the night in the backdrop of violent clashes. Delhi Police is also in talks with the members of the Aman committee. During the meeting, all the members were asked to appeal to the public in their areas to maintain peace, harmony and tranquility. "They were also requested to counter any rumour or misinformation, be vigilant towards the activities of any mischievous and anti-social elements, to keep in touch with police and to ensure immediate reporting of any thing suspicious that comes into their notice," a senior official said. New Delhi, April 17 : The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the use of bulldozers for razing houses and other buildings in various BJP-ruled states, terming it a a ploy to target minorities, especially Muslims, under the guise of crime prevention. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana President Arshad Madani said: "The petition asks the court to order the states not to demolish anyone's home or shop without the court's permission. It is noteworthy that the politics of bulldozers is already going on in Uttar Pradesh, but now this nefarious act has started in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh as well." It noted that during a procession in Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of Ram Navami, "riots were started by chanting highly provocative slogans and then by order of the state government, houses and shops of Muslims were demolished. On the other hand, the Madhya Pradesh government is defending its cruel act." The petition names as respondents the Central government as well as the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, where Muslims have been targeted in recent days. The petition has been prepared by advocate Sarim Naved after consultation with senior advocate Kapil Sibal while advocate on record Kabir Dixit has filed it online. A request for an early hearing on the petition may be made to the Chief Justice of India in the next few days. Expressing his deep concern over the hatred and sectarianism that has been going on in the country for some time now, Maulana Madani said that "an atmosphere of religious extremism and hatred is prevailing across the country. Conspiracies are being hatched to intimidate minorities, especially Muslims". He said that provocations were taking place in Muslim localities and in front of mosques. "In the presence of the police, sticks and staffs are being waved and slogans are being chanted, and all are silent spectators. It seems as if there is no law left in the country, and no government can arrest them," he said, adding that Muslims were being harassed by the sectarian forces, and the Central government was silent as if nothing had happened. "The criminal manner in which the police and the administration have acted in support of the bullies in Khargone shows that enforcing the law is no longer their goal. If the police and the administration had shown even a little loyalty to the constitution, the Muslims in Karauli, Rajasthan would not have been targeted and their houses and businesses in Khargone would not have been destroyed." Maulana Arshad Madani said that they "have turned to the Supreme Court to bring justice to the oppressed people of the country, and to save the Constitution and democracy of the country, and to uphold the rule of law. We hope that justice will be done in this case as well as in other cases. Earlier, the Supreme Court had struck down the fine imposed by the UP government on peaceful protesters against the CAA and NRC, and reprimanded the government for it". He said that when the government fails to fulfill its constitutional duty, and remains silent to the voices of the oppressed, then courts are the only ray of hope for justice. "We have received justice from the judiciary in the past so we are confident that we will get justice in this important case as other cases from the Supreme Court, and the court will make strong decision to protect secularism. Our legal struggle will continue till positive result." Hyderabad, April 17 : Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has defended legendary composer Ilyaraja, who is facing criticism from some quarters for comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the architect of the Indian Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar. She said those demeaning the stalwart should apologise to him. The governor tweeted that music celebrity iconic legend Ilayaraja is the pride of Tamil Nadu and India. "His expression from bottom of his heart saying Modi fulfills Ambedkar dreams is welcome as it reflects million brilliant fair minds," she wrote. "But to demean a stalwart like him by few vested interests shows pettiness and intellectual bankruptcy. Those behind it need to re-evaluate their conduct and apologise to him soon, as Tamil Culture demands. Respect his iconic global rise from his humble rural TN," she added. Tamilisai further wrote that Ilayaraja's views echoes Tamil sentiment. She made the tweets with hashtags Respectotherpeopleopinion, Respectfreedomofexpression and WakeupTamils. "Is it right for world renowned music maestro Ilayaraja to face such hard words for comparing PM Modi with Ambedkar by those who sow seeds of hate politics," asked Tamilisai, who is also Lt Governor for Puducherry. She wondered if freedom of speech was allowed only selectively. "Let's say it loudly that Ilayaraja has full freedom to express his thoughts," she wrote. Ilayaraja in the foreword of a book drew parallels between Narendra Modi and Ambedkar. The book titled Ambedkar & Modi: Reformers ideas, Performers implementation is published by Bluekraft Digital Foundation. The book was launched on April 14. The legendary composer said that there are some striking resemblances between Dr. Ambedkar and Prime Minister Modi. Both went through hardships and have succeeded against the odds that people from the socially disempowered sections of the society face. Thiruvananthapuram, April 17 : Police have taken into custody 5 persons for their alleged involvement in the murder of an SDPI activist, Subair (44) at Elapully in Kerala's Palakkad district, officials said on Sunday. They were arrested from Kazchaparambu in Palakkad while they were trying to escape to Kodungallur, police said. Investigating officers said that all five are natives of Elapully where the murder took place. The people who were taken into custody , according to police had provided the necessary support to the accused in the murder and had participated in the conspiracy. It may be noted that Subair was hacked to death on Friday while he was returning home after offering prayers at a local mosque along with his father, Aboobacker. Police said that the assailants hit the bike in which Subair was driving with his father pillion riding. They hacked Subair to death in front of his father who suffered minor injuries in the fall. After the killing of Subair on Friday, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists hacked to death a former RSS pracharak , Sreenivasan (45) on Saturday. The killings and counter killings have sent shock waves across the people of the state during festival time with Vishu, Easter being celebrated on Friday and Sunday and for Muslims its the holy Ramzan month . Kolkata, April 17 : The presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration on April 20 of the two-day Bengal Global Business (BGBS) 2022, meant to showcase West Bengal as an ideal investment destination, has become uncertain. A state government official told IANS that nothing final has been confirmed by the Prime Minister's Office to the state secretariat on this count as on date. As per Press Information Bureau (PIB)'s official tour information of the Prime Minister, he is slated to be in his home state Gujarat from April 18 to April 20. "However, we are still hoping that the Prime Minister might attend the meeting on April 20 morning coming from Gujarat," the official, who did not wish to be named, said. In November last year, when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went New Delhi and met the Prime Minister, she invited him to attend the inaugural session of the event. After the meeting, she even told the media persons that the Prime Minister has even accepted her invitation and assured his presence at the inaugural session of the summit. State government sources said that top top-notch industrialists from the country like Reliance Group's Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group's Gautam Adani are slated to be a part of the inaugural session of BGBS-2022. Agri-business, mining, IT-ITES, and Tourism are among the focus sectors of the summit this year. The summit this year, as per state government sources, is expected to witness business delegations from a number of countries, including the UK. Banerjee herself had said earlier this week that businessmen and industrialists from 14 nations will attend the summit this time. She also claimed that her government is the first state government which has shown the guts to organize a business summit of such stature in the post-pandemic situation. The Bengal Global Business Summit became an annual event of the state government since 2017. However, it could not happen in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns. New Delhi, April 17 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which recently grilled AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, in connection with AIADMK symbol bribe matter involving multimillionaire conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, has summoned him again on April 22. Dhinakaran was summoned for questioning by the ED on April 12 by the ED officials, in connection with the case of Election Commission officials being allegedly bribed to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the faction then headed by his aunt, V.K. Sasikala. Conman Chandrashekhar was recently placed under arrest by the ED in this case and questioned at length. The ED then decided to record the statement of Dhinakaran. In 2017, a case under various sections of IPC was lodged by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch against Chandrashekhar and others for allegedly bribing Election Commission officials. The ED initiated a money laundering probe on the basis of the FIR. Chandrashekhar was arrested in April 2017 for taking money from Dhinakaran to hand over to Election Commission officials as bribe to help them getting AIADMK 'two leaves' symbol. Dhinakaran was also arrested, and a charge sheet was filed in Patiala House Courts against the two. New Delhi, April 17 : Former Army Chief Gen JJ Singh has sought an explanation from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadda over a meeting with British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi who has an anti- India stand on the Kashmir issue. "Despite knowing that Dhesi has an anti-India stand on Kashmir, why CM Mann and Raghav Chadda met him recently in Punjab and must explain what assurance has been given to the British MP by Maan and Chadda," Gen Singh said. He further said that it was said that discussions were held on giving certain facilities to the Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in Punjab. He also said the Indian government has given many facilities to the NRIs of Punjab and many of them have been de-listed from the 'black list' and were allowed to visit the state. In 2019, Dhesi had said: "I do not support the Indian government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and removing the statehood from the Kashmiris." He had reiterated his stand when he came to India in August 2019 and had criticised the Indian government for abrogating Article 370 and dividing the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Gen Singh's remarks came ahead of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India from April 21-22. This will be his maiden visit to India as the Prime Minister of UK and he will discuss various bilateral issues with Indian Prime MInister Narendra Modi on trade, defence and Ukraine crisis. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, in his address to the Gujarat Education Conference at Bharuch in 1917, stressed the need of a national language and firmly expressed that Hindi is the only language, which could be adopted as 'Official as well as National Language of India' because it is the language spoken by majority of the Indians. Hindi has the potential of being used as a social, economic, religious and political communication link. The Constitution makers had deliberated the issue of Official Language in detail at the time of framing the Constitution and it was decided that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be adopted as the official language of the Union. This is the basis of declaring Hindi as the official language of Union under Article 343(1). Moreover, Article 351 directs the Centre to take appropriate steps to promote and propagate Hindi language so that it may serve as a medium of expression and connecting language for all the elements of composite culture. A harmonious reading of language provisions, particularly Article 343, 344, 348 and Article 351 would show that ultimate goal is the spread and development of Hindi and the gradual switchover to its use for official and legal purposes and as a common language. Last part of Article 351 says that in developing Hindi, the vocabulary shall be drawn, wherever necessary, primarily from Sanskrit and secondarily from other languages. Primacy has been given to Sanskrit because it is the oldest language of the world and other languages have sprung from Sanskrit. It is also the fountain source of Indian culture and world's oldest scripture 'Vedas' are written in Sanskrit. Sanskrit has contributed the highest through poetry, philosophy, science, astronomy and mathematics, to human civilization. It is also termed as the Devavani i.e. language of Gods. As many western scholars have observed much that West today vaunts of was borrowed from Sanskrit. Maybe it is not a popular dialect today but it is the storehouse of immeasurable wealth which is an indispensable asset for regaining India's status in the world. And, this is the reason why Dr. Ambedkar proposed Sanskrit as official as well as national language of India. At the time of framing and adoption of the Constitution, it was envisaged that English will continue to be used for executive, judicial and legal purposes for an initial period of 15 years i.e. till 1965 only. However, it is very unfortunate that the executive legislature and judiciary have not taken appropriate steps to promote Hindi. It is provided in the Constitution that the President may authorise the use of Hindi language for some specific purposes. The period of 15 years was prescribed after detailed deliberation so that necessary arrangements could be made for smooth language transition. The Constitution makers were conscious that language transition in all the fields may not be possible by 1965. They also had the foresight to allow the use of English along with Hindi during the first 15 years. Article 351 of the Constitution speaks of the development of Hindi as the official language of the Union. The framers of the Constitution had envisaged that Hindi with the help of other Indian Languages would evolve as a composite and connecting language, capable of being accepted by people living in non-Hindi speaking regions. In 1963, the Official Languages Act was enacted providing for the continued use of English even after the year 1965. The Act also provided that the use of English for correspondence by the Union with the States may be discontinued only after the legislatures of all non-Hindi speaking States passed resolutions for such discontinuance and both Houses of Parliament passed similar resolutions. However, the Executive neither declared Hindi as the national and connecting language of the country nor took appropriate steps so that all the citizens can read, write and speak Hindi and Sanskrit. Article 348(1) of the Constitution of India provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every high court shall be in English until Parliament by law otherwise provides. Article 348 (2) provides that the Governor of the State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorize the use of Hindi language or any other language used for any official purpose of the State, in the proceedings of the high court having its principal seat in that State provided that decrees, judgments or orders passed by such high courts shall be in English. The Official Language Act, 1963 reiterates this and provides under Section 7 that the use of Hindi or official language of a State in addition to the English language may be authorized, with the consent of the President of India, by the Governor of the State for the purpose of judgments, decrees etc. made by the High Court for that State. However, no law has been made in this regard by the Parliament so far. Therefore, a foreign language "English" continues to be the language for all the proceedings of most of the High Courts as well as the Supreme Court of India. Use of Hindi has been authorized long back in the proceedings as well in the judgments, decrees or orders in the High Courts of the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. If we take the example of Allahabad High Court, people are allowed to argue in Hindi, if the judge is comfortable in the language. It is allowed there and benefits the litigants. Introducing Hindi will help the lawyers who face difficulties while speaking in English. Hindi language is a highly emotional issue for 80 per cent citizens of India. It has a great unifying force and is a powerful instrument for unity and national integration. No foreign language should be thrust on Indian Citizens against their will since it is likely to become counterproductive. Language is not merely a vehicle of thought and expression, but for Judges at the higher level, it is an integral part of their decision-making process. Judges have to hear and understand the submissions of both sides, apply the law to adjust equities. Presently arguments in higher courts are generally made in English and the basic literature under the Indian system is primarily based on English and American textbooks and case laws. Though, 80 per cent judges and advocates in the Supreme Court are proficient in reading, writing, and speaking Hindi. Therefore, advocates should be left free to evolve their own pattern of arguing in Hindi or English. It is particularly important to note that in view of the national transfer policy in respect of the High Court Judges, if any such Judge is compelled to deliver judgments in a foreign language with which he is not well-versed, it might become extremely difficult for him to work judicially. On transfer from one part of the country to another, a Judge is not expected to learn a foreign language and to apply the same in delivering judgments. At any rate no foreign language should be thrust upon Judges and they should be left free to deliver their judgments in Hindi. It is important to remember that every citizen has the right to understand the law laid down finally by the apex court and at present one should appreciate that such a language is only Hindi. The use of Hindi language also facilitates the movement of lawyers from high courts to apex court since they are not confronted with linguistic problems and Hindi remains the language at both levels. Any survey of the society in general or its cross-sections will clearly substantiate the above proposition which does not admit much debate, particularly in the present political, social and economic scenario. Japanese is allowed in the Japan's highest court, Chinese is allowed in the China's highest court, French is allowed in the France's Highest Court but it's very unfortunate that Hindi is now allowed in the Hindustan's Highest Court and a foreign language English has primacy over the Indian Language Hindi, which is spoken by 80 per cent citizens. (The author is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India) Srinagar, April 17 : A terrorist associate was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara and arms and ammunition seized from him, police said on Sunday. Police, along with Army's 15 RR, at a checkpoint established at Sonmullah crossing, intercepted a suspicious person who, on seeing security personnel, tried to flee from the spot but was apprehended, a police official said. He has been identified as Bashir Ahmad Kumar, resident of Lilum Vilgam. Police said during his personal search, a Chinese pistol, two pistol magazines, 13 live 9 mm rounds, and a mobile phone were recovered from his possession. "Affiliation and involvement of the arrested terrorist associate is being ascertained," police said, adding a case has been registered in police station Vilgam and investigation initiated. Moscow, April 18 : Russia's forces have destroyed an ammunition plant in Ukraine's Kiev region, the Russian Defence Ministry said. "During the night, high-precision air-based missiles destroyed an ammunition factory near Brovary (city) in the Kiev region," Ministry Spokesman, Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing on Sunday. He added that 29 militants, including foreign mercenaries, were eliminated during the rescue of Russian hostages from a mosque in Mariupol city in eastern Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported. The Ministry said Russian forces have destroyed 134 aircraft, 249 anti-aircraft missile systems, 470 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,290 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 254 multiple rocket launchers, 992 field artillery and mortars, and 2,166 units of special military vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian forces. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi/Islamabad, April 18 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi urging for maintaining meaningful bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries, media reports said. Sharif's letter on Sunday comes in response to the congratulatory message sent by Modi earlier in the day in which the latter said India supported constructive ties with Pakistan. The Pakistani Prime Minister replied to the Indian Prime Minister's letter and sought resolving of the outstanding issues between the two countries, including that of Kashmir, while stressing that Pakistan wants peaceful and friendly ties with India. India has however, reiterated its stand that it wants strong diplomatic ties with Pakistan provided that Islamabad creates a terror-free environment and hostility for any form of engagement. "Congratulations to H.E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people," PM Modi tweeted on April 11. The relations between India and Pakistan have further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two union territories. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kabul, April 18 : Strong reactions continue in Afghanistan against Pakistani military's air strikes and rocket attacks on Afghan provinces, with many blaming Pakistan for violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty, Tolo News reported. The Ministry of Defence called the attack tyrannical and warned that no country should provoke Afghanistan. "No country should test the Afghans. Should not make the Afghans take a similar step. Throughout history, Afghans proved that they never stay without a response towards any aggression," said Inayatullah Khwarazimi, a Defence Ministry Spokesman. On Friday evening, the Pakistani air strikes targeted civilians in Esperai district in Khost, killing dozens of people. A large number of Nangarhar residents gathered in Ghanikhil district in the provinces on Sunday to protest the Pakistani air strikes on Afghan soil. The protest in Nangarhar follows a huge rally held by the residents of Khost on Saturday evening where they chanted anti-Pakistan slogans, Tolo News reported. Some residents of Shiltan district in Kunar also confirmed the death of five people as a result of Pakistani military attack in the district. The attacks were condemned by the Islamic Emirate and top Afghan politicians, including former President Hamid Karzai who called it violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty and international norms and a crime against humanity. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN in a statement "strongly" condemned the attack and called it an "aggression against the territorial integrity of Afghanistan" and a "flagrant breach of international law". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday summoned the Pakistani envoy in Kabul over the attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces. "Along with the IEA Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the session also included Deputy Defence Minister Alhaj Mullah Shirin Akhund where the Afghan side condemned the recent attacks," the Ministry said in a statement. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations said over 40 people, including women and children, were killed in the air strikes. Washington, April 18 : Two juveniles were killed and several others injured after a shooting in US's Pittsburgh, police said. The shooting happened on Sunday morning during a large party at the short-term rental property in northern part of the city, with as many as 200 people in attendance, many of them underage, said Pittsburgh police in a statement as quoted by Xinhua news agency. Tehran, April 18 : Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri has criticised some Arab states for normalising ties with Israel, saying interactions with Israel can not ensure these countries' security. History has proven that aggression and occupation will never lead to order, stability and calm, Bagheri told a meeting with Iranian Army Commanders on Sunday, according to the Foreign Ministry's website. He noted that because of its occupying and aggressive nature, Israel has caused insecurity and tensions, Xinhua news agency reported. The interactions between some regional governments and Israel are "similar to taking refuge in a wolf's lair to protect oneself from the blissful spring rain," he said. Rabat, April 18 : The Moroccan police have seized more than two tonnes of cannabis ready to be smuggled by sea, official MAP news agency reported. The banned substance, seized in a warehouse on Sunday located in the town of Melloussa near the northern city of Tangier, was concealed in 61 packages, MAP said. It added that an inflatable boat allegedly used for drug trafficking was also seized, Xinhua news agency reported. An investigation was opened to pin down the local and international networks of the criminal activity, according to the report. Despite efforts to crackdown on cannabis cultivation during the past decade, Morocco remains one of the world's largest producers of the narcotic plant, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. For Easter this year, Christian students at the University of Georgia plan to celebrate in different ways. Some will go home to spend the holiday with their families, and others have elected to stay in Athens. The Catholic Center at UGA (pictured) hosted an Easter Sunday Mass at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. for people staying in town. (Photo/Ethan Dawidowicz) Communities and municipalities around Windham County have responded to national and local events with a clear message: They will fight racism and stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. "We President Joe Biden will meet with Southeast Asian leaders in Washington for a special U.S.-ASEAN summit next month, the White House announced Saturday. The meeting in mid-May will take place amid tensions in the South China Sea, divisions among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over its response to the crisis in post-coup Myanmar, and the lack of a collective condemnation by the bloc of Russias invasion of Ukraine a stark contrast to the Wests condemnation of it. President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington, DC on May 12 and 13 for a U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. Cambodia, the 2022 holder of the ASEAN chairmanship, confirmed the new dates for the summit. During this historic meeting, the Leaders of ASEAN and the United States will chart the future direction of ASEAN-U.S. relations and seek to further enhance strategic partnership for the mutual benefits of the peoples of ASEAN and the United States, Phnom Penh said in a statement issued Sunday. The U.S.-ASEAN summit was originally scheduled for the end of March but was postponed because scheduling for the meeting ran into trouble when the facilitating country, Indonesia, could not get all ASEAN members to agree on a date. Next months meeting will be the second special summit between Washington and the Southeast Asian bloc since 2016 and the first in-person one since 2017, Cambodia said. The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the regions most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of U.S.-ASEAN relations, Psaki said. The summit is also set to happen a few days after a general election in the Philippines to determine who will succeed Rodrigo Duterte as president of the longtime U.S. defense ally at the frontline of territorial disputes with Beijing over the South China Sea. During his nearly six years in office, however, Duterte has fostered closer relations with China despite diplomatic protests lodged by Manila over intrusions by Chinese coast guard ships and other vessels in waters within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. Balancing power The U.S. sees Southeast Asia as crucial to its efforts to push back against Chinas rising power in the South China Sea and across the Indo-Pacific region. It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient, Psaki said. The Biden administration announced the new dates for the summit more than two weeks after the American president met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House, where they discussed the South China Sea, among other issues. From our point of view, freedom of navigation is important, international law is important, the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] is also important, and peaceful resolution of disputes so you avoid some accidental conflicts, Lee said during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on March 30, a day after his meeting with Biden. Myanmar crisis ASEAN, meanwhile, has been grappling with a 14-month-old crisis in bloc member Myanmar, where the Burmese juntas forces have bombed and burned swathes of the country to quell resistance to the militarys overthrow of an elected government in February 2021. In late March, the junta blocked ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn from meeting with deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his three-day visit to Myanmar, despite its pledge to grant him access to all political stakeholders, Prak, the Cambodian foreign minister, told reporters upon returning to Phnom Penh. At the end of an emergency meeting of ASEAN leaders in April last year, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the junta chief who led the coup, agreed to allow an envoy from the Southeast Asian bloc access to all stakeholders in Myanmar as part of a Five-Point Consensus to end the political crisis in his country. Apart from the Myanmar crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has tested ASEAN unity. In early March, the bloc as a whole issued a statement calling for a ceasefire but without naming Russia or using the word invasion. Meanwhile on March 2, most ASEAN member-states except for Vietnam and Laos, which abstained supported a much tougher U.N. General Assembly resolution against Moscow. About 100 structures have been fully or partially destroyed during the chaos that followed the 2021 coup. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Kayan Tharyar (South) village, Loikaw township, in eastern Myanmar's Kayah state, was severely damaged by artillery shells fired by junta forces, May 24, 2021. Nearly 100 religious buildings have been destroyed in two regions and two states in Myanmar more than a year after the military seized control from the elected government and plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos and violence, according to data compiled by RFA. The 97 religious buildings that have been demolished since the Feb. 1 coup include 15 Buddhist monasteries in Sagaing region, five Buddhist monasteries and one Christian church in Magway region, 62 Christian churches in Chin state, and 13 Christian churches and a mosque in Kayah state. In some cases, soldiers raided the religious buildings and beat locals who had taken shelter there. Residents of Sagaing region in northwestern Myanmar said several Buddhist monasteries and Christian churches in Ye-U, Mingin, Yinmarbin and Khin-U had been burned down, while other monasteries had been destroyed in Ye-U, Tanze, Kalay, Myaung, Pale and Ayadaw townships. Zaw Zaw, a resident of Pale township, said Buddhist monks there are being fed by locals offering alms after military troops raided villages and robbed and torched their monasteries. They were swearing at the Buddhist monasteries [and] fired several shots into the air, he said. They seized cell phones from the monks at the gunpoint. They also robbed civilians who took shelter in the monasteries of their money, gold and jewelry. Whenever a military detachment entered Zaw Zaws village, residents remained behind closed doors and did not go to the monastery to offer alms to the monks, he said. Even Buddhist monks are on the run, Zaw Zaw added. Other civilians told RFA that they have been appalled to see bullet holes and other damage from bomb blasts on Buddhist pagodas that serve as landmarks in many small communities. Locals used to take shelter in monasteries when military units arrived in their villages, but now these places are no longer safe, they said. Soldiers no longer honor religious buildings in the Buddhist-majority nation because they only want to ensure they maintain power, said a member of the Peoples Defense Force (PDF) in Yesagyo township in Magway region who wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons. They are a fascist, terrorist army, he said. They no longer venerate the religion. They dont care about the well-being of the people. They dont care anything else. All they care about is upholding their power and increasing their wealth. They also prosecute and assault the people, said the PDF member. They will do the same thing to the sacred buildings of any religion. They wont be reluctant to destroy anytime. Dawuku Catholic Church in Loikaw township, eastern Myanmar's Kayah state, seen in January 2022, was damaged by artillery fire from a military junta aircraft. Credit: Citizen journalist 'Horrible acts' Largely Christian Chin state in western Myanmar has had 62 religious structures destroyed the largest number of such of any single state or region since the military takeover including 22 that were burned to ashes, and 20 more destroyed by artillery blasts, according to the Institute of Chin Affairs, a human rights organization. We feel that this is result of lacking respects on the people with different religious beliefs, the organization said in a March 22 statement. Many of us have perceptions that they treated us this way because they disrespect to people with different religious beliefs. Losing the mutual respect to other religions is not acceptable, and assaulting the believers of different religions is violation of international laws. The Rev. Dennis Ngun Thang Mang said some of the churches destroyed were on fire though there were no armed conflicts in their vicinity, and when he and other asked the military about the blazes, they claimed they didnt know anything about it. Additionally, military forces arrested 20 Christian ministers. While a dozen of the captives were later released, four remain in detention and four were killed, the Institute of Chin Affairs said. In Loikaw, Demoso and Hpruso townships of Kayah state, three Baptist churches, 10 Catholic churches and a mosque have been destroyed. St. Joseph Catholic Church in Demoso township, Kayah state, was damaged by artillery and small arms fire on May 26, 2021, despite pleas a day earlier by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of the Catholic Church in Myanmar, that troops refrain from attacking the countrys religious buildings. Credit: Karenni People's Defense Force Military commanders are supposed to avoid hitting religious buildings during armed conflicts, said a Christian religious leader in Loikaw, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. During the armed conflicts in Kayah state, most of the bombs from air raids and artillery blasts fell inside the compound of the churches, he told RFA. Thats why many churches were destroyed. We dont know why they did it, he said. We strongly condemn their actions. We want to appeal them to avoid targeting religious buildings. The military regimes spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, denied that army forces targeted religious buildings during armed conflicts. The Tatmadaw never targeted any religious buildings, he said, using the Burmese name for the Myanmar military. There were incidents of raiding them when we received credible information that terrorists were hiding in the buildings. In cases where monasteries and churches were accidentally hit by military fire, soldiers took the lead in helping to repair them, Zaw Min Tun said. Aung Myo Min, human rights minister of the shadow National Unity Government, said the U.N.s Geneva Convention lays out guidelines to protect religious building amid armed conflict. Religious buildings and sacred places are icons of religious freedom, he told RFA. They should not be assaulted or destroyed, even by societys norms. But targeting religious buildings in armed conflicts and firing weapons at them are horrible acts. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Iran has confirmed it relocated a centrifuge facility to its underground Natanz nuclear site, days after the UN atomic watchdog said it had installed surveillance cameras to monitor the new workshop at Tehran's request, Iranian media reported. The machines, which were moved from Irans now-closed Karaj nuclear site, will be used to make centrifuge rotor tubes and bellows, crucial parts for the devices that spin at very high speeds to enrich uranium gas. It raises questions about Iran's plans for the manufacturing of advanced centrifuges. Iranian state media quoted the spokesman for the country's atomic energy organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, as saying authorities had moved the operation to a safer place over security concerns. Irans centrifuge facility in Karaj was targeted in what Iran described as a sabotage attack in June. Natanz itself has twice been targeted in sabotage attacks that Iran has blamed on Israel. Tehran has since been seeking to ensure greater security for such sites. The sprawling Natanz site includes a commercial-scale enrichment plant that is underground, which could offer some protection from any potential air strikes. Unfortunately, because of a terrorist operation that took place against Karaj, we were obliged to intensify security measures under which we moved an important part of the machines and transferred the rest to Natanz and Isfahan, said Kamalvandi. Isfahan is the location of another Iranian nuclear facility. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had installed cameras and removed seals from machines at the new workshop in Natanz at the request of Iranian authorities. There is concern that Iran could be closer to being able to construct an atomic weapon if it chose to pursue one. Iran is now enriching with hundreds of advanced centrifuges, some of them enriching to a purity of up to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent that is weapons-grade. That is far above the 3.67 percent cap imposed by the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers, and the 20 percent it had achieved before the deal. Iran insists it has no plans to make nuclear weapons. Talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna to revive the deal have stalled. The deal collapsed four years ago when former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and imposed crushing sanctions on Iran. In the meantime, Iran has vastly expanded its nuclear work. With reporting by AP and Reuters Ukrainian authorities braced for an expected intensification of Russian attacks ahead of the Victory Day holiday on May 9, while officials on both sides said the civilian evacuation of a besieged steel factory in Mariupol had been completed, although the fate of the remaining fighters there is unclear. Ukrainian officials declared on May 7 that all women, children, and elderly people had been evacuated from the massive Azovstal steel plant that has been under attack for weeks by Russian forces amid the ruins of the port city. "The President's order has been carried out: All women, children, and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on social media. This part of the Mariupol humanitarian mission has been completed," she added without elaborating. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later said that a second stage of the evacuation would now take place, with the wounded and medical personnel being take out. He said work would continue on May 8 to secure on all humanitarian corridors to allow those in and around the city who want to leave to get a way out. He added that Kyiv was attempting to get the last fighters out of the steel plant, but that it was extremely difficult. Fears are rising that a final, bloody showdown between the Ukrainian fighters and Russian troops could ignite if the defenders are not allowed to be evacuated from the factory. The evacuation of the Azovstal steel mill intensified over the past two days, even as Russia has continued to batter the facility and the strategic city, which is now mainly in ruins. Russia is seeking to complete its takeover of the region and build a land bridge between Crimea -- which it illegally annexed in 2014 and territory controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Mariupol has taken the worst of the fighting in Ukraine since Russian troops were forced to retreat around Kyiv and other cities in the north. Before the weekend, an estimated 200 civilians had been hiding within the massive steel plant along with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have desperately been attempting to organize evacuations from the site. Russian officials also later issued a statement saying that the civilian evacuation of the steel plant had been completed. The fate of the fighters remains unclear. Russia, meanwhile, claimed its Iskander missiles destroyed a Ukrainian cache of weaponry that had been supplied by the United States and Europe and that high-precision missiles had destroyed Ukrainian aircraft at airfields in the Artsyz, Odesa, and Voznesensk regions. Oleskiy Arestovych, a top adviser to Zelenskiy, claimed on May 7 that Ukraine had made battlefield advances in the east, just two days before Russia holds ceremonies to mark Victory Day, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Russian President Vladimir Putins speech on May 9 will be closely watched to see if he will announce a general mobilization or some other major strategic shift, in a bid to turn the tide of the war, now in its 73rd day. The top human rights representative of the Council of Europe has deplored Moscows actions in its invasion, saying that every Ukrainian who has suffered human rights violations at Russian hands deserves justice. "Each of them deserves justice and must not be forgotten," Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement following a four-day visit to Kyiv, adding that the extent of human rights violations was staggering. In the early weeks after the February 24 invasion, Russian forces were thwarted in their attempts to seize Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, suffering heavy losses of personnel and equipment. Commanders then later withdrew units from areas near Kyiv and repositioned them to the Donbas. Russias last official tally of its military deaths was 1,351. Western officials, however, say the toll is at least 15,000, and Ukrainian officials claim the tally exceeds 20,000. Zelenskiy said last month that between 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed, though that figure is believed to be an undercount. Ukraines General Staff, meanwhile, said in its daily assessment that Russian activity was relatively quiet overnight, limited to military reconnaissance and artillery fire. 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. Near Izyum, where there has been major back-and-forth fighting, drones were repeatedly detected overflying defense positions, the report said. Kharkiv was also hit by artillery. Kherson, which is located north of Crimea, well outside of the Donbas, has been contested for weeks now, though Russian forces have claimed control of the region's main city, and a top Russian politician visited Kherson city on May 6. Russias Defense Ministry said on May 6 that its forces were continuing to advance on positions in the Donbas, and had destroyed an ammunition depot in Kramatorsk and shot down two Ukrainian warplanes. On May 7, the ministry said its forces hit 18 Ukrainian military facilities overnight, including three ammunition depots near the port city of Odesa. It also said Russian forces destroyed a stockpile of military equipment from the United States and European countries near a railway station in the Kharkiv region. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian media as saying that "a heavy concentration of weapons and combat hardware delivered from the U.S. and Western countries, as well as military personnel of the 58th Mechanized Infantry Brigade of Ukraines armed forces, have been eliminated with Iskander operational-tactical missile systems" near railway stations in the Kharkiv region. It wasn't clear what the weaponry was exactly, or when it might have been delivered and the claims could not be independently confirmed. Ukrainian military officials confirmed on May 7 that at least four Russian cruise missiles had been fired into the Odesa region and the city's main airport. Local officials said a curfew would be set in the region from 10 p.m. on May 8 until 5 a.m. on May 9. Ukraine's successes against Russian forces have been due in large part to the major supplies of weaponry provided by the United States and Europe-- weaponry that increasingly includes offensive armaments like heavy artillery, howitzers, and tanks. Russia has repeatedly warned NATO that its weapons supply convoys could be targeted, but has so far not taken any steps to do that. Russian forces had been closing in on the last contingent of Ukrainian troops holding out at the sprawling Azovstal steel works factorys extensive tunnels and bunkers in the port city of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials said on May 6 that several dozen civilians were evacuated from Azovstal, while at least another 50 reportedly left early on May 7 before Vereshchuks announcement that all women, children, and the elderly had left the site. Separately, the Ukrainian military said on May 7 that it had destroyed a Russian landing ship near Snake Island in the Black Sea, hitting it with an armed drone. There was no immediate comment from Russia. In mid-April, Russia's Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva, sank near Snake Island after being hit by what was believed to have been a Ukrainian missile. Russia denies a missile strike, saying only that a fire onboard caused the ship to sink. For the first time since the invasion, the UN Security Council approved a brief resolution expressing "deep concern" about the situation in Ukraine. However, the text, which was adopted on May 6 with Russias vote, did not mention a war, conflict, or invasion -- as many council members call Russias military action -- or a special military operation as Moscow refers to it. "The Security Council expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine," it read. With reporting by AP and dpa "When I was protesting, one passerby suggested that I should be thrown into the Volkhov River," said architect Anton Gorban about his April 11 one-person protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "People cursed me. One elderly woman said she wanted to kick me." Leonid Rybakov, a 52-year-old IT entrepreneur in the Siberian city of Tomsk, has had similar experiences after he protested the war by making a Ukrainian flag out of paint and paper and hanging it on his balcony. "Some people I know well -- people I've known for more than five years, with whom I've spent my free time -- have stopped greeting me," Rybakov told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. "I hold out my hand to them, and they ignore me. I've only had one aggressive reaction. An acquaintance struck me on the head with a walking stick. Gave me a bruise." Polling is imprecise in Russia, where years of authoritarian rule under President Vladimir Putin have left many Russians disoriented and afraid to speak openly, and opinion surveys about the war in Ukraine may be particularly unreliable. But large numbers of Russians back the war or stay silent about it, and this support -- active or passive -- has been energized by officials and state media aggressively labeling dissenters as "traitors," "extremists," and "enemies." Meanwhile, amid a persistent clampdown on independent voices and critics of state policy, those who do oppose the war may be afraid to protest against it. According to OVD-Info, which monitors political repression in Russia, of the tens of millions of adult Russians, 15,500 have been detained for anti-war activities since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Some 400 people have been administratively prosecuted. Tens of thousands of Russians have left the country. Taken together, all of these factors mean that speaking out publicly against the war is a lonesome and risky endeavor. Rybakov said even his wife was skeptical about his anti-war activity. "My wife isn't interested in politics," he said. "But she is afraid. When the police came to write me up, she hid in the other room and didn't come out until they left." Rybakov is a longtime liberal activist in Tomsk. He has had a sign reading "Russia Without Putin" hanging from his balcony for four years without incident. On the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he was moved to act. "I was terribly upset by the aggression and the fascistic actions of the Russian Army," he recalled. "That very day, I bought some acrylic paints, painted a piece of A4 paper the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and hung it out." Nothing happened for five weeks. But on March 31, the police arrived. They wrote him up for the Ukrainian flag and the anti-Putin poster. For good measure, they wrote him up for participating in an anti-war protest three weeks previously. "At the demonstration itself, no one approached me," he said. "I wasn't detained. I wasn't holding any signs. [The police] wrote that I 'expressed silent support.'" The authorities brought in a cherry picker and removed the flag and the sign from Rybakov's balcony the same day. "I put them both back up that evening," he said. "They are there even now." "I don't even know how much they fined me," he said of the court hearing at which he defended himself. The administrative code for "discrediting the armed forces" specifies fines of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles ($360 to $600). "But I have no intention of paying. I don't want the authorities to spend my money on this war. If they arrest me, I don't care if Putin feeds me for free." In addition to the administrative charge on discrediting the military, Russia has introduced a similar criminal charge, which prosecutors can apply at their discretion and which stipulates a prison term of up to 15 years. In the northwestern city of Novgorod, architect Gorban was similarly outraged over the war. His father's family still lives there and his great-grandfather, artist Ivan Padalka, was executed by the Soviet authorities in July 1937 on a charge of "propagandizing nationalist formalism." He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1958. At home, Gorban sewed a makeshift body bag in the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. On April 11, he went to the monument to the millennium of Russian statehood on the territory of the Novgorod Kremlin, got into the bag, and laid on the ground. Within 20 minutes, four National Guard troops came and took him away. He was charged with "discrediting the Russian armed forces." He told RFE/RL's North.Realities that he had previously planned to stand with a sign, but that he was moved by other demonstrators in various Russian cities who were lying down as if dead to protest the alleged atrocities by Russian troops against civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. "I came up with another idea: I would be a body and feel what it means when you are a body," he said. The citation against him, which also envisages a fine from 30,000 to 50,000 rubles, states that he "discredited...the armed forces of the Russian Federation outside the territory of the Russian Federation and the armed forces of the Russian Federation themselves, which are being used outside the territory of the Russian Federation on the basis of generally accepted principles and the norms of international law." It was the fourth citation Gorban has received since February 24. "All theserisks are incomparably small compared to the chance to clear one's conscience at least a little bit," he said. "To have the right to say: 'I was not for one second in favor of what is being done in my name." "I have a 3-year-old daughter," he continued. "When all of this is in the history books, she will ask me: 'Papa, what did you do?' And I will be able to explain it to her." He noted that in Nazi Germany, people were killed for speaking out against its policies. "So, what is a day of jail by comparison?" Gorban said. "What is a fine of 30,000 rubles? It is a small price to pay." "It is clear that the majority supports the invasion," he said. "In my circle of friends, a lot of people oppose it. But on the level of the whole city, very few people are doing so." "I understand that we are somehow cowards," Gorban said. "I am not a very brave person by nature, but if even I managed to go out there, that means maybe a lot of other people are also on the verge of such a decision." Gorban added that he has considered leaving Russia, although he doesn't know how he would manage it. In Tomsk, Rybakov has no such desire. "I considered it once, but quickly dismissed the thought," he said. "I love my homeland -- everything in it, except for Putin. My son isn't leaving either." Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RL's North.Realities and Siberia.Realities. It was late December 2021 when Igor Ivkin, a 19-year-old contract soldier from Pskov, a city in northwestern Russia, was sent to the Ukrainian border as part of a massive military buildup ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But after spending more than a month posted with his unit along the border in winter conditions, Ivkin received some good news on February 7: His 23-year-old wife, Yulia Ivkina, had given birth to their daughter, Ksenia. As Yulia told RFE/RL's North.Realities, Ivkin was allowed four days of home leave from the front to meet his daughter. He then returned to the border and fought as part of Russias February 24 invasion of Ukraine, until he was killed on March 8. Happiness lasted four days, Yulia said. He would have been a wonderful dad. He gave me a rest at night and would rock her to sleep and change diapers. He called me his queen and our daughter his princess. Buried on March 30 in the village of Vorontsovo, not far from Pskov, Ivkin is now one of thousands of Russian soldiers believed to have been killed fighting in Ukraine, and Yulia is one of the many young war widows in Russia left to grieve and deal with the aftermath of a conflict whose aftershocks are only beginning to be felt inside the country. The last time he called, he talked about how scary it is there, how scary it is when his fellow soldiers die. I dont know exactly how many died. They were under fire all the time, Yulia said. He had not been to any hot spots before, so, of course, he was scared, but he didnt want to tell me that. He said that he would do everything to survive. The main thing is to return home. Military Life According to Yulia, Ivkin was attracted to military life and signed on as a professional contract soldier because he believed in service to his country, saying to her that if you didnt serve, then youre not a man. With his young family in mind, he was also attracted to the stability and benefits that the army offered on paper and planned to save money and own property. Ivkin didnt come from a military family and, along with his brother and two sisters, helped to support his widowed mother who lived in a nearby village and picked up shifts at a local factory. But his wife says that he soon became disillusioned with the military, especially after he was sent to the 25th Brigade based in Luga, a city close to St. Petersburg. Igor did not like it very much. The equipment was broken and old, Yulia said. No one prepared them for war there. Frustrated with what he called a lack of discipline, he soon began to speak to his wife about leaving the military and plan for when his contract would expire and how he could rejoin civilian life. We saw each other only on weekends when he came home to Pskov, Yulia said. But when he came home, he always cursed a lot, saying how tired he was of everything there. He had a growing list of grievances -- from not receiving enough food at the mess hall to dealing with drunk or high soldiers in the barracks. [Igor] was annoyed by the usual army sloppiness. He said that in the unit everyone liked to drink and many guys were on drugs, which were not at all difficult to get, Yulia added. He said that all the exercises basically boiled down to digging trenches and building toilets. An Escalating War The fighting in Ukraine shows no signs of stopping as the Russian military is preparing to launch a new offensive in the east of the country that Ukrainian and Western officials warn could be the most intense yet for the nearly 2-month-old war. Exact casualty figures for the conflict are elusive. Ukraines Defense Ministry claims to have killed more than 20,000 Russian troops, while Russian figures have been issued sparingly and are believed to be severely undercounting losses, with the government saying that 1,351 troops have died so far in the fighting. NATO estimates, meanwhile, show that Russia has lost between 7,000 to 15,000 soldiers. But Russian officials have also indirectly acknowledged the significant casualties they have suffered in Ukraine, with the countrys Federal Security Service (FSB) recently asking the government to increase its budget for funeral services for soldiers and for tombstones. As a young widow with a 2-month old child, Yulia will also be entitled to payment from the government, although she says that she has low expectations for what she will receive. There will be payments, but this wont be much, she said. It would be better if I could have my husband back. No money would be needed. Written by Reid Standish in Prague based on reporting by Anton Zhezmer of North. Realities. As fighting in Ukraines south and east intensifies, reports that Russian forces are forcibly relocating Ukrainians citizens to Russia continue to surface. RFE/RLs Tatar-Bashkir Service has spoken with Ukrainians from Mariupol -- and activists in Astrakhan, a region in southern Russia, working with refugees -- who say that they were brought to the country by force. They asked that their identities remain anonymous in order to protect against retribution, but the accounts feed into a growing body of evidence that Russian troops have moved thousands of Ukrainians into Russia against their will from areas under their control in eastern and southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of transporting hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities, taking their documents, and putting them in so-called filtration camps in Ukraines separatist-controlled areas, before moving them to Russia. According to Ukrainian authorities, many of those civilians are believed to have come from Mariupol, which has been devastated by Russian bombardment since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24 and is the epicenter of a brutal war of attrition that has seen Russian troops take control of large parts of the damaged city. Russian officials have said that more than 674,000 Ukrainians have been moved to Russia since the war began, but claim that they were transported voluntarily from the separatist-controlled areas or parts of Ukraine under heavy fighting. However, multiple first-person accounts compiled by media outlets like RFE/RL, The Guardian, The Washington Post, CNN, and the BBC, as well as open-source satellite imagery, contradict the Russian claims, with Ukrainians recounting how Russian troops made them leave shelters or bunkers in besieged cities and then interrogated before transporting them to Russian territory. Filtration Camps In Astrakhan, officials claim that more than 400 refugees have come from Ukraine, but have only recently stated that they arrived from areas outside of separatist-controlled territory in Donetsk and Luhansk, like Mariupol. The "filtration camps," as Ukrainian officials refer to them, have been used as processing centers by Russian troops, where they fingerprint and photograph Ukrainian refugees before sending them to Russia. According to some accounts, Ukrainians were told to hand over their phones and other electronic devices, as well as passwords, before being interrogated. WATCH: Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, almost 4.5 million Ukrainians have left the country. Most of them are now in Europe, but some went to Russia. The residents of the Donbas often had no choice but to go to Russia, because the road to western Ukraine was cut off. Some of them eventually made it to Europe, and they recalled the ordeal they went through to get there. A March report from the Russian state-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta said that thousands of Ukrainians were being processed in Bezimenne, a village in eastern Ukraine, where the newspaper said that they were undertaking measures to stop Ukrainian nationalists from infiltrating Russia disguised as refugees so they could avoid punishment. Ukrainian officials have warned that the existence of such camps have echoes of previous Russian military campaigns, such as during the 1990s in Chechnya, where thousands of Chechens were interrogated in makeshift facilities, and many disappeared. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been deported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during his April 12 video address to Lithuanias parliament. They are placed in special filtration camps. Their documents are taken away from them. They are interrogated and humiliated. How many are killed is unknown. Life Inside Russia However, many people have also moved from Ukraine to Russia on their own accord. Larisa Lunkina told RFE/RL that she left her home in the Donbas soon after the war began and has since been living in Kazan, a city in southwest Russia, along with other displaced Ukrainians. Lunkina, who brought her teenage son Nikita with her to Russia, says that they currently face uncertainty in their new situation but are happy to be far away from the fighting that they have since seen on television and encountered in the previous eight years during conflict in eastern Ukraine. She says they are given regular meals each day but is worried about money. She says she is currently not able to work due to health problems and does not have access to permanent housing. We are not at home here, despite what they might say, Lunkina said. In other parts of Russia, refugees arriving from Ukraine are being assigned work duties. Ruslan Pashayev, minister of agriculture for the southern city of Astrakhan, said that people evacuated from Ukraine would be given shifts at a poultry farm in the region. Few details about the arrangement were revealed, but Pashayev added that management from the poultry company has already met with potential workers and offered them housing in a village close to the farm. Nikita, who is preparing to begin the 11th grade, said that despite statements to the contrary from officials on the news in Russia, they and other Ukrainian refugees in Russia have not received any financial help in Kazan. Deputies come, talk, and leave. They happily forget about us, he said. Only ordinary people help, not officials. There is no initiative from the state at all. Written by Reid Standish in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service. As the defense of Mariupol teetered on the verge of collapse, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed that his forces would put up determined resistance to the expected large-scale Russian offensive in the east of the country. "We will not give up our territory," Zelenskiy told CNN in an interview conducted on April 16 and broadcast on April 17. 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 said there was no guarantee Russian forces would not try again to take the capital, Kyiv, should its military be successful in the east of Ukraine, adding that the outcome of the war could be decided in the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland. This is why it is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle...it can influence the course of the whole war," Zelenskiy told CNN. "Because I don't trust the Russian military and Russian leadership." "That is why we understand that the fact that we fought them off and they left, and they were running away from Kyiv -- from the north, from Chernihiv and from that direction -- it doesn't mean if they are able to capture Donbas, they won't come further toward Kyiv." Russian forces faced tougher-than-expected resistance from Ukrainian troops and civilians in and around the Kyiv area, forcing them to retreat and refocus their efforts on expected attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russian troops continued to pound Mariupol after claiming they had cleared the urban area of Ukrainian soldiers and had surrounded the remaining troops in a massive steelworks plant. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has vowed a fight to the end amid the ruins of Mariupol and said the strategic port city "has not fallen," despite claims by the attacking Russian forces. Shmyhal told ABC on April 17 that the "city still has not fallen. There's still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end." Shmyhal said that Kyiv wanted a diplomatic solution "if possible," but said, "If the Russians wouldn't like negotiations, we'll fight to the end, absolutely. We will not surrender. We won't leave our country, our families, our land. We will fight to the end." Shmyhal again pleaded with the West to send more weapons and ammunition to aid Ukraines forces. He also urged nations to send additional financial aid. Ukraine is experiencing a "huge humanitarian catastrophe" and needs further help "to save our economy for future recovery," he said. Russias Defense Ministry said that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials did not mention any numbers for the city defenders. WATCH: The port city of Mariupol was home to 400,000 people before Russia's invasion. It has been under siege by Russian troops and under constant shelling for more than 50 days. The city has been reduced to rubble, amid claims by Russia that it now has near complete control. Thousands of civilians are believed to have died and tens of thousands remain trapped in the city. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on April 17 that the defenders of Mariupol have tied up significant Russian forces encircling the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine and Russia have failed to agree on humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and wounded Ukrainian troops from Mariupol. "We have not been able to agree...about cease-fires on evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Vereshchuk said on her Telegram account on April 17. If Russia's capture of Mariupol is confirmed, it would be the first major Ukrainian city to fall since Moscows unprovoked war began on February 24. WATCH: A Ukrainian woman has given RFE/RL a detailed account of how she was raped by a Russian Army soldier. To protect her privacy, we have pixelated her face and we are not disclosing her name. Ukrainian police have been informed of the case. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland and the focus of the anticipated Russian offensive. Britains Defense Ministry said in its regular bulletin that Russian forces continue to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine, including locations close to Kharkiv and Severdonetsk. Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country, where Russia plans to renew its offensive activity, the ministry said. But it pointed out that even though Russias operational focus has shifted to eastern Ukraine, Russias ultimate objective remains the same. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance, the ministry said. At least five people were killed in a series of Russian artillery strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, local officials said on April 17. Maksym Khaustov, chief of the Kharkiv region's health department, said the strikes had sparked fires and blown roofs off of buildings throughout the northeastern city. Oleh Syneyhubov, the governor of the region, said on his Telegram channel that 31 people had been injured in the attacks. AFP journalists reported hearing two incoming blasts and witnessed five fires in residential areas in the center of Kharkiv, which had a prewar population of 1.4 million people. Separately, Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region, said at least two people were killed and four injured on April 17 in the shelling of the eastern town of Zolote. Local media reported an explosion in the capital, Kyiv, though Deputy Mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air-defense systems had thwarted Russian attacks. A Russian missile attack damaged infrastructure in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, Ukrainian officials said. Mayor Ihor Sapashko warned that there may be interruptions in water and electricity supplies as the result of the attack. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air-defense radars near Severodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. Missile attacks continued in the region around the southern city of Mykolayiv, according to regional Governor Vitali Kim, while officials in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, said Russian strikes had killed at least five civilians on April 17. With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP By Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chief Executive Officer at DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) As I write, it is the 31st March 2022, and the closing ceremonies of Expo 2020 Dubai are taking place. Having visited and hosted many guests and dignitaries over the past six months, I have not only been overwhelmed by the ingenuity and variety of the exhibitions, pavilions and shows, but the congregation of people and nations who have proudly participated to present the best of what each has to offer. In his closing speech, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said, We portrayed to the world a different version of ingenuity that touched the hearts and minds of every member of society. Our sons and daughters have proven their ability to overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges. And in every moment of this journey, we reflected the values of the UAE values of affection and hospitality. It has been hard to say farewell to the somewhat utopian spirit of Expo and re-engage with the varying geopolitical conflicts that are occurring around the world, be they territorial, political, creed or culture-based, however, in the spirit of Expo, I am reminded that in the midst of conflict there is always the opportunity for resolution. On the same day as the closing ceremonies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Belgian parliament in an empowered speech, which amongst several pleas called for the suspension of diamond imports from Russia, as way of enhancing the effectiveness of the current Western-led sanctions. In his speech, President Zelensky stated, "There are those for whom Russian diamonds that are sometimes sold in Antwerp are more important. Peace is more valuable than diamonds, than Russian ships in the ports, than Russian oil and gas, so help us." While a lengthy standing ovation showed the impassioned and empathetic response of Belgiums parliamentarians, two practicalities are worth illustrating. Firstly, the suspension of diamond and energy imports are not only very different things but come with very different consequences. In 2020, Russia exported $5.74bn to Belgium, of which its top three commodities were refined petroleum, diamonds and petroleum gas making a total of $3.86bn, or 67.2% of its total Russian imports. While I empathise with President Zelenskys plight, I agree with Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, who concisely summarized, We are not at war with ourselves. And he certainly has a point. Having already suspended the export of diamonds to Russia, there is no doubt that an imposed suspension on imports to Antwerp, for which it is the most significant recipient of rough diamonds, estimated at 1.8 billion in 2021, would cause serious harm to Belgiums second biggest city and its position as a global diamond capital. Secondly, and far more severely, an embargo on Russian energy would have the potential to cause significant disruption to Belgiums economy, let alone its ability to cost-effectively meet consumer demand with the colder months just over half a year away. As a decision that ultimately rests in the balance of the European Commission, with 49% of Russias crude oil and condensate, 74% of its natural gas and 32% of its coal exports currently heading to Europe, the $108 billion question is will suspending trade cause more harm to Europe than to Russias ability to continue its invasion of Ukraine, and furthermore how difficult would it be for Russia to continue to sell its highly valued natural resources elsewhere? In the same case for diamonds, again as illustrated by Prime Minister De Croo, should Belgium stop importing diamonds, the trade would move to Dubai in one day, resulting in zero impact to Russia, but a massive impact to Antwerp. Put more bluntly by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) spokesperson Tom Neys, We have invested 20 years in making the diamond trade more transparent. Are we really going to throw that all away to reward Dubai, which is already opening its doors for Russian oligarchs? While Ill choose to ignore the cheap comment on oligarchs [see my recent blog for why] it would be all too easy to remind Mr. Neys that 20 years of diamond transparency in Belgium includes a long list of challenges and systemic failures ranging from the Monstrey Case, to the conviction of felon, Agim De Bruycker, a former commissioner of the Antwerp Federal Judicial Police and head of its Diamond Squad. It should also be obvious that if any action is ultimately enforced by the European Commission, it has not and will not be because Dubai lobbied for it to be so. Instead, I would like to talk about the far more extensive list of Belgiums strengths, its deeper relationship with Dubai, and why I hope the European Commission will maintain Antwerps ability to import. During my recent address at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Switzerland last month, I closed by stating that, while forging a market for healthy competition is always welcomed, collaboration has and will remain a focal point for the commodities industry, and it is my ambition that Dubai will continue to serve as a vital part of the global supply chain and a strategic partner for those seeking to drive innovative change. While Dubai can today be mentioned in the same breath as Antwerp in terms of its diamond industry, this wasnt always the case. As the new kid on the block, Antwerp has been equally responsible for Dubais success as a competitor, a de facto benchmark for the industry for several centuries, and a trusted partner to the overwhelming majority of its stakeholders. Having visited Belgium on many occasions, Ive developed strong relationships with many key members of Antwerps diamond community, members of parliament and its Jewish community, while also enjoying the countrys rich history, spectacular museums and learning more about its sophisticated relationship with coffee and cacao, two other industries DMCC intends to continue growing. At a diplomatic level, Belgium and the UAE have forged a closer working relationship through a variety of actions, including the opening of a military attache office in Brussels, through to proven, long-term business collaborations such as DP World Antwerps operation of the Antwerp Gateway terminal, and its associated investment of almost 200 million by 2025 directed towards boosting capacity by a third. At DMCC, some of our earliest members came from Belgiums diamond community, including Basem Murad of MSD, not to mention the extensive list of Belgian nationals who have, and continue to work towards developing our diamond industry while building stronger bridges with the international community. Special mention must be made to Peter Meeus, Honorary Chairman of the Dubai Diamond Exchange, Managing Director at PME Consulting as well as Davy Blommaert, Head of Diamond, Government and Large Corporation and Paul de Wachter, Head of Antwerp Representative Office at the National Bank of Fujairah, both of whom have been intrinsically valuable in driving short-term trade finance to established rough and polished diamond traders and manufacturers. Additional Belgian-led enterprises to make a significant impact in our community include Almas Diamond Services. Led by manager Filip Hendrickx, his team of artisans which include Technical Manager, Alain Leysen and Master Polishers, Marc Nevelsteen and Leo Van Heurck provide a broad range of services including state-of-the-art boiling, evaluation and polishing in the very heart of the DMCC. Aside from the lengthy list of Belgian contacts, whom Im proud to call friends as well as business associates, I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the Muscles from Brussels himself, and recently appointed DRC ambassador, Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme, who similarly to His Excellency Peter Claes, Belgian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, is a natural promoter for all things Belgian, not to mention a hugely popular figure across the UAE. Even the construction of Uptown Tower, the forthcoming headquarters of DMCC is being managed by Besix, the Brussels-based main contractor, whose track record and attention to detail and quality secured them the deal to deliver the 340-metre tower. In the same way that sanctions may not have the intended consequences on Russia, neither do ill-informed comments or false media narratives help to protect industries or jobs. Ultimately, healthy competition is fundamental to any industry as a driver for innovation, lower prices as well as higher quality goods and services, however, greater benefits can be found in coopetition, where industry-specific economies work together to create higher standards that benefit the entire supply chain, while remaining resource efficient. While I may not agree with all of Mr. Neys comments, I agree that sanctions on Belgiums diamond industry would be a mistake of historic proportions and it is my wish for Antwerp to return to full strength and join in not only providing a competitive market, but working with Dubai to drive positive change for the industrys wider benefit. The diamond industry had been promoting a culture of ethical sourcing and transparency as studies have time and again revealed that consumers, particularly the younger generation, are increasingly concerned about such matters. DiaMondaine Diamond Club founder Agnes Abdulahu told Rough&Polisheds Mathew Nyaungwa that she established the club to promote industry networking and diamond provenance. She said as part of her drive, DDC would convene its first event in Dubai in November with a special focus on three African countries namely, Angola, Liberia and Zimbabwe. The one-day event would be graced by some members of the royal family in Dubai and the chairperson of the African Diamond Council. Below are excerpts of the interview. What is the DiaMondaine Diamond Club? DiaMondaine Diamond Club (DDC) is inspired by passionate diamond industry professionals aiming to devise and offer valuable direction for the international diamond trade. We, at DDC, strongly believe that greater efforts to improve cross-industry networking, raise awareness, encourage ethical sourcing, promote industry transparency by introducing sales concepts will unquestionably lead to a level of sustainability that we have never seen before. What drove you to establish this club? Diamond Industry needs more integrity, more networking, and a more controlled system of investing in the diamond business. Diamond Industry professionals need more expertise, education, and better comprehension of the entire pipeline to be successful in what they do. My love, passion, and desire to change things [positively]. Who are your members? Members are diamond producers, miners, mining companies, exploration companies, technology companies, and on the other side we have investors willing to invest in the diamond mining sector. You will convene your first event in Dubai later this year with a focus on Africa, what is the main objective of this event? The highly anticipated event will take place at Almas Tower inside Dubai's Multi Commodity Centre (DMCC) and is set for November 7th, 2022. DDC shall make every effort to spotlight the bona fide opportunities that African diamond-producing nations have on offer and we are determined to add value to our desire to positively impact the global diamond industry. Diamond concession holders need willing investors and highly skilled technical partners to unlock the full potential of the African diamond journey from mine to end consumer. On the flip-side, we fully understand that foreign investors and potential partners do require a more reassuring apparatus that is designed to supply direction as well as peace of mind to validate successful project implementation. We understand the complexities that hinder progress in the African diamond mining industry and we are prepared to extend the desired level of understanding until we are convinced that there is increasing comprehension on all sides. The zestfulness presently being exhibited for the launch of this annual occurrence not only stands to serve as DDC's flagship event but additionally aims to bestow innovative solutions for hopeless diamond miners, reluctant financiers, developing Diamantaires and attentive administrators within the trade's public & private sector. We are dedicating this event to African diamond producers, innovators and entrepreneurs to secure partners and offer solutions to those who make every effort to get operations underway. What would be the role of the Trans Atlantic Gem Sales and African Diamond Council during the conference? DDC is partnering with Trans Atlantic Gem Sales (TAGS), a world-leading rough diamond tender and auction house that brings unique & extensive rough diamond industry experience, together with expertise in retail supply chain distribution & e-commerce. The African Diamond Council (ADC) has also agreed to ocially endorse our event activities in their effort to promote sustainable and ethical mining practices. Africas ocial diamond governing body works to promote and defend African diamond-producing nations providing surety for the fair treatment of miners and introducing stringent diamond sourcing practices for the global diamond industry. DDC is the Future of Forever. ADC is the only reliable channel for real diamond mining entrepreneurs and projects in this industry. TAGS is the most transparent sales and marketing channel for selling rough diamond production. We covered pretty much, from mine to the jeweller. DDC encourages each attendee to take advantage of the boundless privileges that DDC membership offers. Who are your main speakers at the event? We have two royal family offices involved in the diamond business and diamond mining. Diamond Innovators from Africa to share positive stories and their personal and global struggles to make a positive impact. Diamantaires from technology laboratories to exploration projects. From the investment side, we have an investment banker and a lady with who we will be working on a diamond project Diamond Startups. We want to focus this event on Zimbabwe and Liberia, as well Angola. Surely, having a speaker, as ADC Chairman. brings all producing countries in the spotlight at once. What is the level of interest in the event? In the diamond industry, people are always interested in more cross-industry networking events, especially after the pandemic. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished In an effort to better understand the needs of undocumented immigrants in National City, the city has partnered with a nonprofit that manages a resource center to collect and review data on immigration-related services sought by residents. The partnership between the city and South Bay Community Services is part of a one-year pilot program. It was an idea put forward last month by a group of city staff who explored ways to better assist residents with immigration-related needs. With a population of about 61,000 residents, National City is home to almost 25,000 immigrants, according to the latest U.S. Census data. Almost 14,000 residents are not U.S. citizens. South Bay Community Services, which recently took over the National City Collaborative Family Resource Center, will track data on referrals for immigration-related services the center does not offer, such as legal aid. Were trying to track those services, those referrals, to see if theres any gaps and ... see where we can complement the services provided by (the resource center), said Acting Deputy City Manager Alfredo Ybarra, who was part of the city staff group that considered other ideas as well. Advertisement The discussion over ways to better support undocumented residents began last year as city leaders considered a resolution to proclaim itself a welcoming city, a response to President Donald Trumps strict crackdown on illegal immigration. In June 2017, the city settled on the label compassionate community under the final resolution, which declares, in part, that residents can access city services regardless of their immigration status. City Manager Leslie Deese said the data that will be collected by South Bay Community Services will help the city determine what services to invest resources in to better assist the citys immigrant population. We dont ever want to duplicate efforts, because thats a waste of resources, she said. But not knowing where the gap is or not knowing what services our community needs was, I think, what the working group struggled with because we never had done a study on it. The ad hoc group, which was formed by Deese in November at the request of the City Council, also recommended that the city increase awareness of the rights of undocumented immigrants and services available to them. The plan is to set up information kiosks in city facilities, with pamphlets, brochures and fliers that contain the information. Not every idea the ad hoc group toyed with is moving forward. One notable idea supported by immigration advocates to create a human relations commission, an advisory board similar to others established by city leaders in San Diego and Chula Vista was abandoned. City staff in National City did not recommend it, citing limited funding and staffing resources. The roles of the commissions in National Citys neighboring cities vary. In San Diego, the 17-member board investigates and mediates discrimination-related complaints in regards to housing, employment and other aspects. While the board does not have enforcement authority, it may refer cases to other agencies that do. In Chula Vista, the 11-member board serves as a liaison with other community groups concerned with protection of civil liberties of all people, resolution of conflict, and interracial and intercultural understanding, according to its website. The board also is meant to provide a forum for discussion as a means of resolving community relationship problems. The Chula Vista boards first tasks was to lead the efforts to designate the city a so-called welcoming city. The label, which was the subject of a resolution approved by the City Council in April of last year, means the city broadly encourages the assimilation of immigrants and refugees into the community. Immigration advocates and some National City council members expressed their disappointment over the citys decision to cast aside the idea of a human relations commission. A similar commission in National City similarly directed to concern itself with the immigration population would go a long way in not only voicing concerns but putting in place protective measures for vulnerable community members, said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committees U.S.-Mexico border program. Councilwoman Alejandra Sotelo-Solis said the board could be a tool to grow the citys resources and truly go beyond immigration to address other issues, such as hate crimes against the LGBTQ community. Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate At the stroke of noon on the UC Berkeley campus Saturday, the Campanile bells rang out as children plucked colorful plastic eggs from the slightly damp grass, proud parents snapped photos, and an Easter bunny bounced to pop music. The Cal campus is often a busy blend of activities but on this particular Saturday, it was all about egg-citing fun for kids, with an educational twist. The promenade beneath the towering Campanile was the site of the 28th annual Eggster, an entirely student-organized event that celebrates Easter and eggs with a focus on encouraging and inspiring children from underrepresented communities toward higher education. More than 1,000 children attended the event, lured by a series of Easter egg hunts and then invited to stay for cultural performances and rows of learning boothsoffering games and snacks. At one popular table, kids lined up to play Mancala, a strategy game with a math bent, against college students. Others offered kids a chance to make your own money with crayons and paper and Mayan math, a game for learning the craft of numbers. Our mission is to bring kids to the UC Berkeley campus and have them experience the campus and develop an interest in higher education, said Sarah Tang, co-president of the 10-person student organization, also called Eggster, that organized the event. A campus can be fun, and we want to show kids what a cool campus this is. Most of fun was at the Easter egg hunts actually a series of hunts across a road from the Bancroft Library. Given the go sign, kids swarmed into the area, picking up hundreds of empty plastic eggs and putting them into Easter baskets or decorated paper bags, then exchanging them for piles of candy at a nearby table. Many of the participants were far too young to be contemplating their college choices, but they were clearly enjoying their day in the sun, which poked through the clouds late in the morning. James Stanley, who is 2 and lives with his parents in Oakland, smiled as he filled his bag until it overflowed. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Hes really enjoying the eggs and especially finding the two halves and putting them together, said John Stanley, his father. James mother, Elaine Yau, and father both attended graduate school at Cal and said they wouldnt mind if James decided to follow in their footsteps. After the frantic scramble to gather eggs ended and kids and parents lined up get their candy, Jamontae Robinson, of Emeryville remained on the grass with 1-year-old daughter, Ayva. The youngster had just finished participating in her first egg hunt and kept trying to lick the plastic eggs. Like several parents, her dad said he found the event listed on the Internet on an East Bay parents website. It saved Easter, he joked. While Ayva is likely not thinking of college and probably wont recall her first Easter egg hunt, her dad said events like Eggster may help her become familiar with the campus and the idea of higher education as she grows up. Maybe she does go to Cal, he said. For now, though, he was happy that she got a chance to enjoy being with other kids on what turned out to be a sunny day after early morning rain that delayed the start of the event. I love the fact that she gets to interact with other kids, he said. And she loves being outside. Other participants may have been truly persuaded to consider Cal in their futures, even though the campus doesnt suffer from a lack of applicants. 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. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Ronnie Ge, 11, of Morgan Hill, was in Berkeley with his parents to wander around the campus and see what a university is like and where he could go. They happened upon the Eggster event and he took the opportunity to gather some eggs and candy and stop by some of the educational booths. The event, and the Cal campus, left a favorable impression. I think I would go here if I had the choice, he said. The event was organized by the Eggster organization, which recruited almost 100 volunteers, most of them students at Cal or nearby high schools. Michael Rodriguez, a Cal freshman from Los Angeles, helped prepare the Easter egg hunt, scattering hundreds of the plastic ovals onto the lawn. A member of Eggster, he said he enjoyed the event, even though he had to get up at 5 a.m. to help set up. Its a nice sight, he said as he looked at a growing crowd of kids eager to pounce on the plastic eggs. Instead of seeing students struggling to pass their classes. Its a nice change of pace. Michael Cabanatuan (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After watching footage of insurrectionists carrying Confederate flags into the U.S. Capitol last year and erecting a gallows on the grounds outside, Tracy Brown started thinking about buying a gun for her protection. The Black Oakland artist and activist took a few firearm safety courses and was researching guns online when she stumbled onto a troubling realization: Video after video showed people shooting a target dummy that, to her, had the facial features of a man of African descent: wide-set nose, large lips. Not only that, but the 20-pound rubber figure, from a California company called Kistabra Inc., was being sold for $90.99 through a federal government website to other federal, state and local agencies, including the U.S. military and police departments. My first thought was, What the hell is this? Brown recalled. Its specifically made to look like a Black man. This isnt some accident or mistake. Roughly one year after her discovery, Brown is using her art to draw attention to what she says is a tool of institutional dehumanization, one that contributes to the disproportionate government killings of Black men. On Wednesday, she premiered an art installation in which she transformed one of the dummies into a commentary on police killings. She is currently circulating an online petition calling for the federal government to stop helping sell them. The folks who make and sell these things are in a position of power, Brown said. We also need to remind them they are also in a position of responsibility. In January 2019, the U.S. General Services Administration inked a five-year contract worth at least $2,500 with Kistabra Inc. The GSA procures equipment, goods and services for federal, state and local agencies. It does this by offering long-term contracts called GSA Schedules to commercial companies like Kistabra Inc. Through the GSA, these companies can sell their products to any government agency without signing contracts with each. Kistabra Inc. was founded in Arizona in 2013. The companys website says its realistic 3D targets have been sold to hundreds of Law Enforcement agencies and every branch of the US Military and to all types of customers in many other countries. Its unclear how true that is. Dun & Bradstreet, a business analysis firm, estimates Kistabras annual revenue to be a relatively modest $230,000. During a virtual panel that Brown coordinated Thursday, Mikail Ali, a San Francisco police officer and president of the Bay Area chapter of the National African American Gun Association, said the SFPD didnt use the dummies and he was unaware of any major police department that does. When I first saw it, it made me sick to my stomach, Ali said. I immediately recognized it for what it is: Its a tool that I believe desensitizes those who use them in the area of use of force. ... Period. End of story. I reached out to the president of Kistabra Inc., Mike Lessnick, to ask the intent behind the dummys design, but never received a response. And the only online interview I could find of him addressing the topic is in a 2018 YouTube video titled Is the Rubber Dummy Racist? Well, listen to what Mike, the CEO, has to say! Im sorry it looks the way it does, but the reality of it is it was just a solid model I pulled off the internet by searching for a human form, he says in the video. Ive been taking a lot of flak over social media and things like that for it, but I never respond to it simply because I think we got more important things in the world to worry about besides arguing that point. Lessnick clearly moved on, as hes still selling the same product four years later. The dummys outer skin is spray-painted white. The layer below is black. According to the company, this color pairing helps shooters see where their bullets strike. Kistabra Inc. says the dummy can absorb thousands of rounds and even sells kill shot packets, which are filled with red powder and can mimic the spray of blood when struck by bullets. 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. Browns art installation, which formally premiered at Oakport, a downtown Oakland co-working and event space, features one of these rubber torsos. She scrubbed off its white paint and attached angel wings to its back. The wing feathers feature names of dozens of people killed by police violence. During the hour I spent with Brown at her debut last week, nobody else entered the art gallery. Her online petition, which she plans to submit to GSA officials on Juneteenth, has a small goal of 200 signatures. As of Friday morning, it had 158. But her campaign has been noticed. On Friday, GSA spokesperson Andra Higgs sent me this statement: Weve just been made aware of the petition and we are committed to reviewing this matter thoroughly. GSA is committed to advancing racial equity and we look forward to following up when we have more information. Brown said she hopes her work helps address the long-maligned image of the Black male body. As Black people, all we can do is tackle one issue like this at a time, Brown said. And hopefully create some change. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips As the world climbs its way out of two years of coronavirus pain, one measure offering hope is that the global rate of COVID deaths appears to be at a level not seen since the early pandemic days of March 2020, the COVID-19 data monitoring site Our World in Data indicates. Although based on available official death tallies that are widely seen as undercounts, the overall trendline nonetheless shows that the number of people losing their lives to COVID is heading in a positive direction something to celebrate, in the words of Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute, who recently tweeted Our World in Datas chart showing the steep drop-off in global deaths since February. The data show a rate of 0.38 deaths per 1 million people worldwide as of April 15, a low last reached on March 29, 2020. The peak came on Jan. 26, 2021, at 1.88 deaths per 1 million. The numbers are based on tallies from Johns Hopkins University researchers who track the global reporting. The World Health Organization has said reported totals represtent a vast undercount. In trying to pin it down more precisely, according to a New York Times account, the global agency has found that about 15 million people died by the end of 2021, which is 9 million more than previously estimated. Still, the downward trend overall tracks with predictions from the University of Washingtons Institute for Health Metrics which has been at the forefront of modeling the COVID-19 pandemic throughout that we would see a massive decline in deaths around this time, noted UCSF infectious disease expert Monica Gandhi. While were seeing an increase in cases, were just not seeing people get sick at the same degree because theres just so much immunity, she said Sunday. This is what B cell and T cell immunity does for you. Our World in Data Dr. John Swartzberg, professor emeritus of vaccinology and infectious diseases at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, said Sunday that caution is warranted due to the global undercounts of COVID deaths. WHO efforts to calculate the death toll have run into roadblocks especially with India, which has been less forthcoming with data, the New York Times reported. Swartzberg indicated nonetheless that optimism may not be entirely unwarranted. Given the inaccuracies with death counts around the world and the politics involved we really have little idea of how many people have died because of COVID, Swartzberg wrote in an email. Still, if we can assume the inaccuracies have been uniform throughout the pandemic, then we do have something to celebrate right now. He noted as well, A new, virulent variant that can evade our immunity could change things very quickly. While cases are going up in parts of U.S. due to the highly infectious BA.2 variant, it doesnt appear that its causing a significant spike in deaths and hospitalizations yet. According to New York Times analysis, COVID deaths are down 22% over the past two weeks, while hospitalizations have decreased 8%. Our World in Data The U.S. death rate from COVID is 1.44 per 1 million as of April 15, as it continues plunging from a February high, and has not reached its last July 8, 2021 low point of 0.67, Our World in Data shows. 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. Gandhi said while a worst case scenario of a more virulent strain arriving in the future is possible, she is optimistic about the effectiveness of vaccines and natural immunity on serious illness. She credited the fact that 65% of the world population has received at least one vaccine dose, and large swaths of natural immunity, for holding more deaths at bay. And while the omicron strain and its sub-variants, including the now-dominant BA.2 variant, are highly infectious, they are less virulent than previous strains. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show 70% of the U.S. population 5 and older is fully vaccinated, and the University of Washingtons institute indicates about 73% of the U.S. population has immunity to the omicron variant. The entire point of COVID vaccines was to prevent people from going to the hospital and from dying, said Gandhi. Thats what immunity does, natural, or through vaccines. I think about this point two years ago, when we had zero immunity to the virus. Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future. Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol Mother, grandmother weep over a 15-year-old killed in shelling of Kharkiv Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children. Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling. The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote. Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive. ___ WASHINGTON Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city. Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city. Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames. At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified. ___ VATICAN CITY In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. ___ MILAN Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. ___ LONDON In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron. 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. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week the week leading to Easter he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives. The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender. It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. ___ SOFIA, Bulgaria Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen. Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone. The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe. The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. ___ NEW YORK A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. ___ WASHINGTON Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation. He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, he said. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running. Johnson said people were screaming for their children and spouses, knocking over tables in the food court as they fled. Everybody was trying to get outside, Johnson said. When I was coming out, you could see baby strollers turned over, peoples phones and left keys. It was kind of a hectic situation. Johnson said he gathered his wife, daughter and son and began heading toward the exit after letting the crowd clear out for a bit. My biggest thing was and not to sound selfish was to make sure that our family was OK and to get them out safely because this is not something that we love to do for Easter weekend. Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting, though officers began letting more traffic through the streets surrounding the shopping centers and strip malls that are usually packed on weekends. Officers were also stationed outside a nearby hotel designated as a reunification area for people at the scene of the shooting and their families. Workers from a couple of stores remained clustered in the mostly empty parking lot Saturday evening, waiting for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings so they could leave. They said they did not hear or see anything during the shooting but followed the malls alert system and were evacuated by police shortly after. They declined to give their names, citing company policies. 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. Todays isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," Columbiana Centre said in a statement. "We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement. The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near malls across the country. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Officials said he was with a group of boys when they got into a dispute with a second group. On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said. And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol. California leaders have been talking a lot recently about wanting the state to be a haven. For people seeking abortions who cant get them in their home states. For refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. For trans people seeking care that might be banned where they live. That compassion is wonderful to hear, the continuation of how California has long been a welcoming refuge for the oppressed, the outcast and the ostracized. For decades, we have opened our hearts to everyone from refugees from war-torn Central America to LGBTQ people who feel shunned in their hometowns. California has long been a place to forge a new start. But making that desire a reality has become even harder. Californias heart is writing checks that its housing element cant cash. Its hard to be a haven when it is so damn expensive to live here. How can a place be a haven when gas averages $5.71 a gallon, more than $1.50 higher than the rest of the country? How can we invite people here in their darkest hour when the average statewide home price is $774,899 roughly twice the national mark? Daily life is even more expensive in the Bay Area. A Chronicle analysis of the consumer price index data shows that a Bay Area resident will spend $4,400 more per year on groceries, transportation and health care than two years ago. With prices like that, is it irresponsible for California to pitch itself as a haven? I cant say that the message is wrong. Nothing wrong with the message. Its just not meaningful, said Darrell Owens, a data analyst with California YIMBY, a nonprofit that advocates for building a variety of housing. He has researched Californias ability to be a haven for international refugees. Owens compared it to seeing Black Lives Matter and Refugees Welcome signs in extremely expensive and affordable neighborhoods. Everyone knows that its just more of a statement about their own values than it is about the reality on the ground. Owens, a fourth-generation Bay Area resident, told me that if someone is telling you that this is a great place to live, theyre not lying. If theyre telling you that you will have better protections here than other states, theyre not lying. But most working-class families are not going to make the monumental sacrifice and live in overcrowded conditions for extremely expensive housing that is in very little supply just so they can be protected from the law. It is a tough reality to hear. Making it harder is that so many peoples needs are exponentially increasing partly because of the pandemic, and partly because of politics. Last week, the governor of Oklahoma signed a law that makes abortion a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. That, combined with the likelihood that the Supreme Court will gut the landmark Roe vs. Wade abortion ruling in the next few months, is expected to send thousands of people to California and other states in search of care. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wants California to be a sanctuary for those people. Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told me last week that shes thrilled California has created a Future of Abortion Council that is preparing for the tens of thousands of women expected to seek care in the state if Roe falls. The Legislature is considering a dozen pieces of legislation proposed by the council designed to take care of those people. But Timmaraju, who graduated from UC Berkeley, said you cant truly be a haven if you cant create an equitable environment for people to have a chance to live and raise their family. Reproductive rights and reproductive freedom means more than just access to abortion. It means the right to raise your kids in a community where you can breathe clean air, where you can afford good housing, where you have great public schools. Its the whole bigger picture about what you get to do when you plan a family, she said on my Its All Political on Fifth and Mission podcast. And if every Californian doesnt have that, no, its not really a haven. Timmaraju said, however, that what she loves about Californians and their leaders is they keep trying to make it better and theyre having the tough conversations And as somebody who grew up in my home state of Texas and hasnt had the benefit of that in a very long time, it gives me hope. Thats because Texas is the anti-California when it comes to being anything other than a tax haven. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a bus full of migrants from his state to Washington, D.C., as a set of human props to make a point about illegal immigration. Thats the same Abbott who signed a bill last year that made abortion illegal after an embryonic heartbeat is detected usually around six weeks and made no exceptions for rape, sexual abuse or incest. As my colleague Gabrielle Lurie and I reported last year, the move sent scores of people seeking care to nearby Oklahoma ... until last week, at least. But thats not all Abbott has done. Earlier this year he ordered the state to investigate parents of transgender adolescents who receive gender-affirming care. Texas attorney general said parents who facilitate that kind of care are committing a form of child abuse. In response, last month state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, proposed legislation to care for those families and make California a refuge for LGBTQ people. Wieners bill, which is expected to be formally introduced soon, seeks to keep families together by rejecting out-of-state court judgments that seek to remove transgender children from their parents custody because of gender-affirming health care. The ripple effect from these sorts of out-of state laws is being felt by Lyric a 3-decade-old San Francisco nonprofit that supports LGBTQ youth. As one of the largest organizations of its kind in the country, it has been seeing an increase in requests for help from young people living outside the city, from the Central Valley to Florida, home of the new Dont Say Gay law that bans classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity topics from kindergarten to third grade. And yes, Texas. But being in a state that describes itself as a sanctuary comes with a cost. We applaud (Wieners) legislation its amazing in terms of seeing California is a sanctuary, said Adam-Michael Royston, Lyrics development and communications director. Were starting to get these calls, and what we dont know is, What are the resources? So if folks are coming from Texas, Florida, Ohio, and theyre coming to California, what is responsibility there? Theyre not from San Francisco. Theyre not Californian. Were going to support them, but how do we provide those services? Royston said the organization wouldnt turn anyone away. But the increase in need and the desire to be a haven has forced the organization to have this conversation for the last six to nine months. To Wiener, the chair of the state Senates Housing Committee, the answer to many of these questions comes back to his longtime advocacy for building more housing. Yet building more housing is one of the few areas where California hasnt had much compassion for the past half century. Too many people feel they have secured their space in the haven, and they dont want to share it. The progressive position is the YIMBY position meaning yes in my backyard to building housing of all kinds, Wiener said. We have gotten to a point in California, Wiener said, where we say we want to welcome people, but then our actions are pulling up the drawbridge because I dont want a duplex in my neighborhood. Or I dont want more people trying to park on my street.Or I dont want more kids in my childs classroom. Were either a place of sanctuary and refuge or were not, Wiener said. We need to take care of our own 40 million residents and also be a place of refuge for people in need. And the minute California stops being a place of refuge and sanctuary for people in need is the minute we stop being California. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Candidates for an open state assembly seat in San Francisco held get-out-the-vote events on Saturday in a final push ahead of Tuesdays special election, which is expected to have a relatively low turnout. David Campos and Matt Haney are vying to represent District 17 on the east side of the city after David Chiu vacated the seat to become city attorney. Campos and Haney were the top two vote-getters in the first round of voting on Feb. 15. At around 10 a.m. on a drizzly morning at Herons Head Park in San Franciscos Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood, Campos supporters gathered to decorate their cars before heading out for a car caravan around the city, something that Campos called a Latino tradition. At the event for Campos who formerly represented San Francisco District 9 on the Board of Supervisors were several Latino groups, including the San Francisco Latino Democratic Club, Latinx for Environmental Justice and the Chicano Latino Immigrant Democratic San Francisco County Club. Most attendees spoke Spanish to one another as they decorated cars, and community leaders and Campos himself gave speeches in a mix of the two languages. Danielle Echeverria/The Chronicle Campos campaign volunteers and supporters stressed the importance of reminding people about the election ahead of Tuesday. We want to spread visibility, said Venecia Margarita, the co-president of the San Francisco Latino Democratic Club. Its a special election, so we want to make sure everyone remembers that now is the time. Many expressed how important it is to elect someone from the Latino community. This is about representation, said Anabel Ibanez, the clubs other co-president. One of the things that we have to make sure that people understand is how important that is, and get that vote and make sure that people are voting for David Campos. Meanwhile, in the Mission, Matt Haney pumped up his supporters inside the LiUNA Local 261 union building with a quick speech before the group embarked on their goal of knocking on more than 5,000 doors. You all have had our back since the beginning of this campaign, Haney told the union members before they and other supporters headed out. And because of that, were going to win. The effort by Haney who currently represents District 6 on the Board of Supervisors shared a similar message of pushing through the finish line. You cant take your foot off the gas now, said Rudy Gonzalez, the secretary of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, which supports Haney. I was feeling really good talking to people today, but we cant let up until the end. We just have to get out the vote. Gonzalez added that the election is important to laborers he represents because he believes Haney operates with workers, both union and non-union, first in mind. Were excited about the energy and credibility Matt can bring to Sacramento for us, he said, especially since so many of us are still facing so much economic hardship. 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. Haney said that after a day of knocking on doors and talking to supporters, he has high hopes for voter turnout, especially in District 6. He said his main focus this weekend and over the next few days is making sure that support makes it to the ballot box. Im feeling pretty good, he said. I think people are excited. Its just about making sure that they vote at this point. Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Tasha Boerner Horvath also came out to support the Haney event, pulling up to the building in a red convertible with San Francisco activist Reggie Daniels. Both candidates made brief mentions of housing one of the most debated issues between the two candidates but didnt dwell on discussing policy, instead focusing on motivating voters to make it to the polls or submit their ballots by Tuesday, as both expect the race to be relatively close. We believe that this election will be decided by just a few hundred votes, Campos told supporters. So our operation is key to the victory. The Chronicle will report the results of the AD-17 special election runoff starting at 8:45 p.m. April 19 on a special report page . Danielle Echeverria (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: danielle.echeverria@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DanielleEchev The opinions poured in, 280 characters at a time, as to whether it was good or bad that Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter for more than $40 billion and take it private. A persons politics typically dictated how they felt: Conservatives cheered it as victory for free speech. Liberals fretted that misinformation would spread rampantly if Musk followed through with his plan to dismantle how the social network monitors content. But what no one seemed to be able to say with any certainty was what kind of political philosophy the enigmatic billionaire believes himself. Thats because Musk, 50, who was born in South Africa and only became an American citizen in 2002, expresses views that dont fit neatly into this countys binary, left-right political framework. He is frequently described as libertarian, although that label fails to capture how paradoxical and random his politics can be. He has no shortage of opinions on the most pertinent and divisive issues of the day, from COVID-19 lockdowns (fascist, he called them) to immigration restrictions (Very much disagree, he has said.) There is not much consistency in the miscellany of his public statements or his profuse Twitter commentary except that they often align with his business interests. And despite the intense partisan reaction to his unsolicited bid to buy Twitter, his opaque politics make it difficult to say whether the elation and fear about how he would run the company are justified. He has railed against federal subsidies, but his companies have benefited from billions of dollars in tax breaks and other incentives from federal, state and local governments. He has strenuously opposed unionization, criticizing the Biden administration for proposing a tax credit for electric vehicles produced by union workers. He is the co-founder of an electric car manufacturer, Tesla, who quit former President Donald Trumps business councils after the administration pulled out of the Paris climate accord. But he recently ran afoul of environmentalists for calling for an immediate increase in domestic oil and gas production, although it would not be helpful to his businesses in electric cars and solar energy. He is an avowed enthusiast for the First Amendment. But he tried to force a journalist to testify in a defamation lawsuit against him, and he has often had outsize reactions to criticism. Four years ago, he floated a plan to create a website to rate the credibility of reporters, calling it Pravda, in an odd nod to the Soviet Unions propaganda publication. (Nothing much came of it.) And a venture capitalist wrote at length about Musk canceling his order for a new Tesla after the investor complained about a Tesla event. Musk said he was a registered independent when he lived in California, the state he famously and loudly left for Texas because he said its business climate had grown too inhospitable. He has described himself as politically moderate but added, Doesnt mean Im moderate about all issues. He did not respond to a request for comment. His concerns about the way Twitter censors content echo those of conservative activists and politicians who have argued that social media companies are poor arbiters of truth and should not be engaged in policing speech. One person who has worked closely with Musk said that it is Musks firmly held belief that in a functioning democracy, it is anyones right to say whatever stupid thing you want. This person, who spoke anonymously to not violate Musks trust, added dryly, Which he occasionally does. If he were to become Twitters owner, Musk said he would scrap the program of content monitoring and censoring. Conservatives were elated. Elon Musk seems to be our last hope, declared Tucker Carlson of Fox News. Ordinarily, with public figures so outspoken and wealthy, their political leanings are easy to discern because they are explained in campaign finance disclosures. But Musks political giving is paltry compared with that of other billionaires like Charles Koch and Peter Thiel, whose donations have largely supported conservative Republicans, and George Soros, who has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to liberal causes in recent years. Musk tends to give only a few thousand dollars at a time nothing like the tens of millions that Thiel has given this year to support candidates like J.D. Vance for Senate in Ohio, for instance. And his giving is fairly evenly distributed to candidates in both political parties. He has donated to stalwarts in the Democratic Party, including Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. But he has also cut checks to Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, and to the Republican National Committee. Here, too, his actions appear to reflect the moves of someone who is not thinking ideologically but pragmatically. Many of his donations were funneled to politicians in states where Tesla has manufacturing operations like Texas and California. He has given to both Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Musk has objected when politicians have tried to characterize his views as in sync with their own, insisting that he would rather leave politics to others, despite ample evidence on Twitter to the contrary. When Abbott last year defended a strict anti-abortion law that made the procedure virtually illegal in Texas by citing Musks support Elon consistently tells me that he likes the social policies in the state of Texas, the governor said Musk pushed back. 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 responded on Twitter. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics. If that is the case, he often cant seem to help himself. He heckles political figures who have taken a position he disagrees with or who have seemingly slighted him. Musks response to Sen. Elizabeth Warren after she said that he should pay more in income taxes was, Please dont call the manager on me, Senator Karen. After one of Musks Twitter fans pointed out that President Joe Biden had not congratulated SpaceX for the successful completion of a private spaceflight last fall, Musk hit back with a jab reminiscent of Trumps derisive nickname Sleepy Joe. Hes still sleeping, he replied. Several days later, he criticized the Biden administration as not the friendliest and accused it of being controlled by labor unions. These comments came just a few weeks after his insistence that he preferred to stay out of politics. Few issues have raised his ire as much as the coronavirus restrictions, which impeded Teslas manufacturing operations in California and nudged him closer to his decision last year to move the companys headquarters to Texas. That move, however, was very much symbolic since Tesla still has its main manufacturing plant in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Fremont, California, and a large office in Palo Alto. Over the course of the pandemic, Musks outbursts flared dramatically as he lashed out at state and local governments over stay-at-home orders. He initially defied local regulations that shut down his Tesla factory in Fremont. He described the lockdowns as forcibly imprisoning people in their homes and posted a libertarian-tinged rallying cry to Twitter: FREE AMERICA NOW. He threatened to sue Alameda County for the shutdowns before relenting. In an interview in the fall of 2020 with The New York Times contributing Opinion writer Kara Swisher, Musk expressed dismay over his belief that the pandemic had brought out irrational fears in many Americans. It has diminished my faith in humanity, this whole thing, he said. At the same time, as the countrys nerves were fraying six months into an outbreak with no end in sight, social media companies came under pressure to take more proactive steps to limit the spread of false information about COVID-19 and the presidential election on their platforms. And when new content moderation policies after the 2020 election began to affect users on Twitter where Musk has 82 million followers he sided with many conservatives and allies of the former president who accused the social media company of arbitrary censorship. Many accounts that spread disinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines and voter fraud have been suspended or shut down. People like Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist who denied the Sandy Hook massacre, and Trump, who used Twitter to rally his followers to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, have been banned. Supporters of the former president cheered his possible return to Twitter. A Republican congressman from Texas, Troy Nehls, tweeted, Make Twitter Great Again. For his part, Trump, who is promoting his own social media venture, Truth Social, said last week that he doesnt think he will come back. Twitters become very boring. Theyve gotten rid of a lot of their good voices, he complained in an interview on Americano Media, a Spanish language network. But given Musks largely nondenominational political philosophy, some on the right were less sanguine. Ann Coulter, a frequent presence on Twitter, said that the billionaire entrepreneur struck her as mostly apolitical and mostly about promoting himself. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Friends and family of David OSullivan, an Irish hiker who came to California in search of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, have marked five years since the young mans heartbreaking disappearance. OSullivan was 25 years old when he flew to the United States to hike the famed Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,653-mile trek from Californias southern border with Mexico to Washingtons northern border with Canada. On April 6, 2017, he emailed his family to let them know he was resupplying in Idyllwild in Riverside County, a frequent stop along the trail. He said he was excited to continue on. Like many hikers, hed been inspired by Cheryl Strayeds 2012 memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. OSullivan spent a year saving money by working at a gas station, and he physically prepared himself with hikes around his County Cork hometown and in the Irish countryside beyond. But Irelands mountain peaks arent nearly as high as those encountered on the PCT, and OSullivan had little experience with snowy conditions. According to trail reports, up to 3 feet of snow awaited him in the next phase of his hike. Murrieta Police Department/Handout I got kind of a general feeling he was kind of getting slapped around by being out on the trail, a hiker who met him in Anza, California, told the Los Angeles Daily News. Thats probably why I was trying to push him toward not trying anything he was not prepared for. On April 7, OSullivan left Idyllwild for the San Jacinto Mountains. Then, he went silent. Initially, this felt expected. OSullivan warned his family not to be worried if he went long stretches without communicating; his only working technology was a Kindle that needed a Wi-Fi connection, and hed be out of cell range up in the mountains anyway. But by May, his loved ones were truly worried. They spoke to local police in Ireland and posted on PCT Facebook groups, asking if anyone had run into OSullivan. At the end of June, the Irish consulate in San Francisco was contacted, and on July 17, OSullivan was finally entered into the state and national missing persons databases, the Daily News reported. By then, OSullivans trail had gone very cold. It wasnt clear which route hed taken from Idyllwild, and there were no reliable sightings of OSullivan to pinpoint his location. He didnt have a GPS tracker, and he was hiking alone in steep, rugged conditions he was likely unprepared for. Its believed he may have slipped and fallen, or he became disoriented and dehydrated. In the years since his disappearance, his family has flown out to California multiple times to search, and they now serve as honorary board members for a foundation that provides assistance to families of missing hikers, connects them to vetted resources, facilitates searches on their behalf once official efforts have been suspended, and supports initiatives to prevent future missing hiker cases. Its been a heartbreaking 5 years for Davids family, friends, and loved ones who are so very far away, the Fowler-OSullivan Foundation Facebook page recently posted. Our search efforts continue later this month as we have not given up our efforts to locate David. Our goal is to bring David back to Ireland, and to his family. (Were still looking for you David!) Although his loved ones believe he died on the trail, they hope to someday return his remains back home. Hes still 25 to me. He hasnt grown old, his mother, Carmel OSullivan, told an Irish radio station in 2021. His friends are settling down, between engagements, houses and their careers, ... but hell always be 25 for me that boy who left home. On every visit to Disneyland, I enjoy a casual stroll through the streets of New Orleans Square hoping to glimpse a gorgeously ornate door with a golden trimmed button. Given its location on a busy pathway, its somehow oddly discreet. Yet its not just any door behind it is one of the most sought-after experiences found in any Disney park: Club 33. Any hard-core Disney fan has dreamed of being whisked through the Court dAnges and upstairs to Disneylands super-exclusive private club. The parks are already expensive, even as an average guest. Even if I did have an extra $25,000 to drop on the reported initiation fee, membership is invite-only with a wait list that is said to be years long. Another exclusive experience, 21 Royal, is slightly more attainable, at least for anyone with $15,000 to spare. This 5-hour, 12-person private dinner experience happens in the former apartment suite located above Pirates of the Caribbean and has a private balcony for watching Fantasmic (when it returns next month). In a time where Disney seems to cater more and more to the upper crust, whats in it for the little guy? Well, there is a secret Disneyland dining room that requires no membership and, even better, no entry fee. Welcome to The Office a secret dining room experience inside the popular Lamplight Lounge in Disney California Adventure Park. Like many, you may have found yourself chowing down on the restaurants addictive lobster nachos and completely missed this park secret. Hidden in plain sight, The Office opened with the Lamplight Lounge in 2018, following the extensive refurbishment and reimagining of the former Ariels Grotto and Cove Bar. The only problem? Getting inside can prove to be more difficult than snagging a hand-pulled candy cane during the holidays or the latest Trader Sams tiki mug release. I was able to visit the space just once, by kindly asking a cast member shortly after its opening back in 2018. The Office is tucked away behind a service door toward the back of the restaurant. After making your way down an industrial-looking hallway, youll see what looks like an old-time bank vault, complete with an elaborate mechanism guests must unlock and crank open to get inside. Once in, youre treated to a private dining space that fits up to 13 people. The centerpiece of the room is a large, wooden rectangular table thats nestled in the corner, surrounded by cozy booth seating and chairs, all outfitted with brown leather. The rooms rusty red walls are adorned with dozens of original black and white sketches by notable Pixar animators, arranged in an only-at-Disney-style gallery wall. The other side of the room is a sitting area with large, leather armchairs and a small table for drinks. Retro board games, like Chinese checkers, are hung decoratively on the wall, but guests are encouraged to take them down to play. A private balcony, visible from the pedestrian bridge along Pixar Pier, is complete with views of the Incredicoasters launch. The entire space is intimate and small; my guess would be about 150 square feet. After my first glimpse, I tried to visit again, but my attempts over the years have been unsuccessful. I reached out to several Disneyland friends who visit the parks weekly and was surprised to learn that most have never been able to make their way inside. So, how do you get the chance to visit one of Disneylands most secret dining rooms? It seems like you have to have the right place, right time and right party size all working in your favor. I truly lucked out on my first visit to The Office, shares Beci Mahnken, a regular visitor and Club 33 member. I had heard of a secret room from a friend, so when we showed up for our reservation, I simply asked if it was available. To our delight, it was! Mahnkens favorite part? You have to crack the code to gain entrance, making it a fun, interactive experience setting the stage for the story unfolding in front of you. Its like discovering a speakeasy and knowing the password. Shes tried to eat there again a few times over the years, with no luck. Miranda Lee was taken aback when she was able to visit in 2018. I was visiting DCA with a group of eight, and we had Lamplight Lounge reservations. When we went to check in, they confirmed we had eight people and then escorted us to The Office, Lee explains. It wasnt until we were walking into a back area of Lamplight that we were told where we were going. We had no idea this special area existed! Lees favorite part was relaxing on the private balcony watching the sun set with views of the Incredicoaster and its cacophony of sounds in the distance. Shes been back to the Lamplight Lounge multiple times since, but hasnt made her way back inside the The Office. Casey Maute scored a visit when she arrived at the Lamplight Lounge with a party of 10. Her luck came as they were one of the first and largest parties of the day. Once inside, they enjoyed the private deck and a secret cocktail. Our server recommended the special cocktail that is served only in The Office, Maute shares. The Office is a specialty cocktail, exclusive to the private dining room, thats reportedly made with Titos vodka, watermelon liqueur, berry smoothie mix and agave and served in a martini glass with fresh raspberries. Mautes entire party celebrated the moment with that drink. When I put out a call on #DisTwitter asking who has successfully made their way inside, I was surprised that many regular parkgoers, like filmmaker Matthew Serrano, have not made it. "I have not and have always wanted to," he says. Ashley, one half of Mouse Vibes, is a regular Disneyland guest and shared that she has tried to get in on five separate occasions. Each time a cast member has seen what they can do, but its always due to the size of our party, she explains. They were always helpful, but they want it to be about 10 people, I believe, and we don't roll that deep. We have tried to sweet talk them into letting us do it anyways, but it hasnt worked. If you are like the many who havent been fortunate enough to make it inside those secret doors, you can live vicariously through those who have, like this video, one of the best Ive found detailing the space. If you do make an attempt to visit The Office, your best chance may be visiting right when Lamplight Lounge opens with a party of about 10 people. So find some friends hey, maybe just make some in the park and try your luck. Arriving at Londons Gatwick Airport for his EasyJet flight to Malaga, Spain, with his wife and 12-year-old daughter on April 4, Alasdair Crawley said it was like walking into the mayhem of the aftermath of a soccer game. The 49-year-old plumber from East London described long, unruly lines of angry passengers trying to determine the status of their flights and families sprawled out across the floor eating, drinking and sleeping to get through long delays. First, our flight was canceled and rebooked for a day later, so we lost the first night of our hotel, and then when we arrived for our new flight, it was delayed by three hours, Crawley recalled this week from his hotel balcony in Spain. Its bliss to be here, but honestly, if I knew I had to go through the shambles at the airport again, I would have probably chosen to stay at home in my garden. Crawley was not alone in his urge to seize the moment or in encountering chaos when he did. Over the past two weeks, travelers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have endured long lines at airports, flight delays or cancellations, and plenty of frustration. Thousands of Britons have flocked to airports for the start of the Easter vacation season, which coincided with governments across Europe dropping coronavirus restrictions. But in the past two weeks, more than 1,000 flights have been canceled across Britain, upending vacation plans for tens of thousands of passengers. On April 9 alone, British Airways and EasyJet canceled more than 100 flights. In the United States, low-cost carriers such as Southwest and Spirit were also forced to cancel flights earlier this month after technical glitches and bad weather. Additionally, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines announced reductions to spring and summer flight schedules, with JetBlue reducing its May flight capacity between 8% and 10% and saying it plans to make similar cuts to its summer schedule, while Alaska cut 2% of its flight schedule through June. The cuts came at a time when travel demand has come roaring back, with some airlines and airports reporting the highest passenger numbers since the start of the pandemic. Londons Heathrow Airport received 4.2 million passengers in March, a more than sevenfold jump from a year ago. In the United States, passenger traffic in recent months has reached nearly 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Transportation Security Administration. When Europe lifted its restrictions, that was an invitation to come back, said Janice Riley, 54, an American basking in the sunshine in the old town of Geneva early this past week. Rileys trip to France and Switzerland had been smooth so far but she said she was willing to get stuck or face disruptions for the sake of going somewhere. I just had an itch to travel and see friends and family, and taking that risk has been worth it, she said. It is the moment the travel industry had been waiting for the great comeback, despite rising prices and the uncertainty over the war in Ukraine. But it seems like the new normal for travelers may be chaos driven by the continued spread of variants and subvariants of the coronavirus and travel operators who are still unable to cope with the volume of demand. Were in for a very bumpy and turbulent two months ahead, said Paul Charles, CEO of The PC Agency, a London-based travel consultancy firm. Easing of restrictions, booming demand and a rise in cases The freedom to travel after two years of stringent rules caused a sudden surge in demand for European travel. The International Air Transport Association, which represents nearly 300 airlines, expects total passenger numbers in Europe to reach 86% of 2019 figures in 2022 and make a full recovery in 2024. The biggest issue, said Charles, the travel consultant, is that many travel companies were not prepared for demand to snap back so quickly and are now scrambling to recruit staff. The labor shortfall is now being seen in the fact that companies cannot operate as normal, he said. During the height of the pandemic, tens of thousands of jobs were slashed across the aviation industry, and now many airline and airport workers are reluctant to come back to jobs that can offer long hours and low pay. The uncertainty over the future of the pandemic has also pushed people in the industry to seek more-secure career opportunities. Stories of unruly passengers, often long commute times and job uncertainty, as seen with COVID-19, could be off-putting for many currently seeking work, said Ralph Hollister, a travel and tourism analyst at the data analytics firm GlobalData. Hollister said a lack of staff in security roles has contributed to the disruptions experienced at British airports, adding that the time it takes to vet and train people means that the issues will not be resolved soon. The issues have been compounded by a record surge in coronavirus cases across Europe, particularly in Britain, which has dropped all of its coronavirus requirements for masking, testing and vaccination. Early this month, the government reported that 1 in 13 people were infected with the virus, and the World Health Organization said virus restrictions in several countries, including France, Italy, Germany and Britain, were relaxed too quickly, causing cases to rise. Coronavirus infections have also been rising in parts of the United States as highly contagious omicron subvariants spread. In an echo of what American carriers faced as omicron spread, EasyJet said hundreds of its cancellations occurred because of coronavirus-related crew absences. British Airways has also been struggling with staff sickness but said a majority of its flights continue to operate as planned. On Tuesday, EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said he would have expected to see the spike in COVID-19 infections across the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe to have dropped by now, but that has not happened yet. Until that moment in time, well continue to monitor the situation, he said. Still, the airline has flown 94% of its planned schedule in the past week, the highest number of flights operated since 2019, and is confident it will be able to return to a near pre-pandemic schedule by the summer, Lundgren said. Time is running out For American travelers, one of the biggest concerns is the predeparture coronavirus test required to return home, which they feel could mean theyd be stuck overseas if they test positive. Among major Western tourist destinations, the United States is a holdout in continuing to require a negative test to enter; the Netherlands, Ireland and Jamaica all recently dropped the requirement. The U.S. travel industry has been pushing the Biden administration to drop both the testing requirement and its mask mandate for planes and other public transportation. The American Society of Travel Advisors, or ASTA, said the inbound testing requirement is the single biggest barrier to the full recovery of the international travel system. On Wednesday, the United States government announced that it would extend a mandate requiring travelers to wear masks on public transport, including on airplanes and at airports, for another two weeks. It has not addressed the future of the pre-arrival test requirement. Demand for travel among American travelers for European destinations is recovering but has been dimmed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February. In a recent survey of 1,300 Americans by the travel app TripIt, 33% of respondents said they would take a trip abroad by June. The travel booking site Hopper said that, in March, 15% of international bookings on its site were for U.S. travel to Europe, down 6% since the invasion. In 2019, United States travel to Europe accounted for 30% of international bookings on the site. I put this trip off in 2020 and then again in 2021, but Im in my 70s and time is running out, said Richard Zelinka, a lawyer from Naples, Florida, discussing a visit to France he has planned for June. At a certain point, health issues will prevent me from traveling, and you just dont know what will happen in the world next year. When Crawley, the plumber from East London, emptied the majority of his savings account to book the trip to Spain, he told his wife that it was time to let go and live again, he said. I didnt want to wait for the next bit of bad news or a new COVID variant or World War III to start. It felt like now or maybe never. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW DELHI (AP) Police in Indias capital have arrested 14 people after communal violence broke out during a Hindu religious procession, leaving several injured, local media reported Sunday. The suspects were arrested on charges of rioting and criminal conspiracy, among others, following the incident on Saturday night, said senior police officer Usha Rangnani, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. At least nine people, including eight police officers, were injured and were being treated in hospitals, Rangnani said. Authorities say Hindu and Muslim groups in Jahangirpuri, a neighborhood in northwest New Delhi, threw stones at each other during a religious procession celebrating the birth of the Hindu god Hanuman on Saturday night. Police were investigating the incident and it remains unclear what sparked the violence. It was the worst violence in New Delhi since 2020, when 53 people died in a large-scale communal unrest amid tensions over a controversial citizenship law that excluded Muslims. Delhi's police commissioner tweeted late Saturday night that the situation in the neighborhood was under control after additional forces were deployed. The capitals chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, appealed for peace in the city and condemned the incident. In videos posted on social media, streets in Jahangirpuri are seen littered with broken glass and stones while photos show heavily damaged vehicles. The unrest came after similar reports of communal violence and hate speech in a handful of other Indian states over the past week. On April 10, a number of people were injured after anti-Muslim songs were blared through speakers during a procession to mark the birth of the Hindu god Ram in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, local media reported. A day later in the western state of Gujarat, one person died and many others were injured in violence following the festival, prompting curfews and a ban on gatherings in some parts of the state. The string of recent religious attacks has sparked outrage and sharp criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Communal violence in India is not new, with periodic clashes breaking out ever since the British partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, but observers say that religious polarization has risen under Modi, further deepening fault lines against minorities and heightening tensions. On Saturday, leaders from 13 opposition parties wrote a statement urging Modi to condemn the wave of religious attacks and expressing concern over the recent outburst of communal violence witnessed across several states." We are extremely anguished at the manner in which issues related to food, dress, faith, festivals and language are being deliberately used by sections of the ruling establishment to polarize our society, the leaders wrote. CHICAGO (AP) Authorities said they were investigating the deaths of three people whose bodies were found in Chicago's waterways this weekend. Chicago police say they had not determined that the deaths of a man whose body was recovered from Lake Michigan and two women whose bodies were recovered from the Chicago River are related, WLS-TV in Chicago reported. ALBANY, Ga. (AP) Artwork damaged when a violent storm tore the roof from a Georgia museum five years ago is going back on display for a summer exhibit. Staff at the Albany Museum of Art scrambled to save its collection in January 2017 as rain poured into the building for hours. More than 2,000 pieces were sent to Chicago to be treated for damage, WALB-TV reported, while others went into storage in Atlanta. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MUKACHEVO, Ukraine -- Deadly attacks rocked numerous cities and leveled buildings across Ukraine on Saturday, serving as ominous signals of how close destruction remains even in areas where Russian forces have recently pulled out. Russia moved ever closer to controlling the already-devastated port city of Mariupol as its invasion of Ukraine continued into its eighth week. In Russian-occupied Kherson, satellite imagery that showed the digging of hundreds of fresh grave plots held haunting symbolism of the fate of civilians there. U.S. officials and military experts are expecting that in the next phase of the war, Russian forces will concentrate their might on capturing the eastern region known as Donbas and the southern cities that provide crucial access to the Black Sea and beyond. But the latest barrage demonstrated that Russia is still capable of wreaking destruction well beyond where its forces are situated or have recently vacated, such as the capital of Kyiv and its suburbs. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, said in an interview to air on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Putin "believes he is winning" the war. "We have to look him in his eyes and we have to confront him with what we see in Ukraine," Nehammer said, according to a transcript of the interview. One person was killed as a result of a rocket strike near Kyiv, and several injured were taken to a hospital in the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday. The mayor urged residents of Kyiv who are away from the city not to return at present but to "stay in safer places." Blasts were also reported outside Kyiv on Friday. Russia said in a statement on Friday that its forces fired missiles at a suburban factory that produces Ukrainian weapons, in retaliation for what it claimed were attempted Ukrainian assaults on border towns inside Russia. Russia's Defense Ministry said a military plant was destroyed in the Kyiv attack, one of 16 targets hit in cities including Odessa, Poltava and Mykolaiv. The ministry claimed a repair shop for military equipment in Mykolaiv was destroyed. In Lviv, an air raid lasting more than an hour was carried out by Russian Su-35 planes, the country's more advanced fighter jets, according to regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy. Four guided missiles were destroyed by antiaircraft defenses, he added. In Ukraine's northeast, one person was killed and 18 were injured after a rocket strike in Kharkiv on Saturday, according to the provincial governor. Images captured after the attack showed Ukrainian servicemen walking amid the rubble, firefighters trying to extinguish multiple fires, and emergency workers treating an injured woman. The governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synyehubov, said on the Telegram messaging app that a rocket fired by Russian forces "hit one of the central districts of Kharkiv again" early Saturday. He pleaded with residents to be "extremely careful" at a time when Russian forces "continue to terrorize the civilian population of Kharkiv and the region." Russia appeared to be on the verge of capturing the devastated port city of Mariupol, which a regional leader mourned had been "wiped off the face of the earth." According to a top Russian military official, the only remaining area under Ukrainian forces was the Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest metallurgical factories in Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seemed to acknowledge as much on Saturday. In an address to the nation, a translation of which was posted on an official government website, Zelensky said that "the situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman." He said that Ukraine had continually sought military and diplomatic solutions since the blockade of Mariupol began, but that finding one had been extremely difficult. Zelensky added: "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there in Mariupol." On Saturday, Russia gave a deadline for surrender in Mariupol of 6 a.m. Moscow time on Sunday (11 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday), Russian state news reported. Zelensky told Ukrainian media outlets that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia could end if Russian forces killed all of the Ukrainians defending the city. He noted that the situation in Mariupol is "very difficult," acknowledging that "many people have disappeared" from the city. He reiterated that the wounded who remained blocked from leaving Mariupol needed to get out. Mariupol has been under weeks of heavy bombardment and siege by Russian forces, and analysts are predicting it will be the first major Ukrainian city to fall in the coming days. Control of the Sea of Azov hub is strategically important to the Kremlin because it would connect Russian-annexed Crimea with Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said nine humanitarian corridors were to have been open Saturday, linking urban areas in the country's south and east to relatively safer areas deeper inland in the north and west. More than 1,400 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors on Saturday despite persistent Russian shelling that made it difficult to carry out efforts in various parts of Ukraine, Vereshchuk said. Those seeking to flee shelling in Mariupol and other cities had to use their own transportation because bad weather is preventing the use of evacuation buses. Parts of the roads leading to Zaporizhzhia, a city farther up the Dnieper River, have been washed out, she said. Zaporizhzhia received nearly 1,400 people from hard-hit areas of the southeast who traveled in their own vehicles, Vereshchuk said through Telegram. Nearly 70 people were evacuated from the eastern region of Luhansk in the face of Russian shelling. Vereshchuk said the density of shelling prevented the evacuation of people from the eastern city of Lysychansk. The United Nations has renewed calls for safe passage out of Mariupol, which the U.N. undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, called "an epicenter of horror." As many as 100,000 people are believed to still be in the city, which had a population of roughly 450,000 before the war began. In Kherson, a city that was quickly seized by Russian forces during the first week of the invasion of Ukraine, recent satellite imagery showed that at least 824 grave plots were dug between Feb. 28 and April 15, according to an analysis by the Center for Information Resilience, a London-based nonprofit. The burial site is on the city's outskirts, just east of the airport. Kherson is about 400 miles south of Kyiv and is home to a port on the Dnieper River close to the Black Sea, making it a strategically important site in the conflict. Many of Kherson's 280,000 residents have fled the city since the invasion. But the occupying Russian forces have also faced resistance and civilian protests in the city and appeared to have lost control of part of it late last month, according to the U.S. Defense Department, which said Kherson had become contested territory. In areas that Russian forces have withdrawn from, a gruesome portrait has emerged of the horrors that residents faced. In Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv controlled by Russian forces for nearly a month, Washington Post reporters documented hundreds of bodies in graves or lying in the street. Damage to Ukraine's transportation infrastructure is posing a significant challenge to the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas that were until recently seized by Russians, such as urban regions in the country's north, the British Defense Ministry said Saturday. Russian troops left behind land mines and vehicles and destroyed bridges as they withdrew from towns in northern Ukraine, the ministry said in an intelligence update. Chernihiv, a city 95 miles northeast of Kyiv that had a prewar population of about 285,000, has one pedestrian bridge remaining, the ministry said. In addition to the humanitarian disaster, the war is waging a heavy economic toll. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other senior officials plan to visit Washington this coming week for economic meetings, a World Bank official told The Post on Saturday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the visit had yet to be officially announced. Ukraine's prime minister; the finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko; and the head of the nation's central bank, Kyrylo Shevchenko, will attend the spring meetings hosted by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, according to the official. Ukraine has not yet confirmed their travel. The trip was first reported by Reuters. Representatives from the Group of Seven countries will also attend the meetings. There are growing concerns that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is having a broader impact on the world economy, including by disrupting trade and increasing food prices. On Tuesday, the World Bank announced it was preparing a nearly $1.5 billion support package for Ukraine to aid the "continuation of essential government services during the war." In his address to the nation on Friday, Zelensky said that he had chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss "urgent economic issues," as swaths of industry have been hurt by the war. He said four-fifths of all Ukrainian enterprises in safe areas have resumed operations and that transportation networks were being rebuilt. He praised businesses for adapting during the conflict and retaining employees. "No matter what, in all cities and communities where there are no occupiers and hostilities, it is necessary to restore the economy to the maximum," Zelensky said. Although a number of Western leaders and officials have visited Kyiv since the Russian invasion, this appears to be the first time that a high-level Ukrainian delegation will travel to the United States. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said this past week that President Biden will not visit Ukraine, amid growing speculation that a top U.S. official could soon make the trip. - - - Torbati reported from Washington and Suliman from London. The Washington Post's Andrew Jeong in Seoul; Julian Duplain in London; and Timothy Bella, Joyce Lee, Jon Swaine, Benjamin Soloway, Lateshia Beachum and Tobi Raji in Washington contributed to this report. BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) A small private school in Baton Rouge is closing after 22 years of operation, leaving parents looking for a place to enroll their children for next school year. The Baton Rouge International School blamed a coronavirus pandemic-related drop in enrollment from which it never recovered as a reason for the closing, according to The Advocate. The school offered a full multilingual immersion program in English, Spanish, French and Chinese. It is part of a global network of 50 schools known as the International Schools Partnership. JOSHUA TREE, Calif. State biologists on Wednesday recommended against designating the western Joshua tree as threatened with extinction, saying claims in a petition filed by environmentalists about the effects climate change will have on the living symbols of the California desert are premature. A final decision by the Fish and Game Commission on the petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity is expected in June. If not listed, it will be up to local jurisdictions to set limits on development of commercial, residential and solar and wind projects across thousands of acres of southeastern Californias sunniest real estate. About 40% of the western Joshua trees range is on private land where a state endangered-species law would apply, according to the petition. The area includes the rapidly growing cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, Hesperia, Victorville and Yucca Valley. The western Joshua tree is currently abundant and widespread, wrote authors of a 158-page analysis made public Wednesday. This abudance substantially lowers the threat of extinction within the foreseeable future, the document said. The analysis determined that scientific evidence currently possessed by state wildlife authorities does not demonstrate that populations of the species are negatively trending in a way that would lead the department to believe that the species is likely to be in serious danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range in the foreseeable future. Advocates of western Joshua trees vigorously objected to the recommendation. Current domestic and global warming trends cast doubt on the trees future survival, said Brendan Cummings, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity and a resident of the San Bernardino County desert community of Joshua Tree. The species will likely be close to extinction in California by centurys end, she said. Put another way when the Titanic hit the iceberg, the ships captain didnt wait until nearly every one on board had drowned to issue an SOS, he added. But that is essentially what state biologists are asking us to do with western Joshua trees in distress. As of this month, the entire range of the western Joshua tree remains in severe or extreme drought conditions that a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report predicted may become the norm after 2030. Scientific modeling suggests the western Joshua tree in Joshua Tree National Park will lose upwards 90% of its current range by the end of the century. Recognizing a species as warranting protection under the California Endangered Species Act primarily due to the threat of climate change, however, is something that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has never done before. The polar bear became the first and only creature designated as threatened with extinction primarily because of global warming when it was added to the federal endangered species list in 2008. But federal authorities also issued special rules designed to exempt from the law offshore oil and gas drilling in prime polar bear habitat off Alaskas north coast. Jeremy Yoder, an evolutionary geneticist at California State University Northridge, was disappointed by Wednesdays recommendation. We should take care of these trees now, before we have fewer options to work with, he said. Yoder suggests identifying areas where trees are struggling and replanting them with seeds genetically calibrated to withstand the harshest conditions. More research is needed, however, to identify such areas with confidence, he said. The western Joshua tree is one of two genetically distinct species that occur in California. It has a boomerang-shaped range that extends westward from Joshua Tree National Park to the northern slopes of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, then northward along the eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then eastward to the edges of Death Valley National Park. The eastern Joshua Trees range in California is centered in the Mojave National Preserve and eastward into Nevada. As many as a million eastern Joshua trees were incinerated by last years Cima Dome fire in the preserve. While both the western and eastern species of Joshua tree are of conservation concern, the fate of the western species is most in doubt. Although there are millions of western Joshua trees and its extinction is not imminent, recent studies show its range is contracting at lower elevations and its reproduction has all but come to a halt in many areas. After the petition was filed in 2019, the state wildlife commission unanimously voted to advance the western Joshua tree to candidacy, saying there was substantial information indicating that listing may be warranted. Since then, new scientific studies have been published on ever-increasing threats to its habitat: sprawl, renewable energy projects, military activities, grazing, off-road vehicles, mining projects, an ongoing boom in construction of warehouses in Victor Valley and Antelope Valley, and the most severe drought in at least 1,200 years. Supporters of the petition include U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and environmental organizations led by Sierra Club California, Hispanic Access Foundation, Vet Voice Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association and the Native American Land Conservancy. On a recent morning, Cummings hiked across a mile-square nature preserve near Joshua Tree National Park created, in part, to give federally endangered desert tortoises and more than 1,000 western Joshua trees within its boundaries a fighting chance for survival. The twisted canopies of dagger-shaped leaves were festooned with large cream-colored blooms recently pollinated by half-inch-long moths. But signs of distress included bark eaten off trunks by small mammals desperate for food and moisture. Some trees had been charred by brush fires in exotic grasses grasses that feed off nitrogen heavy smog wafting in from Los Angeles. The forest had not reproduced baby Joshua trees in decades. Thats because according to scientists hotter, drier conditions, cause scant rainfall to evaporate more quickly than in years past. As a result, seedlings shrivel up and die before they can put down strong roots. The low productive rate of the western Joshua tree may prevent it from expanding quickly enough into cooler and wetter habitat, scientists say. The trees capacity for movement is about a few hundred yards a generation. But devising an enforcement and permitting system for western Joshua trees presents formidable logistical challenges given their broad range and prevalence. Then theres the renewable energy industry, which maintains that by helping to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, it is helping to mitigate climate change and the threat it poses to development of sensitive desert species such as the western Joshua tree. The species scientists know as Yucca brevifolia reaches about 40 feet in height and lives about 200 years. Judging from the seeds in fossilized dung, Joshua trees were once dispersed across desert landscapes with help from elephant-size giant ground sloths. But these sloths went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Today, antelope squirrels and other rodents are the Joshua trees main agents of seed dispersal. The trees blossoms, roots, inner chambers and angular boughs sustain a great abundance and diversity of desert life: yucca moths, bobcats, desert night lizards, kangaroo rats and 20 species of birds including Scotts orioles, ladder backed woodpeckers and great horned owls. More is at stake than their importance as a critical refuge for desert species. Joshua trees, which grow in the Mojave Desert and nowhere else, have become mainstays for movies, fashion shoots, advertising campaigns and wedding ceremonies. They were named for the biblical figure Joshua by members of a band of Mormons traveling through the Cajon Pass back to Utah in 1857. They imagined the trees as shaggy prophets, their outstretched limbs pointing the way to their promised land. During the 1980s, development in desert boom towns such as Lancaster and Palmdale replaced hundreds of thousands of Joshua trees with housing tracts and shopping centers. Many more were removed over the last decade to make way for renewable energy facilities. Now, the biggest threat is climate change, according to Cameron Barrows, a research ecologist at UC Riverside, who said he wanted to see Joshua trees listed because such protections might act as a catalyst toward creation of land use proposals that would benefit wildlife and developers alike. In the meantime, environmentalists are hopeful the commission will still vote to list western Joshua trees. This recommendation is a subtle form of climate change denial, Cummings said. Instead of taking action, theyre kicking the can down the road. GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) It was May 2020 when Dan Weidenbenner consulted his fellow Mill Village Farmsboard members and they decided to move their annual fundraiser to a virtual format. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging, and the organizers reasoned, this was a way to keep momentum for their efforts in the community while allowing people flexibility and the chance to have a dining experience within their own home. Now, two years later, the local non-profit has found an unexpected rhythm with the virtual fundraisers, and has taken it to another level. On April 21, Mill Village will host a Culinary Concert, its seventh now, in honor of Earth Day that combines local food, cooking, music, cocktails and planting, all from the comfort of your own home. The event will weave food from chef Drew Erickson, of CAMP, cocktail instruction from local micro-distillery Vicario Spirits, music from Anya Hinkle and plants from Mill Village Farms. This event really encompasses our mission in the community, said Weidenbenner, executive director of Mill Village Farms. The mission of empowering people to be able to cook healthier foods, learn how to cook, grow their own food, control and support their own mobility, and this event kind of does that. It also helps Mill Village fund the work it does. Specifically, this culinary concert will benefit the organizations youth program and its food security program, the need for both of which has grown over the past two years. Since April 2018, Mill Village has distributed over 59,000 FoodShare boxes to local people in need of fresh food. The boxes, which contain 10-12 varieties of fresh produce (valued at $20-$30) are available for $15, but are available for $5 for those using EBT/SNAP benefits. Mill Village continues to evolve. Last fall, the group launched Fresh out of the Box, a virtual cooking show that brings real-world techniques into homes via a monthly cooking demo. The show has gained loyal following, leveraging local chefs who share tips, tricks and recipe for making healthy food out of fresh produce inside the FoodShare boxes. The show has allowed Mill Village to add one more component to its efforts not just providing fresh, healthy food, but showing people how to prepare it in a tasty way at home. We thought since were getting this to the community, why not show them healthy ways to cook it and using items form the box and also highlighting local restaurants? said Rhonda Rawlings, neighborhood engagement director for Mill Village Ministries. The Culinary Concert Spring Soiree will offer a bit more of a complex cooking technique, but with just as much of a hands-on approach. The $175 ticket covers a three-course meal for two with all the ingredients prepped and ready to cook, a perfectly paired bottle of wine, mixers for cocktails, and a flat of flowers, herbs and veggie plants. Guests will enjoy a live cooking demonstration from Erickson, mixology from Vicarios Fernando Forero along with a live concert by Hinkle and planting tips from Mill Villages Frances Schueren. They will also get to learn and see how Mill Village impacts the community. We did this during Earth Week because thats celebrating sustainability in our community, Weidenbenner said. Its not only about environmental sustainability but about economic sustainability too, that we are doing through Mill Village. The Mill Village Farms virtual Culinary Concert will take place 6:30 p.m., April 21. For more information or for tickets, visit https://www.millvillagefarms.org/ LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) A wind-fueled blaze that damaged several homes Friday night in Lawrence, Massachusetts, displaced more than 70 people but resulted in no injuries, with one local leader calling it an Easter miracle. In all, 73 people belonging to 17 different families are residing in temporary housing following the blaze, Lawrence officials said Saturday. MANISTEE The public will have a chance to comment on Manistee's 2022-23 budget and capital improvement plan. A public hearing is slated for 7 p.m. on April 19 during Manistee City Council's regular meeting at city hall. The budget must be adopted no later than May 15 each year. An optional budget session is slated for April 26; it is expected that the budget will be adopted during the council's May 3 meeting. The budget was introduced during the April 5 city council meeting, and a work session was conducted on April 12. On April 5, City of Manistee Chief Financial Officer Ed Bradford gave an overview of the 2023 budget. Bradford's presentation noted the following key points: The general fund (exclusive of American Rescue Plan Act) is balanced but contributes $100,000 of reserves to the city Motor Pool. There is a taxable value increase of 5.4% for properties in Manistee. A Headlee Rollback decreases the millage rate from 17.5533 to 17.2443. A 3.5% water and sewer rate increase is proposed. A 4.3% refuse rate increase is proposed. There is a proposed 0.5 mill increase in the refuse millage for PFAS remediation. The citywide budget funds $9,676,800 in capital improvement projects. However, during the April 12 work session, council members were concerned about a proposed 0.5 mill increase in refuse millage for PFAS remediation as well as proposed water and sewer rate increases. "On the refuse side, we have a fixed contract with Republic Services that escalates every year. As to our other costs and that fund we have to be able to cover those," Bradford said on April 12. Mayor Lynda Beaton said that while she understood the reasoning, the budget lacked any relief for Manistee residents. She proposed freezing water and sewer rates this year and using a portion of the $900,000 the city received from a combination of American Rescue Plan Act funds and money from the state excise tax as part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act that exceeded what was expected. The proposed budget is available for review on the city's website manisteemi.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=822 or at city hall. "The property tax millage rate proposed to be levied to support the proposed budget will be a subject of (Tuesday's public hearing)," according to agenda documents. "A rate adjustment to water and sewer and refuse services will also be reviewed." On Tuesday, council also will consider a demolition bid for a house at 150 Monroe St. Courts have ordered the demolition, according to the city council agenda, after the house sustained damage in a fire in May 2021. Bolle Contracting LLC, of Clare, submitted a bid for $12,960 for demolition. The city has received $13,000 for the work from the insurance company, according to the agenda documents. The following items are also on the agenda: WASHINGTON (AP) The first cohort of students in Georgetown Universitys degree program for prisons in Maryland has begun classes, officials announced. In-person classes at the Patuxent Institution, in Jessup, Maryland, started Feb. 14 for the 25 students accepted into the program. Officials announced the liberal arts degree program last spring as an expansion of the Prison Scholars Program that Georgetown offers at the D.C. jail. Students completing the program will earn bachelors degrees from the university. This degree program is a model for how universities can bring transformative education opportunities into prison and support second chances, Marc Howard, the director of the Georgetown Prisons and Justice Initiative, said in a news release. A second cohort of 25 students will be admitted later this year, and officials said they expect 125 students to enroll within the next five years in the 120-credit interdisciplinary program. The universitys admissions process for the program began last fall with the help of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, officials said. After more than 300 people applied from throughout the Maryland prison system, those selected from other facilities were transferred to Patuxent Institution, according to officials. The degree program offers cultural humanities, interdisciplinary social science and global intellectual history as its three majors, officials said. Students this semester are taking introductory classes in writing and philosophy. The program will take about five years for most students to complete, officials said, with two four-credit classes offered each semester. Officials said the degree program is supported by donors including Georgetown alumnus Damien Dwin, the Department of Educations Second Chance Pell experiment and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which made a $1 million grant. This new Bachelor of Liberal Arts program is an expression of our Universitys deeply held Values our commitment to education, service, and the common good and we are honored to welcome these 25 new students as members of our Georgetown community, Georgetown University President John DeGioia said in the news release. Rasheed Edwards, a student in the new cohort, said the program will open doors. I think that this Georgetown program is going to take me further in life, take me to places I didnt even think were possible for me, Edwards said in the release. Its giving me a chance to change my trajectory in life. DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) Armed with grant money, Humility Homes and Services plans to buy 60 housing units in its bid to end homelessness in the Quad-Cities, nearly doubling the social service organizations housing portfolio. In all, Humility Homes received more than $4.2 million from various agencies to help address an affordable housing shortage documented by several Quad-Cities organizations. This is an important step in addressing the gap we have, said Leslie Kilgannon, director of the Quad Cities Housing Council. We have about 6,600 units we need in that extremely low-income category. The bulk 35 of Humility Homes new housing units will be supportive housing, which combines services such as help with physical disabilities or health needs as well as mental illness or substance abuse treatment. The goal of supportive housing is to keep people who face challenges qualifying or keeping other housing in a stable place while they transition from an emergency shelter to more permanent housing. Those units will help individuals and families for up to four years. Executive Director Ashley Velez told the Quad-City Times that the four years wasnt a magic timeline but once tenants were able to move into more permanent housing, Humility Homes can help another group of people. For the past 15 years, Humility Homes operated 20 units of supportive housing, Velez said. But the need has grown beyond that supply. Theres this bracket of individuals who have remained stagnant on what we call our coordinated entry or theyre coming back into homelessness because youre not putting them in the right housing situation, Velez said. For this funding, were going to be able to target individuals who we know only need a couple of years. To provide the 35 supportive housing units, Scott County awarded Humility Homes $3.1 million from its allotment of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The other 25 units will provide more permanent affordable housing options for low-income families, including households that rely on federal housing vouchers to pay rent. For that, the Ryan Foundation, a philanthropic organization in Omaha, awarded Humility Homes $500,000 to buy 12 units. A $250,000 grant from the Regional Development Authority will purchase seven units, and Scott County Regional Authority granted $250,000 for six units. Two grants from Amerigroup Anthem Foundation ($50,000) and Community Resources Corporation ($25,000) will go toward rehabbing homes. On West 15th Street, a house converted into a three-family building, is likely to greet new occupants later this year. Humility Homes purchased the converted house in March. Inside, light wood-like laminate flooring and like-new cabinets fill the kitchens. Humble Dwellings, a small nonprofit that furnishes and decorates homes for people starting over in the Quad-Cities, arranged and decorated beds, couches and tables in the bedrooms for an open house Humility Homes plans to hold with the public and stakeholders later this month. We want to showcase what we mean by affordable housing. Some people think of run-down housing projects. We want to show you, you would feel proud to call this place home, Velez said. The three units two one-bedrooms and one two-bedroom will become three of the organizations 35 supportive housing units, where households would pay no more than 30% of their income for rent. Velez said Humility Homes coordinated with partners such as Davenport-based Vera French Mental Health Center and UnityPoints Robert Young Center in Moline for mental health and substance-abuse support and treatment as well as Imagine the Possibilities, an eastern Iowa organization that offers services for people with disabilities. Velez added that stable housing made people feel safe and secure, changing mindsets from purely survival mode to focus on stabilizing and improving their lives and getting involved in the community. She said Humility Homes was in the process of hiring four extra people to manage the added workload: an extra maintenance worker, two service coordinators and a supervisor to oversee the housing department. Velez said grant funding would cover the positions for the next four years and Humility Homes would need to find new sources of funding for the added positions at that time. So far, Velez said, Humility Homes has purchased 24 new units for supportive and mission-focused housing, about 40% of the planned acquisition, which she said she hopes will be phased over the course of the next year. A tight housing market, though, could change those plans. Many of the units in the purchase plan, Velez said, are from local landlords looking to retire or reduce their portfolio. She said Humility Homes looked for buildings and units that would not require costly upgrades. Some have needed painting, one needed reinforced stairs and another needed a new furnace, which Humility knew ahead of time. Weve looked at probably over 200 units so far, Velez said. So, were not just taking anything. Were being very cautious and strategic on what we are buying and how that fits into our mission, how that fits into the housing stock. Recalling the collapse of John Lewis Community Services in 2008, Velez said Humility Homes is in a much more stable financial position to expand than the failed homeless services organization. John Lewis over-leveraged debt on building new properties and imploded. Humility of Mary volunteered to take on running the organizations emergency shelter, which it continues today. The difference, Velez said, lies in oversight by Humilitys board, different administrative leadership and the fact that Humility is paying in full for the properties with the grant money received. Were not taking out mortgages. Were not taking out loans, Velez said. All of these are cash purchases. And were purchasing good-quality units that are already up to date or need very minor fixes. And so, we looked at quality and ones that still have 10 to 15 years of longevity or more. We look at engine furnace, hot water heater, electrical and all those really expensive items, just like if youre going to purchase your own home. Humility Homes & Services board member Rich Clewell said he was confident Humility Homes strategies and leadership wouldnt lead to the fate John Lewis suffered. Ultimately, he said, the goal of the organization, which was started by the Sisters of Humility of Mary 35 years ago, is to end homelessness in the Quad-Cities, and restore dignity and hope to those whove experienced it. We all feel this tremendous responsibility, Clewell said of the board members. We would not want to let the sisters down in terms of what theyve told us we need to do to help the homeless population of the Quad-Cities. Thats why we have to succeed. Kilgannon called Humility a well-run organization and said shes glad to see governments support adding affordable housing. Recently, the Davenport City Council approved the sale of 42 scattered city-owned housing sites to three affordable housing and social service organizations. Between Humility and these 42 housing units, we are holding steady and increasing the number of affordable units, Kilgannon said. Theres a lot of good stuff happening in affordable housing. We just need to do more of it. Its a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaisms Passover, Christianitys Easter and Islams holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Bahais, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April. The springtime collision of religious holidays is inspiring a range of interfaith events. In Chicago, theres the Interfaith Trolley Tour coming up on April 24, in which a trolley will make stops at different faiths houses of worship. In cities across the country, Muslims are inviting people to interfaith iftars so they can break their daily Ramadan fasts in community with their non-Muslim neighbors. In addition to Passover, Easter and Ramadan, holy days occurring in April this year include the Sikhs' and Hindus' Vaisakhi, the Jains' Mahavir Jayanti, the Bahai festival of Ridvan, and the Theravada Buddhist New Year. Across faiths, the celebration of the overlapping holy days and religious festivals is seen as a chance to share meals and rituals. For some, it's also a chance to learn how to cooperate among faith traditions on crucial issues, including how to help curb climate change, fight religious intolerance, and assist people fleeing Afghanistan, Ukraine and other nations during the global refugee crisis. The rare convergence of such a wide array of holy days is an opportunity for all of us to share what we hold sacred with our neighbors from other traditions as a way of building understanding and bridging divides, said Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith America, previously known as Interfaith Youth Core. This is Interfaith America in microcosm. On Chicagos south side, the upcoming trolley tour is intended to teach participants about this year's April holidays, which are converging for the first time in the same month since 1991, said Kim Schultz, coordinator of creative initiatives at the Chicago Theological Seminarys InterReligious Institute. The trolley will stop at several sacred spaces, including a Baptist church, a mosque and a synagogue, and will end with an iftar at sunset catered by recently resettled Afghan refugees. Were asking people to take advantage of this confluence, the convergence more than half of the world is celebrating or commemorating the critical moment in our faith traditions, said Hind Makki director of recruitment and communications at American Islamic College. The event is sponsored by the American Islamic College, the Chicago Theological Seminary, the Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology, the Hyde Park & Kenwood Interfaith Council and the Parliament of the Worlds Religions. After more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions that upended many holidays, followers are eager to meet in person again. Organizers of the Chicago event said they had arranged for a trolley that would carry 25 people, but there was so much interest across faiths that they had to arrange for a bigger trolley for 40 people instead. And then, when more kept joining, a second trolley. This is a great time, Makki said. "So, why not take the opportunity to learn about each others traditions, to learn about each other through those traditions. As part of the months celebrations, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA opened its mosques to host dozens of interfaith iftars in cities across the nation centered on the theme of justice through compassion. During our gatherings across 35 cities we emphasized that the world that we see now stands on the brink of a world war, said Amjad Mahmood Khan, national director of public affairs for Ahmadiyya. And only the collective prayers and actions of the faithful can really save humanity from self-destruction. Faith leaders from Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu faiths gathered recently for a virtual panel celebrating the convergence of their sacred observances. Among the issues discussed were shared concerns over the rise of white Christian Nationalism and legislation in Arizona and Florida that they criticized for marginalizing LGBTQ young people. We see that convergence as highly symbolic, maybe even divinely ordained as our people need to reaffirm our shared values of love, freedom and justice in order to disrupt white Christian Nationalists attempts to decide what ideas, identities and practices are valued and respected, said the Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder and chief executive of the Washington-based multifaith group Faith in Public Life. This sacred season presents the opportunity for solidarity, for prophetic witness as we lament the rise of intolerance and discriminatory laws that threaten our nations quest to be a multiracial and multireligious democracy," she said. It will also be an important moment for members of different faiths to find common ground in the runup to the U.S. midterm elections, said Nina Fernando, executive director of the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign, a multifaith national coalition committed to countering and preventing anti-Muslim discrimination. With the time that were living where essentially were polarized and divided among racial and religious and political lines, we can take this opportunity to talk about how to live well together amidst our diversity and talk about these holidays overlapping, Fernando said. The convergence of the holidays also offers a chance to dispel misconceptions about faith traditions and appreciate shared values, said the Rev. Stephen Avino, executive director of the Parliament for World Religions. The holidays are the enactment of the core values, and we can actually see before our eyes the beauty of that tradition through the holidays and through ritual, Avino said. You can compare that to your own traditions, and you can see the similarities and differences and within that is the beauty of that. And you start to see that faith as being worthy of reverence, while still maintaining your own faith. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) An arrest has been made in connection with the death of a teenager whose body was found at a Georgia park. Austin Ford, 20, of Lithonia, faces charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. He was charged Friday in connection with the death of 18-year-old Tori Lang, police said. LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) A man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing a 15-year-old boy who had arranged to buy a cellphone from the suspect, authorities said. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds Friday night in Long Beach, police said in a statement. The victim, identified as Joshua Simmons of Long Beach, died at the scene. ST. LOUIS (AP) Authorities say a man was shot and killed on a MetroLink train in St. Louis early Sunday morning, the latest in a series of violent incidents on the light rail system. St. Louis police said the victim was shot in the head near the Forest Park-DeBaliviere station. He was pronounced dead at the scene. MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicos Congress debated on Sunday ahead of a vote on a constitutional reform promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that would undo much of the market opening in electrical power carried out by his predecessor in 2013. The reform seeks to limit foreign-built renewable energy plants, and guarantee at least 54% of electricity would be bought from government-owned generating plants, which are dirtier. BANGKOK (AP) Myanmars military government on Sunday began releasing more than 1,600 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, but they didn't include any political detainees despite the countrys ruling general vowing to bring peace this year. Myanmar has been under military rule since February last year, when the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover was met with massive resistance, which has since turned into what some U.N. experts have characterized as civil war. This year's holiday celebrations, carried out over several days, were muted as opponents of military rule called for a boycott of government-supported activities. State-run MRTV television reported that the head of Myanmars military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, had pardoned 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreigners who will be deported. Mass prisoner releases are common on major holidays. The spokesman of Myanmars Prison Department, Khin Shwe, told The Associated Press that those released were mostly drug offenders and common criminals, and that he was unaware if any political prisoners were among them. An official from Yangons Insein Prison said 160 people have been released from the penitentiary but they didnt include those convicted of political offenses. Tun Kyi, a senior member of the Former Political Prisoners Society, said that political detainees are held as hostages by Min Aung Hlaing. He said it was not surprising if political prisoners were not released, because the general sees people who oppose his government as criminals and intends to crush them. He knows the political prisoners will oppose him again if they were released, he said, adding that they were also kept to be used as bargaining chips who can be freed as a gesture of goodwill to appease other countries and groups critical of the military government. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said Friday that 10,238 people, including Suu Kyi, are in detention. The group keeps detailed tallies of arrests and killings linked to the government's repression. Min Aung Hlaing said in his new years speech that he is doing the best to bring peace in 2022. He said that he will try to achieve his two national goals -- prosperity and an abundance of food and provisions. Myanmar is one of Asia's poorer nations, and living standards have slipped due to the coronavirus pandemic and the political turmoil. The strength of the country comes from inside the country. I will try my best, with the strength of the people, he said. Myanmar's military has been carrying out full-scale offensives against militias and ethnic rebel groups in the countryside as well as urban guerrillas active in the cities. The opponents have established their own parallel shadow government. Its acting president said in his new year speech that the militias and allied armed forces of ethnic minorities control the countrys rural areas. Im happy to report to you on this auspicious Myanmar New Year that our resistance forces and ethnic armed forces are now controlling much of the country, particularly rural areas, as well as positions around several major cities, Duwa Lashi La, acting president of the self-styled National Unity Government, said Saturday. A video of his speech was posted on Facebook. It is impossible to confirm either side's claims of control over territory. Even though the resistance forces do not hold any areas, the repeated major offensives by the army indicate security problems in many areas. PHOENIX (AP) Police in Phoenix continue to investigate a homicide involving the shooting of a 23-year-old man. They said officers responded to calls about a shooting around 5 p.m. Friday. Andrew Austin was found at the scene with gunshot wounds, according to police. They said Austin was rushed to a hospital where he died from his injuries. Police said detectives still are trying to determine what led to the fatal shooting. There has been no word yet about any possible suspect in the case. JERUSALEM (AP) Oded Goldreich was awarded the Israel Prize, the country's highest honor, a year ago. But the computer science professor only collected the prize this past week after overcoming a repeated public assault by Israeli nationalists over his opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank. The year-long saga has shined a light on attempts by nationalist forces in Israel to impose their narrative on mainstream Israeli life and to stifle opposing views. That narrative, which sees the West Bank and its Jewish settlements as part of Israel and largely ignores the occupation, has become increasingly entrenched in Israel, endangering prospects for Palestinian independence. Anti-occupation actors meanwhile are often painted as enemies of the state and have been targeted with legislation that hobbles their activities. Its Made-in-Israel McCarthyism, said Avner Gvaryahu, a co-director of Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group for Israeli soldiers. There is a large number of organizations, journalists and politicians whose main project in recent years is stifling dissent. Goldreich, who teaches at Israel's distinguished Weizmann Institute of Science, was nominated for last years Israel Prize in mathematics and computer science by a panel of judges. But shortly after the nomination was announced, nationalist groups called for his disqualification, claiming he supported boycotts against Israel. Goldreich, 65, and hundreds of other academics signed a petition last year calling on the European Union to halt funding for Ariel University, located in the West Bank, saying it legitimized Israeli settlements. In a research partnership with the EU launched last year, Israel itself agreed not to include the university, along with other West Bank institutions. The outcry prompted the countrys then-education minister to refuse to approve the nomination, saying Goldreich may have violated a 2011 anti-boycott law, and sparked a yearlong legal battle that ended last month when the Supreme Court decided the current education minister, who had also denied Goldreich the prize, must grant it. A person who calls for a boycott on an Israeli academic institution is not worthy of an official prize from the state of Israel, be his achievements what they may, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, from the nationalist New Hope party, tweeted after the ruling. The prize is granted each year to leaders in the arts, sciences and other fields and is awarded at a lavish celebration on Israel's Independence Day. After missing last year's ceremony, Goldreich said he chose to receive his award at a low-key event at the country's Education Ministry instead, saying he dislikes formal state occasions. Shasha-Biton declined to attend the event, though she ended up contracting the coronavirus and would have missed it in any case. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and established Jewish settlements there. While it withdrew settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the other territories, complicating the establishment of a Palestinian state. More than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israels military occupation of the West Bank, which restricts their movement with a series of checkpoints and crossings and controls various aspects of Palestinian life. The Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank. Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas, which calls for Israels destruction, is under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Gvaryahu, from Breaking the Silence, said nationalist figures and politicians were working to normalize Israels West Bank occupation, deepening it and making it harder for people like Goldreich to challenge it. The right, which is turning into more fundamentalist and anti-liberal than in the past, has an interest to delegitimize the left and to turn it into a scapegoat and the current saga is just part of a process that has intensified over the last decade, Goldreich wrote to The Associated Press in an email. What's amazing is the denial of the facts that residents of the occupied territory are being oppressed, he said. Goldreich's position on the occupation is shared by most of the international community, including the United States, which overwhelmingly opposes the settlements. But recent Israeli governments, prodded by settlers and nationalist supporters, have sought to squeeze opposition to the narrative that sees the West Bank as part of Israel and ignores the occupation. They have created legislation that prevents anti-occupation groups such as Breaking the Silence from lecturing in schools and forces those who receive funding from foreign governments to report that income. Many right-wing groups receive funding from private donors overseas, and therefore are spared the reporting. The current Israeli government, composed of eight ideologically diverse parties, has agreed to set aside the issue of Palestinian statehood, although it is confronting the side effects of the occupation with a current spate of deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence. Still, the government is largely dominated by right-wing parties that support the settlements, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Yamina. Influential nationalist advocacy groups like Im Tirtzu have targeted liberal artists, professors and other figures, arguing that they shouldnt receive state funding or recognition. We will continue to expose the professors who on the one hand receive state funding and on the other call for a boycott of Israeli institutions, said Alon Schvartzer, director of policy for Im Tirtzu. His group has a website with a searchable database of liberal professors and says it exposed Goldreichs political leanings to the former education minister. He said he wasnt opposed to Goldreich and others expressing their opinions. But he said Israel couldnt let its own citizens get away with boycotting Israeli institutions at a time when it faces an international, Palestinian-led movement calling for artists, international corporations and other bodies to boycott Israel. Goldreich says he does not support the boycott movement against Israel. In what felt like a parting shot, Goldreich announced that he was donating his prize money, about $23,000, to a number of advocacy groups, including some that oppose the occupation, such as Breaking the Silence. Shasha-Biton said the move was more proof that he was unworthy of the prize. I regret nothing, Goldreich wrote in an essay last week in the daily Haaretz. I will continue to do all I can for the struggle to end the occupation." RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) A wind-driven wildfire in southern New Mexico that destroyed more than 200 homes now is 56% contained and all remaining evacuation orders have been lifted, authorities said Sunday. Its great to get folks back in their homes, especially it being Easter weekend, Southwest Incident Commander Dave Bales said at a community meeting for Village of Ruidoso residents Saturday night. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HELSINKI (AP) Swedish police said they fired warning shots during a riot in an eastern city to disperse protesters angry about demonstrations over the past several days by a Danish anti-Islam group in Sweden. Three people were slightly injured during the clashes. A crowd of about 150 people threw stones at officers and police vehicles, and set fire to cars. Police said they responded by firing warning shots and three people seem to have been hit by ricochets" and were hospitalized in Norrkoping, which has around 130,000 residents and is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Stockholm. All three injured are arrested on suspicion of crime, police said, adding that none of them had serious injuries. A photographer for Swedish news agency TT at the scene reported that several riot police officers were seen carrying a wounded man to an ambulance. The riot broke out following Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludans meetings and planned Quran burnings in various Swedish cities and towns since Thursday. Paludan and his Stram Kurs party had planned a demonstration in Norrkoping on Sunday but he never showed up in the city, Swedish media reported. Unrest was also reported in the nearby city of Linkoping. Paludan said on the partys Facebook page that he decided to cancel Sunday's demonstrations in the two locations as the Swedish authorities in the region have shown that they are completely incapable of protecting themselves and me. If I was seriously injured or killed due to the inadequacy of the police authority, then it would be very sad for Swedes, Danes and other northerners. Apart from Norrkoping and Linkoping, unrest and violent clashes have been reported in Stockholm, Orebro, Landskrona and Malmo, Sweden third-largest city, in the past three days. On Friday evening, violent clashes between demonstrators and counterprotesters erupted in the central city of Orebro before Paludans plan to burn a Quran there, leaving 12 police officers injured and four police vehicles set ablaze. In Landskrona, southern Sweden, a few hundred mostly young people threw stones and set cars, tires and dustbins on fire. They also erected a barrier fence that obstructed traffic on Saturday evening. Similar unrest took place in nearby Malmo, where a city bus was set on fire, among other things, late Saturday. Paludan, a Danish lawyer who also holds Swedish citizenship, set up Stram Kurs, or Hard Line in 2017. The website of the party, which runs on an anti-immigration and anti-Islam agenda, says Stram Kurs is the most patriotic political party in Denmark. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. The fall of Mariupol, the site of a merciless 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin, would be Moscow's biggest victory of the war and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. Capturing the southern city would also allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets. As its missiles and rockets slammed into other parts of the country, Russia estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian troops and about 400 foreign mercenaries were dug in at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill, which covers more than 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is laced with tunnels. Many Mariupol civilians, including children, are also sheltering at the Azovstal plant, Mikhail Vershinin, head of the citys patrol police, told Mariupol television on Sunday. He said they are hiding from Russian shelling, and from any occupying Russian soldiers. Moscow had given the defenders a midday deadline to surrender and "keep their lives, but the Ukrainians rejected it, as they've done with previous ultimatums. We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABC's This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but we do not have intention to surrender. As for besieged Mariupol, there appeared to be little hope Sunday of military rescue by Ukrainian forces anytime soon. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian troops and civilians in Mariupol are basically encircled. He said they continue their struggle, but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Easter greetings via Twitter, saying: "The Lords Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil. If Mariupol falls, Russian forces there are expected to join an all-out offensive in the coming days for control of the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin is bent on capturing after failing in its bid to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have killed at least 21,000 people, by the Ukrainians' estimate. A maternity hospital was hit by a lethal Russian airstrike in the opening weeks of the war, and about 300 people were reported killed in the bombing of a theater where civilians were taking shelter. An estimated 100,000 remained in the city out of a prewar population of 450,000, trapped without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. Drone footage carried by the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti showed towering plumes of smoke over the steel complex, which sits on the outskirts of the bombed-out city, on the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for battle in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Russian forces, meanwhile, carried out aerial attacks near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity ahead of the anticipated assault. After the humiliating sinking of the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet last week in what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack, the Kremlin had vowed to step up strikes on the capital. Russia said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Explosions were also reported overnight in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. At least five people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris, including part of at least one rocket. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, in an impassioned address marking Orthodox Palm Sunday, lashed out at Russian forces for not letting up the bombing campaign on such a sacred day. And Zelenskyy, in his nightly address to the nation, called the bombing in Kharkiv nothing but deliberate terror. A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least two people were killed when Russian forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote, near the front line in the Donbas. Zelenskyy said Russian troops in parts of southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world to respond with more weapons and tougher sanctions. Torture chambers are built there, he said in his address. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the Russians continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to reinforce their ground troops. The looming offensive in the east, if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory that he could sell to the Russian people amid the war's mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the West's sanctions. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow this week the first European leader to do so since the invasion Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. ___ Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine FLORISSANT, Colo. (AP) A man was found dead after shooting at the homes of his neighbors in a Colorado mountain community early Sunday, leading residents to be evacuated, authorities said. The man was later found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home in Florissant, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Colorado Springs, the Teller County Sheriff's Office said. No one else was injured. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PITTSBURGH - A shooting early Sunday at a house party in Pittsburgh left two people dead and at least eight injured, city officials said, the latest in a string of high-profile incidents of gun violence that have unfolded across the country in recent days. Police said they responded just after 12:30 a.m. to a property in Pittsburgh's East Allegheny neighborhood, where about 200 people had been attending a party at a house that had been rented via Airbnb. More than 90 rounds were fired, prompting some partygoers to jump out of windows, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. "It was a very chaotic scene. You had people who were fleeing - you know, just trying to get out of there," Schubert said. Many of the partygoers were underage and one victim was 14, Schubert said. Police believe there was more than one shooter and do not yet have anyone in custody, he added. He asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact law enforcement. A video from the party, verified by The Washington Post, showed partygoers packed inside the home when a man began shouting, "He got a gun! . . . We gotta go! We gotta go!" With little to no light, people tried to wedge their way through the standing-room-only crowd. Midway through the video, the sound of gunfire can be heard, and the shouts turned into screams as panicked partygoers searched for an exit. On Sunday, Schubert said there was an "altercation" at the party and that shortly afterward gunshots were fired both inside and outside the house, "potentially back and forth." Two boys under age 18 were killed in the shooting, police said. Officers and emergency workers took some victims to hospitals, while others arrived on their own. Police said at least five people suffered injuries that included broken bones and cuts. A spokesman for the Allegheny Health Network confirmed Sunday that seven victims had been taken to Allegheny General Hospital with gunshot wounds and other injuries. He did not provide names or details about their conditions. Two other victims were taken to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center facility, a UPMC representative said. Police initially said in a statement that there were 11 gunshot victims, including the two who died, but Schubert said later Sunday that there were 10. Several young people fled the area on foot and in vehicles. "This is our priority, and we're not going to sleep until we get who did this," Schubert said. "This shouldn't have happened and we're sick about it, and we're going to do everything we can to get those responsible for it." Two cans of Mike's Hard Lemonade and one Air Jordan sneaker lying in the street near the house, on Suismon Street and Madison Avenue, were the only signs of the party in what is typically a quiet working-class neighborhood of mostly brick rowhouses. The rest of the scene appeared grim: Broken glass littered the sidewalks near the home, and three of its windows - two to the side and one in the back - were completely shot out. The front door to the house was open, with two imprints on it that suggested it had been kicked in. Bullet holes could still be seen in vehicles nearby. Early Sunday afternoon, a girl who did not want to be identified returned to the neighborhood to retrieve her car, a white Toyota hit with bullets on its side and windshield. She said the party had been advertised around the neighborhood via paper posters. She said she did not know who started shooting or why. "There were like a million people" at the party, said a female neighbor who spoke on the condition of anonymity because police had told her not to discuss her surveillance footage with anyone else. The neighbor said underage people poured into the party all night and that several neighbors called police about loud music around 9 p.m. Saturday. Asked why the party hadn't been broken up earlier, Schubert said he was not aware of noise complaints to police before the shooting and said he would look into those calls. Once the shooting started, the neighbor said, she saw people run out of the house and later saw bloodstains on cars parked nearby. One bullet went through her front window and into her living room; the house next door also had a bullet hole in the window, she said. "Right now I am trying to stay calm," she said. Officials are processing evidence at eight crime scenes, and detectives are interviewing witnesses and reviewing video footage, police said. Another neighbor, Mitchell Wilston, 30, said before the shooting broke out, a line of people had been waiting to go inside the house. "People were all lined up like it was a club," he said. Wilston said his neighbors had called police around 9 p.m. "Everyone looked like they were 15," he said. After the shooting, he said, blood was smeared on his car. Surveillance footage from Wilston's security camera showed that police were at the party house as early as 11 p.m. Saturday. Wilston said he believed the house had been used for bachelor and bachelorette parties before Saturday, but that the biggest problem neighbors had with the Airbnb before the weekend was simply pizza boxes left on the curb. Airbnb, in a statement, said it has a strict ban on parties at its listings and confirmed that the gathering in Pittsburgh was an "unauthorized party, thrown without the knowledge or consent of the host." The company pointed out that the host had stipulated on the listing page that there were no parties allowed, that there was a noise curfew between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and that any evidence of parties would result in a $500 fee. "We share the Pittsburgh community's outrage regarding this tragic gun violence," Airbnb spokesman Ben Breit said. "Our hearts go out to all who were impacted - including loved ones of those who lost their lives, injured victims and neighbors." Breit said the guest who had made the booking has been issued a lifetime ban from Airbnb and that the company is "considering all legal options to hold this person accountable." Calls to people who were listed as the homeowners according to property records were not immediately returned Sunday. During a news conference Sunday, several Pittsburgh city and law enforcement officials, including the police chief, condemned the spread of illegal guns in Pittsburgh, echoing officials from other cities in which other mass shootings have taken place in recent days. On Wednesday, a gunman filled a New York City subway car with smoke, then opened fire on the train, injuring 10 people and traumatizing scores of other commuters. Authorities have since arrested Frank R. James, a 62-year-old man who had a history of posting angry, bigoted videos online. On Saturday, three people were detained after 10 people were shot at a mall in Columbia, S.C.; police said they did not believe that attack was random. On Sunday, police said at least nine people were shot at a restaurant in Furman, S.C. Earlier this month, a mass shooting in downtown Sacramento left six people dead and a dozen wounded, in an incident that police said had been preceded by a "large fight." The mass shootings came as President Joe Biden took steps last week to crack down on "ghost guns" and renewed his calls for Congress to pass a ban on assault rifles. Biden also announced the nomination of Steve Dettelbach to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since 2015. - - - Wang reported from Washington. Timsit reported from London. The Washington Post's JM Rieger, Elyse Samuels and Magda Jean-Louis in Washington contributed to this report. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) A man is dead following a late-night shooting Friday in Massachusetts. According to a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department, officers found the victim at a residence in downtown Springfield following a call about a shooting. The man was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he later died. Authorities have not yet identified the individual who was killed. The death is being investigated by the department's homicide unit, according to department spokesman Ryan Walsh. DETROIT (AP) A group of Tesla shareholders suing CEO Elon Musk over some 2018 tweets about taking the company private is asking a federal judge to order Musk to stop commenting on the case. Lawyers for stockholders of the Austin, Texas-based company also say in court documents that the judge in the case has ruled that Musk's tweets about having funding secured to take Tesla private were false, and that his comments also violate a 2018 court settlement with U.S. securities regulators in which Musk and Tesla each agreed to pay $20 million fines. Musk, during an interview Thursday at the TED 2022 conference, said he had the funding to take Tesla private in 2018. He called the Securities and Exchange Commission a profane name and said he only settled because bankers told him they would stop providing capital if he didn't, and Tesla would go bankrupt. The interview and court action came just days after Musk, the world's richest person, made a controversial offer to take over Twitter and turn it into a private company with a $43 billion offer that equals $54.20 per share. Twitter's board on Friday adopted a poison pill strategy that would make it prohibitively expensive for Musk to buy the shares. In court documents filed Friday, lawyers for the Tesla shareholders alleged that Musk is trying to influence potential jurors in the lawsuit. They contend that Musk's 2018 tweets about having the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share were written to maniuplate the stock price, costing shareholders money. Now, lawyers say Musk is campaigning to influence possible jurors as the case gets closer to trial. Musk's comments risk confusing potential jurors with the false narrative that he did not knowingly make misrepresentations with his Aug. 7, 2018 tweets, the lawyers wrote. His present statements on that issue, an unsubtle attempt to absolve himself in the court of public opinion, will only have a predjudicial influence on a jury." The lawyers asked Judge Edward M. Chen in San Francisco to restrain Musk from making further public comments on the issue until after the trial. Chen gave Musk's lawyers until Wednesday to respond. Alex Spiro, a lawyer representing Musk, wrote in an email Sunday that the plaintiffs' lawyers are seeking a big payout. Nothing will ever change the truth, which is that Elon Musk was considering taking Tesla private and could have, he wrote. All that's left some half-decade later is random plaintiffs lawyers trying to make a buck and others trying to block that truth from coming to light, all to the detriment of free speech. But the shareholders' lawyers wrote that Chen already ruled that Musk's tweets were false and misleading, and that no reasonable juror could conclude otherwise. Judge Chen's order, issued April 1, was not in the public court file as of Sunday. Adam Apton, a lawyer for the shareholders, said it was sealed because it has evidence that Musk and Tesla say is confidential. It will stay sealed until the parties agree if anything should remain sealed, he wrote in an email. Our motion for TRO (temporary restraining order) accurately desribes the issues decided by the court, Apton wrote. After Musk's 2018 tweets, the SEC filed a complaint against him alleging securities law violations. Musk then agreed to the fine and signed the court agreement. Part of the agreement says that Musk will not take any action or make or permit to be made any public statement denying, directly or indirectly, any allegation in the complaint or creating the impression that the complaint is without factual basis. If Musk violates the agreement, the SEC may ask the court to scrap it and restore the securities fraud complaint, the agreement says. A message was left Sunday seeking comment from the SEC. Spiro, on behalf of Musk, already has asked a Manhattan federal court to throw out the agreement. He contends the SEC is using the pact and near limitless resources to chill Musks speech. Court documents filed by Spiro say Musk signed the agreement when Tesla was a less mature company and SEC action jeopardized its financing. STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) Studies show that pets help their owners relax, reducing their stress level, blood pressure and loneliness while boosting their mood. If youre skeptical of those findings, just step inside Calle Friesens classroom or visit Melanie Hausers office. Inside, youll see students with huge smiles on their faces while cuddling, petting and scratching two pets who are building fan bases on the Buena Vista University campus. Friesen, an associate education professor, brings her trained therapy dog, Cooper, to class one day each week, and he also spends an hour in the schools counseling center. Across campus, youll find Reepicheep, an orange tabby cat who comes to campus for an hour every week and roams the suite outside the office of Hauser, an associate chemistry professor and university chaplain. For students, Cooper and Reepicheep enable them to momentarily forget upcoming deadlines, homesickness or other worries. Its really nice to have that interaction. Hes definitely helped me lose some stress and relax in class, Rachel Hardy, a senior from Adel, Iowa, told the Sioux City Journal. The dog-loving digital media major had just finished scratching the soft, curly face of Cooper, an 85-pound sheepadoodle, a cross between an English sheepdog and a poodle. Tail wagging furiously, the 15-month-old certified therapy dog greets each student enthusiastically as he or she walks in the door, then spends the rest of class seeking affection and quietly giving plenty in return. Students cant help but look into his big, caring eyes and scratch his head while they listen to Friesen. They often later tell Friesen that Cooper boosted their spirits. It happens almost every week, Friesen said. For Friesen, Cooper is a valuable tool, a classroom therapy dog who prepares her students, most of them future teachers, to encounter therapy dogs when they go to student teaching assignments or begin their careers. More Iowa schools are getting therapy dogs, Friesen said, because of their ability to de-escalate student anxiety and stress, helping them calm down. They also make excellent reading partners for children who are hesitant to read aloud in front of others, making no judgments of a students abilities while they listen. Hes just going to cuddle up with you, heart to heart, said Friesen, Coopers handler who began bringing him to campus last fall. Hauser had no such plans to bring a pet to campus five years ago, when a colleague found a stray kitten at the side of a Storm Lake street standing next to his mother, who had just been struck by a car. Hauser agreed to take the kitten in to be a buddy for her other orange kitten. Reepicheep, named after a character in C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia book series, soon wanted to be everyones buddy. I got him home, got him cleaned up, and he had personality right away, Hauser said. He is the most mellow cat Ive ever met. Nothing stresses him out. When Hauser became the campus chaplain in 2020, she thought a cat whos never stressed could help stressed-out college students. I always thought this cat would be a great therapy cat. Everyone he meets is his best friend, she said. I figured wed give it a trial run, and he developed a fan base. Reepicheep made his debut this semester, and every Thursday afternoon, a handful of students, plus a few faculty and staff members, eagerly await the arrival of the cat whos become so popular he has his own Instagram account. I was really interested because I really love cats and all animals, freshman criminology major Stephanie Redman, of Albert Lea, Minnesota, said when she saw the posters around campus in January notifying students of Reepicheeps office hour. I have a cat at home, and I was kind of homesick for him. Its nice and calming to pet the cat, its a stress reliever. Reepicheep strolls through the suite outside Hausers office in typical cat fashion as if he owns the place. He stops and gives everyone a chance to shower him with attention, happily accepting belly rubs. You can pick him up and he has no issues with it, said Andrew Fox, a sophomore digital media major from Omaha. It helps me mentally. Friesen and Hauser love observing the positive impact their pets have on students. Both professors said theyre considering expanding the hours their animals are on campus. Im excited that its worked as well as it has, Hauser said. MORRISTOWN, Vt. (AP) Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Vermont to honor the life of a transgender woman recently stabbed to death. The vigil in a park in Morristown was intended to highlight the womans life and the dangers and discrimination that transgender people face. LAS VEGAS (AP) A woman has been arrested and a warrant has been issued for a man in connection with a fatal shooting two months ago in Las Vegas, according to authorities. Las Vegas Metro police said 35-year-old Erica Stacy was arrested Friday and remains jailed on suspicion of murder with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder. BELMONT (BCN) Belmont police are asking the public for help investigating a shooting that took place Friday in the 2100 block of Valerga Drive. Police said the shooting, which happened around 2 p.m., was "an isolated event between at least two individuals or groups of people," according to a police statement. The statement described the shooting as "non-injury." The shooting triggered a lockdown at nearby Carlmont High School, and students were released early at 3:20 p.m. No students were injured. The case is still under investigation and police detectives are seeking any information including tips, video surveillance or photos that may lead to the identification of the person or persons responsible for this shooting. The police tip line is available at (650) 598-3000. Callers may remain anonymous. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. WFO SACRAMENTO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Saturday, April 16, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Sacramento CA 443 PM PDT Sat Apr 16 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of central Butte County through 530 PM PDT... At 443 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm just southeast of Chico, moving northeast at 10 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 30 mph and pea size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Small hail may accumulate, leading to slick road conditions. Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Chico, Paradise, De Sabla Powerhouse, Forest Ranch, Magalia, Concow and Durham. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 3960 12168 3972 12186 3994 12167 3976 12141 TIME...MOT...LOC 2343Z 222DEG 11KT 3969 12175 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather The Nation's Weather for Monday, April 18, 2022 _____ NATIONAL SUMMARY A storm will continue to trek across the Midwest bringing snow to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. At the same time, a storm is forecast to begin moving up the East Coast bringing rain to western portions of the Northeast, and even some snow to parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. This storm is also expected to bring strong thunderstorms to parts of the Southeast, these thunderstorms can contain heavy downpours and damaging winds. Meanwhile, a storm will continue to approach the West, bringing steady rain and some mountain snow to Washington, Oregon and even northern California. Much of the Southwest is expected to stay warm and dry again today as high pressure remains nearby. SPECIAL WEATHER No new information for this time period. WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS No new information for this time period. DAILY EXTREMES National High Sunday 97 at Zapata, TX National Low Sunday 0 at Walhalla, ND _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Storm Prediction Ctr, Norman, OK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 17, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE FOR WS 135 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 153 PM CDT SUN APR 17 2022 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 135 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS TX . TEXAS COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE CAMP CASS GREGG HARRISON MARION MORRIS PANOLA RUSK SHELBY SMITH UPSHUR WOOD ...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of northeastern Kerr and western Gillespie Counties through 245 PM CDT... At 152 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from 7 miles west of Doss to 12 miles southeast of Segovia. Movement was east at 25 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and penny size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Ingram, Hunt, Mountain Home, Tivydale, Waltonia, Harper, I-10 Near The Kimble-Kerr County Line and The Intersection Of I-10 And Us 290. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. These storms may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 800 PM CDT for south central Texas. LAT...LON 3018 9897 3003 9938 3029 9960 3029 9930 3046 9930 3050 9922 TIME...MOT...LOC 1852Z 284DEG 22KT 3044 9925 3033 9949 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 17, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX 133 PM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of Gillespie and southwestern Llano Counties through 230 PM CDT... At 132 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Hilda, or 14 miles south of Mason, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Fredericksburg, Cherry Spring, Prairie Mountain, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Eckert, Crabapple and Doss. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. LAT...LON 3054 9858 3017 9897 3050 9922 3050 9897 3064 9896 TIME...MOT...LOC 1832Z 307DEG 22KT 3056 9914 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 17, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Austin San Antonio has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Eastern Gillespie County in south central Texas... * Until 300 PM CDT. * At 204 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Crabapple, or 12 miles north of Fredericksburg, moving southeast at 30 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Fredericksburg, Stonewall, Blumenthal, Luckenbach, Eckert, Cain City, Crabapple, Willow City, Rocky Hill, LBJ State Park and LBJ National Historical Park. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. Large hail, damaging winds, and continuous cloud to ground lightning are occurring with this storm. Move indoors immediately. Lightning is one of nature's leading killers. Remember, if you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck by lightning. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Fidan A'atta Salem, general secretary of "We will stop the killing of women" platform, told AFP news agency "Stopping our struggle is not possible, we will not allow our association to be closed." 'Do not go after women, but killers!' While hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul, chanting, "Do not go after women, but killers!", representatives of opposition parties and family members of the victims participated in the demonstration in Istanbul, according to AFP. Turkish authorities filed a lawsuit against "We will stop the killing of women" platform, on Wednesday. And "We will stop the killing of women" is a Turkish non-governmental platform concerned with monitoring crimes of violence against women, issues official statistics on the number of murders and violence committed against women, and opposes all forms of violence against women. Sh-S ANHA WFO SHREVEPORT Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Sunday, April 17, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Shreveport LA 1245 PM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northeastern Marion, southern Cass, Morris, southeastern Titus and east central Camp Counties through 145 PM CDT... At 1245 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Rocky Branch, or 13 miles northeast of Pittsburg, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD...Nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Daingerfield, Linden, Hughes Springs, Lone Star, Naples, Omaha, Bivins, Cason, Lodi, Jenkins, Rocky Branch, Kildare, Fairview, Avinger, Marietta and Pruett. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building. This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 700 PM CDT for northeastern Texas. LAT...LON 3300 9489 3327 9476 3301 9409 3276 9420 TIME...MOT...LOC 1745Z 290DEG 27KT 3309 9476 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPH ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of southern Mason County through 130 PM CDT... At 1246 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Streeter, moving southeast at 25 mph. HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and nickel size hail. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Mason, Art, Loyal Valley, Grit, Streeter, Hedwigs Hill, Hilda, Koockville and Us-87 Near The Mason-Gillespie County Line. LAT...LON 3050 9928 3064 9948 3082 9937 3072 9897 3053 9896 3050 9898 TIME...MOT...LOC 1746Z 299DEG 21KT 3071 9936 MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH ...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of central Coryell At 1248 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Evant, or 17 miles south of Hamilton, moving east at 35 mph. HAZARD...Half inch hail. Gatesville, Evant, Fort Gates and South Mountain. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. LAT...LON 3134 9809 3147 9818 3156 9800 3157 9759 3154 9757 3120 9766 3119 9767 TIME...MOT...LOC 1748Z 277DEG 31KT 3145 9808 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Easter is a good time to look up from the daily business of life getting and spending and think harder about what were doing and why were doing it. How grateful are we to those who make sacrifices for us, and how much of our effort goes into sacrificing for others? For years, Ive been proud to support Tearfund, a Christian overseas aid organisation. This year its meditations for Lent have focused on its report, They Shall Inherit the Earth: Christian attitudes to climate change. Why should Christians be particularly concerned about climate change or what someone in the report prefers to call climate justice? COP26 Sydney Protest - Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. Sydneyas first legal climate protest since lockdown ended. Sydney, November 6, 2021. Photo: Rhett Wyman/SMH Credit:Rhett Wyman One reason is that those who are and will be worst affected by climate change tend to be the poor both those in relative poverty in our wealthy country and those in absolute poverty in less developed countries. And would the polls have shifted if not for the way the journalists reported the error? Its a loop, and it can make you dizzy. The opinion polls were uniformly inaccurate at the last federal election, and nobody is really sure that the problems have been fixed, yet their publication steers the dialogue. Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends the Sydney Royal Easter Show over the weekend. Credit:James Brickwood What does it mean to say, as several political journalists did this week, that Scott Morrison is a better campaigner than he is prime minister? If that is true, then surely it is the job of journalists to narrow the gap between those phenomena. If the campaign is not reflecting the quality of the prime minister, and the alternative prime minister, then thats a problem, and an implicit journalistic failure. After Albaneses unemployment figures gaffe, it seemed that media conferences were all likely to include a test of memory on economic statistics. Thankfully, Greens leader Adam Bandt put a stop to that with his Google it, mate response to being asked the wage price index. Loading That killed, for the moment, this variety of performative journalistic watchdoggery. At its worst, this kind of journalism is about little more than which politician performs best in jumping through the hoops erected by the media pack. This is not as useful as we need journalism to be. Few thoughtful journalists are entirely happy with the worn smooth ruts of political reporting, and there are signs of deliberate attempts to do some things differently. There has been some good backgrounding and analysis. And there is the attempt, including in this newspaper, to devote resources to close-grained coverage of key electorates, including interviews with voters. Such reporting is grounding, and a corrective to the textual analysis of leaders statements and media appearances. But the fear of being beaten to a story, of missing a development still mitigates against a more radical breaking of the mould of election reporting. It helps to keep a few facts in mind. If political journalism ever determined an election, it has probably lost that capability. The partisanship of News Corp acts as a magnet, pulling on the national conversation and making it harder for others to find their balance, but repeated studies confirm it is a long time since it has directly swung votes. The annual digital news report from the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra shows only 13 per cent of Australians are paying for a news service. Credit:iStock One of the best sources of data on how Australians consume news is the annual report from the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra. It shows only 13 per cent of Australians are paying for a news service considerably lower than the global average of 17 per cent. Political journalism that is published behind paywalls is no longer really mass media. It informs an elite. To the extent it trickles through to the majority, it is through influencing the free-to-air outlets where most Australians get their news. Twenty-three per cent of news media users say social media is their main source of news and mostly not the accounts of mainstream media and professional journalists. This is fast increasing, across all age groups. Loading So political journalists are part of an ecosystem. They feed and are fed on by other inhabitants. That is how their influence works. TikTok videos and the surrounding memes may be at least as influential as political journalism on the roughly 20 per cent of voters who have yet to decide how they will vote. But the memes pick up the vibe of political reporting. So in this ecosystem, what can journalists most usefully do? I saw one political journalist suggesting that the media concentration on gaffes was the fault of the political parties, because the election contest was devoid of content few new policies from government and Labor a small target. Loading Id like to see journalists take on their responsibility to make the contest interesting and relevant. What about the topics neither side seem to want to talk about, such as the state of universities and tax reform and budget repair? Perhaps there could be less about the leaders and more about the teams. Marise Payne and Penny Wong on foreign affairs; Jim Chalmers and Josh Frydenberg on the deficit; Michaelia Cash and Mark Dreyfus on the independent commission against corruption. More contest of capacities and ideas, less cogitating and microanalysis of images and words. The Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, announcing this yesterday, said that command of all combat sections of the Australian defence forces had now passed to General MacArthur, and commanders of the force would now accept his orders as if coming from the Australian Government. US Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur, arrives in Melbourne on 22 March 1942 Credit:Harry Martin General MacArthur officially became Commander in-Chief in the south-west Pacific area from midnight on Saturday, under a charter from the Government of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on April 20, 1942 Prime Minister John Curtin and US General Douglas MacArthur. Credit:Australian Archives collection The United States Secretary for War, Mr. Stimson, making a similar announcement in Washington, defined General MacArthurs task as the practical co-ordination and strategic direction of all the Allied forces in the south-west Pacific. Both Mr. Stimson and Mr. Curtin emphasised that General MacArthur had been directed to attack as soon as this was possible. The area under General MacArthurs command has not been defined, and it is still not clear whether New Zealand comes within it. Mr. Stimson described this as a military secret. THE STAND ON COAL Test of the Ministry PREMIERS AND TAXES (Excerpt) BY ROSS GOLLAN.Our Correspondent in Canberra General Douglas MacArthur officially assumed command of Allied Forces in the South-West Pacific Area as from midnight on Saturday, April 18. A joint announcement of this fact was mode yesterday by the Prime Minister of Australia (Mr. Curtin) and United States Army headquarters. General MacArthur, it was stated at his headquarters last evening, will adopt the title Commander in Chief of the General Head Quarters of the South-West Pacific Area. When a United States spokesman was asked if New Zealand was included in the area he stated, on the authority of President Roosevelt that for reasons of military secrecy New Zealand could not be discussed. Following is the text of the statement issued by United States Army headquarters: By agreement among the Governments of Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States, the south-west Pacific area has been constituted. General Mac-Arthur formally assumes command by virtue of that authority. The following commands, composed of forces assigned to the south-west Pacific area by the respective Governments have been created: Allied Land Forces, South-West Pacific Area.Commander, General Sir Thomas Blarney, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., Australian Army. NAPLAN results are not much use to selective schools, its literacy and numeracy tests being mostly too easy for the states smartest students. The exception is the writing test. Writing skills, described by an internal government report as the forgotten r in reading, riting and rithmatic, have dived across Australia in the past 10 years, even among the brightest, most advantaged students. Selective schools are working to improve students writing Credit:Janie Barrett In numeracy last year, more than 9 per cent of NSW students finished in the top NAPLAN band in year 9, which means they met the highest standard. In reading, it was around 6 per cent. In writing, it fell to just 4 per cent. Selective schools, like other schools, are trying to address this, knowing that strong writing is key to success in the HSC and beyond. The former President on Sunday was transferred from prison to Ate Vitarte Emergency Hospital for a bout of tachycardia and hypotension. Afterwards, doctors decided to transfer him to the Centenario Clinic for monitoring. "Right now he is in the Intermediate Care Unit. He is receiving medication to treat hypotension, and the time of discharge will be decided as he stabilizes," she told the press. "He experienced an episode of hypotension and tachycardia, his episode of atrial fibrillation was quite severe. I thank the Ate Vitarte Emergency Hospital staff, who managed to stabilize him at that time, for their prompt and timely care," she added. In Fujimori Higuchi's opinion, the former President's state of health must have been affected by the recent events surrounding the humanitarian pardon "The latest legal decisions have undoubtedly affected my father's health, and this shows how fragile [he is] due to the many illnesses he suffers. As always, we, his relatives, hope that he will get well and that he can as always overcome each of these complex situations that he has gone through," she stated. Keiko Fujimori pointed out that the team of lawyers led by Cesar Nakazaki is discussing the next steps in defense of the former President. As is known, former President Alberto Fujimori has been serving a prison term for crimes against human rights and corruption committed during his term in office. (END) GDS/VVS/RMB Fuerza Popular Party leader Keiko Fujimori on Sunday reported that her father, Peru's imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori , is currently in the Intermediate Care Unit.Publicado: 17/4/2022 When Buy from the Bush founder Grace Brennan invited small businesses from across regional NSW to host a stall at Sydneys Royal Easter Show, she wasnt sure what kind of a reception shed get. After a year of plagues, pandemics, and natural disasters, retail businesses in country areas have had a difficult run. For the 12 businesses that took up the offer, taking one to two weeks to stay in Sydney, mass produce stock, and interact with thousands of people was no small feat. Buy from the Bush founder Grace Brennan says Sydneys Royal Easter Show is where the city and regional Australia meet. Credit:Flavio Brancaleone Based in Warren in the states Orana region, Sydney-born Brennan has always loved the citys Royal Easter Show. Its the first window to the country world for many city kids; the show is where the bush meets the city. I wanted people to know theres more to the regions than agricultural offerings. We have wonderful retail businesses too, she said. One man was stabbed and another suffered facial injuries when they were allegedly attacked by two other men in Sydneys south on Sunday morning. Police said emergency services crews were called to Brodie Spark Drive at Wolli Creek, following reports a man had been injured about 5am. They found the man, 25, with numerous stab wounds to his body. He was taken to St George Hospital where he remains in a stable condition. A second man, aged 28, was treated for facial injuries sustained in an assault, police allege. Officers were told the pair were approached by two unknown men in a shopping centre car park on Arncliffe Street before an argument broke out. The men who approached then chased the other pair before allegedly assaulting them. A man has been charged after allegedly posing as a learner driver and forcing a driving instructor to drive to a shopping centre to kidnap a woman in Brisbane. Police believe the 24-year-old Sunnybank man booked a driving lesson from an Acacia Ridge address before producing a knife and forcing the driver to take him to Inala Plaza shopping centre on Saturday. Police arrested the 24-year-old, who will face court on Monday. Police claim the man intended to kidnap a woman known to him from the centre, on Kittyhawk Avenue. However, once they were at the car park, the driver escaped from the vehicle unharmed and raised the alarm. Police also found the woman safe and well. Teaching staff at Victoria University have gone weeks and in some cases months without getting paid this year after the Footscray-based institution switched to a new, glitch-riddled payments system. Staff at Victoria University have gone unpaid for weeks due to glitches with a new payments system. Credit:Nick Lenaghan The new IT system has caused havoc since it was introduced late last year, forcing lecturers and tutors to plead repeatedly with university staff to be paid. Email exchanges seen by The Age reveal casual and sessional teachers repeatedly chasing up university staff over several weeks of unpaid timesheets. This is now the end of week three and I still have not been paid, one email states. Minister for Women Marise Payne has refused to endorse the controversial Liberal candidate for Warringah as an internal battle in the party escalates to disendorse Katherine Deves over her remarks about transgender children and LGBTQ issues. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former PM Tony Abbott have backed Deves and said she is standing up for womens rights in her campaign to not allow transgender women to compete in female sports. Foreign Minister and Minister for Women Marise Payne and Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves. Credit:Mixed But NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, said on Friday night that there should be no place for bigotry in a mainstream political party, let alone anywhere and other moderate Liberals have warned the controversy could cost votes in other seats. Payne, who is also the foreign minister, was asked repeatedly on ABCs Insiders program on Sunday if she personally, as a senior member of the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, thought Deves should be dropped as a Liberal candidate but declined to offer a definitive opinion. Hampton, South Carolina: Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early on Sunday, South Carolina time, that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend. The South Carolina shootings and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded. The short-term rental property where police say a shooting took place at a house party in Pittsburgh. Credit:AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar South Carolinas State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting at Caras Lounge in Hampton County. The agency said in an email there were no reported fatalities. No information was immediately available on the severity of the injuries. Hampton County is roughly 130 kilometres west of Charleston. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. The Walking Dead came to the end of Part 2 of the 3 Part final season with Acts of God written by Nicole Mirante-Matthews and directed by Catriona McKenzie, whose other credits include Supernatural, Shining Vale, and The Republic of Sarah. This was a pretty good cliffhanger with Hornsby seemingly winning by taking over all the communities for the Commonwealth but facing an uprising brewing at home in the Commonwealth. While the cats away, the mouse will gnaw at the infrastructure! The only true act of God in the episode would appear to be a swarm of locusts but their importance isnt ever really made clear. Symbolically, the can be seen as the Commonwealth that simply gobbles up everything in its path. The episode opens at night outside the closed gates of Hilltop with a crowd of walkers and moves in to an unknown corpse and Hornsby (Josh Hamilton) stepping in its brains. Theres something happening in the house, but no one else is visible. Hornsby looks very unhappy. The episode once again does a time jump to 19 hours and one act of God earlier, starting outside the open gate of Hilltop with no walkers visible. Hershel (Kien Michael Spiller) and Maggie (Lauren Cohen) come out with her asking him if he has everything, and him telling her that hes not a baby anymore. He doesnt want to go and wants to help, but she tells him its only temporary. Theyre joined by Marco (Gustavo Gomez) and Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari). We get a slow motion close up of Hornsby tossing a coin to decide which group of troopers is going where. I loved this image of how tied to money Hornsby is and how careless of those under him. Its no wonder he kept telling Daryl (Norman Reedus) to put his helmet back on. He never thinks of them as people, let alone individuals. They are disposable and replaceable tools. A trooper asks about the assignments, and Hornsby will only say the trooper will know soon enough Eugene (Josh McDermitt) wakes up to find Max (Margo Bingham) reading. Shes clearly spent the night and its confirmed when Eugene says he thought they had a lovely night. YEAH!!!! Really loving these two together. He asks what shes reading and she tells him stuff on physics which makes his little nerd-heart (and ours!!!) glow. Eugene tells her that shes the most remarkable human hes ever met. He brushes her hair back from her face as she denies it and then says thank you, looking up at him shyly. She kisses him, and then tells him she has to get ready for work. Eugene asks if shes having second thoughts about what he asked her to do and assures her that its ok. Max is worried about what will happen after. Shes worried that upsetting the careful status quo will break everything. From there, we get Daryl literally breaking down a door as he, Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) help the troopers clear a house still looking for the guns. Aaron wants to break off, but Gabriel wants to just get through it and get back home. Aaron tells him that there is no getting through it, theyre in it until they find a way out or fight their way out. Daryl agrees, saying they keep heading north until they can break away. Theyre interrupted by a trooper wanting to know what theyre talking about. Daryl tells him that they need a break. Daryl tries to distract the guy by asking if theyve checked Charleston yet. There was a rumor about weapons on a roof there. Theyre attacked by walkers coming out of the wall, and Romano (Matt Bushell) ends up in trouble when his arm goes right through one. He is a little freaked out and smashes its head to bits. He gets a check in from Hornsby who tells them to move to the next location. As they move off, Gabriel tells Aaron and Daryl they need to watch their backs and Daryl agrees. As Maggie, Elijah, Marco, and Hershel walk through the woods, the sound of the locusts increases. Hershel is worried about Maggie, and she tells him shes fine, but we all know shes not. Cohen is excellent in this scene. And I kind of love how TWD finds good child actors and introduces them to filming by having them largely be silent and/or background in scenes before gradually introducing them to heavier scene work like this. Spiller is clearly benefiting from this approach. Maggie IS clearly troubled, and tells Hershel that everything she does and has done is so that they have choices. She clearly doesnt want him to judge her harshly for the things that she has done. And she knows Hershel isnt going to like where they are going, but tells him that it is the right choice. For now. Hershel smiles at her as acknowledgment that he understands. They are met by Lydia (Cassady McClincy) who leads them to an old Whisperers hideout. Hornsby is with Leah (Lynn Collins). He is yammering, and shes clearly barely listening. We get a close up of her eyes and Collins does a great job of dead, shark eyes. She has a single purpose: revenge. Hornsby is looking forward to doing his job without interference and she gets the scalp of the woman she hates everyone wins! Well, not everyone we finally get to see Hornsby without the fake smile. Hornsby looks concerned about the locusts, but Leah laughs. Are the locusts a symbol of God? Those who are concerned are concerned about the morality of what they are doing? Hornsby hands Leah a small camera (?) and insists that he has to see when Maggie is dead. Leah is happy to oblige. The hiding place is a hole in the ground. Lydia tries to open the roof, but its stuck. I loved that once again Marco pushes Elijah to go help her. At the bottom of the opening, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Annie (Medina Senghore) look up. Negan says hi, kid to Hershel who is not impressed. Maggie fills Negan and Annie in on whats happening. Annie asks if Maggies sure Hornsby is coming. She tells them his army was 5 miles from her gates and asks Negan for his thoughts. Negan tells her that he has no problem looking after Hershel, but hes not risking his pregnant wife to save some shithole that isnt worth saving. Annie tells him dont meaning dont be cruel, but Maggie agrees. Hilltop might not be worth saving, but the people are. Maggie tells him that the thing she started with Hornsby isnt going to end until she ends it. Negan says he thinks shes capable, but that Hornsby is determined to get her, so hes coming with her. Maggie says no; she wants them to stay with Hershel and the others to keep them safe until its over. Negan points out that Maggie doesnt trust him as shes asking Annie to protect the others. Maggie says shes starting to trust Negan!!!! And here we see them laying the groundwork for the new series As so many predicted, Maggie tells Negan shell never forget that he saved Hershel at Riverbend saving the son helps to make up for Glenn. Negan tells her, You have big balls, Maggie Rhee. Ive got you, and Ive got the boy. Negan, Annie, and Maggie look up at the locusts, and Negan says If that isnt a sign from the Man upstairs. Hornsby checks in with Romano, who tells him they are just finishing the second location. He tells them to finish and come back. Daryl says fine and takes the lead with Gabriel and Aaron. They head into a junk yard or old parking lot full of vehicles. Daryl, Aaron, and Gabriel are in the center with the troopers on the outside. Its Daryl who takes the first shot, but its pretty clear its an ambush. It seems that Gabriel and Aaron are both winged. This is a terrific action sequence! I loved Gabriel sneaking up on a trooper and taking him down by stabbing him in the leg. He then gets the guys gun. Naturally, the noise has attracted walkers. Romano is badly injured and is crawling to get away. Daryl finds him and rolls him over, asking where Hornsby is. Walkers are coming and Romano is freaking out. I loved how this dovetailed with the short scene in the house where we first see his fear of being eaten, bitten, or turning. Daryl saw it too and gives him a choice a quick bullet to the brain or eaten and turned. Romano gives up Hornsby, saying hes about 10 miles out because he wanted to clear the field first. That is make sure that Hilltop isnt getting help from anyone else. Gabriel points out that Hornsby wants only allies. Hornsby checks in, and Daryl tells him that Romano isnt there anymore. Hornsby is not happy Its absolutely jarring to go from shots of bloody Romano being eaten in the destruction of that graveyard to the pristine, clean interior of Pamelas (Laila Robins) office. Shes working on a speech, and Max is chewing her nails in nervousness of what she needs to do. Pamelas speech is about the history of the Commonwealth, describing how they survived while outside the apocalypse was happening its something else for Max to worry about. If they destroy the Commonwealth, what happens to their physical safety? Pamela notices Max isnt herself and seems genuinely concerned. Max assures her shes fine. She understands the strain of always presenting a strong front, and if they cant show it to each other, who can they show it to? Max again says shes fine and as Pamela returns to her office, Max brings up the surplus from Founders Day - $50,000! Pamela is pleased. Max suggests using the money to start a scholarship fund for the less fortunate families shes even put together a proposal. Pamela tells her that she loves her out of the box thinking BUT, any money has to go back into the event. Max gets rid of her by reminding her of a 5 oclock dinner she has. Max tells her that shell be leaving soon too. Theres a brief shot of things heating up at Hilltop with Maggie, Elijah, and Lydia preparing for battle. Its a nice way to underscore that what Max is doing is also to bring down the Commonwealth or at least blow up the corruption. Max may have put her coat on to leave, but shes at Pamelas filing cabinet removing the documents Eugene asked for when Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson) barges in clearly drunk. He wants to talk to his mother and wants to know if shes angry with him because she keeps dodging him. Max tells him that shes at a work dinner, but she can get word to her. Sebastian isnt impressed. Max tells him shes just on her way home, and he switches to rambling about how shes always working, and noticing the file under her arm, he remarks she even takes it home with her. Max drops the file and Sebastian offers to help. They both stoop to pick it up and she gets it, saying shes always clumsy after too many afternoon coffees. Sebastian goes quiet and looks serious before saying poor mans drug. Max is terrified, and then he explains caffeine before leaving. At Hilltop, troopers (all in black) move through the shell of the house. Theres a light in the main room, but when they open the door, its been rigged to blow. The plan is to recover their weapons and follow their trail back to the camp and end it. Of course, the real problem is that the Commonwealth has more troopers but well ignore that for now Marco and the others stand up and Leah shoots him in the back of the head. I really, really hate that the show has these loyal actors who get a line once in a blue moon. We get to know just enough about them to want to know more. Just as they start to get more lines the show kills them. Aaarrgghhh! We get some nice crispy walkers as Hornsby arrives on the scene at Hilltop. He steps in Marcos brains and were back to the beginning scene. Theyve only lost three men. Hornsby calls Leah and wants to know whats going on. She tells him shes doing it her way and the troopers were just collateral damage. Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron find Leahs camp and Daryl knows its her. He suggests that they split up to cover more ground. Maggie sends Lydia and Elijah to the others, telling them shell lead Leah away from them. Back in the Commonwealth, Max has brought the file to Eugene, Connie (Lauren Ridloff), and Kelly (Angel Theory). Theyve also been joined by Magda (Nadia Hilker). Taylor Davis and the woman Rosita tried to help are on the list and Kelly has counted over 200. Connie isnt ready to write about it yet. She needs more proof and they need to crack the code of the numbers associated with the names. Until they know more, shell write about Sebastians heist. Kelly points out that when people find out that Pamelas not on their side, theyll start to question everything about the Commonwealth. Theres a knock at the door and everyone panics, but Magna says its ok, shes asked Ezekiel (Khary Payton) to come. Hes been trying to round up more people for the cause. He has a network of people ready to help get the word out ready to ride at dawn. Max declares lets ride! Back in the woods, Leah and Maggie stalk each other. Maggie quietly takes out a walker. Maggie sees Leah first but misses. She manages to tag her in the leg with the second shot, but Leah gets the drop on Maggie and knocks her out. Maggie comes to in Leahs old cabin, tied up and sitting in a chair with Leah sitting in front of her. Leah tells her that shes waited a long time for this. Maggie understands the desire for revenge. She tells Leah she understands what she wants. Killing her would be too easy its why Maggie didnt just kill Negan when she came back. Rick and Michonne wouldnt let her kill him at first. Cohen is absolutely brilliant in this scene. I also loved how it was shot going back and forth between the two women. Maggie knows that Leah wants her to suffer. Maggie tells her that it wont take away her pain. But Leah isnt Maggie. She tells Maggie that by the time shes done, everyone that Maggie loves will be dead. And now its Maggies turn to be shocked and desperate. Hornsby meanwhile is making his own way through the woods. Maggie does get it. She took Leahs family, so she takes Maggies. As the locusts can be heard in the background, Leah tells Maggie that nature has a way of taking care of things. Maggie tells her that its not nature or fate its them. She tells her that she killed her people because it was what she wanted. She tells Leah to do it shes been trying to keep her eyes laser-locked on her own, so that she could work her hands out of the ropes. Leah looks like shes about to pull the trigger when Maggie gets free and slaps the gun out of her hand. The two fight. Knives are pulled and both get in a good slash. Its a brutal terrific fight. Just as it looks like Leah is about to win and stab Maggie in the heart, Daryl shows up and shoots her in the back of the head. He was never going to choose her over Maggie. Maggie barely has time to process it before Hornsby and the troopers are at the cabin. Daryl manages to shoot Hornsby in the face hes going to be wearing prosthetics for the rest of his run on the show! Hornsby finds Leahs dead body and declares, Now we take it all. Gabriel and Aaron join Daryl and a very bloody Maggie. Negans group get out of the hiding hole with Hershel firmly attached to Annie. Max all in white good guys wear white! puts the file back. Pamela comes in with a huge pile of newspapers/flyers with the huge headline Pamela Milton is Lying to You. Max looks suitably shocked which she is that Pamela seems to have scooped up all of them. If so, that scuttles their plan. The episode ends with Commonwealth banners being unfurled at Alexandria, Hilltop and most shockingly Oceanside. The residents at Oceanside have all been rounded up and placed in cuffs. Hornsby tosses his coin, but the episode ends before we find out what hes deciding. I found the Oceanside scene most shocking because of their history of having escaped Negans attempt to subjugate them only to fall prey to Hornsbys. One small ray of hope here is where is Luke (Dan Fogler)? And Jules? Fogler, of course, has been off shooting- but there's been no explanation of where he's been in the show... I thought this was a pretty great segment finale. Great performances by Cohen and Bingham. Im also really enjoying the villains Collins gives a terrific final performance and Hamilton and Rapp-Olsson make me love hating them. The locusts have stopped now that the Commonwealth has seeminglys won everything. Lots of balls in the air where are our heroes going to go? All their allies have been taken over. Are Luke and Jules leading a faction of Oceanside? Did Pamela stop the word from getting out? Can Ezekiels secret network stay secret AND get the word out? How in danger are Connie, Kelly, and Ezekiel? What about Rosita shes the whistleblower after all or will they blame it all on Daryl, who cant come back now? Who is going to look after Judith and RJ? How will they feel about losing yet another parent figure? I suspect that Carol will simply continue as she has been looking after them. How is Hornsby going to sell all this to Pamela? Cant wait to see the spin he puts on it. What did you think of this part of the final season? What do you think will happen in the final part? What are you hoping for? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Whats the first historical event you remember living through? Its a question that gets asked online from time to time as a sort of remember when exercise. For some people it was the Kennedy assassination. Younger people might say 9/11. For me, it was the Challenger explosion. I was old enough in third grade to know something serious had happened, but it wasnt until I got home from school and saw my family sitting somberly in front of the television that I knew how terrible it was. A separate but related question goes like this: Whats the historical event you lived through that changed how you see the world? For instance, the fall of the Berlin Wall gave millions of people hope for the future, the same way Watergate made many people more cynical. Maybe you thought the best of people before Bill Clintons impeachment changed your outlook. For me, nothing has been quite as jarring in my nearly 45 years as the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 20 years ago next spring. Like millions of people around the world, I watched it happen the buildup, the inevitability, the Shock and Awe but I couldnt quite believe it was real. Its still hard to understand. Why did the United States invade Iraq? Theres no good answer for that. Certainly, this country was traumatized by 9/11, but connecting one event to the other was fraudulent even then, and nothing weve learned in the meantime makes the connection any less nonsensical. We started a war in Iraq because we could, apparently, and thought it would be easy. If that seems like an unsatisfactory reason to destroy a country, nothing else anyone has come up with makes any more sense. Why does this matter now? Much of the world is rightly horrified by whats been happening in Ukraine for the past month-plus. Theres no basis for what Russia has done, other than its leader wanted to do it and appeared to believe he could. Razed cities, bodies in the streets and refugees at the border apparently dont matter to the aggressors, who have waged a senseless war without a hint of justification. Like the war in Iraq, every reason thats been offered up falls apart on the slightest scrutiny. And yet as we join the world in condemning one senseless war, we continue to plead ignorance about a separate one this country waged not all that long ago. Some of the people who made it happen still count themselves as leaders, and a few have strong Connecticut ties. Its true that poll numbers have shifted. In 2003, a Gallup poll found that 79 percent of Americans thought the Iraq war was justified; by 2018, more Americans believed the war had been a bad idea than not. But shifting public opinion hasnt affected the people who made it happen. George W. Bush was last seen in public with Bill Clinton visiting a Ukrainian church, continuing his transformation into some kind of pre-Trump symbol of a lost national unity. Dick Cheney made news recently earning plaudits from Democrats based on his daughters decision to stand up to Trump-related election 2020 delusions. It wasnt just Republicans who made Iraq happen. Joe Biden supported the war, and his career was hurt so much that hes now president. Hillary Clinton may be the only politician to have faced real consequences for her Iraq war support, as she may well have been the 2008 Democratic nominee had she chosen a different path. But memories being what they are, she was quickly welcomed back into respectable company. Connecticut politicians, too, played a major role in the debacle. Joe Lieberman was maybe the biggest Iraq war cheerleader outside the Bush administration. It likely cost him the Democratic nomination for his Senate seat in 2006, though he won the November election anyway. He was then allowed to retire on his own terms six years later, and now exists as some sort of respected elder statesman. Chris Shays, too, was a vocal war supporter, which contrasted with his well-earned reputation for decency. He actually did lose his seat, though given how Fairfield Countys politics have changed, Iraq likely had little to do with it. Today, far from being a pariah, he, too, is viewed with nostalgia as a remnant of a forgotten time when national unity took precedence over personal pique. He occasionally will weigh in with disgust at Trump, as if anything the 45th president ever did could compare to the war that Shays supported so thoroughly. Reports of atrocities in Ukraine make clear there are dramatic differences between then and now. The U.S. military is not the same as Russias. It remains true that because of a war ordered by American politicians, hundreds of thousands of people died who otherwise would not have. They were people exactly like those we see on the news in Ukraine. We can and should condemn what we see happening in Eastern Europe. We also shouldnt forget that it wasnt so long ago something similar unfolded with our own country as the aggressor. As we make demands of other countries, we would do well to demand better from ourselves. Hugh Bailey is editorial page editor of the Connecticut Post and New Haven Register. He can be reached at hbailey@hearstmediact.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD Until now, Stamford had played it safe on cannabis. In a sea of towns that have outright banned or placed moratoriums on recreational marijuana sales, the second-largest city in the state has let its existing rules speak for themselves. There are no explicit rules governing cannabis in Stamford and, according to Mayor Caroline Simmonss office, more rules will come as necessary. When asked whether the Simmons administration planned to taking a formal stance on dispensaries in the city mayoral spokesperson Lauren Meyer said the state legislation legalizing the recreational use and sale of marijuana is comprehensive and thorough, and we thank Gov. (Ned) Lamont for his leadership in developing this long overdue and forward-thinking policy. We will continue to evaluate lessons learned as this type of business grows in Stamford to ensure that economic development does not jeopardize equity and public safety, she wrote in a statement. In the absence of other cannabis regulations, state law still paves a path forward. The law passed by Lamont in 2021 stipulates that without other regulations cannabis in a town or city is governed by its existing zoning rules. A cannabis establishment shall be zoned as if for any other similar use, other than a cannabis establishment, would be zoned, according to the law. And at a Planning Board meeting last month, city officials walked through exactly what that means for Stamford. At that meeting, an existing medical dispensary, Fine Fettle Dispensary in Stamfords Research Park, sought permission to become a hybrid one. According to state law, hybrid dispensaries can sell both recreational and medical marijuana at the same facility. City planner Vineeta Mathur told board members that Stamfords lawyers and professional planning staff agreed that the closest use is medical marijuana. If we had limitations already, those allow us to restrict the locations, or the use itself, Mathur told board members. In absence of that, we need to treat it as the closest similar use. The medical marijuana dispensary use already has limitations in terms of being only permitted in very few places and being strictly regulated, she continued. Local zoning regulations establish that medical marijuana dispensaries and subsequently, recreational dispensaries can only open by obtaining special permission from planning and zoning officials. Medical dispensaries cannot open within a 3,000 feet ... of any other dispensary, and can only open in five commercial and industrial zoning districts throughout Stamford. Though the Planning Board unanimously approved Fine Fettles application and it is slated to be heard by the zoning board in the coming weeks, the approval came with extensive debate. Board members fretted over allowing recreational cannabis sales without formally writing them into city regulations. I think if we had known at the time that a medical marijuana dispensary was also going to be allowed to be open to the public for marijuana sale, we may not have allowed medical marijuana facilities to be in the city of Stamford, Planning Board Chair Theresa Dell said during the meeting. Fine Fettle already has permission from town officials in Windham and Newington to sell recreational cannabis, according to chief operating officer Benjamin Zachs. All three of his Connecticut dispensaries require permits from the state to start selling cannabis to adults 21 and older. Getting approved for this license is a complicated process, he said. Companies need to submit proof of their business plans and zoning approvals to get a license. But in municipalities like Stamford, a license is necessary to receive final zoning approval. The conflicting requirements put operators like Fine Fettle in a complicated situation, especially as they move forward in the permitting process. What we can do is get all of our ducks in a row, which were in the midst of doing and have done, Zachs said. Like the Planning Board chair, City Rep. Jeffrey Stella, D-9, is more skeptical of cannabiss place in Stamford. Stella has expressed concerns in the past over where people can smoke in Stamford, and in October 2021, he and former city Rep. J.R. McMullen who now serves on the Board of Finance floated rules to ban smoking cannabis on school property. (The state cannabis law already bans smoking cannabis within in any area of a school building or on the grounds of such school. The state also bans smoking in restaurants, college dormitories and hotel rooms, among other places.) Stella is interested in seeing more concrete cannabis rules in Stamford, particularly when it comes to where people can smoke. I can tell you, if you come down to Leone Park at any given time, you can smell it, he said. Stella also cites long-term concerns about crime and people driving under the influence. A 2021 analysis from the nonprofit Cato Institute found that violent crime ... neither soared nor plummeted in the wake of marijuana legalization in the 11 states where recreational cannabis is permitted. Despite assurances from cannabis entrepreneurs like Zachs, who say dispensaries are incredibly secure all over the country, Stella wants to see more public debate over cannabis in Stamford. Hes wary of Stamford becoming a haven for cannabis, whereas nearby towns like Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan have banned it. Though Fine Fettle is looking to sell adult-use cannabis in Stamford, there is still a ways to go before recreational sales begin. The state Department of Consumer Protection has yet announce who the states retailers will be; Connecticuts cannabis information portal says that recreational sales could begin in late 2022. veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com STAMFORD - Church members gathered at St. John's Lutheran Church in Stamford on Sunday morning for Easter services, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches marked the day with a variety of different Easter services, including sunrise and outdoor services, throughout the city, the nation and the world. The Rev. Dr. Duane Pederson led the service at St. John's. On Easter, Christians around the world celebrate their belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, returning on the third day after he died on the cross. Inside sources have disclosed a secret deal between Saudi Arabia and Egypt to prop up Sudans military commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan as the lone ruler of Sudan. A change in approach The sources revealed that a deal has been struck behind closed doors between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Al-Burhan, who heads Sudans Transitional Sovereignty Council and armed forces, which will allow him to forgo earlier arrangements and lead the country unilaterally. Numerous parties have been working behind the scenes to find a solution to the political, security and economic crisis that transpired in Sudan after the Oct. 25, 2021 revolution. Many regional and international actors have been engaged in the process, particularly from neighboring countries. News stories have surfaced time and again in past months about the potential formation of a new government, future elections, and Saudi Arabia and Egypts integral role in these processes. Behind-the-scenes intelligence deal The sources confirmed that the agreement with Al-Burhan was formulated by the Egyptian intelligence services and Salah Gosh, the former director of Sudans National Intelligence Service. Mubarak Al-Fadil, head of the Umma Party, and Alaa Al-Din Muhammad Othman, a senior advisor to Al-Burhan, also allegedly played an influential role in the process. Othman has been in Cairo in recent weeks upon the invitation of the Egyptian intelligence services. The sources report that Al-Burhans recent visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt kickstarted the agreement, adding that the Unionists, Umma Party and Al-Mirghani initiative are all heavily involved. They further noted that members of the Egyptian intelligence services have already arrived to Sudans capital, Khartoum, to support the Sudanese military intelligence, quell street protests, dismantle political parties and implement character assassination campaigns against both military and civilian stakeholders in the Transitional Sovereignty Council. Evidence of conspiracy The sources stressed that significant roles in this process have been played by Mubarak Al-Fadil, Aladdin Muhammad Othman, Egypts Consul in Sudan Habib Adly, Saudi Ambassador to Sudan Ali Bin Hassan Jaafar and several advisors to Gosh, who are organizing meetings with political and community leaders and businesspersons to mobilize support for the deal. The sources further noted that the agreement is aimed at enabling Al-Burhan to rule Sudan alone, as well as to return Gosh to a position of power in the country. With the support of the Egyptian and Sudanese intelligence services, Gosh will act as Al-Burhans right-hand man from here forward, leveraging inside arrangements with political parties and resistance committees. Saudi Arabia is providing the requisite financial support for the process. The sources added that Gosh was able to successfully reassert himself into Al-Burhans circle after meeting with him in Egypt. The Egyptian intelligence services have provided him with a special office at their headquarters and funds for his advisors to secure support for the agreement. The sources stated that Al-Burhan did not inform the remaining members of the Transitional Sovereignty Council about the deal and is preparing draconian measures against anyone who opposes the agreement, together with the the Egyptian intelligence services. They include arrests, prosecutions and character assassination campaigns. The sources reported that the deal also envisages organizing presidential elections within six months, after which Al-Burhan will be elected to a four-year term to consolidate his rule. HELSINKI (AP) Unrest broke out in southern Sweden late Saturday despite police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was planning to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration scheduled there by the Danish right-wing party Stram Kurs party was moved to the nearby city of Malmo, some 45 kilometers (27 miles) south. Up to 100 mostly young people threw stones, set cars, tires and dustbins on fire, and put up a barrier fence that obstructed traffic, Swedish police said. The situation had calmed down in Landskrona by late Saturday but remains tense, police said, adding no injuries were reported in the action. On Friday evening, violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters erupted in the central city of Orebro ahead Stram Kurs' plan to burn a Quran there, leaving 12 police officers injured and four police vehicles set on fire. Video footage and photos from chaotic scenes in Orebro showed burning police cars and protesters throwing stones and other objects at police officers in riot gear. Kim Hild, spokeswoman for police in southern Sweden, said earlier Saturday that police would not revoke permission for the Landskrona demonstration because the threshold for doing that is very high in Sweden, which values free speech. The right of the protesters to demonstrate and speak out weighs enormously, heavily and it takes an incredible amount for this to be ignored, Hild told Swedish news agency TT. The demonstration took place Saturday evening in a central park in Malmo where Stram Kurs' leader Rasmus Paludan addressed a few dozen people. A small number of counter-protesters threw stones at demonstrators and police was forced to use pepper spray to disperse them. Paludan himself was reported to have been hit by a stone on his leg, Swedish media said. No serious injuries were reported, according to police. Since Thursday, clashes have been reported also in Stockholm and in the cities of Linkoping and Norrkoping all locations where Stram Kurs either planned or had demonstrations. Paludan, a Danish lawyer who also holds Swedish citizenship, set up Stram Kurs, or Hard Line in 2017. The website of the party, which runs on an anti-immigration and anti-Islam agenda says Stram Kurs is the most patriotic political party in Denmark. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. SAN FRANCISCO A federal judge has ruled that Tesla CEO Elon Musks 2018 tweets about having secured financing to take the company private were false, according to court filings by Tesla investors suing the billionaire over the tweets. The filing said that the court ruled April 1 that Musks 2018 tweets were false and misleading. The court held that he recklessly made the statements with knowledge as to their falsity, it said. Investors in the electric car maker asked in the filing, submitted on Friday, for U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen to block the celebrity entrepreneur from his public campaign to present a contradictory and false narrative regarding his 2018 tweets. Musk on Thursday claimed that funding actually had been secured to take Tesla private in 2018. He settled with U.S. securities regulators over what the agency found to be false statements, paying fines and agreeing to have a lawyer approve some of his tweets before posting them. That April 1 decision was not listed on the court docket. The issues will be at the center of a May jury trial in which the investors are seeking damages over the tweets. Musk has used his fame and notoriety to sway public opinion in his favor, waging battle in the press having been defeated in the courtroom, the filing said. Musks latest comments risk confusing potential jurors and prejudicing a jury decision on the amount of damages owed by Musk, it said. Musk is trying to nullify his settlement with the SEC, accusing the agency of harassing him with investigations. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk and Tesla, on Saturday again asserted that it was true that Musk was considering taking Tesla private in 2018 and had financing for that move. All thats left some half decade later is random plaintiffs lawyers trying to make a buck and others trying to block that truth from coming to light, all to the detriment of free speech, he said. The case is In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-04865. Note: The novel goes on sale this fall. Author J.D. Trafford grew up in St. Louis before getting a law degree. So its hardly surprising that he sets his legal thriller Merchants Bridge in St. Louis, with a lawyer in the starring role. The lawyer, Graydon Gray Wendt, is walking back to his car one cold night after a dinner with a client and a colleague. Suddenly, assailants jump the two. Wendt gets badly roughed up, while his colleague takes fatal gunshots. But Wendt soon finds himself in trouble. Prosecutors suspect that Wendt himself set up the attack, all to silence the colleague from connecting Wendt to a complicated bribery scheme involving their law firm. The plot, like the bribery scheme, teems with complications. But two women one a trial lawyer, the other a law enforcement officer ally themselves with Wendt. Local readers will savor the local color. For example, Trafford notes, There existed a divide between those in Missouri, pronouncing it with a hard e, and those who lived in Missouri, and pronounced it, Missour-ah. As the commas and their placement in that quotation show, Merchants Bridge suffers from some sloppy copy editing. Prose purists will sigh at gaffe after gaffe Creve Ceour for Creve Coeur, podium for lectern, and so on. To be sure, Trafford gives readers some inside looks at the law profession, few of them praiseworthy. An example: Entering law school, Gray had thought hed get a job at Legal Aid and represent poor people. Thats what most law students thought on their first day. Then their eyes were soon opened up to the caste system within the legal profession as well as an awareness of their ever-growing student loan debt. The books title page calls Merchants Bridge the first in a series. Before lawyer-author Trafford starts on Volume II, he might find a copy editor who knows that pleaded outranks pled as good English. Harry Levins of Manchester retired in 2007 as senior writer of the Post-Dispatch. ST. LOUIS The annual Easter parade in Forest Park was a thing of grinding gears and monoxide fumes, of gesticulating traffic policemen and Easter costumes only half seen in passing cars. So lamented a Post-Dispatch reporter in describing the scene on Easter Sunday 1929. The unnamed scribbler confessed to having preferred the more leisurely promenades of earlier days. No matter the era, some observers are certain that culture is going to pot. Easter gatherings in Forest Park for reasons of vanity and Christian worship became popular after the 1904 Worlds Fair, and diminished only with the mass migrations to the suburbs after World War II. Thousands of people dressed up each year for the holiday stroll along the parks winding lanes. As cars became more common, the parade took to wheels, joyfully snarling the park roadways. The first large sunrise service in the park took place on Easter, April 17, 1927, near Lindell Boulevard and Kingshighway. The Metropolitan Church Federation, then the areas main association of Protestant congregations, later moved the gathering to the Municipal Opera. Depending upon springs mercurial weather, attendance could top 13,000 faithful. Other big sunrise services were in Tower Grove Park, sponsored by the Christian Endeavor Union, and the Carondelet Ministries Association assembly at Jefferson Barracks. For steadfastness of Christian witness, nothing beat the full-immersion baptisms in the Mississippi River, at the foot of Chestnut Street, conducted every Easter for nearly four decades by Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church. Catholics jammed the St. Louis Cathedral, 4431 Lindell Boulevard, for Solemn High Mass, where Catholic Archbishop John J. Glennon in 1929 described the keystone of Christian theology in his crisply Irish way: A crucifixion without the resurrection would drive any human being stark, raving mad. A popular Easter tradition for everyone was viewing the lilies, hyacinths and tulips on display inside the Jewel Box in Forest Park, where attendance of 25,000 was common. Fire departments and churches sponsored egg hunts for kids in neighborhood parks. With Easters theme unchanging, newspapers usually dwelt upon the weather or spring fashions. On Easter 1928, when the temperature at dawn was only 34 degrees, members of Pleasant Greens congregation stood by on the riverfront with blankets for the shivering mortal bodies of the newly saved souls. On Easter 1946, with temperatures in the 80s and wartime rationing a memory, women strutted in summer dresses and drivers took extra loops through the park. Remember your Easter outfit from back in the day? Get a look at what the fashionable folks wore on Easter Sunday in years gone by around St. Louis. The big sunrise service in Forest Park remained popular after World War II and was broadcast live over local radio stations. On Easter 1958, the Rev. Franc McCluer, president of Lindenwood College, offered consolation for Cold War jitters: Righteousness and love are greater than the power of evil. Declining attendance ended that tradition in 1969. The mother of a man killed when December when a tornado slammed into an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, is speaking out against the company. At a press briefing in Edwardsville, Deon January said DeAndre Morrow was only working because he was called in on his day off. And her attorney Ben Crump says the six people who were killed because Amazon did not take the necessary steps to protect its workers. Amazon has defended its actions and just last week the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration wrote that Amazon had met minimal federal safety guidelines for storm sheltering and would not face any fines or penalties. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. The fall of Mariupol, the site of a merciless 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin, would be Moscow's biggest victory of the war and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. Capturing the southern city would also allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets. As its missiles and rockets slammed into other parts of the country, Russia estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian troops and about 400 foreign mercenaries were dug in at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill, which covers more than 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is laced with tunnels. Many Mariupol civilians, including children, are also sheltering at the Azovstal plant, Mikhail Vershinin, head of the citys patrol police, told Mariupol television on Sunday. He said they are hiding from Russian shelling, and from any occupying Russian soldiers. Moscow had given the defenders a midday deadline to surrender and "keep their lives, but the Ukrainians rejected it, as they've done with previous ultimatums. We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABC's This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but we do not have intention to surrender. As for besieged Mariupol, there appeared to be little hope Sunday of military rescue by Ukrainian forces anytime soon. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian troops and civilians in Mariupol are basically encircled. He said they continue their struggle, but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Easter greetings via Twitter, saying: "The Lords Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil. If Mariupol falls, Russian forces there are expected to join an all-out offensive in the coming days for control of the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin is bent on capturing after failing in its bid to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have killed at least 21,000 people, by the Ukrainians' estimate. A maternity hospital was hit by a lethal Russian airstrike in the opening weeks of the war, and about 300 people were reported killed in the bombing of a theater where civilians were taking shelter. An estimated 100,000 remained in the city out of a prewar population of 450,000, trapped without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. Drone footage carried by the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti showed towering plumes of smoke over the steel complex, which sits on the outskirts of the bombed-out city, on the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for battle in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Russian forces, meanwhile, carried out aerial attacks near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity ahead of the anticipated assault. After the humiliating sinking of the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet last week in what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack, the Kremlin had vowed to step up strikes on the capital. Russia said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Explosions were also reported overnight in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. At least five people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris, including part of at least one rocket. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, in an impassioned address marking Orthodox Palm Sunday, lashed out at Russian forces for not letting up the bombing campaign on such a sacred day. And Zelenskyy, in his nightly address to the nation, called the bombing in Kharkiv nothing but deliberate terror. A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least two people were killed when Russian forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote, near the front line in the Donbas. Zelenskyy said Russian troops in parts of southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world to respond with more weapons and tougher sanctions. Torture chambers are built there, he said in his address. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the Russians continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to reinforce their ground troops. The looming offensive in the east, if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory that he could sell to the Russian people amid the war's mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the West's sanctions. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow this week the first European leader to do so since the invasion Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated and refuted by witnesses throughout 52 days of war. The toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old sons body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. Were not ruling out further strikes on the capital, Klitschko said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where its safer, do it. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didnt specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. As the U.S. and Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraines defenses ahead of whats expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant Friday. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian presidents office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the wars violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military has intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Friday's attack killed civilians and wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian presidents office reported. On Saturday an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too," recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday's toll was three dead and 34 wounded. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Jose Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow the first European leader to do so since the invasion began Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Nehammer said he confronted Putin with what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and it was not a friendly conversation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of the port city of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraines prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov. Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. In the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war in an Easter vigil homily at St. Peters Basilica that was attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three members of Ukraine's parliament. Francis did not refer directly to Russias invasion but has called, apparently in vain, for an Easter truce to reach a negotiated peace. Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Robert Burns in Washington and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. One of the most dysfunctional aspects of Americas dysfunctional health care system is medical debt. Even insured patients today can find themselves saddled with crushing debt from hospital stays. Its a problem that will only be solved when America finally joins the rest of the advanced world in creating a true universal health care system. In the meantime, the Biden administration has announced a plan that could somewhat ease the problem. Most importantly, the administration is eliminating medical debt from consideration when determining creditworthiness for federally guaranteed mortgages. This is an eminently reasonable policy change that the private sector should implement as well. Unlike other forms of debt, medical debt isnt indicative of irresponsibility just of having the bad luck to get sick in America. To lump the blameless cancer patient together with the reckless credit-card junkie is outrageous. Significant personal medical debt is a foreign concept to citizens in most of western Europe, where near-universal, largely publicly funded coverage is the norm. In the U.S., meanwhile, health care for most Americans is treated like just another free-market service if an unusually expensive one. While the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has eliminated the most egregious aspect of that system by making it illegal for health insurers to deny affordable coverage to people with preexisting conditions, even those with insurance still can rack up five- or six-figure debts just from the patient portions or uncovered services. One study found that Americans as a whole owe at least $195 billion in medical debt. Some $140 billion of that debt has been referred for collection, more than any other kind of debt. About 16 million Americans owe more than $1,000, and 3 million owe more than $10,000. Some of the hardest hit Americans live in red states like Missouri, which have resisted expansion of Medicaid as called for under Obamacare. Nothing short of a fundamental transformation of Americas health care system will ultimately solve the debt problem, which arises at the intersection of overpriced medical care, stingy insurance practices and dogmatic politics that label any attempt at reform as socialism. And so the wealthiest and most economically powerful country in the history of the world continues tolerating a system in which even financially stable and responsible Americans are just one car accident or cancer diagnosis away from bankruptcy. Congress is too hobbled by partisanship to meaningfully address the issue, but the White House initiative will help. In addition to taking medical debt out of the equation for federally backed mortgages, the plan would review billing and collection practices, and make it easier for veterans to get medical debt cleared. These moves nibble around the edges of a massive problem, but until America joins the modern world and starts treating health care like a human right instead of a cash commodity, theyre better than nothing. Regarding Drugs that treat opioid use disorder are a good use for multibillion-dollar settlement funds (March 25): We need funding for all evidence-based treatment and recovery services in order to make an impact on the addiction epidemic. I am personally in recovery and now, as a peer support specialist, use my lived experience to help others. Few are able to fully recover from substance use disorders through medication alone. Thats why we need to ensure access to all treatment options and wraparound services like counseling, peer support, job training/employment and housing. Because everyones recovery journey is different, we must fund a wide variety of services to ensure every individual has the best chance at long-term recovery. And once a person leaves treatment, that person will need wraparound recovery services. The National Peer Recovery Alliance, which represents peer support specialists from Missouri and across the country, recently published an article further explaining how opioid settlement funds should be allocated toward evidence-based services, including peer support. With millions of dollars coming to Missouri to fight addiction, we cannot limit ourselves in only funding medication-assisted treatment and certain pathways to recovery. Instead, we need to take a comprehensive approach that meets the needs of all individuals. Emily Jung Lake Saint Louis How did the five largest intel agencies in the world misjudge the outcome of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine? Intel agencies in Russia (FSB), America (CIA), Germany (BDN), France (DRM) and to a lesser extent Britain (MI6) concluded that Ukraine could not defeat a Russian invasion and their political superiors acted on that by trying to persuade Russia not to invade. In the immediate aftermath of the February 24th invasion, it became apparent that the intel agencies had overestimated Russian military capabilities and vastly underestimated what the Ukrainians were capable of. The intel agencies had done this before. They misinterpreted the situation inside Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and in the Soviet Union after the collapse of communist government throughout Eastern Europe in 1989. These intel failures are common because large bureaucracies find comfort in sharing the same assessments that turn out or be wrong. It spreads the blame. The details of how Ukraine won were known before the invasion, reported in some specialized media and even more so in Ukrainian mass media. There are translation programs to produce English, and other language versions of Ukrainian print and electronic media. Spoken Ukrainian, especially in newscasts, is understandable to Russian speakers. Intel agencies tend to prefer classified data rather than OSINT (open-source intelligence) and have to deal with command influence. This last item is senior customers for the intel agency assessments preferring certain outcomes, usually for political or personal reasons. These people are senior enough that their preferences must be satisfied. The Ukrainians knew why the 2014 Russian surprise attacks, that seized the Crimean Peninsula and half of two provinces in eastern Ukraine known as Donbas (the Donets River Basin industrial area), did not go as planned. Ukrainian resistance mobilized faster and with more combat capabilities than Russia expected. The intel agencies missed or downplayed the Ukrainian response after 2014 as they began examining how a more massive Russian attack would be carried out. Less effort was made examining Ukrainian preparations, which proved far more effective against the 2022 Russian invaders. The Ukrainian preparations were no secret. It was all shared in the media, including Ukrainian assessments of how the Russians would invade, assessments that proved quite accurate. So were descriptions of the Ukrainian preparations revealed openly. These preparations were also very visible, especially the psychological edge Ukrainian troops had over their Russian counterparts. The Ukrainians were willing to fight the Russians, had done so successfully several times in the last century and learned from their mistakes. No so the Russians who were having serious problems finding Russians willing to join the military either as well-paid contrackti (longer term volunteers) or one-year conscripts. Draft-dodging became a major economic activity and Russian conscription officials were eager to make some cash on the side by keeping fortunate sons out of uniform. The Russians continued to have problems with military leadership. There were too many officers and hardly any career NCOs. This not only meant troops were poorly trained and had little effective leadership in combat, but that the troops were also lax in maintaining their equipment, especially vehicles. This is an unpopular chore in all militaries but in those with career NCOs, who know from personal experience how important good maintenance is, the work gets done. Another widely reported story was the problems Russia was having updating their Cold War era equipment. This was especially true with tactical radios. In this the Russians were decades behind the West when the Soviet Union collapsed. Russian officers who specialized in tactical communications knew that the solution was simple because modern military tactical radio tech was available in high-end commercial radios and after 1991 that tech was now available to Russia. The problem was that in the 1990s the Russian military was broke, with barely enough money to pay, feed and house the troops. That often failed because the meager defense budget was often plundered by corrupt officers or civilian officials. This became news in Russian mass media when parents of conscripts discovered their sons had died from starvation or cold in some isolated base where there was not enough food or heat in the barracks because of corrupt officers. The government responded to calls for reform by making promises they would or could not keep and declaring such bad news were state secrets. Draft-dodging increased and morale in the military remained debilitatingly bad. Meanwhile Russian troops were not getting their new tactical radios in sufficient numbers and these were not tested under realistic conditions to fix problems that later emerged once Russian troops were inside Ukraine and discovered that they could not communicate with each other. In peacetime exercises battlezone problems, like the inability to install and maintain the communications repeaters, were not a major problem. When there were problems with the new radios troops learned to quietly fall back on cell phones, because after the 1990s nearly every Russian had one and cell phone companies were a growth industry. Ukrainians knew of the Russian battlefield communications problems, ensured that Ukrainian soldiers would not have them, and measures were taken to degrade Russian communications as much as possible. Another bit of OSINT was that the Ukrainians solved their version of these problems after 2014 while the Russians played lets pretend and declared the truth a state secret that was treasonous to reveal. As the invasion date approached the Ukrainian military published their assessments of how the attack would be conducted, using over fifty battalion size units called BTGs (Battalion Task Groups). The Ukrainians did not talk about the sorry state of Russian unit leadership and training. After all, that was widely known, at least in Ukraine. The Ukrainians had organized a nationwide network of territorial battalions that were local defense organizations with the ability to quickly arm and train lots of volunteers if the Russians did invade. Some of those territorial units had organized small groups armed with modern anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. These had been purchased or received as military aid since 2014. The fifteen brigades of the Ukrainian army had them as did some territorial units. These weapons proved decisive in defeating the initial Russian attacks, which included a Russian attempt to grab an airport near the capital Kyiv using commandos transported in low-flying helicopters, to be followed by large transport aircraft carrying more troops and vehicles. The plan failed because the Ukrainian troops had anti-aircraft weapons that defeated the defensive systems on the helicopters and prevented the airport from being seized. Russian BTGs moving down roads from the border were ambushed by army or territorial teams armed with anti-tank weapons that often-rendered entire BTGs ineffective because so many armored vehicles were destroyed or disabled. Later these teams, especially territorial ones that knew the neighborhood much better than the invading Russians, ambushed supply trucks and cut off essential supplies the BTGs that did get close to cities needed to keep fighting. Back in Moscow, the Russian Stavka (General Staff) had officers who could do an accurate COF (correlation of forces) analysis and it is unknown if one of those was done. During the Cold War those honest COF studies were sometimes done, and they showed how a Russian attack on NATO countries would be a disaster. This usually meant the author of the embarrassing COF was transferred to some distant posting and his accurate SOF study was denounced but often filed away. Some of these were found and became accessible, for a few years, after the Soviet Union collapsed. Considering the number of FSB and Stavka personnel who lost their jobs in the last few weeks, there may well have been one of those accurate COF studies done before the invasion and locked away only to surface later to the embarrassment of many. " " A wildlife care specialist at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park holds a four-month-old echidna baby or puggle. The puggle the first-ever to hatch at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park was estimated to have hatched on Feb. 14, 2020. Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo Safari Park 1. They Dig for Their Food These guys eat ants, grubs and termites, so digging for food is key. Areas with loose topsoil work well, although these animals can plow through hard-packed dirt as well. "Once an echidna detects its prey," says Schwartz, "it uses its long, sharp claws and short, sturdy limbs to dig into the soil and expose the invertebrates." They also take advantage of a very strong sense of smell to locate their food underground or beneath wood or leaf litter, says Nicole Ellis, a pet expert and certified trainer with Rover.com. "It's believed that they use special cells in their nose that are sensitive to the electromagnetic signals of their preya sense usually associated with sharks," he says. "The unique sense is extremely advantageous when searching for colonies of insects." Advertisement 2. They Don't Have Teeth Instead, they use their sticky, slender, long tongue to catch their food. "Hard pads at the base of the tongue and on the roof of its mouth grind food into a paste for swallowing," says Schwartz. Interestingly enough, he adds, the taxonomic family name for echidnas, Tachyglossidae, means "fast tongue." 3. They're Named After the Greek Mother of Monsters In Greek mythology, Echidna was a half-woman, half-snake creature perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles. She also was called the "mother of all monsters," because she birthed most of the mythical Greek creatures. 4. It's Hard to Tell Males and Females Apart You can't simply determine an echidna's gender by looking at it, says Schwartz. "They have no gender-specific features, and their reproductive organs are internal," he explains. "Both male and females are born with spurs (which typically indicates a male), while females are meant to lose the spurs as they mature. Mating, of course, can establish a male from a female and DNA blood sampling can determine sex." 5. They Are Endothermic That means they have the lowest body temperature of any mammal around 89.6 Farenheit (32 degrees Celsius). "Their long-life spans up to 50 years in managed settings are due to their low body temperature and slow metabolism," says Schwartz. "Echidnas can enter an inactive state known as torpor, which is used by many animals to help them conserve energy. When in torpor, echidnas reduce their metabolic rate and lower their body temperature." 6. They Host the World's Largest Flea The short-beaked echidna serves as a host to the echidna flea (bradiopsylla echidnae). It's thought to be the world's largest flea, reaching 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) in length. 7. Their Mating Ritual Is Odd Echidna breeding season is during July and August (winter in Australia), according to Schwartz. Now this is where it gets a little strange. "Male echidnas often line up behind a female, nose to tail, forming long trains, up to 10 echidnas long," he says. "These trains are the first part of the strange echidna courtship and mark the beginning of the breeding season. When the female is finally ready to mate, the males dig a trench in the ground around her. The males compete for mating honors by pushing each other out of the trench. The last one remaining gets to mate with the female. Male echidnas may also mate with hibernating females." 8. Males Have a Four-headed Penis "During sex, two of the heads shut down while the other two grow bigger to fit into the female's two-branched reproductive tract," says Schwartz. "Echidnas alternate which heads they use when mating with different partners to improve their chances of becoming a father." 9. Babies Are Called "Puggles" An adult female echidna usually lays a single, leathery egg once a year, according to Schwartz. "She rolls the newly laid egg, about the size of a grape, into a deep pocket (or pouch) on her belly to keep it safe," he says. "Ten days later, the baby echidna, called a puggle, hatches. It weighs only about half as much as a miniature marshmallow! The puggle uses its tiny, see-through claws to grip the special hairs within the mother's pouch. The mother does not have nipples the way other mammals do. Instead, the little puggle laps up milk that the mother's body secretes from special glands in her pouch. "Fortunately for the mother, the puggle does not yet have spines sticking out," adds Schwartz. "It remains in the pouch until its spines begin to break through its skin, at about 53 days. Then the mother puts the puggle into a burrow, where she returns to feed it every five to 10 days, until it is big enough to go out on its own at about seven months old." 10. Their Spines Are Actually Hair The spines made of keratin (or long, tough, hollow hair follicles) are an echidna's main line of defense when predators strike. "If an alarmed echidna can't run away or hide, it curls into a prickly ball to protect itself or digs itself to safety," says Schwartz. In addition to being covered in spines, echidnas also are clad in shorter fur to keep them warm. 11. Males Also Have Spurs "These are not venomous," says Schwartz. "Scientists have discovered that male echidnas use the spur on their hind leg to communicate with other echidnas, unlike the platypus, who use their leg spur as a weapon." 12. You Can Pick Up an Echidna, But Carefully! While you should never pick up or disturb a wild animal, says Schwartz, echidnas can be picked up, when necessary. "It is recommended to wear thick leather gloves when handling an echidna, to protect your hands from their spines," he says. Now That's Interesting The short-beaked echidna is common and well-protected in Australia, and it's even listed as a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Due to overhunting and habitat loss, however, long-beaked echidnas have experienced declines of at least 80 percent since the 1960s, and all long-beaked echidnas are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Nearly two months into Vladimir Putin's brutal assault on Ukraine, the Biden administration and its European allies have begun planning for a far different world, in which they no longer try to coexist and cooperate with Russia but actively seek to isolate and weaken it as a matter of long-term strategy. At NATO and the European Union, and at the State Department, the Pentagon and allied ministries, blueprints are being drawn up to enshrine new policies across virtually every aspect of the West's posture toward Moscow, from defense and finance to trade and international diplomacy. Outrage is most immediately directed at Putin himself, who President Biden said last month "can't remain in power." While "we don't say regime change," said a senior E.U. diplomat, "it is difficult to imagine a stable scenario with Putin acting the way he is." But the nascent new strategy goes far beyond the Kremlin leader, as planners are continuing to revise seminal documents that are to be presented in the coming months. Biden's first National Security Strategy, legally required last year but still uncompleted, is likely to be significantly altered from initial expectations it would concentrate almost exclusively on China and domestic renewal. The Pentagon's new National Defense Strategy, sent last month in classified form to Congress, prioritizes what a brief Pentagon summary called "the Russia challenge in Europe," as well as the China threat. NATO's first Strategic Concept document since 2010, when it sought a "true strategic partnership" with Russia, will be unveiled at the alliance summit in June. "Meaningful dialogue, as we strived for before, is not an option for Russia," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference early this month. The European Union has drawn up plans to cut its heavy dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year, and end all fossil fuel imports from Russia before 2030. "It is not so much about sanctions, but it is about articulating a path to zero, making sure that we become independent of Russian gas and oil," Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a forum Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "For some, that will be a trajectory of months. For others, it might be years. But the Netherlands and other countries are dead serious about this," Hoekstra said. "Never again the same mistake." Allies have announced major defense budget increases stretching far into the future. Finland and Sweden are expected to apply for NATO membership ahead of the June summit in Madrid, a significant shift in the balance of European security that would also sharply increase the alliance's military presence near Russia. A week ago, Biden signed bills ending normal trade relations with Russia and codifying his U.S. ban on Russian oil imports. Last week, the United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia's membership from the U.N. Human Rights Council, and a long-simmering movement to revise the membership and powers of the Security Council, where Russia freely uses its veto power, gained new impetus. Few Western leaders are willing to venture a guess as to when, and how, the Ukraine crisis will play out. Many of the proposed changes "can't be fully decided until we know how this conflict ends," said Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, senior Pentagon official and deputy NATO secretary general. "Does it end?" Or does it drag on with an uneasy cease-fire, with "no war, no peace, for several years?" But the long-term strategy is being drawn up even as the allies address the immediate crisis with escalating sanctions against Moscow, weapons aid to Ukraine, and the deployment of tens of thousands of their own troops to NATO's eastern border. Many of those measures and more are now expected to stay permanently in place, according to public leader statements and conversations with eight senior U.S. and foreign officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door planning. "At the end of the day, what we want to see is a free and independent Ukraine, a weakened and isolated Russia and a stronger, more unified, more determined West," Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "We believe that all three of those objectives are in sight." Some have questioned both the wisdom of the plans and the staying power of the West, advising against a return to the "containment" policy that governed relations with the Soviet Union. Others have said the Ukraine crisis, and its profound effect on Europe, offer an opportunity for the United States to withdraw from at least some of its expensive, self-assumed responsibilities to defend the free world. "If anything," historian Stephen Wertheim argued this month in Foreign Affairs magazine, "the war has strengthened the case for strategic discipline, by offering a chance to encourage Europe to balance against Russia while the United States concentrates on security in Asia and renewal at home." Not everyone favors the long-term isolation of Moscow. In France, where President Emmanuel Macron is locked in a surprisingly close reelection race with the surging candidacy of Marine Le Pen, she has called for reconciliation between NATO and Russia and has reiterated a pledge to pull France out of the alliance's integrated command. And there are voices in Germany in favor of keeping the door open to dialogue with the Kremlin to facilitate an eventual rapprochement. In the United States, the issue is one of the few in which Biden has strong bipartisan support. Backing for a tough line against Russia appears also to have subdued Republican disdain for NATO, a hallmark of the Trump administration, as alliance members from Washington to Russia's western border insist that the need for, and the reality of, a common stand is higher than ever before. But if the immediacy of Ukraine dissipates, along with daily images of new horrors there, disagreements inevitably will arise over increased defense spending, the need to engage with Russia on issues such as nonproliferation, charges that attention is being pulled away from China, and disruptions of trade that bring rising prices at home that disrupt the president's domestic agenda. "We must commit now to be in this fight for the long haul," Biden said during a visit to Warsaw last month, outlining the fight as one between democracy and autocracy. "We must remain unified today and tomorrow and the day after and for the years and decades to come. It will not be easy. There will be costs." The last major overhaul of relations with Russia, guiding hopes after the collapse of the Soviet Union, came in 1997, when NATO leaders and Moscow approved the "Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security." Reflecting "the changing security environment in Europe . . . in which the confrontation of the Cold War has been replaced with the promise of closer cooperation among former adversaries," it said they would act together to build "a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic Area." As it sought to tie Russia to interdependency, the Founding Act included specific commitments to respect states' sovereignty, peacefully settle disputes, and, on NATO's part, an intention to avoid any additional permanent stationing of "substantial combat forces" on Russia's borders. It also specifically said it was not intended to "delay, limit or dilute NATO's opening for the accession of new members." In subsequent years, those commitments were often tested, most recently before the current crisis by Russian's 2014 invasion of parts of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, and resulting Western sanctions. But even after those events, Europe and the United States eased back into a relationship with Russia, either out of economic imperatives, as with Europe's energy imports, or out of desire, as when former president Donald Trump bragged about his deep bond with Putin. But at an emergency NATO summit last month, "leaders agreed to reset our deterrence and defense for the long term," Stoltenberg said. "To face a new security reality" with substantially more forces in the east, more jets in the skies and more ships at sea. Russia has "walked away" from the Founding Act, he said later. "That doesn't exist any more." A senior European official said that "the one lesson we take away from a Russian aggression that many thought could not be possible, is that here is a country that is ready to do something that no security guarantee or even plausible expectation [can ensure] that it can't happen again." "We thought interdependence, connectiveness, would be conducive to stability because we had correlating interests. Now, we've seen this is not the case. Russia was highly connected with Europe, a globalized country." the official said. "Interdependence, we've now seen, can entail severe risks, if a country is ruthless enough. . . . We have to adapt to a situation that is absolutely new." Several European policymakers said their current calculations are shaped by two major factors. The first is the expectation that any truce in Ukraine is likely to be temporary. Even if Putin agrees to lay down arms for the moment, many Europeans believe he will seek to regroup, rebuild the Russian military and attack again once he feels ready. The second is a deep horror at the Russian military's atrocities against civilians that have come to light since its forces pulled back toward eastern Ukraine in the past two weeks. Many believe Putin himself may need to face war crimes charges in front of international tribunals. The combination means many Europeans feel their continent will be unstable and insecure so long as Putin is in the Kremlin. And if they are not yet willing to embrace an active effort to oust his regime, support is growing there, as well as in the United States, to permanently cut off his country. "There is growing realization that this is a long-term situation and that a strategy of containment, a strategy of defense, is forming," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview. "Support Ukraine as much as you can, sanction Russia as much as you can, do as much as you can do to reduce dependence on Russia however you can and finally, yes, put more emphasis on military defense." Rinkevics was among the E.U. foreign ministers who had breakfast in Luxembourg this week with the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to discuss war crimes. "When it comes to the investigation of all the war crimes, it cannot stop at the field commander, and in Russia, the ultimate commander in chief is the president of the Russian Federation," Rinkevics said. "The feeling after Bucha," the Kyiv suburb where withdrawing Russian troops left scores of dead civilians in the streets, some apparently tortured and executed, "is that it will be very difficult to speak with Putin or anyone in the Russian government without remembering what happened." Apparently strong backing for the war among Russians has also caused a recalculation among allied policymakers about a long-standing effort to draw a distinction between the country's population and its leadership, said Lithuanian Vice Defense Minister Margiris Abukevicius. Russians appear to have the leaders they want, he said - another reason to dig in and prepare for a long standoff. "There is collective responsibility," Abukevicius said. "At the beginning, we were saying 'Putin's war.' Now, we are more and more saying 'Russia's war.'" In the nearly eight decades since the term was first used, genocide has conjured images of gas chambers, killing fields in Rwanda and mass graves in Srebrenica. Evidence of Russian atrocities in Ukrainian towns such as Bucha, combined with ominous rhetoric in Russian media suggesting de-Ukrainization, has fueled discussion about whether Russia is carrying out genocide in Ukraine. President Joe Biden used the term on Tuesday, saying, Its become clearer and clearer that Putin is trying to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has described Russian atrocities as genocide, praised Bidens comments and called on the United States to send additional heavy weapons. Other Western leaders have been more hesitant. Genocide has a meaning, French President Emmanuel Macron told the France 2 television broadcaster on April 13. The Ukrainian people and the Russian people are brethren people. The Kremlin called Bidens accusation unacceptable. Experts are divided over the merits of declaring Russian atrocities in Ukraine genocide at this point. Heres what to know about the term and its significance. What is the definition of genocide? The term genocide was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in part to describe the Nazis systematic murder of Jews during the Holocaust. The Genocide Convention of 1948 codified genocide as an international crime, defining it as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Those acts include killings, inflicting serious harm on a group, making its living conditions impossible, preventing births within the group or forcibly transferring children to another group. Gregory Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch, said people often ignore the in part element. Atrocities can count even if they dont aim to wipe out a whole population, he said. Genocide Watch has called Russias campaign to destroy Ukrainian cities a genocide. The roughly 150 parties to the convention including Russia are supposed to try to prevent and punish genocide. Under the convention, perpetrators charged with genocide are supposed to be tried in the country where the act occurred or in an international court. Past genocides include the killing of more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by Hutu extremists in 1994, the massacre of Bosnian Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica in 1995 and the forced displacement of and attacks on ethnic groups by Sudanese forces and militias in Darfur in the early 2000s. What legal and moral significance does the term carry? Some use the term to describe a situation that is horrific, that feels unimaginable, said Rebecca Hamilton, an international law professor at American University and a former lawyer in the ICCs prosecutors office. Unfortunately, there is a real disconnect between the legal use of the term genocide and the way that genocide is understood in popular discourse. Genocide is often viewed as the ultimate crime, even though it holds the same weight under international law as war crimes and crimes against humanity, experts said. For the public, the label carries immense moral significance. Politicians deploy it to rally global attention and for naming and shaming perpetrators of atrocities with the hope that they will change their behavior, said James Waller, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Keene State College, in New Hampshire. People often expect that officials use of the term will trigger international intervention, Hamilton said. Under the Genocide Convention, Hamilton said, countries commit to prevent and to punish genocide but there isnt a lot of clarity and precedent for what prevention looks like. Certainly it is not the case that once you have a genocide determination, you have a military intervention, Hamilton said. The United States did not intervene militarily to stop the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur, for example. Stanton said there are other ways countries can exercise their duty to prevent genocide. They could provide weapons to the group under attack, he said, and the U.N. General Assembly has the power under certain circumstances to send peacekeepers. Who determines whether a genocide is occurring, and how? To demonstrate that genocide has occurred, lawyers must show the existence of a group protected under the Genocide Convention, genocidal acts and an intent to destroy at least part of the group in question. The first two elements are clearly present in Ukraine, Stanton said, citing the weeks-long Russian siege of Mariupol and the forcible deportation of children to Russia as examples of acts of genocide. Intent is much harder to prove. One way to do so is to obtain evidence of orders up the chain of command, Hamilton said, but in most cases, you dont have a smoking gun. Genocidal statements in Kremlin-affiliated media as well as some recent accounts from Ukrainian rape survivors could help bolster a prosecutors case, though. Putin has rejected the idea of Ukrainian nationhood. And in recent weeks, Russian officials and media personalities suggested that Russia should reeducate Ukrainians and falsely described all Ukrainians as Nazis who must be fought. Another way to demonstrate intent is to show a clear pattern of actions that would result inevitably in a groups destruction, such as the siege and shelling of whole cities, Stanton said. Weve got a very clear, systematic pattern of actions that the foreseeable consequences of are to destroy part of a national group, namely the Ukrainian group, he said. The United States has made eight formal declarations of genocide since World War II, including the recognition last year of the Armenian genocide more than a century ago. The State Department has traditionally made these determinations. Most recently, the Biden administration announced in March that the Myanmar military had committed genocide against the Rohingya minority group. That determination came five years after the height of the mass displacement of Rohingya. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was based on the State Departments rigorous fact-finding as well as detailed documentation from independent sources including rights groups and researchers. The United States is typically cautious about these decisions. Before Bidens comments, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said U.S. officials had not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide. International courts provide an avenue for accountability. The first genocide conviction at the international level came in 1998, when a former Rwandan mayor was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity at a special tribunal. In 2002, the International Criminal Court was established to prosecute individuals for grievous crimes including genocide. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who has opened an investigation into potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, traveled to the country this month to help collect evidence. The court has only charged one person with genocide: former Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Sudan and other countries have not handed him over to face trial. The International Court of Justice, meanwhile, is responsible for adjudicating disputes between states. Thats another place where were going to see genocide discussed, Hamilton said. What could be the implications of calling Russian atrocities genocide? Advocates of using the term in the context of Ukraine say it will keep global attention on atrocities there and could result in more aid to Ukrainians and sanctions against Russians. It could also place those documenting atrocities on alert for signs of genocidal intent by Russian forces. But Stanton said he hopes the label will trigger international action that will end the misery well before then. Genocide is more likely than other descriptors to catalyze a sense of global urgency, he said. If you wait till a genocide is over and you have cases in courts, its too late, because the genocide is already accomplished, he said. Macron, however, voiced concerns that an escalation of words could hinder diplomatic efforts to end the fighting. The French president has continued to speak with Putin since the invasion. Some experts worry about applying the term prematurely. Theres a danger to the word being overused or misused or misapplied, Waller said. If it comes to mean everything, then it doesnt really mean anything. The danger is that it takes away the recognition of the real war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed, he added. The people who are suffering those crimes, they dont really care what were calling it theyre just in the midst of suffering. The Washington Posts Maite Fernandez Simon contributed to this report. Nathanael Beier yelled for people to get down before a bullet struck him in the head during last weekends drive-by shooting outside Luckys Irish Pub in downtown Spokane. His mother, Kym Beier, said thats the type of person her 31-year-old son is a servant and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. They all said they got down because of Nate, and they feel like, you know, theyre alive because he said something, she said. Three people, including Nate Beier, were wounded in the shooting on April 9. Tonya Roberts, 47, was also shot in the head, and Katelyn Corigliano, 29, was shot in the leg and suffered a compound fracture, according to court documents. Many other bullets fired that early Saturday morning missed. Kym Beier said Saturday her son was in critical condition. On Friday, Roberts was in serious condition, and Corigliano was not at the hospital, according to Ariana Lake, spokesperson for Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. Johnathan Love, 29, is charged with three counts of drive-by shooting and three counts of first-degree assault. He is jailed in lieu of $1 million bond as police continue their investigation. We can do something A GoFundMe page was created for Nate Beier had raised more than $16,000 of a $100,000 goal as of Sunday morning. A GoFundMe page was created for Tonya Roberts as well. Over $1,800 has been raised, with a $10,000 goal. Nearly $15,000 was raised on Katelyn Coriglianos page, surpassing the $8,000 goal. Prohibition Gastropub on Monroe Street plans to donate the proceeds of food sales all day Sunday to help with Coriglianos medical expenses. Michael Wiley, owner of the restaurant, said they had originally planned to close for Easter brunch because of planned crowds and a lack of staff, but the shooting provided an opportunity to serve the community in another way. Maybe theres another option, Wiley said. Maybe we can do something that doesnt require a tremendous amount of team members. So the pub will open at 2 p.m. Sunday with a limited menu that includes only Korean corn dogs made with pancake batter, with poppy seeds and spicy mustard for dipping, and blue cheese fries. Cocktails also will be available, Wiley said. Though he doesnt know Corigliano personally, Wiley said bartenders and food service workers are a family in Spokane. I think almost everyone thats in the industry has been a customer of hers over the years, he said. Wiley also encouraged residents to contribute to the medical bills for the two other victims of the shooting. A roaring river rather than a still pond Kym Beier, who lives with her husband on the East Coast, said she received a call at 6:24 a.m. Eastern Time, or about two hours after the April 9 shooting, from a hospital chaplain. She said she figured her son was in an accident, given the early Saturday morning call. She just kept saying, This isnt good, this isnt good, Kym Beier said of the chaplain. The chaplain then told her Nate Beier had been shot, and a doctor said Kym Beier needed to see her son because the prognosis wasnt good. Kym Beier said she was shocked. She wished she could teleport to Spokane. The day was just kind of surreal, she said. She, her husband and their youngest daughter flew west the next day. She said her son is under general anesthesia, and that brain swelling is his largest obstacle to overcome. Even the neurosurgeon said, you know, if he makes it through this swelling, then theres more they can tell us, Kym Beier said. But theyre not optimistic hes going to make it through. They have wanted us to terminate treatment, she added. We have chosen to go on just because if we terminated treatment its for sure, and not terminating treatment is a chance. Kym Beier said her son, who lives in Spokane, worked at a pizza place and planned to fight fires this summer. Nate Beier, who has an 8-year-old son, attended Spokane Community College with goals of becoming a firefighter. She said he is an avid outdoorsman who loves to hike and hunt. She called him a renaissance guy who does everything 2,000 miles per hour. Hes more like a roaring river than he will ever be a still pond, she said. The Beier family was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base when Nate Beier was born. He graduated from White Pass High School in Randle, Wash., 110 miles south of Seattle. He joined the Army as an infantryman about one year after graduation and returned from Afghanistan because of a knee injury. Besides the physical injury, Kym Beier said her son struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military. He didnt come back the same, she said, adding that his service to his country continued by serving others in the community. Kym Beier recalled last year when she saw her son come up to her with no shoes on. She said he told her he gave the pair to a homeless person in downtown Spokane. There isnt anything he wouldnt do, she said. Kym Beier said he mowed lawns and shoveled snow without being asked. With Nate, all you had to say is, Hey, I need this done, and hed go do it, you know, and sometimes you didnt even have to ask, she said. She said Nate Beier is also the best uncle. I have 11 grandkids, and they all loved their Uncle Nate, she said. She said he could be a kid with them. He just didnt know how to be a grown-up sometimes, Kym Beier said. She thanked the Luckys employee, police officers and paramedics who treated her son. She said they performed CPR several times. You gave him a chance to fight, and they dont know how grateful we are, she said. That is such a gift to us, you know? If the worst comes, we at least got to say goodbye to him. Spokesman-Review reporter Kip Hill contributed to this report. (c)2022 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit at www.spokesman.com (Tribune News Service) Nearly every member of Massachusetts federal delegation has signed onto a letter asking the secretary of Veterans Affairs to reconsider recommending the closure of the Northampton VA hospital, saying they are prepared to take their concerns all they way up to President Joe Biden if necessary. We are very concerned that this recommendation could jeopardize veterans access to high quality, specialized care that the veterans living in Central and Western Massachusetts deserve, congressmen, led by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern wrote in an April 14 letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough. It could mean the roughly 21,000 veterans who rely on the Northampton hospital for medical care would have to travel to far-off facilities to access care. Of particular concern is that many veterans would now need to travel at least two-hours round trip to receive care at VA medical centers in West Haven, Connecticut; Eastern Massachusetts; or Albany, N.Y., McGovern and other members wrote. Due to health status, advanced age, or lack of public transportation, far too many of the approximately 21,000 veterans who currently receive care at [the Northampton VA hospital] would be unduly burdened. Rep. Seth Moulton, a veteran, was the only member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation not to sign onto the letter. Moulton did not immediately respond to questions from MassLive as to why he was refrained from joining his Democratic colleagues. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in a March 14 report recommended closing its nearly century-old medical center in Northampton, a move that could relocate nursing home care and rehabilitation programs to a VA facility in Newington, Connecticut, while transferring outpatient and mental health services to a VA clinic in Springfield and community providers. Officials in the report cited significant facilities maintenance issues, as a driving factor for its recommendation for closure. Built in 1923 and also known as the Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center, the Northampton facility would require at least $121 million in renovations to bring it to modern standards, according to VA estimates. But McGovern in his letter argued the recommendation for closure doesnt accurately reflect the medical centers current standing or future potential because it largely relied on old data from FY2015 through FY2018. Since then, $108.4 million has been invested in completed or ongoing renovation and modernization projects at the facility, members stated. Another $93 million in future upgrades are planned, they said. The VA has already made significant investments to the facility and closure would be a waste of those improvements, the members wrote. Findings and recommendations based on VAs nationwide analysis are submitted to the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission, an independent, bipartisan group that will then make its own recommendations to President Joe Biden early next year. The Biden administration plans to hold public hearings and meetings with veterans and labor groups, lawmakers, community providers and academic partners, according to the White House. McGovern is set to host an informational listening session on Wednesday, April 20 at the Florence VFW Post 8006 at 18 Meadow St. in Northampton, to hear from local veterans and their families about how such a closure would impact them and share the next steps he is taking to protect the Leeds VA medical center. McGovern has said that he will bring the concerns he hears directly to VA Secretary McDonough and, if necessary, President Biden. We have serious concerns that closing the [ Northampton VA hospital] would be inconsistent with the Veterans Health Administrations stated mission of honoring Americas veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being, McGovern and the other delegates wrote, asking the secretary to carefully review the considerations. 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit masslive.com . The Ministry of Health is reporting 5,933 new community cases of Covid-19, 537 hospitalisations and 10 deaths. There are 20 people in ICU today with Covid-19. The Bay of Plenty has 245 new community cases reported today and there are 110 new community cases in the Lakes DHB region. There are 27 people with Covid-19 in Bay of Plenty hospitals and eight in Lakes hospitals. There were 52 new cases identified at the border. Covid-19 deaths Today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 10 people with Covid-19, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 586 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths is 14. Age and location breakdowns of the people who have died over the past two days are unavailable today. This is a very sad time for whanau and friends and our thoughts are with them. Hospitalisations Yesterday's statement under-reported hospital numbers for the Bay of Plenty due to a data reporting issue which has been resolved, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. Yesterdays reported hospitalisation figure for the Bay of Plenty should have been 27, the same as it is today, rather than the 17 we reported yesterday. The seven-day rolling average of case numbers continues to decline, with today's seven-day rolling average at 8,170 last Sunday it was 10,543. The number of reported community cases is expected to continue to fluctuate day to day, but the overall trend remains an overall reduction in reported cases. Please note that because of the Easter public holidays, some of our usual reported breakdowns are unavailable. Apologies for any inconvenience. Easter weekend reminder We are reminding you that if you are travelling this Easter weekend, you should have plans in place in the event you contract Covid-19 or are identified as a household contact of a case. You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans. If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you dont infect anyone on your way home such as maintaining social distance and using self-service petrol stations. However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you wont be able to isolate at your home. It is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so. There are three actions everyone can do to help protect themselves and others this Easter weekend: Firstly be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if youve not yet had one. If you are travelling this long weekend, get boosted before you go. Secondly wear a mask. Masks are still required in many indoor settings. A good rule of thumb is to wear a mask in indoor public settings as we know that mask use halves the risk of spread of Covid-19. You must also wear a face mask on all flights and public transport, in taxi and ride-share services unless you are exempt. And thirdly stay home and avoid others if youre unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test. For guidance if you or someone you know tests positive or becomes a household contact, visit the Ministry of Health website. For more information on mask use at Orange, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website. Border cases changes From Monday, new arrivals into the country who test positive for Covid-19 within 7 days of arrival will be reported as a border case changing it from the current definition of within 14 days. Any recent arrivals testing positive for Covid-19 after 7 days will now be reported as a community case reflecting where the most likely source of infection after being in the country for more than a week. Vaccinations administered in New Zealand Vaccines administered to date: 4,026,184 first doses; 3,976,757 second doses; 31,684 third primary doses; 2,613,123 booster doses: 260,497 paediatric first doses and 104,764 paediatric second doses Vaccines administered yesterday: 17 first doses; 62 second doses; 1 third primary doses; 825 booster doses; 54 paediatric first doses and 564 paediatric second doses People vaccinated All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,056,070 first dose (96.4%); 4,006,038 second dose (95.2%), 2,610,163 boosted (71.4% of those eligible) Maori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 520,805 first dose (91.2%); 503,733 second dose (88.2%), 232,743 boosted (55.6% of those eligible) Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,752 first dose (98.3%); 276,805 second dose (96.6%), 138,664 boosted (57.5% of those eligible) 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 258,044 first dose (54.2%); 102,373 second dose (21.5%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Maori: 40,656 first dose (35.2%); 11,699 second dose (10.1%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,393 first dose (47.4%); 5,639 second dose (11.4%) Note that the number for People vaccinated differs slightly from Vaccines administered as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas. Vaccination rates for all DHBs* Northland DHB: first dose (90.1%); second dose (88%); boosted (68.2%) Auckland Metro DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (96.2%); boosted (69.9%) Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.6%); boosted (67%) Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.4%); boosted (66.5%) Lakes DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91.4%); boosted (67%) MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (72.6%) Tairawhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91%); boosted (66.4%) Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.4%); boosted (72%) Hawkes Bay DHB: first dose (97.1%); second dose (95.5%); boosted (70.3%) Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.2%); boosted (68.6%) Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95%); boosted (73.4%) Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (79.6%) Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.7%); boosted (75.4%) Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (73.8%) West Coast DHB: first dose (92.7%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (72.1%) Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.7%); second dose (98.8%); boosted (74.8%) South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.8%); second dose (93.8%); boosted (74.9%) Southern DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.4%); boosted (73.5%) *Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose Percentages are based on 2020 HSU data - a health-specific population denominator. As the population continues to change over time, coverage rates can exceed 100 per cent. Hospitalisations Cases in hospital for today: total number 537: Northland: 45; Waitemata: 80; Auckland: 80; Counties Manukau: 77; Waikato: 32; Bay of Plenty: 27; Lakes: 8; Tairawhiti: 1; Hawkes Bay: 8; Taranaki: 12; Whanganui: 3; MidCentral: 19; Wairarapa: 3; Hutt Valley: 24; Capital and Coast: 16; Nelson Marlborough: 9; Canterbury: 54; South Canterbury: 6; West Coast: 2; Southern: 31 *Average age of current hospitalisations: 58 Cases in ICU or HDU: 20 Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): unavailable today Please note the average age of current hospitalisations is for the Northern Region admissions only at this stage. This data is recorded and extracted from the same source as the vaccination status of patients in Northern Region hospitals. We are currently working on a data solution which would include the average age of current hospitalisations from additional DHBs. Cases Seven day rolling average of community cases: 8,170 Seven day rolling average (as at same day last week): 10,543 Number of new community cases: 5,933 Number of new community cases (PCR): 108 Number of new community cases (RAT): 5,825 Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (293), Waitemata (467), Auckland (414), Counties Manukau (363), Waikato (425), Bay of Plenty (245), Lakes (110), Hawkes Bay (184), MidCentral (268), Whanganui (103), Taranaki (192), Tairawhiti (29), Wairarapa (63), Capital and Coast (385), Hutt Valley (230), Nelson Marlborough (201), Canterbury (1,031), South Canterbury (154), Southern (706), West Coast (67), Unknown (3) Number of new cases identified at the border: 52 Number of active community cases today (total): 57,159 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered) Confirmed cases (total): 822,643 Please note, the Ministry of Healths daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO. Tests Number of PCR tests total (last 24 hours): 1,162 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 5,825 PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 2,359 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days as of 14 April 2022): 3.2 million. This will be next updated on Tuesday 19 April. Bay of Plenty Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of qualified or experienced carpenters for an... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz What was once the Bays Mills Reef Winery building has opened its doors to a new lease of life as The Vines Bethlehem clubhouse. Work on converting and extending the iconic landmark into a clubhouse has been completed, much to the delight of the residents of this retirement village. Theres much to delight. Spanning more than 2000m2, the clubhouse includes an indoor swimming pool and spa, auditorium, theatre, library, gym, lounge areas including a pool table lounge plus resident workshop, arts and craft room, bowling green, and hairdressing and wellness spaces. Theres also a bowling green and a community garden, while those wishing to play croquet and petanque are also catered for. The 12-hectare site, which became a winery in the 1990s, was bought for a high-quality retirement village by Classic Group and Kauri Investments Limited, and is operated by their company, Classic Life with work starting on-site in 2016. The developers paid homage to the winerys history through the name of the lifestyle village, called The Vines at Bethlehem, and its winery-themed street names. Classic Group director Peter Cooney says The Vines was developed with a gold class lifestyle in mind, so it was apt that its clubhouse previously described as an art deco-styled winery would be such a gem of a building. He acknowledges that with the retention of the Mills Reef building comes the retention of memories. Many people had celebrated there during the buildings 25-year history. The fact the building would live on meant there was scope for more great memories to be created, says Peter. Classic Life general manager Stuart Cheeseman says the residents are overwhelmed with whats been created and really impressed with the quality and spaciousness. Its exceeded their expectations and they like how is has both an upmarket, yet homely, feel. Stuart says the clubhouse is considered a flagship in the Classic Life portfolio. Part of the Classic Group, Classic Life is committed to designing, building and managing new kinds of lifestyle and retirement environments. Stuart says theres good news for those keen to enjoy some of the new clubhouse action. Residency options are still available as construction of houses within The Vines development continues, with 125 of 191 completed. Those keen to know more can contact The Vines sales manager Tony Stack on 021 328 767 or email: info@thevinesatbethlehem.co.nz An official opening of the clubhouse will be held later this year. Three more people have surfaced in regards to the Tauranga by-election, set for June. Former deputy mayor Kelvin Clout and former Tauranga City councillor Matt Cowley are both publicly running in the selection process for Nationals candidate and this party is sticking to its candidate announcement date of early-May. The New Conservative Party has announced on Monday it will stand its co-leader Helen Houghton as a candidate. Matt announced his nomination for the National Party candidate selection process for the 2022 Tauranga by-election on Wednesday morning. Matt says he is looking forward to participating in the National Party's selection process, particularly in the contest of ideas with the other nominees. I will make further statements on my policy positions if I am selected as the National Party's candidate. I respect the National Partys process and I have full confidence in the local membership to reach a good decision. As I am currently employed as CEO of the Tauranga Business Chamber, I am working with the Chamber Board to limit my role during the election process to ensure the Chamber maintains political neutrality. New Conservatives Helen Houghton currently lives in Christchurch, but the party has stated she will move to Tauranga for the duration of the campaign. She will work hard to make the people of Tauranga aware of the policies of New Conservative and how they relate to their electorate. Helen believes New Conservative is the consistent, conservative choice for Tauranga. We are not distracted by the whims of a few that have caused other parties to lose their true identity. We stand for family, freedom, and facts over feelings feelings change but facts do not. I am looking forward to meeting and talking with the Tauranga voters and taking their concerns to Parliament," says Helen. Meanwhile, last Friday, former Deputy Mayor of Tauranga, Kelvin Clout, publicly voiced his intention to stand for the position of the National Partys candidate for the by-election. Kelvin was Taurangas Deputy Mayor from 2013 to 2019, which he says gave him unrivalled insights into Taurangas many issues, challenges and opportunities. Taurangas next MP needs a detailed grasp of our local issues, and strong connections with the diverse sectors that hold a stake in our citys exciting future, says Kelvin, who has been an active member and supporter of the National Party for many years. Helen, as a confirmed candidate, joins six others that will run in the upcoming by-election they are past by-election candidate Peter Wakeman, Tauranga City Councillor Andrew Hollis, the Act Partys Cameron Luxton, The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Partys Christopher Coker, The Labour Partys Jan Tinetti and The NZ Outdoors & Freedoms Partys Sue Grey. But despite these seven already confirming their candidacies, the National Party is sticking to its timeline to select its candidate on May 1. With nominations closing on April 13, National Party president Peter Goodfellow says nominees will now go through several meet the candidates meetings across the electorate late-April before a final selection meeting on May 1. Polling day for the by-election is set for Saturday, June 18. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Randamoozham Newbie Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Bangalore Posts: 19 Thanked: 76 Times Now you know why I had to spend lot of time in choosing the right car for me in the right budget. I am a tall guy - 184 cms (6 foot and 1 cm) - All the guys who are 180cms and calls themselves as 6 foot, please bear with me. Way back in 2007 I did not have much choice while buying my Wagon R VXI. It was the perfect car for me then for a comfortable driving position. Even Mahindra Scorpio did not give me a comfortable seating during those years. Even though I knew that a a new car is needed long time ago, my priorities were different. But it hit me when my younger one told me to move little front (since I always push the seat to the extreme back), I knew that I can not wait anymore. I was hesitant since my Wagon R serves me well within the city and I am not a fan about driving long distance. I am hoping that Tucson will change it. Coming from a 17 year old car, I do not have much to compare it with Tucson except the Toyota Camry I drove for 7 years when I was in USA. Man, how I miss my Camry. I asked for the price in India and it is 50L + and did not even look back. I landed on Tucson GLS 2WD Diesel, Phantom Black. This is my third week and hitting 500Km on the Odometer. Likes 1. Elegant and Classic Design - It is timeless and it grows on you 2. Handle, Puddle and Corner lamps - I find these lamps very useful 3. Automatic Headlights and Rain Sensors - Yet to experience the Automatic rain sensors though 4. Space in the back seat - Jeep disappointed me on this category. My family thanks me every time they get in. Even if I push my seat to the extreme back, they are comfortable. 5. Very smooth drive - Did not feel the need of a paddle shift while driving or over taking. - Yet to go on a highway trip which I am planning pretty soon 6. Wireless Charger - My 5 year old S7 Edge works well with this 7. Blue Link - I like the option of starting the car and keep the AC on 5 mins before I arrive especially when the car is left in the sun. 8. Parking Sensors for the front and Back 9. Last but not the least, I expect the car to have better safety measures since it is CKD. Once the localization starts, you can expect issues and it will take couple of years to sort it out. Dislikes 1. Ventilated Seats are missing - I loved the ventilated seats in some of the other cars while test driving which would be REALLY helpful while driving during the day 2. 360 degree Camera - I really miss this given the size of the car especially when you are cutting corners in crammed junctions 3. Wonder Warranty - Hyundai withdrew the wonder warranty from Feb 1 2022. There is a twist to the story. details in the booking experience 4. Parking Sensors do not get activated automatically at low speeds. It works as designed by Hyundai and works like a charm when I put the car in Reverse. I wish it automatically gets activated while the speed lowers less than 10 km/hr. 5. Steering Wheel - I don't like the grip -I feel like they are slippery - and the placement of the horn. 6. Android Auto is not wireless which defeats the purpose of Wireless charging. One of my friends who owns a Tiguan told me that it is better when it comes to Google Maps to get quick updates from phone to Car. 7. Blue Link app throws an error that the door is not locked every time when I lock the car. I need to refresh the app and then only it goes away. 8. Not enough USB ports - I see that there is only one port for USB Charging. If it is used for Android Auto, you could not charge another phone. 9. Utility spaces are not enough - You can not keep a one litre bottle on the door panels and there is no provision to keep anything on the dash. History Here were my principles in buying a Car 1. NEVER buy a car which is running as a Taxi. You loose the feel good aspect of owning the car. Thanks to my dear friend Anil for instilling this in me. 2. Always buy the top end (I do not want to regret later for few thousands) 3. It should be a Black. I love the Royal Look of Black. 4. Always take the Extended warranty for the period where the manufacturer allows you to. Thanks to my brother in law for this advice. He learnt his lesson from his Nissan Terrano. I test drove almost all SUVs (I thought about the Octavia for a little but my wife was not for a Sedan) in the 20- 40 lakhs range. I called Jeep, Skoda, Kia, VW, Tata and Hyundai on the same day. I went to their corporate contact centers and they assigned the enquiry to dealers located near my home. Here are my impressions Compass - I thought I will end up in Jeep so I wanted to test drive this in the last. But he showed up first. I did not have much to expect but I feel that the SA was over confident about the vehicle and did not try to explain the features properly to me. But my family complained about the rear seat space. I wanted a top end diesel and it comes only in 4WD which pushes the envelope to 37 lakhs. Tucson - The Lakshmi Hyundai did not have a TD vehicle. So they brought a Creta and I liked Creta except the 360 degree camera. My wife and mother also loved the car. But I did not want to be one of the Millions of Creta owners. The SA was pushing for Alcazar since the ventilated seats and 360 degree cameras are available in Alcazar. He also said the same engines are being used in Tucson and why do you need to spend more money on Tucson. I also read about the arrival of new Tucson so I decided to wait. The SA offered 50K first but if I am ready to book he was ready to go up to 75k discount. Alcazar - I did not test drive the vehicle but took a look at it in Lakshmi. My family or I did not like the interiors. I feel it is crammed with three rows. It was ruled out. Taigun - Liked the Exterior but the moment I stepped in, seats looked cheap, the Brake nob, the manual seat adjustment surprised me. After paying 23 lakhs, I might get good build quality but I don't even get Power Seats after spending 23 L. Come on VW. Tiguan - Had a brief Test drive but 41 lakhs for a Petrol is not worth for me. Kushaq - I had to call three to five times to get a TD. The exterior and the interior looked good. I liked the car. But I also heard the horror stories of Skoda recalls. I wanted a diesel. For those reasons, I ruled out Kushaq. Seltos - Seltos was my dream car two years ago. Since I started seeing Seltos everywhere (2 million Seltos in 2 years) it lost the charm and I am bored by it. I liked the TD though. The safety ratings for Seltos also went against it in my books. Harrier - Good Road presence but I could really feel the dragging (rubber band??) effect in low gears and my wife from the rear seat asked me why the car is behaving like this. There was a warning light and sound as I was finishing the test drive and the SA could not fix it. Tata is yet to perfect the art as far as I am concerned. Innova - I test drove the vehicle for the heck of it. Very comfortable suspension and a no non sense car. I did not want to go for it for the same reason I do not want to buy a Taxi car. I started reading the TBHP again about the Tucson new model but realized that there wont be any discounts plus the price would go north. I wanted to do a Test Drive and wanted to shop around. One Saturday afternoon, I called all dealers in Bangalore and asked for a Test Drive for Tucson Diesel top end. Only Blue Hyundai, Rajaji Nagar offered a Test Drive on the same day and the SA (Shahabuddin) came with the Branch manager (Naveen) to my home. That was a good gesture on Naveen's end to come home and he was serious about closing the deal. Straight away he offered better discount and if I go with a starry night (which they had in stock), he was ready to give more discounts. I asked for couple of days to close the deal while Trident came back with a better offer, even Lakshmi Hyundai was ready to match the offers but the fact that Naveen came to my home and took time to meet with me made me go with Blue. To my surprise, Naveen even bettered the deal and I closed the deal on the same day. I should say that both Shahabuddin and Naeveen were very helpful through out the process and made me feel home. Shahabuddin came home for the booking process. Naveen told me to book the car directly using Hyundai Click to Buy website to block the Phantom Black colour since there were only two left in the plant. During the negotiations, Naveen informed me that HML withdrew the wonder warranty. But while booking the car, I noticed that the wonder warranty is still available in the HML website as part of Tucson offer. I brought it to the notice of Naveen and he agreed to write to HML. I took a screenshot of the same along with the date and shared with Naveen. He told me that typically it will not be honored since they closed the program. In my mind, well, they should have updated the same in the website. I booked the car online and I was told by their website that it is available. As expected, HML came back to Naveen stating that the program is discontinued. I did not want to leave it there and wrote to HML directly. After a follow up, no response from HML but I got a call from Naveen offering me the 4th year extended warranty as complementary from the dealer end since HML puts the onus on the dealer to handle an un happy customer. Effectively I had to pay only the 5th year extended warranty. I went with the Dealer Insurance (Bumper to Bumper), basic accessories, extended warranty up to 5 years. I feel extended warranty is VERY important considering the cost (especially this is a CKD) of the car. Note - Different dealerships charge you different prices for the accessories. Blue charges only around 3K but Lakshmi is charging around 6K. Please watch out the On road price while you shop around I was told that it will take up to three weeks for the car to come but to my surprise the car came to the showroom in two days and I did the PDI, registration was completed in a weeks time and I took the delivery with the family. The team at Blue Rajaji Nagar made us feel special with flowers, cake and the ceremony. I took the car straight to Shell and filled the Power Diesel. PPF and Ceramic Coating from Krithi Car Care Before I take the delivery of the car, I had a discussion with Krithi Car Care and took the advice of Meena for the delivery. She gave me some tips like I should ask the Dealer NOT to do the machine polish or wax the car and leave the plastics in the car as is since PPF is a wet application. Typically the dealers use the same machine for polishing, there would be swirls left on the car. I was planning to do PPF in damage prone areas only but after a discussion with KP, I decided to do the PPF for the entire body and ceramic coating (complementary from them). . Both Meena and KP are very knowledgeable in detailing of cars and they give you the right advice on any matters related to the car. Even though I told my SA not to do any machine polishing, they did the water washing and wiping of the car which left swirls on the body. I was shocked to see swirls and scratches in the body when I took the car to Krithi after two days of delivery. KP from Krithi consoled me stating that this is normal and he will take care of those before PPF is applied. They took 4 days for the work and did an awesome job. My experience with Krithi was wonderful. Both Meena and KP are knowledgeable in what they do and could give you good advice in maintaining the car, Note - I thank KP and Meena for convincing me to go for whole body PPF. I already had my my first scratch (as you know, first scratch is always a scratch on your heart). While parking the car, my gate hit car, PPF saved the paint and it did the job which it was supposed to do. It left a small dent but no issues with the paint. KP's initial reaction was to leave it as it is but it was too much for me to take it so he helped me to replace only the portion of the film. You could very well make out a patch on the car but what to do.. I am yet to go for a long drive which is due. I am planning for a trip to Kodai and then to Kerala. More to come... Her are some pics. Before I jump in, little bit about myself. Believe me, it will make sense once you finish the review. I spend lot of time before buying anything, but when I do, I intent to use for a long time and sometimes till it wears out. You must have understood that from the title of this article. Be it my scissors - which I use for cutting my mustache - its with me for the last 28 years (travelled with me from Kerala to Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Raleigh, Atlanta and Back to Bangalore) and still going good - Or my first smart phone - which lasted for 5 years till it broke and second one already completed 5 years. :-)Now you know why I had to spend lot of time in choosing the right car for me in the right budget. I am a tall guy - 184 cms (6 foot and 1 cm) - All the guys who are 180cms and calls themselves as 6 foot, please bear with me.Way back in 2007 I did not have much choice while buying my Wagon R VXI. It was the perfect car for me then for a comfortable driving position. Even Mahindra Scorpio did not give me a comfortable seating during those years. Even though I knew that a a new car is needed long time ago, my priorities were different. But it hit me when my younger one told me to move little front (since I always push the seat to the extreme back), I knew that I can not wait anymore.I was hesitant since my Wagon R serves me well within the city and I am not a fan about driving long distance. I am hoping that Tucson will change it.Coming from a 17 year old car, I do not have much to compare it with Tucson except the Toyota Camry I drove for 7 years when I was in USA. Man, how I miss my Camry. I asked for the price in India and it is 50L + and did not even look back.I landed on Tucson GLS 2WD Diesel, Phantom Black. This is my third week and hitting 500Km on the Odometer.1. Elegant and Classic Design - It is timeless and it grows on you2. Handle, Puddle and Corner lamps - I find these lamps very useful3. Automatic Headlights and Rain Sensors - Yet to experience the Automatic rain sensors though4. Space in the back seat - Jeep disappointed me on this category. My family thanks me every time they get in. Even if I push my seat to the extreme back, they are comfortable.5. Very smooth drive - Did not feel the need of a paddle shift while driving or over taking. - Yet to go on a highway trip which I am planning pretty soon6. Wireless Charger - My 5 year old S7 Edge works well with this7. Blue Link - I like the option of starting the car and keep the AC on 5 mins before I arrive especially when the car is left in the sun.8. Parking Sensors for the front and Back9. Last but not the least, I expect the car to have better safety measures since it is CKD. Once the localization starts, you can expect issues and it will take couple of years to sort it out.1. Ventilated Seats are missing - I loved the ventilated seats in some of the other cars while test driving which would be REALLY helpful while driving during the day2. 360 degree Camera - I really miss this given the size of the car especially when you are cutting corners in crammed junctions3. Wonder Warranty - Hyundai withdrew the wonder warranty from Feb 1 2022. There is a twist to the story. details in the booking experience4. Parking Sensors do not get activated automatically at low speeds. It works as designed by Hyundai and works like a charm when I put the car in Reverse. I wish it automatically gets activated while the speed lowers less than 10 km/hr.5. Steering Wheel - I don't like the grip -I feel like they are slippery - and the placement of the horn.6. Android Auto is not wireless which defeats the purpose of Wireless charging. One of my friends who owns a Tiguan told me that it is better when it comes to Google Maps to get quick updates from phone to Car.7. Blue Link app throws an error that the door is not locked every time when I lock the car. I need to refresh the app and then only it goes away.8. Not enough USB ports - I see that there is only one port for USB Charging. If it is used for Android Auto, you could not charge another phone.9. Utility spaces are not enough - You can not keep a one litre bottle on the door panels and there is no provision to keep anything on the dash.Here were my principles in buying a Car1. NEVER buy a car which is running as a Taxi. You loose the feel good aspect of owning the car. Thanks to my dear friend Anil for instilling this in me.2. Always buy the top end (I do not want to regret later for few thousands)3. It should be a Black. I love the Royal Look of Black.4. Always take the Extended warranty for the period where the manufacturer allows you to. Thanks to my brother in law for this advice. He learnt his lesson from his Nissan Terrano.I test drove almost all SUVs (I thought about the Octavia for a little but my wife was not for a Sedan) in the 20- 40 lakhs range. I called Jeep, Skoda, Kia, VW, Tata and Hyundai on the same day. I went to their corporate contact centers and they assigned the enquiry to dealers located near my home.Here are my impressionsCompass - I thought I will end up in Jeep so I wanted to test drive this in the last. But he showed up first. I did not have much to expect but I feel that the SA was over confident about the vehicle and did not try to explain the features properly to me. But my family complained about the rear seat space. I wanted a top end diesel and it comes only in 4WD which pushes the envelope to 37 lakhs.Tucson - The Lakshmi Hyundai did not have a TD vehicle. So they brought a Creta and I liked Creta except the 360 degree camera. My wife and mother also loved the car. But I did not want to be one of the Millions of Creta owners. The SA was pushing for Alcazar since the ventilated seats and 360 degree cameras are available in Alcazar. He also said the same engines are being used in Tucson and why do you need to spend more money on Tucson. I also read about the arrival of new Tucson so I decided to wait. The SA offered 50K first but if I am ready to book he was ready to go up to 75k discount.Alcazar - I did not test drive the vehicle but took a look at it in Lakshmi. My family or I did not like the interiors. I feel it is crammed with three rows. It was ruled out.Taigun - Liked the Exterior but the moment I stepped in, seats looked cheap, the Brake nob, the manual seat adjustment surprised me. After paying 23 lakhs, I might get good build quality but I don't even get Power Seats after spending 23 L. Come on VW.Tiguan - Had a brief Test drive but 41 lakhs for a Petrol is not worth for me.Kushaq - I had to call three to five times to get a TD. The exterior and the interior looked good. I liked the car. But I also heard the horror stories of Skoda recalls. I wanted a diesel. For those reasons, I ruled out Kushaq.Seltos - Seltos was my dream car two years ago. Since I started seeing Seltos everywhere (2 million Seltos in 2 years) it lost the charm and I am bored by it. I liked the TD though. The safety ratings for Seltos also went against it in my books.Harrier - Good Road presence but I could really feel the dragging (rubber band??) effect in low gears and my wife from the rear seat asked me why the car is behaving like this. There was a warning light and sound as I was finishing the test drive and the SA could not fix it. Tata is yet to perfect the art as far as I am concerned.Innova - I test drove the vehicle for the heck of it. Very comfortable suspension and a no non sense car. I did not want to go for it for the same reason I do not want to buy a Taxi car.I started reading the TBHP again about the Tucson new model but realized that there wont be any discounts plus the price would go north. I wanted to do a Test Drive and wanted to shop around. One Saturday afternoon, I called all dealers in Bangalore and asked for a Test Drive for Tucson Diesel top end. Only Blue Hyundai, Rajaji Nagar offered a Test Drive on the same day and the SA (Shahabuddin) came with the Branch manager (Naveen) to my home. That was a good gesture on Naveen's end to come home and he was serious about closing the deal. Straight away he offered better discount and if I go with a starry night (which they had in stock), he was ready to give more discounts. I asked for couple of days to close the deal while Trident came back with a better offer, even Lakshmi Hyundai was ready to match the offers but the fact that Naveen came to my home and took time to meet with me made me go with Blue. To my surprise, Naveen even bettered the deal and I closed the deal on the same day. I should say that both Shahabuddin and Naeveen were very helpful through out the process and made me feel home.Shahabuddin came home for the booking process. Naveen told me to book the car directly using Hyundai Click to Buy website to block the Phantom Black colour since there were only two left in the plant.During the negotiations, Naveen informed me that HML withdrew the wonder warranty. But while booking the car, I noticed that the wonder warranty is still available in the HML website as part of Tucson offer. I brought it to the notice of Naveen and he agreed to write to HML. I took a screenshot of the same along with the date and shared with Naveen. He told me that typically it will not be honored since they closed the program. In my mind, well, they should have updated the same in the website. I booked the car online and I was told by their website that it is available. As expected, HML came back to Naveen stating that the program is discontinued. I did not want to leave it there and wrote to HML directly. After a follow up, no response from HML but I got a call from Naveen offering me the 4th year extended warranty as complementary from the dealer end since HML puts the onus on the dealer to handle an un happy customer. Effectively I had to pay only the 5th year extended warranty.I went with the Dealer Insurance (Bumper to Bumper), basic accessories, extended warranty up to 5 years. I feel extended warranty is VERY important considering the cost (especially this is a CKD) of the car.Note - Different dealerships charge you different prices for the accessories. Blue charges only around 3K but Lakshmi is charging around 6K. Please watch out the On road price while you shop aroundI was told that it will take up to three weeks for the car to come but to my surprise the car came to the showroom in two days and I did the PDI, registration was completed in a weeks time and I took the delivery with the family. The team at Blue Rajaji Nagar made us feel special with flowers, cake and the ceremony. I took the car straight to Shell and filled the Power Diesel.Before I take the delivery of the car, I had a discussion with Krithi Car Care and took the advice of Meena for the delivery. She gave me some tips like I should ask the Dealer NOT to do the machine polish or wax the car and leave the plastics in the car as is since PPF is a wet application. Typically the dealers use the same machine for polishing, there would be swirls left on the car.I was planning to do PPF in damage prone areas only but after a discussion with KP, I decided to do the PPF for the entire body and ceramic coating (complementary from them). . Both Meena and KP are very knowledgeable in detailing of cars and they give you the right advice on any matters related to the car.Even though I told my SA not to do any machine polishing, they did the water washing and wiping of the car which left swirls on the body. I was shocked to see swirls and scratches in the body when I took the car to Krithi after two days of delivery. KP from Krithi consoled me stating that this is normal and he will take care of those before PPF is applied.They took 4 days for the work and did an awesome job. My experience with Krithi was wonderful. Both Meena and KP are knowledgeable in what they do and could give you good advice in maintaining the car,Note - I thank KP and Meena for convincing me to go for whole body PPF. I already had my my first scratch (as you know, first scratch is always a scratch on your heart). While parking the car, my gate hit car, PPF saved the paint and it did the job which it was supposed to do. It left a small dent but no issues with the paint. KP's initial reaction was to leave it as it is but it was too much for me to take it so he helped me to replace only the portion of the film. You could very well make out a patch on the car but what to do..I am yet to go for a long drive which is due. I am planning for a trip to Kodai and then to Kerala. More to come...Her are some pics. Last edited by vb-san : 16th April 2022 at 08:14 . Reason: Typo ringoism BHPian Join Date: May 2012 Location: Himachal Posts: 869 Thanked: 2,588 Times Re: Supercar & Import Crashes in India Quote: venkyhere Originally Posted by Probably a correlation with owners overestimating their ability to handle the power and speed, as is usually the case with most "super" cars. Intellect may sometimes be effectively faked, but driving skill is another thing, and wrecked exotics don't leave much wiggle room. Evident in all this is the reality of zero correlation between financial power and the ability to drive. It may even be inversely proportional for whatever reasons. Useful as a pride-deflator / reality check, I suppose. Re: that Lambo: "the company agent was in control of the steering wheel when the crash occurred" (rough quote). I could just imagine... Note there was no mention of who was actually in the driver's seat!!! Having gone out of control at whatever speed, I'd guess the agent reached over in a failed attempt to regain it and thereby save his precious goods. Whatever, a sad waste. -Eric Someone observed that the richest person in the room often tends to speak out like he's also the smartest / most knowledgable.Intellect may sometimes be effectively faked, but driving skill is another thing, and wrecked exotics don't leave much wiggle room.Evident in all this is the reality of zero correlation between financial power and the ability to drive.It may even be inversely proportional for whatever reasons. Useful as a pride-deflator / reality check, I suppose.Re: that Lambo: "the company agent was in control of the steering wheel when the crash occurred" (rough quote). I could just imagine...Note there was no mention of who was actually in the driver's seat!!! Having gone out of control at whatever speed, I'd guess the agent reached over in a failed attempt to regain it and thereby save his precious goods.Whatever, a sad waste.-Eric Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is already available. Apr. 16 was the best time to test the camera phone of this model as it was the rising of the Pink Moon [2022]. Taking images of the moon is really challenging, as it requires zooming. You know what will happen if you zoom too much if you are using a smartphone, right? Is it worth buying this Samsung smartphone? - "yea" or "nay?" Here's what the people say on Twitterverse. The giant Apple competitor hailed from South Korea launched this "advanced handset" on Feb. 25. A day after, Samsung began shipping its new Galaxy models. But, it seems like Galaxy S22 Ultra owners are not happy with one of the features offered by S21's successor. This is because the zoom cam function's captured photos are quite blurry. The question here is, is the zoom feature of the S22 downgraded by Samsung? Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra's Zoom Feature Actually a Downgrade? Samsung did not confirm if it downgraded the zoom feature of its new Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, Twitter leaker Alvin (@sondesix) claimed that the feature is less efficient compared to the version offered by S21 Ultra. Also Read: Foldable iPhone Might Be a Combination of Tablet and Smartphone; Similar To Samsung Galaxy Z Fold? "Galaxy S22 Ultra's stabilization when capturing moon shots and other objects at 20x or more is incredible! On closer objects," sarcastically said the computer engineer. Other consumers who already have the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra also shared their negative experiences. One of them said that he tried to capture the moon, but the final photo output is very smudged. I agree.. this is from yesterday. Very smudged pic.twitter.com/grLX2B574p Mattia giglio (@GiglioMattia) April 17, 2022 @sondesix even released some video clips to show the actual performance of the new S22 Ultra model when the 20x zoom cam feature is activated. Based on the footage, the successor of the S21 Ultra can capture close objects efficiently. But, when it is focused on a very far subject, such as the moon, the image gets pretty blurry. You can watch the video clips by clicking the Twitter threat below. S22 Ultra Vs. S21 Ultra Camera Specs The issue with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra zoom feature might be a bug. But, if you are one of the concerned consumers, the best thing you can do is wait for the tech firm's official announcements. Now, when it comes to cam specs comparison, there's no difference at all. XDA Developers provided exact camera lens features of both S21 Ultra and S22 Ultra: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Rear Camera Lenses Primary: 108MP wide, f/1.8, 1/1.33, OIS, Laser AF Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 Tertiary: 10MP telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 Quarternary: 10MP, Periscope, 10x optical zoom, f/4.9 Front Camera Lens (40 MP) Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Rear Camera Lenses Primary: 108MP wide, f/1.8, 1/1.33, OIS, Laser AF Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 Tertiary: 10MP telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 Quarternary: 10MP, Periscope, 10x optical zoom, f/4.9 Front Camera Lens (40 MP) Meanwhile, some rumors claim that the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Series might have a third "Pro" version. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy S9 models no longer support Android updates. For more news updates about Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and other camera smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Galaxy S22 Overheating Shall Be Blamed on Samsung Alone as Industry Insider Says it Can Also Happen to Android Flagships This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. TikTok and other Chinese social media platforms are now planning to display user locations without people's consent. What makes this privacy issue worse is that the personal info display is impossible to disable. This sudden change is quite unusual since the Asian country's central government doesn't require platforms to track the real locations of their users. This has been the situation in China in the past few years - even when the Chinese government has been increasing the regulatory oversight on the internet. TikTok, Other Chinese SocMed Platforms To Display User Address? According to the South China Morning Post's latest report, the Chinese internet watchdog, CAC (Cyberspace Administration of China), announced that 2022 would be the year that the online platforms will be cleaned up from rumors and other unproven content. Also Read: Why Twitter Board Members Rejects Elon Musk's Purchase Offer? Tesla Shares Decrease After CEO's Bid Although the user location display is still not mandated by the government, various social media companies decided to make their own move. ByteDance, the owner of Tiktok, said that its news aggregator, Jinri Toutiao, will soon track the location of the users. Aside from ByteDance, other companies, such as Douyin (owner of Kuaishou, TikTok's video platform rival), and the lifestyle community site called Xiaohongsu, announced that they will be the same. Displaying user locations is not really new in China. Recently, Weibo also did the same thing, offering the addresses of the individuals who share fake news. Should You Be Alarmed? Although many Chinese social media sites announced that they would display user locations even without consent, they clarified that the province address would be shown. If you are in other countries, only the region or country you are located in will be displayed. This means that your exact address will not be tracked. How To Geek also explained that IP addresses will not show the exact physical address of the users. Meanwhile, four new TikTok features were recently released. Previously, some users shared disappointments regarding the new TikTok profile history views feature. For more news updates about TikTok and other social media platforms, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: DuckDuckGo Removes Pirate Websites from Search Results: No More YouTube-dl? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The so-called Moon Wobble effect is now concerning the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other scientists. NASA is now working on a new statistical framework that predicts the upcoming floods' seriousness in the next 60 years. The rising sea levels are no longer new. Many countries are dealing with seasonal floods because of the continuous climate change problems. NASA and other agencies have claimed that the floods will get worst by 2030 because of the Moon Wobble. Moon Wobble 2030 Alarms NASA According to CNET's latest report, the Moon Wobble is a slight change in the orbit of Earth's natural satellite. Although this is not a massive direction change, experts stated that the slight orbital shift of the moon will be strong enough in 2030 to cause major floods. Also Read: Several Climate Activists Disrupt Supplies From Oil Terminals in the Midland and South-East Parts of England "The combination of the moon's gravitational pull, rising sea levels, and climate change will continue to exacerbate coastal flooding on our coastlines and across the world," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Coastal Review reported that the Moon Wobble is a part of the 18.7-year moon nodal cycle. Researchers stated that this lunar cycle event would have two parts. The first half will lead to lower sea levels. This means that there will be no massive floods during this period. But, the second half will be the opposite since it can lead to amplified tides (higher sea levels). The second part of the 18.7-year lunar nodal cycle is estimated to happen around the mid-2030s. New Framework Can Predict 60-Year Sea Level Scenarios Bill Nelson said that the NASA Sea Level Change Team is now gathering crucial data to help them plan for the upcoming severe floods. One of the efforts made by NASA is using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea-level information, which offers flood thresholds and rising tides. Using the information provided by NOAA, the international space union will create a new statistical framework that can predict flood scenarios over the next 60 years. Once this new tech is completed, it can help NASA, NOAA, and other organizations know when and where floods will happen. Meanwhile, the moon will be visited by the upcoming NASA Artemis I mission. On the other hand, a high-speed space junk recently crashed on the moon's far side. For more news updates about the Moon Wobble 2030 and other alarming space events that can affect Earth, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Arctic is Facing Black Carbon Threat, Adding to Climate Crisis and Speeding Up the Melting of Ice This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Thousands of French people express their rejection of the leader of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen, candidate in the presidential ballot on April 24. Some 22 000 people have demonstrated this Saturday in the streets of numerous cities in France against the leader of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen, who is competing for the presidency of the country with the current head of state, Emmanuel Macron. The protest has been called by the League of Human Rights, SOS Racism, the trade union General Confederation of Workers (CGT) or the Union of the Magistracy, among about thirty entities, under the slogan "against the extreme right and for justice and equality", as well as "not a vote for Le Pen". Numerous voters have advanced that they will vote for Macron, even if they are contrary to his ideas, to prevent Le Pen from being elected. However, other banners have at the same time shown the refusal of many voters to resort to the so-called Republican front, i.e. to vote for the candidate contrary to the extreme right to prevent his coming to power. "Neither Macron nor Le Pen" was one of those slogans, on a day when there was also in Paris (the capital) an anti-Macron protest. #France Paris Protest against Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen pic.twitter.com/jbKztYLEWT NiCoLeEliSei (@NiCoLeEliSei1) April 16, 2022 Le Pen, for her part, has criticized these mobilizations, calling them contrary to the principles of democracy. "Going out to demonstrate against the election results is, in my opinion, profoundly anti-democratic," stressed the candidate, who added that "it is unpleasant for the French to see their election questioned in the street" During the day of protests there have been clashes with the police and several demonstrators lit smoke bombs. In addition, security forces have fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. On April 10, French President Emmanuel Macron won with 27.84 percent of votes over Le Pen, who got 23.15 percent, in the first round of France's presidential elections, the second round of which is scheduled for April 24. On April 16, the conflict in Russia and Ukraine continues, with a clear sights on a negotiated caesefire. These are todays developments as they happen. Russian forces destroy Ukrainian military facilities The Ministry of Defense warned that the military attacks are not directed against civilian facilities, but seek to disable the war infrastructure Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported Saturday that the Russian armed forces destroyed Ukrainian military facilities, using high-precision, long-range aerial weapons, as part of the special military operation in Kiev. According to the agency, a total of 16 enemy targets were hit, which included 11 areas of concentration of Ukrainian weapons stored in Povstanskoe, Barvenkovo, Lisichansk, Srybnoe, Petrovskoe and Opytnoe regions. Also, the Defense Ministry spokesman added that the Russian Armed Forces eliminated a total of 811 Ukrainian targets in the last 24 hours, distributed in 8 convoys with fuel for military equipment, as well as 760 zones of concentration of live force. He also added that near the Ukrainian locality of Nikolayev, two artillery warehouses, a depot of radar reconnaissance equipment, as well as a storage base for anti-aircraft defense means were attacked. At the same time, the concentration area of the 95th airborne assault brigade in Ukraine was hit by Russian forces, as well as an Su-25 fighter 15 kilometers south of the town of Izium, Kharkov region. Russian Missile Troops eliminated in one day 317 Ukrainian military facilities including 24 command posts, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported. "The Missile Troops destroyed 317 facilities, including 274 military support points and groups, 24 command posts and two fuel depots of the Ukrainian forces," Konashenkov told reporters. Russian aviation, he noted, eliminated 67 areas of concentration of servicemen, weapons and war equipment. In addition, Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Forces transport plane near the Ukrainian city of Odessa, which was delivering a large batch of weapons supplied to Kiev by Western countries, the Russian military officer added. In total, he summed up, since the beginning of the Russian special military operation, 134 aircraft, 460 drones, 2,269 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 987 units of field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,158 units of special military vehicles were destroyed. Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet. Source: Twitter: @europe_northern Estonia Admits Sanctions Against Russia Unsuccessful On Saturday, Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet said that economic sanctions against Russia have not yet taken effect. "It takes time for the sanctions to take effect. So far, only a relatively short time has passed, so we still do not see the desired consequences," Laanet said in an interview with the German daily Handelsblatt. The Estonian Defense Minister assured that they can still tighten the sanctions to "boycott oil and gas". Numerous countries began to tighten sanctions against Russia after it recognized the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics as sovereign states on February 21 and three days later launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine, claiming that both republics had requested help in the face of "genocide" by Kiev. Wife of detained Ukrainian opposition activist asks Putin to extradite Medvedchuk to Russia Oxana Marchenko turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin and to other prominent leaders to have her husband, the leader of the Ukrainian party Opposition Platform for Life Party, Victor Medvedchuk, extradited to Russia if Kiev and Moscow come to an agreement. "I, the wife of a Ukrainian opposition politician, Ukrainian People's Deputy Medvedchuk, ask for your help in exchanging my husband, who was illegally detained by the Kiev authorities for political reasons," she emphasized in a video posted on her YouTube channel. She added that Victor Medvedchuk gave his consent to his exchange and extradition to the Russian territory in case Russia and Ukraine reach an appropriate agreement. The wife of Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk appealed to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia for help in a potential exchange of British prisoners for her husband pic.twitter.com/JKvFm6KRds Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 16, 2022 Russia Accuses Germany of Developing Biomilitary Labs On Saturday, the Russian government claimed that Germany had in coordination with the United States a network of at least 30 biomilitary laboratories on Ukrainian territory working on "biological agents potentially useful as biological weapons." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that this is one of the reasons why Berlin "is more active than other EU (European Union) countries" in trying to attribute plans to use biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine to Russia. Germany, like the U.S., has for many years been carrying out "military and biological activities" on the territory of Ukraine, she stated. As a result of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces found documents that shed some light on the biomilitary program implemented by the U.S. Department of Defense in Ukraine, she recalled. Berlin coordinated its work on biodefense with its US allies, Russian MFA spox Maria Zakharova told RT More: https://t.co/z3R5LOJ6XA pic.twitter.com/4iUs2xZoN5 RT (@RT_com) April 16, 2022 "Dangerous research" was being conducted in these facilities, according to Zakharova, who mentioned a direct link to the Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine and cited tropical diseases such as dengue or chikungunya or pathogens such as West Nile virus or the Usutu River virus. Between 2020 and 2022, the third phase of the program has been underway, which provides for the "collection of sensitive epidemic information in third countries, including through the use of big data technologies," the spokeswoman said. It also includes the "development of partner countries' infrastructure for working with dangerous biological agents," she said. The spokeswoman also urged German authorities to "stop spreading lying accusations about our country's alleged intention to use weapons prohibited by international law in the special military operation." "I was first in the whole school"... The identity of the woman who walked to the Olympic Boulevard was revealed The Cayuga County Legislature's Government Operations Committee had a robust discussion last week about redistricting, with some healthy debate about whether going from 15 to 11 legislators is the best way to go. The Legislature must make a decision on redistricting in order to comply with state law that prohibits county-level districts from being overly large or small. Cayuga County's existing districts have long been uneven in terms of population, which has required a weighted voting system that gives some individual legislators (those with larger populations to represent) considerably more voting power than others. It's not an effective way to form policy and an annual budget, which is why New York state has directed counties to get to a one-person-one-vote system. In Cayuga County, the Board of Elections commissioners dove into the new population figures for all the towns and city of Auburn to see how they could get to that one-person-one-vote standard. In the end, they found the most effective way is to take the Legislature down to 11 representatives. Two city districts would be dropped, leaving Auburn with four county legislators. The remaining districts for the towns would be consolidated from nine to seven. A chief argument against shrinking the Legislature is that it would mean more territory for individual legislators to cover, and for most, more constituents to represent. We understand that concern in a vacuum. More representatives can lead to more personalized representation. But the practical effect of this proposed change in a low-population county such as Cayuga is not that substantial. Legislators may be picking up an additional town or two and another 1,500 to 2,000 constituents. The advantages of the 11-person map suggested by the elections commissioners include a more manageable number of voices for arriving at meaningful consensus. There's also the financial benefit of having a smaller legislative body, not just from the savings of having fewer legislators to pay salary and benefits for, but also because they should be able to form policy more efficiently. We also like the idea of putting this question into the hands of Cayuga County's voters one more time, which is what would be required with a change in the size of the Legislature. Keeping it at 15 would not automatically trigger a general election ballot question. Legislators should also keep in mind that voters not too long ago approved a shift in the length of terms for half of the Legislature so that district elections would be aligned. That's the only way to allow for this change to a smaller Legislature. In that sense, voters have already spoken once. It just makes sense to give them the chance to have the final say this November. The Citizen Editorial board includes president and director of local sales and marketing Michelle Bowers, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sam Taunton brings a commendable set of quips, gags and pointed utterances. Credit: Fresh and enthusiastic, and just a handful of years into comedy, he radiates charm as he speaks of hot-air ballooning and going to therapy. Finding out his girlfriend has murderous intent, hating on Apple stores and tracing the unenviable traits of old Australian men add to the relatable guff that works a treat. Taunton is rewarded with hefty chortles when gentle chiding of a bloke sitting near the stage blossoms into a roast. And theres a wonderful lesson on how to spot a passive-aggressive phone message. The rising stars ruminations are enjoyable, invigorating fare, delivered with relaxed confidence. Dona Demaio Best friends and real-life couple Col and Fil of Woah, Alyssa!. Credit: Woah, Alyssa!, Woah, Alyssa! 4 The Westin Two, until April 23 Following a Golden Gibbo nomination last year, real-life couple Col and Fil have returned with the fourth instalment of their late-night hijinks. The duo chaotically jump from one insane sketch to another with rapid-fire pacing and exuberant camp energy. Be it the open nature of their relationship and the difficulties that entails when living in a one-bedroom apartment (including a sharp dig at Melburnians penchant for polyamory), tales of escapades and double standards on Grindr, or vanity taking hold in a fatal car crash, no stone is left unturned or feels too embarrassing or graphic for them to mine for a laugh. The sprinkling of direction from Mark Bonanno (of Aunty Donna) is obvious the chemistry and tightness between the two is remarkably stronger than previous outings. A very solid nightcap to end your evening (or warm you up for the Festival Club after). Tyson Wray Cancer, evil siblings and giant talking fish: Danielle Walker. Credit: Danielle Walker, Nostalgia Comedy Republic, until April 24 A great festival show will leave you with a glide in your stride and a fresh take on at least one word. Danielle Walkers passive-aggressive deployment of the word hysterical in a dynamite anecdote about a would-be axe murderer still has me in stitches 24 hours later. Walker presents a scrapbook of stories about her rough and ready Townsville family, including a bunch of gorgeous anecdotes about her charismatic grandfather. Her refreshingly regional take on Australia includes a searing commentary on how we view death dependent on geography: You city people outsource your death to the country. Oooft. She manages to blend stories in cancer, evil siblings and giant talking fish into a very satisfying narrative full of very Strayan act-outs like: Suck shit, Ryan, LOSER! Once she engages the crowd from the get-go and trims her final story for more emotional impact, this incredibly likeable comic will have a patriotic home run on her hands. Mikey Cahill Annie Louey is Flirting with Death Melbourne Town Hall, until April 24 Performing in front of an upright coffin is a bold piece of stage production. Lord knows what those who share Annie Loueys room at the Town Hall this festival think of seeing it backstage each night. Annie Louey find the funny side of death. Credit: But thats the overwhelming crux of this show: death. We are all going to die, and Louey knows it more intimately than most opening with a tale of her fathers funeral that was attended by former lord mayor of Melbourne John So. As Louey recounts her time working in a funeral home, there are some scintillating insights into superstitions around meeting your maker, and a demonic representation of the linguistic connotations of the tonal way the Chinese language enunciates numbers. There are sections that drag on slightly, but thankfully there are no other deaths on stage. The finale is absolutely brilliant but cant be shared without spoilers. Youll have to find out for yourself. Tyson Wray Steph Tisdell, Baby Beryl Melbourne Town Hall, until April 24 Steph Tisdell brings boundless energy to her non-show show. Credit: When Steph Tisdell says she hasnt written a show, apparently shes not kidding. Tisdell shares her authentic self, blurting stories about personal growth, family, school days and mental health. Revealing that humour helps her deal with shit, she urges the audience to yell stuff out during her non-show show. A decent chunk of time is spent playing talk-show host. She easily procures the goss from an audience volunteer whos joined the empathetic comedian on stage for a reveal-all. The guests story about her daughters freeloading boyfriend having to be formally evicted from the family home ends up unexpectedly riveting, while resorting to puerile penis jokes strike a jarring note. Loading With boundless energy, Tisdell comes across as vulnerable but scattered. Purposefully so, apparently. Donna Demaio Damien Power, Love Thy Neighbour? No Thanks Melbourne Town Hall, until April 24 Using bitterness as a comedic construct, Damien Power delivers one of the simultaneously sweetest and most acerbic shows of this years festival. Always the smartest guy in the room, Brisbane-bred Power has kept busy during the pandemic, coming up with observational anthropological fire about the ridiculousness of modern life. The smiling assassin throws in anti-wellness mantras like Regret, Revenge, Resent among gut-punch truth bombs about mans best friend: You know dogs can smell tumours? Powers indefatigable approach to his craft has the crowd rocking sideways when he breaks the fourth wall and points out hyper-sexualised audience members. The joke-writing about sexologists named Chantelle, rival stepdads and scathing assessments of stand-up peers elevate this show to a holy place. Power makes us feel like were in on an hour-long personal joke full of naughty, I-cant-believe-he-went-there asides what more could you want? Mikey Cahill Kooky collage fan: Emma Holland. Credit: Emma Holland, Dreamer In The Mist Melbourne Town Hall, until April 24 Emma Holland is someone you want to hang out with. Shes naturally funny, super-kooky and, like, really into (checks notes) collage. This underrated craft features heavily in her show, a surreal hour about her privileged Anglican upbringing, David Blaine and her French doppelganger, who functions as a Greek chorus. I must genuflect at one of her best lines: Anglican school is just like Catholic school but for hot kids. Loading It would help the pace of her show if she used her sarcastic glare (as much as we love it) sparingly, making us crave that wicked glance. In my qualified opinion, Holland has the best koala-based pun of the festival (I gave you a hint 19 words ago) and a very bright future once she leans into her strengths, hires a dramaturge and punches up her weaker jokes. Mikey Cahill Tucked away in the alpine region of the Kosciuszko National Park, 80 frogs are settling into new homes as scientists race against the clock to protect these valuable animals from extinction. The spotted tree frog is critically endangered in NSW, just one step away from being extinct, and is one of many species battling a range of threats, including diseases and changing climate. This year, the NSW government released 80 spotted tree frogs into Kosciuszko National Park after they were severely affected by the unprecedented 2019-20 summer bushfires. The spotted tree frogs are enjoying their new home in the Kosciuszko National Park. Credit:Alex Pike NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin said the species disappeared in the state in 2001 due to the chytrid fungus that almost wiped out the southern and northern corroboree frogs. Through work between the governments Saving our Species program and the Amphibian Research Centre in Melbourne, the frogs have been given a second chance. In 2015, our threatened species experts released spotted tree frogs from this breeding program into the wild, and its estimated that there were between 250-300 frogs in the wild, Griffin said. Tragically, its estimated that only about 10 of those frogs survived the devastating 2019-20 bushfires. When the corporate regulator raided Melissa Caddicks Dover Heights home in late 2020 over her Ponzi scheme, in which she fleeced investors of $23 million, it was not her first criminal endeavour - or even her second or her third. Caddick, 49, vanished within hours of the raid. Three months later, her partial remains washed up in a running shoe at a remote beach about 400 kilometres south of Sydney. A coronial inquest into her presumed death will be held in September. Melissa Caddick as a child. The second episode of the investigative podcast, Liar Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions, reveals on Monday that for years Caddick had engaged in serious criminal endeavours but when caught, she either talked her way out of it or her employer fired her but decided against calling the police. Most fraudsters, even the major, major ones who steal millions of dollars, generally start off with a tiny little fraud, forensic psychiatrist Julian Parmegiani told the podcast. They dont become Bernie Madoff overnight.. Hundreds of elderly people will be forced to switch carers and more than 60 workers will be made redundant under a Boroondara City Council plan to privatise in-home aged care services. The council last week approved an in-principle resolution to shift its domestic assistance, personal care, respite care, meal preparation and property maintenance to not-for-profit aged care provider mecwacare. Audrey Husband uses Boroondaras aged care services and is worried about a switch to a private company. Credit:Photo: Wayne Taylor Boroondara is one of 23 councils across Victoria to have announced their exit from aged care services as a growing number struggle to provide an increased number of services. The councils say federal and state governments have transferred increased financial responsibilities to local governments without the necessary extra funding. We are entering the second week of a campaign many people must wish was already over. Part of that voter fatigue can be put down to having been told repeatedly by the polls how the story is likely to end. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail. Credit:James Brickwood, Alex Ellinghausen Yet even though hes been a part of the national political soap opera for more than two decades, one of the main characters remains curiously ill-defined. Perhaps this one will turn into a cliffhanger after all. The federal election campaign has been going only a little over a week, but huge sums have already been spent promoting parties and candidates. And yet Australias shoddy political donation rules mean voters have a woefully inadequate picture of how this barrage of political messaging has been paid for. Spending on elections has been trending higher over the past two decades and there are predictions parties and candidates across the political spectrum will splurge more than $500 million on the 2022 federal campaign. Whoever wins the election must reform political donations to give voters more comprehensive and timely information about who funds political parties, and by how much. A failure to do this would threaten the long-term health of our democracy. Whoever wins the 2022 election must make political donations more transparent Credit:James Brickwood and Alex Ellinghausen Data released in February showed the two major parties declared income totalling more than $150 million to the Australian Electoral Commission in 2020-21. But analysis by the Grattan Institute found declared donations made up only 9 per cent of that total. Most political party income remains undeclared, or is classified under the murky category of other receipts, which includes money contributed by individuals and corporations at fundraising functions. Perhaps the biggest flaw in current regulations is that donations received below a threshold of $14,300 do not need to be declared by the party. This enables large donors simply to split their donations into several below-threshold payments to avoid scrutiny. According to Grattan researchers Kate Griffiths and Owain Emslie these loopholes allow major donors to hide and mean voters cannot be sure who is really backing our political parties. Temporary modular homes used to house bushfire victims will be repurposed for flood victims in the states north, with up to 2000 sent to areas worst hit by the March deluge. Up to 100 people will be housed in the first 25 recovery pods in Ballina and additional sites will be named across Tweed, Byron, Richmond Valley and Lismore in coming weeks. The compact homes, for one to four people, are targeted at the thousands of people attempting to rebuild after being left homeless following back-to-back floods. Up to 2000 temporary modular homes will be sent to house people who lost their homes in the recent floods. Credit:Dan Peled/Getty Images However, the measure has also attracted criticism for failing to address medium-term housing needs in the region, with one state MP calling for an immediate 90-day cap on short-term holiday letting in Byron Shire. The 4th Division of the Damascus government imposes a suffocating siege on the two neighborhoods, preventing the entry of the basic materials. To denounce these practices, thousands of peoples of the two neighborhoods took part today in a demonstration bearing the slogan "No to the siege on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, no to the policy of starvation, long live the resistance of free peoples", with the participation of representatives of civil institutions and political parties. The demonstrators carried placards reading, "We demand freedom of movement between al-Shahba, Aleppo and the rest of the Syrian governorates," "We demand the withdrawal of the Fourth Division's checkpoints from the roads leading to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods," and "No to the policy of starvation." The demonstration headed towards the Al-Jazeera checkpoint of the Fourth Division, amid rising voices condemning the policy of the Damascus government and its arbitrary measures against the residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. A member of the Presidential Council of the Syrian Democratic Council, Marei al-Shibli, gave a speech in which he referred to the Damascus government's spreading rumors that it was allowing flour trucks to pass through to neighborhoods, and said: "We should not be deceived by these baseless allegations." "We will win and defeat the conspirators and tyrants with the spirit of resistance." He indicated that the people will fail the plans of the Damascus government. He said: "The Damascus government has imposed its arbitrary measures for decades, but we are no longer what we used to be. He stressed that "the components, Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens, will stand in the face of these violations." "We are not separatists, we protect our existence" Regarding the arbitrary measures followed by the Damascus government, he said: "They were imposing their language and culture on us under the slogan of one science, one language and a common destiny, and they prevented us from learning in our language." He continued, "Ten years ago, what did the Damascus government offer us? It offered us nothing but authoritarian thought, and it exercised all kinds of oppression, but we, in response to its arbitrary policy, loudly say the winds run as our ship wants." Marei denied the accusations of the Damascus government that the people of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are "separatists", and said: "We have never been separatists, and we, on the principle of the people's revolutionary war, defend our existence and our gains." Marei pointed out that the goal of the Damascus government by imposing a policy of starvation against the people of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods is to subdue the people, and said, "The issue is not an issue of flour and a loaf of bread. resistant". Point your weapons at the liberation of the occupied territories. Marei stressed that the people of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, men and women, old and young will not be satisfied except with a decent and free life." al-Shibli sent a message to the Fourth Division, its content, "The Golan Road does not pass through Sheikh Maqsoud, there are many occupied areas of Syria, so that your guns and weapons should direct to liberate those areas to Azaz and Afrin." At the end of the demonstration, a message was sent through loudspeakers to the Fourth Division checkpoint, consisting of three points, which are the demands of the protesting residents: * Removing all the checkpoints of the Fourth Division around the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, and the district of Al-Shahba. * Lifting the siege without conditions and entering the materials. * Allow the free movement of individuals to the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh and Al Shahba. The demonstration ended with chanting slogans emphasizing that the determination of the people of the two neighborhoods will not be broken, but will achieve the people's hopes to live in dignity in accordance with the principles of the democratic nation. A ANHA Okinawa says a fire incident at one of its dealerships in Tamil Nadu was caused due to an electric short circuit. As mercury levels rise in the country, incidents of several electric scooter catching fire have made headlines in the past few days. Soon after an Ola Electric scooter went up in flames, an entire truck reportedly carrying over 40 Jiterndra EVs was charred to ashes due to EV fire. And now a new incident has come up to light from Tamil Nadu where in an Okinawa dealership was seen bursting in flames. While previously the fire was reported to have been spread due to an EV fire, the company has officially said in a statement that it was in fact caused due a short circuit in the building. The fire was due to an electric short circuit in the panel wiring in the building. The dealership has also confirmed the same," Okinawa said in response to HT Auto's query on the incident. It is yet unknown as to how much damage the dealership has suffered due to the fire, but from the black smoke ball visible in the image, it is hard to say if anything of the showroom remains. Meanwhile in other related incidents, many of the Pure EV dealers are now also alleging defects in batteries inside the electric scooters. "There are problems with the batteries, too. A customer had dropped off a battery with us complaining about a drop in range. The battery exploded in my showroom and caught fire. Fortunately my staff was safe," says Vivek Ranjan who owns a dealership in Bihar's Lalganj. (Read full details here) Also, Okinawa has also recently recalled 3,215 units of Praise Pro scooters with immediate effect in order to address suspected battery-related issues. Okinawa is one of the best-selling electric scooter brands in the country and recently launched the Okhi90 high-speed e-scooter model here. First Published Date: Interest in rock climbing is, well, climbing. In recent years, movies, media attention and word of mouth have inspired a surge of people hoping to learn the ropes. Much of the increased traffic is being felt in gyms, where membership rates and visitation are on the rise. In places like Flagstaff, climbers also flock outdoors to popular climbing crags. The uncontrolled environments come with neighbors not found in climbing gyms such as wildlife and archaeology. Amid the climbing boom, organizations like the U.S. Forest Service and the Northern Arizona Climbers Coalition are working together to help define what it means to climb responsibly outdoors. Climbing has been steeply growing in popularity since the 1990s, said Scott Renak, publisher of the Climbing Business Journal, and the trend has no end in sight. The growth is most visible through climbing gyms. Since 2013, the amount of climbing gyms in the United States has nearly doubled, with 53 new gyms opening across the country in 2021 alone. Local gym Flagstaff Climbing has been experiencing growth in membership ever since we opened our doors in 1995, said owner Jason Henrie. As the physical, mental and social benefits of climbing are more widely understood, climbing gyms are receiving more and more customers." Henrie also noted that the 2018 climbing documentary Free Solo combined with climbings first-time appearance in the Tokyo Olympics seemed to be the perfect storm to get the idea of climbing into every household in America and beyond. Climbing gym company El Cap reported that their website traffic spike by 45% the week climbing was featured in the Olympics. Of all the new climbers stepping into gyms, some percentage of them are going to come outdoors, said Mike Vaughn, board member of the Northern Arizona Climbers Coalition (NACC). Vaughn has witnessed this influx of new climbers first hand, along with NACC president Corey Quackenbush. Its easy to see in popular crags such as The Pit south of Flagstaff. When I moved here, probably about 15 years ago, you might see a car or two, Quackenbush said about The Pit. Last weekend the parking lot was full. Climbing crowds dont bother Quackenbush too much. He and Vaughn agreed that as a user group, climbers are pretty responsible for basic outdoor etiquette such as practicing Leave No Trace and picking up trash. But in terms of impact on the environment, I think that there's still a lot we can all learn, said Quackenbush. Watching out for wildlife Wildlife should be an important part of climber consciousness, said Amy Madara, wildlife biologist for the Coconino National Forest. Her primary concern is making climbers in northern Arizona aware of raptorsvvsuch as the peregrine falcons that inhabit The Pit. Climbers and nesting peregrines are both attracted to exposed cliff faces (albeit for different reasons) and they dont necessarily get along. Climbers can scare away food sources and unknowingly alert peregrines by making noise or wandering into their viewshed. If disturbed in vulnerable seasons, peregrines may become overstressed and abandon their nests -- which can lead to the death of their chicks. Madara explained that even without disturbance, peregrine chicks have up to a 60% mortality rate, and so any added loss of life can have adverse effects on the overall population. Madara has also seen situations in which peregrines become protective of their nests. There are places where peregrines will dive bomb climbers, she said. It can be dangerous. In response to these concerns, the Coconino National Forest routinely enforces closures on some climbing areas that are also popular peregrine nesting sites, such as the Peaks Crag. But there are alternatives to big box closures. According to the Climbing and Raptors handbook for adaptive raptor management, climbers are in a unique position to collaborate with land managers and impact raptor breeding success in positive ways. Climbers have several key responsibilities, reads the handbook. Respecting closures, volunteering skill as part of monitoring and data collection efforts, working with land managers to determine appropriate management areas, and communicating with and educating the climbing community. When climbers collaborate to accomplish all of these objectives, they ensure not only the success of raptors, but also that the minimum possible closures are being instituted. A spirit of collaboration is alive and well between NACC and Madara. Two years ago, Vaughn was among climbers that noticed peregrines at The Pit and called Madara to notify her of their presence. Madara determined that the falcons were not in a vulnerable stage of nesting, and enlisted the help of Vaughn and the other climbers to get a closer look and better understand the falcons response to climbers in the area. Participating in Madaras study was incredible, said Vaughn. Amy was really awesome about letting us experiment and monitor, he added. The opportunity was unique to the relationship forged between Madara and the NACC, but emblematic of the way that responsible climbing can contribute citizen science and be a boon to wildlife biologists and other land managers. Archaeology aspects Climbers should also be aware of their impact on cultural resources, said district archaeologist Pete Wisniewski. The area around Flagstaff is rich with archaeological sites spanning thousands of years from the Ancestral Puebloans to the Northern Sinagua and other cultural groups. Rock art is probably one of the things most threatened by climbing, Wisniewski said. Trouble is, unlike wildlife, which may announce its presence with a dive bomb, rock art can be relatively elusive to those who dont know what theyre looking for. Lighting is pretty important for being able to see the faintest features said Wisniewski. Some technological assistance could help climbers be more aware of their surroundings, said Vaughn. He recalled an experience in South Africa where an amateur archaeologist used a phone app to examine the rock through various light filters. She was showing us some things that not visible to the naked eye, Vaughn said. Maybe that's a tool that rock climbers could use as we're out there exploring. Aside from rock art, some climbing behaviors have the capacity to impact and destroy archaeology on the ground. Madara recalled finding a landing constructed by climbers underneath a bouldering area. They cleared out an area that was probably about 20 foot by 20 foot, and they flattened it and they put down logs, she said. I was shocked, and that's one of those areas where I hope there wasn't an archeological site. Construction of landings is a somewhat common practice among climbers, explained Quackenbush, but he agreed that it can be problematic and unintentionally contribute to archaeological damage or erosion. Its not a vetted process, he said. Its a sign that the climate community is expressing increased need. Mutual restoration Climbing management plans are on the way, said Paul Dawson, recreation staff officer for the Flagstaff Ranger District. As the climbing continues to increase in popularity, land management agencies like the Forest Service are catching up to the sports demands, but comprehensive policies and infrastructure will take time to fall out of the juggling act, of managing a multiple use forest. We have a lot of recreation on this forest, said Dawson. But recreation doesnt always come first. For the time being, the Coconino National Forest has been focused on managing the impacts of climbing and engaging climbers to meet mutual goals. In 2017, with the help of volunteer climbers, the Forest Service cleared and fenced a small parking lot near The Pit to better corral the vehicles spilling into the forest and a nearby campground. The move was a big step toward climbers and demonstrated the Forest Services desire to help climbers responsibly enjoy their sport. Facilitating access is one way to connect people to the land and make more advocates, said Dawson. As opposed to finger wagging and strictly enforced policy, hed rather appeal to the authority of the resource, by educating people about their environment. When it comes to creating responsible climbers, the NACC shares the perspective. We protect the things we love, Vaughn said. By developing an appreciation for these places, we will intrinsically develop an attitude of stewardship. Such an attitude should be central to climbers, said Quackenbush. He brought up the concept of reciprocity -- that if climbers (or outdoor recreationists in general) enjoy the feeling of being restored by a place, then they should be willing to give back and restore that place in return. The way to give back that is to volunteer, Dawson noted. Come out to our trail days, he said. Help us build some fence. Help us direct people. Short of physically lending a hand, climbers can help by spreading the word. The outdoors are not a gym, and the more climbers learn about topics such as the wildlife and cultural history of a place, they better they will be able to appreciate and protect their access to it. The heart of this all goes back to education, Madara said. Sean Golightly can be reached at sgolightly@azdailysun.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Border Patrol agents pick up four illegal aliens from Mexico after local deputies intercept their smuggling vehicle, in Brackettville, Texas, on April 8, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Over 221,000 Illegal Immigrants Encountered at Southwest Border in March: DHS Report 18,000 expected to cross daily after Title 42 removal The United States detained a record number of illegal immigrants on its southwest border last month, with arrest numbers reaching the highest point in two decades, according to court filings by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). For the month of March 2022, DHS reported 221,303 total encounters at the Southwest Border. This figure combines statistics reported by the U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO), which deals with noncitizens seeking to enter at land ports of entry (POE), with statistics from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), which apprehends noncitizens seeking to enter between POEs, a court document (pdf) reads. DHS also reported 123,304 expulsions of noncitizens under Title 42 in March. The total detention capacity for the month was approximately 31,715, which combines CBPs holding capacity of 5,935 and the Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) detention capacity of 25,780. DHS released 80,116 people into the United States; the court filing is a mandatory monthly report as part of a federal lawsuit filed by Texas and Missouri against the Biden administration. The administration is planning to rescind Title 42, which was implemented during the Trump administration. Title 42, which allows border officials to turn away and remove migrants and asylum-seekers that may have communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, is scheduled to end on May 23. The decision followed the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) April 1 statement, in which it recommended ending Title 42 expulsions. The move has faced heavy opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has called the CDCs call for ending Title 42 a frightening decision, while Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said the Biden administration does not appear to be ready for the resulting surge in migration. In a letter to Biden on April 7, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stressed that Title 42 is a necessary measure to protect public health and manage the challenges that CBP faces because of exponential increases in border encounters at the southern border. I have deep concerns that this Administration may attempt to lower security standards and divert resources away from the Department of Veterans Affairs specifically, medical personnel, to deal with the consequences of this self-inflicted border crisis, the letter reads. I call on you to categorically denounce any policy which would result in diverting resources intended for American veterans to migrants at the Southern border. In late March, a senior DHS official told reporters that the lifting of Title 42 could increase flows of migrants into the United States. The agency has prepared contingency plans which include a scenario where there could be up to 18,000 border crossings per day. At the time, Border Patrol was seeing around 7,100 illegal crossings daily. Attempts to Label Poilievre and His Supporters as Racists and Extremists Will Backfire Commentary Pierre Poilievre is taking the Conservative Party of Canada leadership race by storm. His rallies in Western Canada have drawn thousands of excited supporters and are making headlines across the country. We never saw this sort of energy in the last two Conservative leadership races when Andrew Scheer and Erin OToole drifted relatively quietly into the top role in the party. The Poilievre campaign is starting with incredible momentum and pundits are already wondering if he may be unbeatable, despite five months remaining in the campaign period. Clearly, the Jean Charest campaign is feeling the pressure, as Charest went as far as to imply that Poilievre should be disqualified due to his sympathetic stance toward the Freedom Convoy protests. This sign of early desperation on the part of leadership contenders is understandable. If they cant somehow stunt the momentum of the Poilievre campaign soon, he likely will be impossible to catch up to in the race. Poilievres campaign is shaking up more than just his competitors for the leadership. Some media members and other prominent supporters of the Canadian establishment are very upset with the trajectory of his campaign, and they have moved straight into the usual accusations of racism and extremismdespite there being no evidence of either being displayed at any Poilievre events. The president of a polling company sounded outright unhinged in a series of tweets where he referred to Poilievre organizers Jeff Ballingall and Jenni Byrne as Nazis supported by racist [expletive], along with saying he would be coming for you. Its going to be rather hard to take future polling results seriously from that firm in light of that outburst. Poilievres ascendancy clearly frightens him so he lashed out in the tried and true progressive fashion. One journalist mused on Twitter that Poilievre was only attracting white people to his rallies. When asked if he had actually attended any rallies, the journalist admitted that he hadnt but he had seen enough pictures of them to come to his conclusions. His research hadnt gone deep enough to discover that Poilievres massive Edmonton rally was held in the middle of the Enoch Cree First Nation where he was introduced and endorsed by Chief Billy Morin. I am no expert on white nationalists but I am pretty sure that First Nations members usually arent terribly fond of them. Legacy media outlets are using the term populist as a pejorative and apply the term as they segue into comparisons between Poilievre and Donald Trump. Pierre Poilievre is indeed a populist but that is only a negative thing if you are deeply invested in the status quo. Populist movements have had some negative outcomes historically, but they have also had some very positive outcomes. The womens suffrage movement and the North American emancipation of slavery both were the results of populist movements challenging the establishment. Poilievre is engaging a broad spectrum of Canadians with his campaign challenging the establishment as he discusses things such as embracing digital currencies and defunding the CBC. He has successfully tapped into a large segment of Canadians dissatisfied with the status quo, and his campaign is quickly turning into a juggernaut. It is telling that opponents of Poilievre arent trying to attack him on his policies. They have moved directly into the tired and frankly offensive tropes of racism and extremism accusations as they try to drive supporters away from his movement. They just dont know what else to do. The panic on the part of the Canadian establishment with regard to Poilievre speaks volumes. Their attempt to label him and his growing number of supporters as extremists and racists is very likely to backfire. Those tactics are often successful in the late stages of a general election. Politicians smeared as racists are put on the defensive and cant recover in time to regain the trust of concerned voters. We are likely years away from the next general election, and repeated exposure to Poilievres diverse and growing crowds at rallies along with his racially blended family will put the lie to accusations of racism. People are tired of the labelling, and it is losing its efficacy as it is overused. Canadians are exhausted with angry division, and Poilivere is offering a form of unity. If opponents to Poilievre want to counter his movement, they are going to have to do so through policy discussions. Its about time. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promoted Anne Ruston to the cabinet post of health if the Coalition centre-right government is successful at the May 21 election. The role of the health portfolio became vacant with Minister Greg Hunt retiring from politics. Anne has demonstrated the stakeholder management, the financial skills, but most important having a big heart to be able to deal with the many issues that you need to deal with in the health portfolio, Morrison told reporters outside the Westmead Childrens Hospital in Sydney. Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume threw her support behind the decision, saying it is important to have steady hands at the wheel in this portfolio when the country was still dealing with a global pandemic. Morrison has yet to confirm who will be Senator Rustons replacement. Well, the great news about that is I have such a fantastic team that there are many people who could, he said. Meanwhile, Labor leader Anthony Albanese noted Morrison had chosen to make this major announcement on a day when it was agreed that it would not be a day of usual campaigning because of Easter. He also said that the appointment of Ruston was another sign that Australians should expect cuts to Medicare. Anne Ruston has made it very clear that she wants to take the universal out of universal health care, Albanese told reporters after attending a church services in Cairns with shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers. She has made it very clear that, if we have a election of the Morrison government, we will see more cuts to Medicare, more cuts to Medicare over the next three years. But Senator Ruston said she was no longer of the view that Medicare was unsustainable, comments she made in 2014. I think that we have demonstrated over the past seven or eight years that we are a government that is able to manage money, she said. I think we demonstrated it particularly during the pandemic how strong we were as economic managers, at the same time as supporting Australians through an extraordinarily strong health system. In another announcement, the government has promised $270 million to make the treatment of type one diabetes more affordable. It means that for 130,000 patients around the country, theyll have access to continuous glucose monitoring and that will be subsidised with savings of up to $5,000 a year from July 1, Hunt told the Seven Network. Continuous glucose monitoring is an immensely important technology that allows them to manage their insulin levels. It gives patients confidence and peace of mind and it helps save lives and protect lives. Meanwhile, more than $60 million is to be invested in mental health and suicide prevention in Western Australia, following a bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and West Australian governments. Hunt says the deal will see the delivery of new health services for children and as well as support for people following suicide attempts and those with eating disorders. This landmark partnership will have a significant impact on the lives of many Australians across the state, including young Australians and children who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. It will help save lives and protect lives. By Colin Brinsden Across the Arctic, strange things are happening to the landscape. Massive lakes, several square miles in size, have disappeared in the span of a few days. Hillsides slump. Ice-rich ground collapses, leaving the landscape wavy where it once was flat, and in some locations creating vast fields of large, sunken polygons. Its evidence that permafrost, the long-frozen soil below the surface, is thawing. Thats bad news for the communities built above it and for the global climate. As an ecologist, I study these dynamic landscape interactions and have been documenting the various ways permafrost-driven landscape change has accelerated over time. The hidden changes underway there hold warning for the future. What is permafrost? Permafrost is perennially frozen soil that covers about a quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Canada, Russia and Alaska. Much of it is rich with the organic matter of long-dead plants and animals frozen in time. These frozen soils maintain the structural integrity of many northern landscapes, providing stability to vegetated and unvegetated surfaces, similar to load-bearing support beams in buildings. As temperatures rise and patterns of precipitation change, permafrost and other forms of ground ice become vulnerable to thaw and collapse. As these frozen soils warm, the ground destabilizes, unraveling the interwoven fabric that has delicately shaped these dynamic ecosystems over millennia. Wildfires, which have been increasing across the Arctic, have been increasing the risk. Thawing permafrost can cause the ground to sink and crack in places, destabilizing roads and buildings. Orjan F. Ellingvag/Corbis via Getty Images Under the surface, something else is active and it is amplifying global warming. When the ground thaws, microbes begin feasting on organic matter in soils that have been frozen for millennia. These microbes release carbon dioxide and methane, potent greenhouse gases. As those gases escape into the atmosphere, they further warm the climate, creating a feedback loop: Warmer temperatures thaw more soil, releasing more organic material for microbes to feast on and produce more greenhouse gases. The evidence: disappearing lakes Evidence of human-caused climate change is mounting across the permafrost extent. The disappearance of large lakes, multiple square miles in size, is one of the most striking examples of recent patterns of northern landscape transitions. The lakes are draining laterally as wider and deeper drainage channels develop, or vertically through taliks, where unfrozen soil under the lake gradually deepens until the permafrost is penetrated and the water drains away. There is now overwhelming evidence indicating that surface water across permafrost regions is declining. Satellite observations and analysis indicate lake drainage may be linked with permafrost degradation. Colleagues and I have found it increases with warmer and longer summer seasons. Gullies created by thawing soil drain a lake in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska. Christian Andresen and Mark J. Lara, CC BY-ND This insight came after some of the highest rates of catastrophic lake drainage drainage that occurs over a few days due to permafrost degradation on record were observed over the past five years in northwestern Alaska. The disappearance of lakes across the permafrost extent is likely to affect the livelihoods of Indigenous communities as water quality and water availability important for waterfowl, fish and other wildlife shift. Slumping hills and polygon fields The thaw and collapse of buried glacial ice is also causing hillsides to slump at increasing rates across the Russian and North American Arctic, sending soil, plants and debris sliding downslope. One new study in northern Siberia found that the disturbed land surfaces increased over 300% over the past two decades. Similar studies in northern and northwestern Canada found slumping there also accelerated with warmer and wetter summers. Slumping hillsides show how easily thermokarst landscape erodes in Canadas Aulavik National Park. Sarah Beattie/Parks Canada An ice wedge dated to the late Pleistocene era in Noatak National Preserve in Alaska. David Swanson/National Park Service In flat terrain, ice wedges are able to develop, creating unusual geometric patterns and changes across the land. Over decades to centuries, melting snow seeps into cracks in the soil, building up wedges of ice. These wedges cause troughs in the ground above them, creating the edges of polygons. Polygonal features naturally form as a result of the freezing and thawing process in a way similar to that seen at the bottom of drying mud flats. As ice wedges melt, the ground above collapses. Even in extremely cold high Arctic environments, the impacts of only a few uncommonly warm summers can dramatically change the surface of the landscape, transitioning previously flat terrain into undulating as the surface begins to sink into depressions with the melting of ice in the soil below. Overall rates of ice wedge thawing have increased in response to climate warming. Thawing pingo and polygons a mound and depressions formed by ice wedges in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Emma Pike /Wikimedia How permafrost ice wedges cause tundra polygons. Across many Arctic regions, this thawing has also been hastened by wildfire. In a recent study, colleagues and I found that wildfires in Arctic permafrost regions increased the rate of thaw and vertical collapse of the frozen terrain for up to eight decades after fire. Because both climate warming and wildfire disturbance are projected to increase in the future, they may increase the rate of change in northern landscapes. The impact of recent climate and environmental change have also been felt at lower latitudes in the lowland boreal forest. There, ice-rich permafrost plateaus elevated permafrost islands heaved above adjacent wetlands have rapidly degraded across Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia. They can look like cargo ships filled with sedges, shrubs, and trees sinking into wetlands. Why does it matter? Frigid temperatures and short growing seasons have long limited the decomposition of dead plants and organic matter in northern ecosystems. Because of this, nearly 50% of global soil organic carbon is stored in these frozen soils. The abrupt transitions were seeing today lakes becoming drained basins, shrub tundra turning into ponds, lowland boreal forests becoming wetlands will not only hasten the decomposition of buried permafrost carbon, but also the decomposition of above-ground vegetation as it collapses into water-saturated environments. Russia has a large part of the worlds permafrost. When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, some Western institutions paused funding for scientific studies there after years of international cooperation. Joshua Stevens/NASA Red areas are talik, or unfrozen ground above permafrost, expected in the 2050s in five northern Alaska parks. Permafrost thickness varies with climatic conditions and landscape history. For example, the active layer that thaws in summer may be less than a foot thick near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, or a few feet thick near Fairbanks, while the average permafrost thickness below these sites has been estimated to be around 2,100 to 300 feet, respectively (about 660 to 90 meters), but varies greatly. National Park Service Climate models suggest the impacts of such transitions could be dire. For example, a recent modeling study published in Nature Communications suggested permafrost degradation and associated landscape collapse could result in a 12-fold increase in carbon losses in a scenario of strong warming by the end of the century. This is particularly important because permafrost is estimated to hold twice as much carbon as the atmosphere today. Permafrost depths vary widely, exceeding 3,000 feet in parts of Siberia and 2,000 feet in northern Alaska, and rapidly decrease moving south. Fairbanks, Alaska, averages around 300 feet (90 meters). Studies have suggested that much of the shallow permafrost, 10 feet (3 meters) deep or less, would likely thaw if the world remains on its current warming trajectory. To add insult to injury, in water-logged environments lacking oxygen, microbes produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas 30 times more effective at warming the planet than carbon dioxide, though it doesnt stay in the atmosphere as long. Methane from thawing permafrost bubbles up from an Arctic bog in Sweden. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images How big of a problem thawing permafrost is likely to become for the climate is an open question. We know it is releasing greenhouse gases now. But the causes and consequences of permafrost thaw and associated landscape transitions are active research frontiers. One thing is certain: The thawing of previously frozen landscapes will continue to change the face of high-latitude ecosystems for years to come. For people living in these areas, slumping land and destabilizing soil will mean living with the risks and costs, including buckling roads and sinking buildings. [Get fascinating science, health and technology news. Sign up for The Conversations weekly science newsletter.] Mark J. Lara receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. In February a landmark United Nations science report said climate change is about to get much worse and likely make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years: Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV), a propaganda mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing, China on Feb. 26, 2011. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) CCP Propaganda in Overdrive on COVID-19, South China Sea, Foreign Investment For every new lie, China should get a new economic sanction News Analysis Chinas propaganda machine is in overdrive against America on issues like the South China Sea, U.S. investment in China, and the threat of forced child separation from parents as a method of COVID-19 lockdowns. Beijing is trying to separate off our allies, our money, and our simple observations of the truth through lies meant to lull us into a sleep from which we will never wake up. Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to publicly declare an intention to decrease tensions in the South China Sea. The Philippines used to be a solid American ally. No more. Its islands are being eaten one by one by Chinas navy and air force, but one wouldnt know it from what Xi says publicly. Chinas top securities regulator claimed to an industry group in Beijing that he is working hard to widen market access. Hes actually negotiating with the Biden administration for a continuation of securities regulation loopholes that bilk American and other investors of billions of dollars. And Chinas foreign ministry has struck back at the United States, labeling as groundless accusations American claims that Chinas authorities are separating children from parents as a lockdown measure. As with most of Beijings propaganda, it is all full of lies and half-truths meant to advance and protect the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). South China Sea Propaganda At Xis virtual meeting with Duterte on April 8, the two supposedly spoke about Ukraine. Duterte must have gotten in trouble for the Philippine vote to remove Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. The two leaders also spoke about COVID and stressed the need to exert all efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the South China Sea by exercising restraint, dissipating tensions and working on a mutually agreeable framework for functional cooperation, according to a presidential office statement. This framework discussion is more of the CCPs take-and-talk strategy, which is apparently unending on the South China Sea as claimants have been unable to convert a 2012 declaration into a binding agreement on all members, including China. As recently as March, the Chinese Coast Guard engaged in dangerous maneuvers close to Philippine ships at Scarborough Shoal, which is a traditional fishing spot within the Philippines exclusive economic zone. Activists hold up signs against a recently passed Chinese Coast Guard law during a rally in Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 24, 2021. The Philippine government summoned the Chinese ambassador on March 14, 2022, to protest what it said was the illegal incursion of a Chinese navy ship into the countrys waters for three days and demanded China to order its ships to respect the countrys territory and follow international law, officials said. (Aaron Favila/AP Photo) According to my sources, Dutertes network of friends and family has gotten millions of dollars for looking the other way as Beijing expands its influence and territory at the expense of Manila. Most of the billions of dollars worth of promised Chinese aid, loans, and investment to the Philippines never materialized. COVID Lockdown Denials On April 10, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said, We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the groundless accusations against Chinas pandemic prevention policy from the U.S. in its statement, and have lodged solemn representations. On April 8, the U.S. State Department said its non-emergency staff and families of employees in Shanghai could depart, given the risk that Chinas regime would separate COVID-infected children from parents as part of the citys draconian lockdown measures. Food is running low in cities under lockdown, including for the seven U.S. Marines who protect the consulate in Shanghai. On April 6, State Department employees distributed an appeal to collect fresh food for the American soldiers, who had to rely on prepackaged Meals Ready-to-Eat, known as MREs. Citing the risk of parent-child separation, the United States also advised America citizens to limit travel to Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Jilin Province in China. Diplomatic representations from 30 countries recently pleaded against the separations. In response, the CCP called its lockdown measures scientific and effective. Market Access Claims The chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Yi Huiman, claimed on April 9 that he is working with the United States to resolve concerns about the lack of accounting standards in Chinese companies that are publicly traded on American stock exchanges. Beijing seeks more U.S. investment in China through initial public offerings of Chinese companies on American stock exchanges. The CCP is likely seeking to shift regulation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to an international agency more vulnerable to Beijings influence. Yi said that China is moving forward with its plan to establish an international regulatory environment for a highly [liberalized] capital market. Beijing has been working to bridge the gaps in auditing rules since at least 2012, according to the South China Morning Post. The CCP is widening its connect cross-border investment channels with London and Hong Kong exchanges, which are linked to Chinas two exchanges in Beijing and Shanghai. In addition to equities, the network will now trade financial derivatives and commodities, according to Yi. The Beijing Stock Exchange opened in November. People walk past the Beijing Stock Exchange on its first day of trading in Beijing, China, on Nov. 15, 2021. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Yi sought to calm investor nerves over bad news in Chinas capital markets, including from the COVID lockdowns and increasing property development debt that is being shifted to state-owned enterprises in unrelated sectors, such as aerospace defense and mining. According to the South China Morning Post, Yis prepared remarks would bolster confidence among investors who have been beaten down by a relentless sell-off in technology stocks, combined with concerns of an economic slowdown as the Covid-19 pandemic flared up in Shanghai, Jilin province and Guangzhou city. Propaganda Central to CCP Expansion Propaganda, lies, and the suppression of free speech has always been an important means for CCP expansion. Alternative viewpoints on any of the three Tsthe Tiananmen massacre of 1989, the Tibet invasion of 1949, and the success of democratic Taiwanare strictly censored in China. Beijing instead promotes an official narrative of few deaths in Tiananmen on June 4, 1989, which was in any case, according to the narrative, necessary for national stability. Tibet and Taiwan, the official story goes, were always part of China. These are all CCP lies, to which are added new untruths on a daily basis in Beijing, most recently on topics as disparate as the South China Sea, capital markets, and COVID lockdowns. At some point, the world must stop giving Beijings propaganda the benefit of the doubt, and start increasing its defenses against the CCPs fake news. At some point there should be, for every new lie, a new economic sanction. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location in a file photo. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP) China Stages Military Drills Around Taiwan as US Delegation Visits As the high-level U.S. delegation sent a message of support for Taiwan during a visit on April 15, the Chinese regime said it conducted military drills around the island, reinforcing its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under control. Led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the six-member bipartisan group met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in her office in Taipei on Friday morning. The Chinese military sent frigates, bombers, fighter jets, and other forces to the East China Sea and regions around Taiwan, Shi Yilu, spokesperson for the Peoples Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, said, according to Chinas state broadcaster. The air and naval drills were in response to the recent negative actions of the U.S., including the visit of a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan, said Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the regimes foreign ministry. Beijing would continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, Zhao told reporters at Fridays briefing. Related Coverage China, US Flex Military Muscles Near Taiwan Amid Ukraine Conflict The communist regime in Beijing is against any official exchanges between Taiwan and other governments around the world. It views the self-ruled island as its own territory to be taken by force if necessary. On the other side of the Taiwan Strait, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) acknowledged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had told them it was very unhappy about the visits, but the warning didnt dissuade them from traveling to the island. It wont dissuade us in the future in supporting Taiwan, said Menendez, the head of the Senates Foreign Relations Committee, in a speech at Tsais office. Members of an American congressional delegation pose for a photo with Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen (center R) and other Taiwanese officials during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 15, 2022. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) He emphasized, We seek no conflict with China, as I believe Taiwan seeks no conflict with China. Other members of the delegation were Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Sen. Robert Portman (R-Ohio), Sen. Benjamin Sasse (R-Neb.), and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). They also delivered speeches to show their support for Taipei. To abandon Taiwan would be to abandon democracy and freedom. It would be to abandon free trade. It would reward the worst of humanity. We are here today to show our support for Taiwan, said Graham. Honored to be in #Taiwan where freedom reigns. The courageous people of Taiwan are great allies of the United States and a beacon of freedom in a troubled region. https://t.co/MjzLmJ2jJW Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 14, 2022 Tsai expressed her welcome to the delegation and her wish to further deepen the cooperation between Taipei and Washington. Russias invasion of Ukraine has proven that democracies must bolster their alliances. Collectively, we can defend ourselves from the threats posed by authoritarian nations that seek to disrupt regional peace, Tsai told the U.S. delegation. In a statement released on late Friday, Taiwans foreign ministry condemned the CCPs recalcitrant and ridiculous remarks and actions to the U.S. delegations visits. Related Coverage Taiwan Will Defend Differently Than Ukraine in Event of Chinese Invasion: Expert The threat of force by the CCPs totalitarian authorities against Taiwan will only strengthen the Taiwanese peoples will to defend freedom and democracy, strengthen the support for democratic Taiwan from the United States and more democratic partners, and attach importance to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, read the statement. Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries, like the United States, defend the free and open Indo-Pacific region, and prevent the communist regimes continuous expansion, it stated. The delegation came amid concerns that the Ukraine crisis could be used by the communist regime in China to hasten its designs to seize Taiwan. While Taipei hasnt reported any sign of an imminent invasion, Beijing has escalated military harassment by flying warplanes near the island on a regular basis over the past two years. The United States is Taiwans most important unofficial ally and arms supplier, and is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself. On April 6, the United States approved a possible $95 million sale of equipment and services to boost the islands air defenses. The Associated Press contributed to the report. Kyle Bass, the founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management and a founding member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China, in Washington on Sep. 26, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Chinas Digital Yuan, Biggest Threat to the West, Is Overshadowed by Russian War, Kyle Bass Warns Russias war in Ukraine is obscuring a very alarming threat posed by the Chinese regime: its system of paperless money, hedge fund manager Kyle Bass has warned. It is, I think, the single largest threat to the West in the last 50 years. And its being overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bass said during a recent interview on EpochTVs American Thought Leaders program. The Chinese digital currency, variously known as the digital yuan, digital renminbi, e-CYN, or e-yuanis currently being developed by the Chinese regime through its central bank. Since the e-yuan is backed by the Peoples Bank of China, its a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or simply the digital version of Chinas fiat currency. Pilot tests of the e-yuan are being carried out in more than 20 different Chinese cities, and the money was made available to visiting foreigners through a mobile app for the first time during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. This isnt a simple digital payment app. This is an app that tracks where you are, what your name is, what your Social Security number is, [and] what all of your identifiers are, he said. It has geo-locating ability. Bass said that once the Chinese digital currency is fully developed and is made available to everyone outside of China, the Chinese regime could seek out certain e-yuan users, such as those in financial trouble, and corrupt them. Image if the Chinese government had access to every Tom, Dick, and Harry in America, and in Europe, and in Canada, he said. Imagine if they could cross-run an algorithm that says, Lets look for U.S. government employees that have Tinder that are short on cashand maybe theyre marriedand we can corrupt them immediately. It gives them the ramp to corrupt anyone and everyone around the world thats corruptible, which is a real national security problem, he said. So its a way they can export digital authoritarianism. Chinas global rollout of its e-yuan has a very specific agenda, Bass said, which is to reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar. About 87 percent of global transactions that China settles are settled in dollars, he said. Theyre desperately short energy, theyre desperately short food, theyre desperately short basic materials; they have to go buy these things every day around the world, and no one trusts their currency, and they still have a closed capital account. So what do they have to do? They have to use their [U.S.] dollars to do so. More than 80 countries in the world, including the United States, are exploring the issuance of CBDC, according to tracking by the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council. So far, Nigeria is among nine countries that have launched digital forms of their currencies. In March, the White House issued an outline of President Joe Bidens executive order on digital assets. The president was placing urgency on research and development of a U.S. CBDC, and he said that issuing one was deemed in the national interest. Several U.S. lawmakers have been keen to see the threat posed by the e-yuan properly addressed. In May last year, Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Jim Himes (D-Conn.) introduced the 21st Century Dollar Act (H.R.3506), which would require the U.S. Treasury Department to include in a report for Congress any risks to the U.S. dollar posed by the digital yuan. In March, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and eight of her Republican colleagues introduced the Say No to the Silk Road Act (S.3784). If enacted, the legislation would require the U.S. Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representatives office to file reports on the e-yuan. Additionally, the U.S. State Department would be required to put a notice on its website warning U.S. citizens traveling to China about the dangers of the digital yuan, according to the text of the bill. There are some senators that youll see in the coming weeks are going to launch legislation to outlaw its use. And I believe that legislation must happen, Bass said. The West needs to convene, and we need to ban it immediately. You cant have a little bit of cancer: you either have cancer, or you dont have cancer. Frank Fang journalist Follow Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers US, China, and Taiwan news. He holds a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan. A file image of the Star Princess cruise ship which is more than twice the size of the Titanic. It is 18 stories high and can carry approximately 3,800 passengers. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Cruise Ships Return in Australia After 2-Year Ban Australian authorities are lifting a ban on cruise liners thats been in place since March 2020. NSW, Victoria, and Queensland have outlined testing and vaccination requirements for passengers and crew in preparation for the ships to return. However, Tasmania is still reviewing whether such a move is safe for the island state. Peak body Cruise Lines International Association Australia says the lifting of the ban will be marked by a carefully managed resumption of operations in a sector that previously supported more than 18,000 jobs. The first international cruise ship to return, P&O Australias Pacific Explorer, will sail into Sydney Harbour on Monday morning in readiness for its return to service on May 31. It will be followed at the end of the month by Ponants Le Laperouse, which will begin operations between Darwin and Broome on April 28, joining local operators in time for the important Kimberley season. The move comes despite COVID-19 infections remaining stubbornly high. NSW reported almost 10,000 new cases on Sunday, along with six-virus-related deaths. Victoria added 8,153 infections to its caseload and two fatalities. More than 41,000 new cases and 35 deaths were reported across the nation on Saturday, while net hospital admissions were up two dozen patients and seven more were admitted to intensive care. Meanwhile, Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen has been sidelined from the federal election campaign trail after testing positive to the virus. Bowen confirmed the news via social media on Saturday, saying he would spend the next seven days in isolation. I was looking forward to a few days campaigning in regional Queensland and Brisbane but it isnt to be, he said on Twitter. Cant wait to get back on the trail with our magnificent candidates and make an Albanese government a reality. It comes after Labors home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews contracted the virus last week. Elsewhere, Health Victoria is monitoring the new BA.4 or BA.5 Omicron variant after samples were confirmed in a catchment at Tullamarine, north of Melbourne. The sub-variant has been recently detected in a small number of cases in South Africa, Botswana, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. The World Health Organisation says there are no known significant epidemiological differences between the new Omicron strain and the more dominant BA.2 strain. There is no cause for alarm with the emergence of the new sub-variants, WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said this week. We are not yet observing a major spike in cases, hospitalisations or deaths. Professor Francesco Plantania and his son at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on April 15, 2022. (Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times) DALLASProfessor Francesco Plantania and his son were dazzled with the beauty and purity of Shen Yun Performing Arts after attending a performance at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on April 15. Its colorful not just in the dresses, but colorful culture, colorful dancing, and colorful atmosphere, he said. Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern-day. It brings this sense of the peace and also escape to a better world [a] sense of calm and peace in a world of turmoil. We want to just go to a place where theres nothing but joy and peace: no war, no fights. and I think this is a good avenuethe door to it! It takes you away, you know, [to] a world that we cant see or cant touch, but its so real beyond our flesh and beyond our eyes, you know, there is a better world. We just cant see it. And [Shen Yun] brings it over with this. Shen Yun Performing Arts aims to revive Chinas 5,000-year-old traditional culture. The companys website says its performance this year demonstrates China before communism. Plantania commented that Shen Yun was a lively expression of Chinas ancient culture. Its not only lively, it is pure, its clean. Its almost magic, you know, but its heavenly, thats what it is. He believes that the performance was a great expression of bringing back the beautiful Chinese culture that has been overpowered by communist ideology. Communism in general does not allow people to express themselves, especially in their religions in spiritual ways. So, thank [Shen Yun] for bringing this over. You know, make us see the other side of China, the other side of people, their culture of beauty. So deep, so beautiful. This was Francescos second time attending a performance by Shen Yun. Its very beautiful. Im very impressed. Im going to see it again. Love it! Artist Miriam Odethguerrero and violinist Gerardo Herndez at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, on April 15. (Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times) Artist Miriam Odethguerrero and violinist Gerardo Herndez also attended the April 15 performance at the Winspear Opera House. We love everything. I mean, everything. I highly recommend it, Miriam said. This was the first time Miriam and Gerardo attended Shen Yun. Ive been expecting to come and see it for so many years. Two days ago, when I saw the ad on my phone, I started having goosebumps and I told him that no matter how busy I was, I have to cancel things, she said. And I said, lets go! Besides talented dancers, Shen Yun features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments into a classical Western orchestra. Commenting on Shen Yuns live symphony orchestra, Gerardo said: Thats the best of it. My favorite! To hear different kinds of music, and the Chinese, I liked very much. Reported by Yawen Hung and Jennifer Schneider. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. This picture taken on March 2, 2022 shows shipping containers at a port in Hong Kong. (Photo by Dale De La Rey/AFP via Getty Images) Experts Warn of Chinas Near-Monopoly on Freight Container Production, Threatening Global Supply Chain Expert says it's deeply concerning China produces 95 percent of the worlds shipping containers News Analysis A recent report from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) showed that Chinas control of global container manufacturing poses a threat to supply chains and economies worldwide. On March 30, FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel released his assessment (pdf) of Chinas control of container and intermodal chassis manufacturing after a year of research, market observation, and synthesis interviews. The report points out that the three largest Chinese manufacturers control over 86 percent of the worlds supply of intermodal chassis. Those same companies manufacture over 95 percent of the 44.2 million containers used in global shipping, including U.S. domestic train and truck intermodal containers. According to Bentzels assessment, the Chinese communist regime effectively controls the worlds container and chassis production, arguing that Beijing may manipulate market prices and add to the global supply chain disruptions. When demand for ocean containers increased, Chinese-based intermodal equipment manufacturers were notably slow in ramping up production, raising the question of whether this was part of a deliberate strategy to manipulate prices, the report said. The prices for Chinese manufactured containers had risen to $6,500 in 2021 from $1,600 in 2019, a nearly 400 percent increase over pre-pandemic prices. Meanwhile, container leasing rates were also up by around 50 percent in the span of six months before November 2020. The report called Chinas near defacto worldwide monopoly in shipping container production deeply concerning. Lines of trucks are seen at a container terminal of Ningbo Zhoushan port in Zhejiang province, China, on Aug. 15, 2021. (CNS photo via Reuters) Chinas Rise to Container Production Monopoly Containers are one of the key elements of globalization. Ocean freight costs were high before the wide use of intermodal containers. Cargo loading and unloading efficiency at the port terminals were sometimes even longer than the ships sailing time. Today, 95 percent of industrial products worldwide are shipped via containerized intermodal freights. The United States was the largest producer of freight containers in the 1960s. However, due to changing economic and logistical factors, production centers soon moved to Europe and later to Japan and South Korea. In 1991, South Korea became the worlds largest container producer, with an annual output of 349,000 TEU, according to Jiemian News, a Chinese financial news site. Twenty-foot and 40-foot containers are the most commonly used containers for shipping. A standard 20-foot container is referred to as a TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit), while a 40-foot container is two TEUs. In the 1990s, Chinas manufacturing capacity and export demand rapidly grew as it integrated into the global economy. And with cost advantages, the container manufacturing industry gradually shifted from South Korea to China. The container market share in China rose from 7.2 percent in 1990 to 69 percent in 1999, growing nearly 10 times in under decade. An article published in 2021 by Shenzhen-based Neptune Logistics breaks down the three primary reasons for Chinas monopoly of the container production industry. The low cost of raw materials in China was listed as the top reason. The country is the worlds largest steel producer, accounting for 55 percent of global output. Its cost advantages and strong production capacity in steel and other related industries have contributed largely to its industry monopoly. However, the article noted that Chinas cost advantages had been surpassed by Vietnam and Malaysia in recent years as it has been eliminating outdated steel plants, resulting in a reduced production capacity. Secondly, the demand for Chinese exports remains strong. China has been the largest exporter of goods since 2009, and it uses a massive amount of containers that it produces. Thirdly, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic has benefited Chinas container industry. Since 2020, the pandemic has slowed down the production of goods worldwide, and many factories have shut down or suspended operations. Yet, Chinas exports have grown against the trend. It has continued to supply goods and materials worldwide, taking advantage of its large container reserves and production capacities. Meanwhile, there werent many foreign goods sold to China, so most containers from China stayed at their destinations without needing to return. Shipping companies and freight forwarders can only keep purchasing new containers in China to avoid delayed delivery to their destinations. On the other hand, the worlds major ports are filled with empty containers from China that exceed their usual reserve by three times, resulting in the destination countries not needing to produce containers. Stacked containers are shown as ships unload their cargo at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Nov. 22, 2021. Reuters/Mike Blake However, the article failed to mention another key reasonChinas container manufacturers benefited from the Chinese regimes financial support. Government subsidies allow companies to undercut competitors significantly. China International Marine Containers (CIMC), the worlds largest container manufacturer, accounting for a 42 percent global market share, has had up to 28 percent of its expenses subsidized by the Chinese regime, U.S. FMC Commissioner Bentzel said in his report. The U.S. Department of Commerce also found that CIMC is indirectly owned by the Chinese regime through its Stateowned Assets Supervision and Administration (SASAC). Expert: Global Supply Chain Restructuring is Underway Wu Jia-Long, a macroeconomist in Taiwan, told The Epoch Times that he believes a global supply chain restructuring to decouple from China is underway. The supply chain restructuring has actually started since the U.S.-China trade war in 2018. The United States has begun to see the serious problem of letting an autocratic countryChinajoin the global economy. Not only did it fail to transform itself into a democracy, but it also initiated unfair competition and unfair trade through political intervention, breaking the rules set by the international community. Amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the CCP chose the side of Russia, meaning the U.S.-China decoupling is inevitable. Wu added that the White Houses recent introduction of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) outlines the United States key priorities to align with allies and partners to more effectively compete with China and restructure the supply chain. The IPEF addresses Chinas much more assertive and aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region and the importance of establishing a high-tech supply chain independent of China. Deborah Golanski and Phillip Metcalfe attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the AT&T Performing Arts CenterWinspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas on Apr. 16, 2022 (Yawen Hung /The Epoch Times) DALLAS, TexasShen Yun Performing Arts brought the unique beauty of Chinese classical and folk dance and music to Dallas Winspear Opera House in the AT&T Performing Arts Center on April 16. China, once known as the celestial empire, has a truly glorious culture that was believed to have been gifted from heavenly deities to earthly beings. The many art forms, such as dancing, music, and writing, were conduits for learning and are believed to be passed down from gods to man. Deborah Golanski, a former ballet and tap dancer, watched New York-based Shen Yun with Phillip Metcalfe, a realtor. With years of experience in dance, Ms. Golanski said she could appreciate the hard work behind the level of excellence of Shen Yuns performers. I just think the choreography was absolutely lovely, and the unison of the dancers was outstanding. I truly enjoyed the performance tonight, she said. And to be able to do the extensions, and the gymnastics, and the flips that was just really, really spectacular. Shen Yuns mission is to present its audiences with the true image of Chinas five millennia of rich culture. It delights its audiences with a panorama of story-based dances that portray the life across Chinas different dynasties, as well as cherished legends, heroic tales, and ethnic dances from regions extending from Mongolia to Tibet. Ms. Golanski said watching Shen Yun present the story of China had been a very moving experience. I really enjoyed the dance about the pink flowers where the dancers used the pink fans. That was just a gorgeous, gorgeous performance, Ms. Golanski said. The Plum Blossom in Spring dance depicts the stoic resilience of plums blossoms as they brave the winter cold to bloom, heralding the arrival of spring. The dancers are phenomenally coordinated. The colors are visually entrancing, [even] mesmerizing. Its almost hypnotic. It really is, Mr. Metcalfe said. And the special effects just added so much to the performance. I was very entertained by that as well, Ms. Golanski added. The couple also expressed appreciation for the Shen Yun Orchestra, which accompanies each Shen Yun performance. The orchestra is a blend of classical European and Eastern instruments. The companys all-original compositions have won praise worldwide. The music was absolutely incredible, Ms. Golanski said. Chinese People Deserve Their Culture Back Also in the audience were Bill and Lila Lee. Mr. Lee is a school district marketing director and Lili, a homemaker. Mr. Lee praised the precision of the dancers and Shen Yuns use of color. Its really amazing, its really pretty, he said. Everything is just beautiful, said Mrs. Lee, adding that she was really impressed with the first piece, Salvation During End Times. I think its amazing how [the performers] exit off the stage into the screen behind them, she added, referring to Shen Yuns perfecting of a digital technology that allows a smooth transition between the 3D projection and actors on stage. Several features in the performance surprised Mr. Lee. The video-technical aspects are really nice, he said. He was also surprised to see the live orchestra, which he said added to the whole experience because they were excellent. Mrs. Lee applauded Shen Yuns mission to revive Chinas true traditional culture to how it was in the pre-communist times. I think that Chinese people deserve to have their culture back, and be able to celebrate and live freely and however they want, she said. Reporting by Yawen Hung and Diane Cordemans. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Melissa Oltz (L) attends the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance with her parents Cathy and Don Horein in Albany, New York, on April 16, 2022. (Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times) SCHENECTADY, N.Y.Don and Cathy Horein came to Shen Yun Performance Arts with their daughter Melissa Oltz, an optometrist with her own business. Cathy, a retired teacher and gymnastic judge, said the performers, would score very well in gymnastics. The performance level is superior. New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. It was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who wished to revive the traditional culture of China, a heritage with 5,000 years of history and deeply spiritual foundations that have been almost completely destroyed following decades of communist rule. One of Shen Yuns unique features is its orchestra. Its the first in the world to combine classical Western and Chinese instruments within a Western symphony orchestra. Shen Yun also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style. Cathy noted the great technical qualities of the dancers. Our kids are in gymnastics and dance, and we just really appreciate how quietly everyone lands. You cant hear a thing. She noted there was more to the dance. I feel theres a lot of tranquility and peace with the dancers and that they are emulating that. Don Horein, an electronics design engineer for 45 years, now services and trains installers on electrical discharge machines. Every single age can enjoy this and appreciate it, he said. Their daughter Melissa said, Its beautiful, everything, the dancing, the technique that theyre using. I love the balance with the orchestra and the older Chinese instruments and the Western instruments. You dont know where to look because every person is great and it looks like a lot of fun. As an optometrist and from a medical perspective, Melissa thought the music had a soothing effect. I love it. All the bright colors and it all meshes very well. Its very uplifting to be here. English Professor Acknowledges Great Stories in Dance and Music Barbara and Mark Connor attend the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Albany, New York, on April 16, 2022. (Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times) Mark Connor, an English professor at Skidmore College who attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife Barbara, says he loved the show, calling it amazing, magnificent after seeing it for the first time. Mark was delighted by the stories and the stirring music. As a literature person, I really liked the storytelling through the dance and music and everything. I think you learn a lot about the culture and the beauty and the art. The quality of the performance was at a high level and, he would tell others about it. I tell them its very colorful and entertaining and beautiful and a great artistic production. Barbara concurred. [It gives us] a little insight into Chinese culture. I think its great. Reporter Weiyong Zhu and Yvonne Marcotte. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Shen Yun Performing Arts "was very joyful for us," said Kourosh Khaje (R) at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary, Canada, on April 16, 2022. (Sunny Chen/The Epoch Times) CALGARY, CanadaShen Yun Performing Arts is delighting audiences across the globe with its world-class presentation of five millennia of traditional Chinese dance and music. The colorful production depicts the true story of Chinas ancient culture, one that has largely been lost following decades of rule by the communist regime. The New York-based performing arts company graced the stage at the Southern Albert Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary on April 16 and left theatergoers in awe with its performance. It was the first time that Kourosh Khaje had seen Shen Yun, and he loved it, said the professional engineer and managing director of the Energy, Science and Technology Corporation. It was so beautiful, said Mr. Khaje, who found the performers, costumes, music, and synchronization amazing. While he enjoyed all of the different stories portrayed by the dancers, the piece Blue Heaven stood out, telling the story of a sacred phoenix that can magically transform into a heavenly maiden. Another aspect that left an impression on him was Shen Yuns depiction of events in China that began with the creation of Chinese civilization up until the present day. Mr. Khaje was also captivated by Shen Yuns digital backdrops, which use a patented method that allows the performers to seemingly travel back and forth between the stage and the animated background scenery. He praised the vocalist as well the instrumental solo played on the erhu, the two-stringed Chinese violin. Mr. Khaje also expressed support for Shen Yuns mission of restoring Chinas original authentic culture. I think that history is important to remember. I think its very good that every generation and every culture should know about it, he said. Shen Yun brought hope, said Mr. Khaje, who found the music, dance, and colors inspiring and even felt an impulse to jump onto the stage to join the performers. It was a joyful atmosphere, he said, noting that Shen Yun conveyed to him that message that [a] better future is there as long as we learn and respect each other. Shen Yun Brings Out Our Emotions Also in the audience were Luis and Esperanza Galban. Mr. Galban, the owner of a construction company, said that he was awestruck by his encounter with Shen Yun and that he experienced many emotions. It was beautiful, its amazingthe colors, the organization. Im in another world, in another space, in wonder, in imagination, he said. He felt a strong spiritual connection with Shen Yun that left him wondering whether he was dreaming, he noted. And he wondered if the performance was connected to a past experience. I dont know exactly how to explain to you in English because its my second language, but I was feeling this when I was watching [the performers]. I [was] feeling myself inside them, he explained. Ms. Galban had a similar experience. I [am] feeling so good. I [am] feeling that I have been living in the past. Im feeling that I have been there before. I dont know why, she said. The song To Heaven in This Lifetime, sung by one of Shen Yuns vocalist, touched her heart with all the words that he was [singing, about how] people forgot heaven in the past life, and now its time to go back to the heaven, said Ms. Galban. Her inner being felt beautiful, and it was very spiritual, she said. Mr. Galban said the same song also touched his heart. And he noted that his emotions especially ran deep when he was watching the dance story that portrayed the Chinese communist regimes persecution of the Falun Dafa spiritual practice. He said he experienced chills and goosebumps. I believe in God. I came to see [Shen Yun] with my eyes, but I see with my spirit, he said. Reporting by Sunny Chen and Diane Cordemans. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nev., on July 26, 2016. (James Glover II/Reuters) Judge Rules Musks Tweets Over Taking Tesla Private Were False, Investors Say A federal judge has ruled that Tesla CEO Elon Musks 2018 tweets about having secured financing to take the company private were false, according to court filings by Tesla investors suing the billionaire over the tweets. The filing said that the court ruled April 1 that Musks 2018 tweets were false and misleading. The court held that he recklessly made the statements with knowledge as to their falsity, it said. Investors in the electric car maker asked in the filing, submitted on Friday, for U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen to block the celebrity entrepreneur from his public campaign to present a contradictory and false narrative regarding his 2018 tweets. Musk on Thursday stepped up criticism of the U.S. securities regulator for bringing fraud charges against him over his 2018 tweets regarding taking Tesla private. He claimed that funding to take Tesla private was actually secured at the time he posted his tweets, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursued the active public investigation nonetheless. So I was forced to concede to the SEC unlawfully, Musk told the audience at a TED conference in Vancouver. Musk said he felt forced to settle with the SEC because banks threatened to cease providing capital if he did not do so, which would have bankrupted Tesla on the spot. So thats like having a gun to your childs head, Musk said. I was forced to admit that I lied to save Teslas life, and thats the only reason, Musk added. Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million in civil fines and Musk stepped down as Teslas chairman to resolve SEC claims that Musk defrauded investors on Aug. 7, 2018, by posting on Twitter that he had funding secured to take the company private. The SEC said at the time his funding tweets lacked an adequate basis in fact. A related consent decree also required Musk to obtain pre-clearance from Tesla lawyers for tweets and other public statements that could be material to Tesla. That April 1 decision was not listed on the court docket. The issues will be at the center of a May jury trial in which the investors are seeking damages over the tweets. Musk has used his fame and notoriety to sway public opinion in his favor, waging battle in the press having been defeated in the courtroom, the filing said. Musks latest comments risk confusing potential jurors and prejudicing a jury decision on the amount of damages owed by Musk, it said. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk and Tesla, on Saturday again asserted that it was true that Musk was considering taking Tesla private in 2018 and had financing for that move. All thats left some half decade later is random plaintiffs lawyers trying to make a buck and others trying to block that truth from coming to light, all to the detriment of free speech, he said. The case is In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-04865. By Karla Peterson The San Diego Union-Tribune SAN DIEGO One of the first times food spoke to her, Madhushree Ghosh was 7 years old and being tempted by a guava. It was the last of the three guavas Ghoshs father had brought home to the family, and while she knew in her dutiful-daughter heart that she should probably wait to share it with the rest of the household, the guava had other ideas. To this day, Ghosh writes in her new memoir, I swear the peyaara (guava) said, Eat me. Eat me now.' So she ate the guava, keeping a (slightly) guilty silence when her sister, Didi, started looking for it. More than 40 years later, Ghosh is still engaged in a deep dialogue with food. But this time, she is not keeping the conversation to herself. On April 4, the San Diego writer and oncology diagnostics strategist made her publishing debut with a memoir that uses food and food memories as a way to talk about so many other things. Ghosh loves food and food-writing, so there are beautiful food photos, along with instructions on how to make ghee (clarified butter), taro-root curry and a twist on Nigella Lawsons chocolate olive oil cake. But there are also loving stories about her Bengali parents and her food- and tradition-rich childhood in New Delhi. There are culture-shock memories from her early 90s arrival in the United States to go to graduate school. There is a sociological look at the impact of Californias many anti-immigrant laws on the Sikh farmers in the Central and Imperial Valleys, along with a painful accounting of Ghoshs now-dissolved marriage to an emotionally abusive man. This is how my brain works. I love the concept of a mosaic or a braided essay. It keeps the attention of the reader, said the 51-year-old Ghosh. If youre not curious, if you are not confused, if you are not challenged enough, you will stop reading. The details from the patty of tasteless Land O Lakes butter Thai Airways served on Ghoshs first flight to the U.S., to the crazed adventure that was pandemic panic-shopping are vivid and personal. But the variety of topics and characters that Ghosh weaves into the braid of her book reflect her love of hearing other peoples stories and then passing them along. And like so many things in Ghoshs life, that fascination with stories came with the ancestral territory. When you are talking about South Asians and our way of growing up, we grow up telling stories, said Ghosh, who was born and raised in India. Our grandparents told us stories. Our mothers told us stories. I lived off of mythological folklore. You are used to that kind of drama. For Ghosh, the writing journey started as an escape from the homesickness that hit while she was working on her masters in biochemistry at Stony Brook University in New York. After getting her doctorate in biochemistry at the University of Maryland, Ghosh went to work in the biotech industry, including stints at San Diegos Thermo Fisher Scientific and NeoGenomics Laboratories, where she works now. She moved into writing nonfiction essays to help her cope with the breakup of her marriage. She then moved on to writing about other things, and for more than a decade now, the process of exploring her deep well of interests and experiences has been its own kind of release. Ghosh has written about her refugee parents, who walked from what is now Bangladesh to India during the 1947 Indian Partition that uprooted more than 10 million people. She wrote about the ways in which the late chef and author Anthony Bourdain honored the many contributions immigrants make to the food world. She explained the pressures diagnostic companies faced while producing COVID-19 tests during the early months of the pandemic. She reveled in the comfort of making lamb curry as a tribute to her late mother. Ghoshs essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Kitchn, The Rumpus and many other publications. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her Longreads essay, At the Maacher Bazaar, Fish for Life, was awarded a Notable Mention in the Best American Essays in Food Writing. Some of these essays paved the way for Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory, and Family, where Ghosh makes room for celebrating the things she loves food, community, autonomy while also taking a close, unflinching look at injustice, racism and abuse. When life said, Share me. Share all of me, Ghosh listened to that, too. When I started writing Khabaar, I didnt want it to be a start-to-finish memoir. I wanted to highlight chefs and home cooks. I wanted to talk about social-justice issues. I have lived a life, and those are things that happened. I talk about domestic-partner abuse. Even though it was not physical, it was important to talk about, Ghosh said. I would love it if people start to read and think, What is she talking about? And then they keep reading to find out what Im talking about. 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Soldiers from the Norwegian Armed Forces operate a tank as they participate in the international military exercise Cold Response 22, at Setermoen, North of in Norway, on March 22, 2022. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images) RussiaUkraine War (April 17) : Russia Calls Increased NATO Military Activity in the Arctic Worrying, Warns of Unintended Incidents: TASS The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 17. Click here for updates from April 16. Russia Calls Increased NATO Military Activity in the Arctic Worrying, Warns of Unintended Incidents: TASS Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of unintended incidents occurring in the region, TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov as saying on Sunday. In March, Finland and Sweden, which are both considering joining the U.S.-led military NATO alliance, conducted combined NATO military drills. The exercise was long-planned, but Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 added intensity to the war game. Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a special military operation. The recent increase in NATOs activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern. Another large-scale military exercise of the alliance was recently held in northern Norway. In our view, this does not contribute to the security of the region, Korchunov said. According to Korchunov, such activity raises the risk of unintended incidents, which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the Arctic ecosystem. He did not specify what type of incident he might be referring to. _____ Ukraine Completes Questionnaire for EU Membership: Official Ukraine has completed a questionnaire that will form a starting point for the European Union to decide on membership for Kyiv, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyys office, said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the questionnaire to Zelenskyy during her visit to Kyiv on April 8th, pledging a speedier start to Ukraines bid to become a member of the EU following Russias invasion of the country. Today, I can say that the document has been completed by the Ukrainian side, Zhovkva told the Ukrainian public broadcaster Sunday evening. The European Commission will need to issue a recommendation on Ukraines compliance with the necessary membership criteria, he added. We expect the recommendation to be positive, and then the ball will be on the side of the EU member states. Zhovkva added that Ukraine expects to acquire the status of a candidate country for EU accession in June during a scheduled meeting of the European Council meeting. The European Council is to meet June 23-24, according to the Councils schedule on its website. Next, we will need to start accession talks. And once we hold those talks, we can already talk about Ukraines full membership in the EU, Zhovkva said. ___ Zelenskyy: Troops Inflict Deliberate Terror Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. ___ Ukraine Has Asked G7 for $50 Billion to Cover Budget Deficit, Says Senior Official Ukraine has asked G7 nations for $50 billion in financial support and is also considering issuing 0 percent coupon bonds to help it cover a war-linked budget deficit over the next six months, the presidents economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said on Sunday. Speaking on national television, Ustenko said these options were being actively discussed. _____ Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Situation in Mariupol May Be Red Line in Talks Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there had not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and Ukraine at the level of their foreign ministries and that the situation in the port of Mariupol, which he described as dire, may be a red line in the path of negotiations. Mariupol may be a red line, he told CBS News in an interview on Sunday. Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverized port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in Mariupol were still fighting despite a Russian demand to surrender by dawn. We didnt really have any contacts with Russian diplomats in recent weeks at the level of foreign ministries, Kuleba said in the interview. _____ Luhansk Region Governor Says Shelling Kills 2, Injures 4 in Eastern Town of Zolote At least two people were killed and four have been injured on Sunday in the shelling of the eastern Ukrainian town of Zolote, the local governor said. In one of the high-rise buildings, two floors were destroyed We have at least two dead citizens, four more wounded, said Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region. Reuters could not immediately verify his remarks _____ Ukrainians Defy Deadline to Surrender in Mariupol The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave a deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were guaranteed to keep their lives, but the Ukrainians did not submit. All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, said. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. Ukraines prime minister says Mariupol hasnt yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat, and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesnt have full dominance over the city. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. _____ Russia: Mariupol Fighters Will Be Destroyed The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. on April 17, 2022 (10:00 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. _____ Ukraine Says Besieged Mariupol Still Holding Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. _____ Russian Military Says It Struck a Military Plant on the Outskirts of Ukrainian Capital With Missiles The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets, and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. _____ Russian General Killed in Action Buried in St. Petersburg A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. _____ Bulgaria Banned Russian-Flagged Ships From Entering Its Black Sea Ports Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (C) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 22, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Louisiana Asks SCOTUS to Block Biden Administration From Calculating Social Cost of Carbon Emissions AG Jeff Landry argues the metric hurts consumers and industry Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is vowing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the Biden administration from recalculating and using the social cost of carbon emissions, a metric used in climate regulation that critics say needlessly drives up operating costs for businesses and prices for consumers. Critics have long said that the classification of carbon dioxide, the gas humans expel from their lungs when breathing, as a pollutant makes no sense. Carbon dioxide is essential to life on the planet and is used in the process of photosynthesis, which spurs plant growth. But environmentalists claim that human-created carbon dioxide contributes to climate change. The social cost of carbon, a measurement in dollars of the damages supposedly caused by releasing a metric ton of greenhouse gases, is used by policymakers to provide cost-benefit analyses and to write regulations. Placing a monetary value on the effect of the gases gives federal regulators ammunition to justify tougher environmental regulations. On Inauguration Day, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that resurrected an interagency working group on the social cost of carbon and temporarily set the cost at $51 per metric ton, the level used before President Donald Trump took office in 2017. During his presidency, Trump had reduced the social cost figure to as low as $1 per metric ton. Bidens working group was studying the social cost with a view to establishing a new, presumably higher rate. In February, U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. of the Western District of Louisiana, agreed with Louisiana and nine other states, issuing an order blocking the use of the interim metric. The states told Cain, who was appointed by Trump, that the metric was arbitrary and would boost the cost of producing energy and hike regulatory costs for states. At the time, Max Sarinsky, an attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU Law School, said Cains injunction might not survive. This injunction is extraordinarily broad, Sarinsky told Axios. I think it will receive very, very close scrutiny on appeal. In mid-March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed Cains injunction at the request of the Biden administration in an emergency application. The appeals court held that Louisiana and the other states challenging the metric had raised merely hypothetical claims of harm and that they probably didnt have legal standing to take action in court. Greenwire reported that days later, the states asked the 5th Circuit to hear the case, arguing that allowing the use of the social cost metric lets one of the most consequential regulations in history remain in effect despite the irreparable harm its causing the states. The appeals court denied the rehearing. We are disappointed in the 5th Circuits decision, and we will appeal to the Supreme Court, Landrys office told E&E News, a trade publication. Attorney General Landry will continue fighting the Biden administrations attempts to inject the government into the everyday lives of Americans. Landrys comments come as the Supreme Court is considering West Virginia v. EPA, which the court heard on Feb. 28. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey previously told The Epoch Times that he hopes the Supreme Court will use the case to rein in the far-reaching powers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shut down carbon dioxide-generating industries without regard to the economic well-being of those affected. The problem is that the EPA is trying to transform itself from an environmental regulator into a central energy planning authority, according to Morrisey, a Republican. West Virginia is a major producer of coal, natural gas, and crude oil. West Virginia and 18 other states are challenging the authority that the Clean Air Act provides to the EPA. The challengers hope the high court will resolve whether the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to delegate regulatory authority to the EPA to limit so-called greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge comes years after the Supreme Court ruled 54 in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) that the agency can regulate greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide as air pollutants under the act. In the decision, the court called climate change the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. The merchant fuel ship which sank off the coast of Gabes in Tunisia on April 15, 2022 is seen in this handout picture taken in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Nov. 12, 2017. (Dmitry Frolov/Handout via Reuters) Merchant Fuel Ship Sinks Off Tunisia, Crew Rescued TUNISA merchant fuel ship heading from Equatorial Guinea to Malta sank off the coast of Gabes in Tunisia on Friday, two security sources told Reuters, adding that the navy rescued all seven crew members. The ship carried one thousand tons of fuel and sent a distress call seven miles away from Gabes to which the Tunisian navy responded, the sources added. The cause of the incident was bad weather, the environment ministry said, adding that water had seeped into the ship and reached a height of two metres. Authorities are working to avoid an environmental disaster and reduce repercussions, the ministry said in a statement. Policemen wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) stand next to the entrance of a neighborhood during a COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown in the Jing'an district in Shanghai on April 15, 2022. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images) More People Could Be Killed as a Result of Lockdown Than by COVID-19: Shanghais Top Pandemic Expert The Chinese communist regimes COVID Zero policy and strict pandemic control measures have caused numerous tragedies and mass complaints. Shanghai has been under lockdown for more than two weeks and various accounts of suffering have been frequently reported on social media. A video has been circulating online in recent days, in which Shanghais top epidemic expert Zhang Wenhong points out that the number of people who died because of the lockdown will far exceed the number of people who die of COVID-19, if the lockdown continues. If the hospitals do not resume services, the death toll from other diseases will be far higher than the death toll from the COVID-19, he said in the video released on April 13, which was liked by many netizens. Zhang said, How long can the whole city be put on pause, and can we afford it? Everyone has nothing to eat or drink, there is no place to buy vegetables, and if you are sick, you cant go to the hospital to see a doctor. A lot more people will die because of that than caused by COVID-19. Moreover, if hospitals dont resume services, cancer patients cannot undergo chemotherapy and surgery, people infected with other diseases cannot be treated, and trauma patients cannot be cared for. In this case, I believe that patients who die from other diseases are far more than the COVID-19. So I think its reasonable to resume work and everyone should return to normal life as soon as possible, he said in the video. Zhang was the head of Shanghais pandemic prevention expert team. His last public appearance in that position was at a press conference on March 25. He suggested targeted prevention and against lockdown, and Shanghai had been following this policy, which is similar to the co-exist with the virus strategy that Western countries have now been practicing. However, Shanghai implemented a total lockdown on March 28, and Zhang has been criticized by official media that support COVID Zero policy and lockdowns. When Zhang re-appeared in public on April 9, he was only referred to as an expert of the Shanghai Pandemic Prevention and Control Medical Treatment Team. Zhangs points and suggestions in the video are shared by Chinese medical experts and rights activists. Shanghai-based lawyer Peng Yonghe told The Epoch Times on April 15 that the core issue mentioned by Zhang in the video is to ensure accessible medical services so that patients can receive effective treatment for things other than COVID-19 during the pandemic control period. If you ignore life, your policy cannot protect life. [If] people who are sick cannot be treated or left to die, then your policy must be adjusted, he said. The Chinese regimes harsh COVID Zero policy has caused civil backlash. Ji Xiaolong, a resident of Shanghai Pudong and a rights activist, posted on social media on April 12 The Pandemic Prevention Policy Should Be Determined by a Medical Experts GroupAn Open Letter to All Shanghai Citizens, calling on an elected expert group by citizens to decide the pandemic prevention and control policy, instead of communist officials. Ji told The Epoch Times on April 14 that there are more than 40 top-tier hospitals in Shanghai, and all of them have been evaluated by authoritative departments and are trusted by people. Dr. Zhang Wenhong is a recognized expert in one of the hospitals. All medical staff in each hospital should anonymously elect a medical expert in a process monitored by the public, and jointly set up an expert group. He said: The pandemic prevention opinions jointly formulated by these experts in the group have the confidence and trust of the citizens. We do not believe in the government, and we do not believe in the leaders personal command and deployment. We believe in experts. A resident looks out behind a gate blocking an entrance to a residential area under COVID lockdown in Shanghai on April 13, 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters) Shanghai medical experts have expressed similar opinions to Zhangs. Zhu Weiping, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Shanghai Pudong New Area, said in a recording of a conversation with citizens that asymptomatic COVID patients and patients with mild symptoms are best isolated at home, and never should go to a quarantine shelter. She said that professionals are also being driven crazy under the lockdown and that no one listens to what they say, because now this disease has been turned into a political matter. Xu Huiliang, a 75-year-old retired doctor in Shanghai, issued an open letter using his real name on April 11, making a number of suggestions to the Shanghai municipal government for pandemic control, including ensuring the open access of the EMSS (emergency medical service system) during pandemic prevention and control to avoid and reduce casualties and humanitarian disasters caused by the control measures. He also recommended that people who tested positive for COVID-19 be allowed to isolate in their homes. A staff member walks inside a makeshift hospital that will be used for Covid-19 coronavirus patients in Shanghai on April 7, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Miao Xiaohui, the retired vice president of the Changzheng Hospital affiliated to the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, posted on social media on April 14 that according to official data, only one of the 170,000 people infected with COVID-19 has died so far, however, news of deaths caused by the lockdown have been increasing. He questioned whether the authorities should adjust the pandemic prevention strategy as soon as possible. On April 14, it was stated at the Shanghai pandemic prevention and control press conference that there are currently only 9 COVID-19 patients in serious condition, 8 of which are elderly people over 70 years old with underlying diseases. Chinas released data throughout the pandemic has been deemed highly unreliable, as political pressure compels authorities to underreport deaths and cases. Ning Haizhong and Luoya contributed to the report. Pacific Community Seeks Further Transparency From Solomon Islands Over China Deal: Australian Foreign Minister Australia and its Pacific neighbours are calling for more transparency from the political leadership of the Solomon Islands regarding its security deal with China. [Theres] a concern that there has been a lack of transparency in relation to this agreement and that it is something that should be discussed in a broader Pacific Island Forum context itself, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne told ABCs Insiders program on April 16. The minister said Canberra has been given assurances by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare that its security agreement with China wont involve a Chinese military base being installed. I think they are very important assurances, she said, noting that security cooperation would continue despite Sogavares agreement with China. But despite the assurances, there are concerns over Chinas intentions in the region, with leaked documents suggesting that Beijing had been scouting for a location in the region to develop military projects. Neighbouring countries in the Pacific have called for more discussions on the details of the security deal with China. Australia would support that discussion. Other countries have called for it as well, Payne said of the potential talks. She said that the assurances to Australia from Sogavare had been the result of her, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Pacific Minister Zed Seseljas discussions with its Pacific neighbour. We have been engaged in bilateral security work with the Solomon Islands work for a long time, she said. Payne said this came under the bilateral security treaty between the Solomon Islands and Australia and backed New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea, which went to the country at the end of last year to support it in dealing with the unrest that occurred at that time. Read More Beijing-Solomons Security Deal a Sword in Australias Back: Opposition Leader Australia, NZ Intervention Prolonging Rule of Unpopular, Pro-Beijing Solomons Leader: Pacific Expert Protesters were calling for Sogavare to step down over his decision to switch allegiances to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from Taiwan in 2019. Ensuing riots saw the Chinatown district destroyed and Sogavares residence attacked. No scientist or government agency has yet to examine the exact way this will affect the Earths delicate web of life.(nechaevkon/Shutterstock) Potential Adverse Effects of GE Mosquitoes Unknown Misinformation and loose regulations plague release of genetically engineered mosquitos Safe and sustainable. Thats what Oxitec, a British biological pest control company, calls its genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) mosquito pesticide product. The company claims its product is nontoxic to humans and animals and wont harm beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. The experiments goal is to test the use of GE mosquitoes for reducing the transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The method of action is post-CRISPR, but uses similar gene engineering technologyinserting a double whammy into the Aedes aegypti male mosquito: a lethal gene and a fluorescent gene (for tracking). The goal here is not to kill mosquitoes, said epidemiologist Thomas Scott of the GE mosquito projects in Science magazine, Its to prevent people from getting infected and sick and dying. In theory, the experimental pesticide works like this: When GE mosquito strains are released to mate in the wild, the males pass on the lethal gene to their female offspring, which causes female larvae to die before they can develop into biting adults. Male mosquito offspring survive, but male mosquitoes dont bite. Without the females, the population will eventually (hypothetically), collapse, wiping out the invasive species. But is it really safe and sustainable? We dont really have real data on the safety part but reports from Oxitec say theyve had success in reducing mosquito populations in one of their trials in Brazilthe problem is, the experiment has also created hybrid mosquitoes that scientists say may cause even more trouble. The claim was that genes from the release strain would not get into the general population because offspring would die, said co-author Jeffrey Powell, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University as reported in The Scientist. That obviously is not what happened. Residents in the Florida Keys have already been living with millions of the GM mosquitoes that were released in a pilot project in 2021now the project will be extended for another couple of years in California as a new pesticide treatment in Fresno, Tulare, San Bernardino, and Stanislaus counties. Whether the communities of the test sites like it or not, Oxitec will now be letting off more than two billion genetically engineered male mosquitoes in Florida and California, pending permit approval from state regulators and local abatement districts. The project will take place over a two-year period beginning this year. Florida and California Residents Worry About Safety On the company website, Oxitec claims their GE mosquito project has received a warm welcome from communities in Florida and California. But Florida newspapers tell a different story. Huge billboards were erected in Florida warning the public of the release. In 2011, a Florida Keys resident and a single mother of three boys launched a petition that gathered 168,000 signatures against the ongoing mosquito trial, which was more than double the population of the Florida Keys at the time. A 2015 survey of Florida Keys residents found that a majority of survey respondents didnt support the use of GM mosquitoes as a mosquito control method. Reasons for opposition included general fears about possible harmful impacts of the intervention, specific worries about human and animal health impact from the GM mosquitoes, and environmental concerns about potential negative effects on the ecosystem. Some people are not thrilled that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation granted Oxitec $1,614,272 in September 2020 for self-limited mosquito field trials in Africa and North America. According to Statista, 90 percent of mosquito-borne disease cases occur in Africa. So why North America? Last year, Florida Keys residents made their feelings known, and protested outside a government center in Key Largo over Oxitecs project. Protest signs said things like OH HELL NO! and GO HOME OXITEC, UR DRUNK. One resident told Keys Weekly, I am really getting tired of the Oxitec press releases stating how much the locals are in full support of this trial. The controversy involving genetically modified mosquito products is not that newin March 2010, the first field trial began, and Oxitec has already field-tested the GE insects in Brazil, Panama, the Cayman Islands, and Malaysia. Allergenicity and Toxicity Redacted From the Permit The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the project with the following statement on its 2020 risk assessment: EPA finds it is unlikely that the local mosquito population would pose any increased risk to humans or the environment. The California chapter of Friends of the Earth claims the EPA didnt publicly release any data from former Oxitec field trials in Florida or Brazil about health effects, including allergenicity and toxicity, and the information was redacted from the companys application for a permit. Additionally, Friends of the Earth said in a statement that the EPA declined to convene an independent, external Scientific Advisory Panel as it does for other new pesticides. They say the danger is in what we dont know about the safety, and the ripple effect of a possible toxin. No scientist or government agency has yet to connect the dotsor examine the exact way this will affect the Earths delicate web of life. GE mosquitoes could result in far more health and environmental problems than they would solve, Dana Perls, food and technology program manager at Friends of the Earth and a California resident, said in a statement. Why Are Floridians Not Worried About Dengue and Chikungunya? In a Boston Globe opinion piece written by Natalie Kofler, founder of Editing Nature and adviser for the Scientific Citizenship Initiative at Harvard Medical School, and Jennifer Kuzma, co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, Florida residents arent worried about dengue and chikungunya fevers because theyre not much of a threat. In a University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory webinar Dr. Eva Buckner said there were 25 imported cases and 70 locally transmitted cases of dengue in Florida in 2020, and 371 imported cases and 16 local cases in 2019. The Florida Health Department describes the symptoms of dengue as mild to none, with a typical recovery of one week. Florida Health reports: While previously present in Florida, the virus was eliminated from the United States several decades ago. Since then, a small number of cases have been reported each year in individuals with recent travel history to a dengue-endemic country. West Nile virus is the most common and serious vector-borne disease in California. There have been more than 7,000 cases and more than 300 deaths since 2003, according to the California governments West Nile webpage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 2,400 human infections of West Nile in the United States in 2020, of which 165 resulted in death. Mosquito Reviews, a website that specializes in reviewing mosquito control products, reported that 1 in 150 cases of West Nile can be serious, while studies show dengue and chikungunya are fairly mild diseases with treatable symptoms. CDC statistics reveal that vector-borne diseases have been increasing over time in the United Stateswith mosquito, tick, and flea disease cases tripling between 2004 and 2016. Actual infections are likely underreported, the CDC says. However, the CDC lists Lyme diseasea tick-borne diseaseas the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Data from the CDC show that in 2019 there were approximately 34,945 cases of Lyme disease in the United Statesa 4 percent increase from 2018. Between 1999 and 2003, the CDC reported 114 deaths from Lyme, as well as cases of facial palsy, heart complications, arthritis, encephalopathy, and peripheral neuropathy. The most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States is malaria, with 1,936 cases in 2019, followed by dengue, at 1,444 cases, West Nile at 974 cases, Chikungunya at 274 cases, and Zika at 28 cases. Risks Assessed Behind Closed Doors In the Boston Globe opinion piece, Kofler and Kuzma wrote: The potential benefits of GM mosquitoes may outweigh their unknown ecological risks. Herein lies our concern: Risks should not be assessed behind closed doors between technology developers and EPA employees. As designed, the EPA risk assessment process privileges private entities over the American public. For starters, an external independent group of experts should be convened to review the first GM mosquitoes presented for release. To address the complexity of such a decision, this group should consist of interdisciplinary experts representing diverse identities with expertise in ecology, genetics, vector biology, risk assessment, entomology, public health, ethics, and social science. One thing is certain, they say: People who live in the areas of release need a say in an experiment that has the potential to affect them and their environmentand not after permits have already been granted. Beth Giuffre is a mosaic artist and frequent contributor to the Epoch Times. When the youngest of her three sons began having seizures, she began researching the root cause of intractable epilepsy, and discovered endless approaches to healing for those who are willing and open to alternatives. Louise Jones, executive director of Business 2 Business Insurance, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on April 16, 2022. (Ji Yun/Epoch Times) SYDNEY, AustraliaFor Louise Jones, executive director for insurance brokerage firm Business 2 Business Insurance, watching Shen Yun portray Chinas 5,000-year-old culture through classical Chinese dance was an eye-opening experience. For an Australian audience, this is very different, Ms. Jones said after watching Shen Yun at Sydneys Lyric Theatre on April 16. Shen Yun dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, which includes advanced tumbling techniques and movements to enrich its dance vocabulary and expressivity. Additionally, an emotional expression, or bearing, known as yun is permeated in every movement. Over thousands of years of refinement, classical Chinese dance has become one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. Were not used to seeing things like this it stands out because its different from everything else, Ms. Jones said. New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts also showcases Chinas traditional culture prior to communism, a time where myths and legends, music and art, Buddhist and Daoist philosophies, and traditions were a customary part of life. Through a series of vignettes, Shen Yun performs ethnic, folk and story-based dances, which are accompanied by an orchestral arrangement that blends Eastern and Western instruments, along with soloists, and an animated backdrop. Currently, Shen Yun cannot be performed in China, since the companys mission is to revive what the Chinese Communist Party sought to systematically destroyChinas traditional culture. Ms. Jones said Shen Yun gives Australians a greater awareness of [Chinese] culture, but was surprised that the premier classical Chinese dance and music company was unable to be shown there. I thought it was disappointing that they couldnt experience what we were experiencing, she said, adding that she thought that the dancers skillsets and discipline were better than what we see in other shows. Shen Yun Performs From The Heart: Hospitality Executive Jonathan Bowmaker, an executive in hospitality in Sydney, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on April 16, 2022. (NTD) Jonathan Bowmaker, an executive in hospitality in Sydney, was inspired by the pure emotion displayed by Shen Yun performers after he watched the premier Chinese performing arts company perform at Sydneys Lyric Theatre on April 16. You can tell its definitely coming from the heart and how it feels as they go through the performances, Mr. Bowmaker said. You can feel that the culture sort of touch, and they want to share it with those in the audience and those around, he added. Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, said by ancient Chinese people to be divinely inspired, which was almost lost after 70 years under communism. For 5,000 years, China was a place where harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind was the central belief of society. China was known as the The Land of the Divine, according to Shen Yuns website. Mr. Bowmaker said he enjoyed many of the vignettes that depict ancient Chinas myths and legends. But he was particularly touched by the modern piece, which shows practitioners of Falun Dafa in China holding firm to their faith, despite being persecuted by Chinas communist regime. Falun Dafa is ancient spiritual practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, which is currently banned in China. He said while that particular vignette was sad, it showed how in the end the characters were able to move forward. It sort of wrapped up the whole story, he said. It was beautiful. Theres definitely some of the pieces about the modern sort of troubles and circumstances [and] theyre getting the message out. Reporting by NTD, Ji Yun, and Henry Jom. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Doreen Francis and Joseph Malcolm at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Theatre Maisonneuve, in Montreal, on April 16, 2022. (NTD) MONTREALDr. Doreen Francis, a psychologist and adjunct faculty member at the University of Toronto, says that if she could, she would see Shen Yun every day. Every time, its something different. Its absolutely beautiful, the discipline, the beauty, the colors. Its just amazing, Dr. Francis said after seeing Shen Yun at Theatre Maisonneuve in Montreal on April 16, her third time seeing a Shen Yun production. Based in New York, Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company that aims to revive the traditional culture of China. Dr. Francis noted the expressiveness in Shen Yuns dances, each of which features a different storyline, and said the performance embraces the beauty of the world. I just love the precision. I love the beauty of each and every dancer, she said. Their smileits so bright, you know they love what theyre doing, she said. With everything thats going on in the world, Shen Yun helps the audience feel happy and uplifted, Dr. Francis added. It reminds you that the world is full of beauty, regardless of how much ugliness there is. Dr. Doreen Francis It reminds you that the world is full of beauty, regardless of how much ugliness there is. We truly feel blessed, its just amazing, she said. I just feel happyhappy and full of love and joy. Joseph Malcolm, a paramedic, said it was his first time seeing Shen Yun and he was amazed. Its spectacular. It warms your heart, and it lifts up your spirit, he said. These days, and in this day and age, we need to have things that give us something to [be inspired by]. Its just an amazing performance. Something Special That Touched My Heart Karen Bray at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Theatre Maisonneuve in Montreal, on April 16, 2022. (NTD) Karen Bray, owner of a cosmetic manufacturing company, said that Shen Yun is something special. My girlfriend was crying throughout the show. It was something very, very nice, she said. The colors, watching [the artists] dance, and enjoying their history, it was just something special that touched my heart. Ms. Bray praised the storylines featured in the dances, which included a range of topics from different periods in Chinas history and various themes from its culturefrom ancient legends to heavenly scenes to the realities and suppression in modern China under the communist regime. Some very enlightening, very uplifting stories were told, she said. Ms. Bray added that she particularly enjoyed seeing the scenes that featured a Buddha. Thats always been a special part for me, she said. Buddha is .. watching you. Shen Yuns mission to revive Chinas culture, Ms. Bray added, is an important one. I think the history of China is something that everybody should reflect on, she said. Reporting by NTD. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. "What I appreciated was the unison that you saw throughout every one of the presentations," said John Pardo after attending Shen Yun Performing Arts in Calgary on April 16, 2022. (Sunny Chen/The Epoch Times) CALGARYJohn Pardo, director of operations at UFA Cooperative and also a former dancer, was impressed by the skill and commitment displayed by the performers of Shen Yun Performing Arts in their show at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on April 16. You can tell that theyre skilled in their craft and their art. Theyre dedicated; theyre committed to their technique, and you can see it, he said of the performance. New York-based Shen Yun, founded in 2006, is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. The unity and synchronicity of Shen Yuns performers especially impressed Mr. Pardo. What I appreciated was the unison that you saw throughout every one of the presentations. They definitely [put] a lot of time and effort into their presentation and performance. Mr. Pardo said he grew up in a family of performers. I myself danced, growing up on stage. My parents were professional dancers. I performed as well, as a young man, so I understand the level of commitment thats required. Because of his dance training, Mr. Pardo observed in particular the classical instruction he could see from the various dances. That training is what makes the performance so special in presenting classical Chinese dance, he said. I think thats what gives this a very unique twist on the presentation, on how they present the story of China for me, outside of the technical presentation and the colorful art, he said. Shen Yun was established by leading Chinese artists who wished to revive the traditional culture of China, which has 5,000 years of history. Its a rich heritage deeply rooted in spiritual philosophies that has sadly been all but destroyed following decades of communist rule. Reflecting on the stories portrayed by the dances that depicted the people of China from ancient times to the modern day, including those who practice the spiritual discipline of Falun Dafa, Mr. Pardo said he found it eye-opening. I did not know that or understand that about Chinese history until today, and I pride myself on history, he said. So Im leaving today with a newfound knowledge and appreciation for the people of Chinaa new level of respect. Obviously, China has a very diverse history, and its such a diverse people. Dances Tell an Important Story Larry and Colleen White attend Shen Yun Performance Arts with their daughter in Calgary, Canada, on April 16, 2022. (Beichen Sun/The Epoch Times) Colleen White, a loss prevention manager, attended Shen Yun with her husband, Larry, a military veteran, and their daughter. Mrs. White said that everything in the performance, especially the costumes and backdrop, impressed her. The show was fantastic. It was beautiful. The costumes were vibrant and outstanding. The backdrops technology brought the stories to life. It made the transition to each dance and into each step easy to follow, she said. Mrs. White said the dances were all unique in their own way. Some were classical and some humorous. What touched her the most was the story of a surgeon and his daughter whose lives are turned upside down when he unknowingly removes her vital organs for money. The dance story depicts real-life events taking place in China today in the persecution of practitioners of Falun Dafa. We need to allow and respect differences in opinion, Mrs. White said. This show is a fantastic example of learning [about] diversity and culture. She said she wished it could be seen by the Chinese people in China. Unfortunately, [they dont] get a chance to see it, she said. Mr. White said he hopes everyone could see Shen Yun, as its message of believing in yourself is a great message. Another theme of the performance is that it encourages everyone to be nice to everybody, he noted. He especially commended the shows artistic director for his insight and wisdom. The creator of the performance must have a huge vision to bring all that together. Hes fantastic. Such a creative mind, Mr. White said. Their daughter, who trains in ballet and tap and has practiced gymnastics since she was 4 years old, also enjoyed the show, calling it awesome! Reporting by Beichen Sun, Sunny Chen, and Yvonne Marcotte. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. When we first traveled to China, in the early 1990s, it was very different from what we see today. Even in Beijing many people wore Mao suits and cycled everywhere; only senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials used cars. In the countryside life retained many of its traditional elements. But over the next 30 years, thanks to policies aimed at developing the economy and increasing capital investment, China emerged as a global power, with the second-largest economy in the world and a burgeoning middle class eager to spend. One thing hasnt changed, though: Many Western politicians and business executives still dont get China. Believing, for example, that political freedom would follow the new economic freedoms, they wrongly assumed that Chinas internet would be similar to the freewheeling and often politically disruptive version developed in the West. And believing that Chinas economic growth would have to be built on the same foundations as those in the West, many failed to envisage the Chinese states continuing role as investor, regulator, and intellectual property owner. Understanding China: Series reprint Why do leaders in the West persist in getting China so wrong? In our work we have come to see that people in both business and politics often cling to three widely shared but essentially false assumptions about modern China. As well argue in the following pages, these assumptions reflect gaps in their knowledge about Chinas history, culture, and language that encourage them to draw persuasive but deeply flawed analogies between China and other countries. [ Myth 1 ] Economics and Democracy Are Two Sides of the Same Coin Many Westerners assume that China is on the same development trajectory that Japan, Britain, Germany, and France embarked on in the immediate aftermath of World War IIthe only difference being that the Chinese started much later than other Asian economies, such as South Korea and Malaysia, after a 40-year Maoist detour. According to this view, economic growth and increasing prosperity will cause China to move toward a more liberal model for both its economy and its politics, as did those countries. Its a plausible narrative. As the author Yuval Noah Harari has pointed out, liberalism has had few competitors since the end of the Cold War, when both fascism and communism appeared defeated. And the narrative has had some powerful supporters. In a speech in 2000 former U.S. President Bill Clinton declared, By joining the WTO, China is not simply agreeing to import more of our products, it is agreeing to import one of democracys most cherished values: economic freedom. When individuals have the powerto realize their dreams, they will demand a greater say. But this argument overlooks some fundamental differences between China and the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, and France. Those countries have since 1945 been pluralist democracies with independent judiciaries. As a result, economic growth came in tandem with social progress (through, for example, legislation protecting individual choice and minority rights), which made it easy to imagine that they were two sides of a coin. The collapse of the USSR appeared to validate that belief, given that the Soviet regimes inability to deliver meaningful economic growth for its citizens contributed to its collapse: Russias eventual integration into the global economy (perestroika) followed Mikhail Gorbachevs political reforms (glasnost). Many Chinese believe that the countrys recent economic achievements have actually come about because of, not despite, Chinas authoritarian form of government. In China, however, growth has come in the context of stable communist rule, suggesting that democracy and growth are not inevitably mutually dependent. In fact, many Chinese believe that the countrys recent economic achievementslarge-scale poverty reduction, huge infrastructure investment, and development as a world-class tech innovatorhave come about because of, not despite, Chinas authoritarian form of government. Its aggressive handling of Covid-19in sharp contrast to that of many Western countries with higher death rates and later, less-stringent lockdownshas, if anything, reinforced that view. China has also defied predictions that its authoritarianism would inhibit its capacity to innovate. It is a global leader in AI, biotech, and space exploration. Some of its technological successes have been driven by market forces: People wanted to buy goods or communicate more easily, and the likes of Alibaba and Tencent have helped them do just that. But much of the technological progress has come from a highly innovative and well-funded military that has invested heavily in Chinas burgeoning new industries. This, of course, mirrors the role of U.S. defense and intelligence spending in the development of Silicon Valley. But in China the consumer applications have come faster, making more obvious the link between government investment and products and services that benefit individuals. Thats why ordinary Chinese people see Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Huawei, and TikTok as sources of national prideinternational vanguards of Chinese successrather than simply sources of jobs or GDP, as they might be viewed in the West. Thus July 2020 polling data from the Ash Center at Harvards Kennedy School of Government revealed 95% satisfaction with the Beijing government among Chinese citizens. Our own experiences on the ground in China confirm this. Most ordinary people we meet dont feel that the authoritarian state is solely oppressive, although it can be that; for them it also provides opportunity. A cleaner in Chongqing now owns several apartments because the CCP reformed property laws. A Shanghai journalist is paid by her state-controlled magazine to fly around the world for stories on global lifestyle trends. A young student in Nanjing can study propulsion physics at Beijings Tsinghua University thanks to social mobility and the partys significant investment in scientific research. Many Chinese believe that the countrys recent economic achievements have actually come about because of, not despite, Chinas authoritarian form of government. The past decade has, if anything, strengthened Chinese leaders view that economic reform is possible without liberalizing politics. A major turning point was the financial crisis of 2008, which in Chinese eyes revealed the hollowness of the Washington consensus that democratization and economic success were linked. In the years since, China has become an economic titan, a global leader in technology innovation, and a military superpower, all while tightening its authoritarian system of governmentand reinforcing a belief that the liberal narrative does not apply to China. That, perhaps, is why its current president and (more crucially) party general secretary, Xi Jinping, has let it be known that he considers Gorbachev a traitor to the cause for liberalizing as he did, thereby destroying the Communist Partys hold on the USSR. And when Xi announced, in 2017, that the three critical battles for Chinas development would fall in the areas of reducing financial risk, addressing pollution, and alleviating poverty, he also made it clear that the objective of these reforms was to solidify the system rather than to change it. The truth, then, is that China is not an authoritarian state seeking to become more liberal but an authoritarian state seeking to become more successfulpolitically as well as economically. In much Western analysis the verb most commonly attached to Chinas reforms is stalled. The truth is that political reform in China hasnt stalled. It continues apace. Its just not liberal reform. One example is the reinvention in the late 2010s of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Empowered by Xi to deal with the corruption that had become so prevalent early in that decade, the commission can arrest and hold suspects for several months; its decisions cannot be overturned by any other entity in China, not even the supreme court. The commission has succeeded in reducing corruption in large part because it is essentially above the lawsomething unimaginable in a liberal democracy. These are the reforms China is makingand they need to be understood on their own terms, not simply as a distorted or deficient version of a liberal model. One reason that many people misread Chinas trajectory may be thatparticularly in the English-language promotional materials the Chinese use overseasthe country tends to portray itself as a variation on a liberal state, and therefore more trustworthy. It often compares itself to brands with which Westerners are familiar. For example, in making the case for why it should be involved in the UKs 5G infrastructure rollout, Huawei styled itself the John Lewis of China, in reference to the well-known British department store that is regularly ranked as one of the UKs most trusted brands. China is also often at pains to suggest to foreign governments or investors that it is similar to the West in many aspectsconsumer lifestyles, leisure travel, and a high demand for tertiary education. These similarities are real, but they are manifestations of the wealth and personal aspirations of Chinas newly affluent middle class, and they in no way negate the very real differences between the political systems of China and the West. Which brings us to the next myth. [ Myth 2 ] Authoritarian Political Systems Cant Be Legitimate Many Chinese not only dont believe that democracy is necessary for economic success but do believe that their form of government is legitimate and effective. Westerners failure to appreciate this explains why many still expect China to reduce its role as investor, regulator, and, especially, intellectual property owner when that role is in fact seen as essential by the Chinese government. Part of the systems legitimacy in the eyes of the Chinese is, again, rooted in history: China has often had to fight off invaders and, as is rarely acknowledged in the West, fought essentially alone against Japan from 1937 until 1941, when the U.S. entered World War II. The resulting victory, which for decades the CCP spun as its solo vanquishing of an external enemy, was reinforced by defeat of an internal one (Chiang Kai-shek in 1949), establishing the legitimacy of the party and its authoritarian system. Seventy years on, many Chinese believe that their political system is now actually more legitimate and effective than the Wests. This is a belief alien to many Western business executives, especially if theyve had experience with other authoritarian regimes. The critical distinction is that the Chinese system is not only Marxist, its Marxist-Leninist. In our experience, many Westerners dont understand what that means or why it matters. A Marxist system is concerned primarily with economic outcomes. That has political implications, of coursefor example, that the public ownership of assets is necessary to ensure an equal distribution of wealthbut the economic outcomes are the focus. Leninism, however, is essentially a political doctrine; its primary aim is control. So a Marxist-Leninist system is concerned not only with economic outcomes but also with gaining and maintaining control over the system itself. That has huge implications for people seeking to do business in China. If China were concerned only with economic outcomes, it would welcome foreign businesses and investors and, provided they helped deliver economic growth, would treat them as equal partners, agnostic as to who owned the IP or the majority stake in a joint venture. But because this is also a Leninist system, those issues are of critical importance to Chinese leaders, who wont change their minds about them, however effective or helpful their foreign partners are economically. This plays out every time a Western company negotiates access to the Chinese market. We have both sat in meetings where business executives, particularly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, expressed surprise at Chinas insistence that they transfer ownership of their IP to a Chinese company. Some have expressed optimism that Chinas need for control will lessen after theyve proved their worth as partners. Our response? Thats not likely, precisely because in Chinas particular brand of authoritarianism, control is key. Yukai Du A Leninist approach to selecting future leaders is also a way the CCP has maintained its legitimacy, because to many ordinary Chinese, this approach produces relatively competent leaders: They are chosen by the CCP and progress through the system by successfully running first a town and then a province; only after that do they serve on the Politburo. You cant become a senior leader in China without having proved your worth as a manager. Chinas leaders argue that its essentially Leninist rule book makes Chinese politics far less arbitrary or nepotistic than those of many other, notably Western, countries (even though the system has its share of back-scratching and opaque decision-making). Familiarity with Leninist doctrine is still important for getting ahead. Entry to the CCP and to a university involves compulsory courses in Marxist-Leninist thought, which has also become part of popular culture, as evidenced by the 2018 TV talk show Marx Got It Right. And with handy apps such as Xuexi Qiangguo (Study the powerful nation and a pun on Study Xi) to teach the basics of thinkers including Marx, Lenin, Mao, and Xi Jinping, political education is now a 21st-century business. The Leninist nature of politics is also evidenced by the language used to discuss it. Political discourse in China remains anchored in Marxist-Leninist ideas of struggle (douzheng) and contradiction (maodun)both seen as attributes that force a necessary and even healthy confrontation that can help achieve a victorious outcome. In fact, the Chinese word for the resolution of a conflict (jiejue) can imply a result in which one side overcomes the other, rather than one in which both sides are content. Hence the old joke that Chinas definition of a win-win scenario is one in which China wins twice. China uses its particular authoritarian modeland its presumed legitimacyto build trust with its population in ways that would be considered highly intrusive in a liberal democracy. The city of Rongcheng, for example, uses big data (available to the government through surveillance and other data-capturing infrastructure) to give people individualized social credit scores. These are used to reward or punish citizens according to their political and financial virtues or vices. The benefits are both financial (for example, access to mortgage loans) and social (permission to buy a ticket on one of the new high-speed trains). Those with low social-credit scores may find themselves prevented from buying an airline ticket or getting a date on an app. For liberals (in China and elsewhere), this is an appalling prospect; but for many ordinary people in China, its a perfectly reasonable part of the social contract between the individual and the state. Such ideas may appear very different from the outward-facing, Confucian concepts of benevolence and harmony that China presents to its international, English-speaking audience. But even those concepts lead to considerable misunderstanding on the part of Westerners, who often reduce Confucianism to cloying ideas about peace and cooperation. For the Chinese, the key to those outcomes is respect for an appropriate hierarchy, itself a means of control. While hierarchy and equality may appear to the post-Enlightenment West to be antithetical concepts, in China they remain inherently complementary. Recognizing that the authoritarian Marxist-Leninist system is accepted in China as not only legitimate but also effective is crucially important if Westerners are to make more-realistic long-term decisions about how to deal with or invest in the country. But the third assumption can also mislead those seeking to engage with China. [ Myth 3 ] The Chinese Live, Work, and Invest Like Westerners Chinas recent history means that Chinese people and the state approach decisions very differently from Westernersin both the time frames they use and the risks they worry about most. But because human beings tend to believe that other humans make decisions as they do, this may be the most difficult assumption for Westerners to overcome. Lets imagine the personal history of a Chinese woman who is 65 today. Born in 1955, she experienced as a child the terrible Great Leap Forward famine in which 20 million Chinese starved to death. She was a Red Guard as a teenager, screaming adoration for Chairman Mao while her parents were being re-educated for being educated. By the 1980s she was in the first generation to go back to university, and even took part in the Tiananmen Square demonstration. Then, in the 1990s, she took advantage of the new economic freedoms, becoming a 30-something entrepreneur in one of the new Special Economic Zones. She bought a flatthe first time anyone in her familys history had owned property. Eager for experience, she took a job as an investment analyst with a Shanghai-based foreign asset manager, but despite a long-term career plan mapped out by her employer, she left that company for a small short-term pay raise from a competitor. By 2008 she was making the most of the rise in disposable incomes by buying new consumer goods that her parents could only have dreamt about. In the early 2010s she started moderating her previously outspoken political comments on Weibo as censorship tightened up. By 2020 she was intent on seeing her seven-year-old grandson and infant granddaughter (a second child had only recently become legal) do well. Had she been born in 1955 in almost any other major economy in the world, her life would have been much, much more predictable. But looking back over her life story, one can see why even many young Chinese today may feel a reduced sense of predictability or trust in what the future holdsor in what their government might do next. When life is (or has been within living memory) unpredictable, people tend to apply a higher discount rate to potential long-term outcomes than to short-term onesand a rate materially higher than the one applied by people living in more-stable societies. That means not that these people are unconcerned with long-term outcomes but, rather, that their risk aversion increases significantly as the time frame lengthens. This shapes the way they make long-term commitments, especially those that entail short-term trade-offs or losses. Thus many Chinese consumers prefer the short-term gains of the stock market to locking their money away in long-term savings vehicles. As market research consistently tells us, the majority of individual Chinese investors behave more like traders. For example, a 2015 survey found that 81% of them trade at least once a month, even though frequent trading is invariably a way to destroy rather than create long-term fund value. That figure is higher than in all Western countries (for example, only 53% of U.S. individual investors trade this frequently); its also even higher than in neighboring Hong Konganother Han Chinese society with a predilection for gambling and a similar, capital-gains-tax-free regime. This suggests that something distinctive to mainland China influences this behavior: long-term unpredictability thats sufficiently recent to have been experienced by or passed on to those now buying stocks. That focus on securing short-term gain is why the young asset manager in Shanghai left a good long-term job for a relatively small but immediate pay raisebehavior that still plagues many businesses trying to retain talent and manage succession pipelines in China. People who do take long-term career risks often do so only after fulfilling their primary need for short-term security. For example, weve interviewed couples in which the wife jumps into the sea of starting her own businessbecoming one of Chinas many female entrepreneursbecause her husbands stable but lower-paid state-sector job will provide the family with security. The one long-term asset class in which increasing numbers of Chinese are investedthat is, residential property, ownership of which grew from 14% of 25-to-69-year-olds in 1988 to 93% by 2008is driven also by the need for security: Unlike all other assets, property ensures a roof over ones head if things go wrong, in a system with limited social welfare and a history of sudden policy changes. Chinas rulers see foreign engagement as a source less of opportunity than of threat, uncertainty, and even humiliation. In contrast, the governments discount rate on the future is lowerin part because of its Leninist emphasis on controland explicitly focused on long-term returns. The vehicles for much of this investment are still the CCPs Soviet-style five-year plans, which include the development of what Xi has termed an eco-civilization built around solar energy technology, smart cities, and high-density, energy-efficient housing. Ambition like that cant be realized without state interventionrelatively fast and easy but often brutal in China. By comparison, progress on these issues is for Western economies extremely slow. Decisionsby both individuals and the stateabout how to invest all serve one purpose: to provide security and stability in an unpredictable world. Although many in the West may believe that China sees only opportunity in its 21st-century global plans, its motivation is very different. For much of its turbulent modern history, China has been under threat from foreign powers, both within Asia (notably Japan) and outside it (the UK and France in the mid 19th century). Chinas rulers, therefore, see foreign engagement as a source less of opportunity than of threat, uncertainty, and even humiliation. They still blame foreign interference for many of their misfortunes, even if it occurred more than a century ago. For example, the British role in the Opium Wars of the 1840s kicked off a 100-year period that the Chinese still refer to as the Century of Humiliation. Chinas history continues to color its view of international relationsand in large part explains its current obsession with the inviolability of its sovereignty. That history also explains the paradox that the rulers and the ruled in China operate on very different time frames. For individuals, whove lived through harsh times they could not control, the reaction is to make some key choices in a much more short-term way than Westerners do. Policy makers, in contrast, looking for ways to gain more control and sovereignty over the future, now play a much longer game than the West does. This shared quest for predictability explains the continuing attractiveness of an authoritarian system in which control is the central tenet. . . . Many in the West accept the version of China that it has presented to the world: The period of reform and opening begun in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping, which stressed the need to avoid the radical and often violent politics of the Cultural Revolution, means that ideology in China no longer matters. The reality is quite different. At every point since 1949 the Chinese Communist Party has been central to the institutions, society, and daily experiences that shape the Chinese people. And the party has always believed in and emphasized the importance of Chinese history and of Marxist-Leninist thought, with all they imply. Until Western companies and politicians accept this reality, they will continue to get China wrong. Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest against Pakistani airstrikes in Khost, Afghanistan, on April 16, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images) Taliban Summon Pakistani Envoy to Protest Military Strikes, 36 Dead KABULTaliban authorities on Saturday summoned Pakistans ambassador in Kabul to protest against military strikes inside Afghanistan by Pakistani forces. Residents and a local Taliban official said 36 people were killed in air strikes on Friday by Pakistani aircraft entering Afghan airspace. Pakistan denied it carried out the strikes. Islamabad claims militants in Afghanistan carry out attacks inside Pakistan by crossing its lawless western border. The Taliban say they have controlled the attacks since taking over the country in August last year. A statement from Afghanistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistans Ambassador in Kabul had been summoned over the recent attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces and given a diplomatic demarche to deliver to Islamabad. Military violations including those in Khost and Kunar must be prevented as such acts deteriorate relations allowing antagonists to misuse the situation leading to undesired consequences, the statement quoted acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as saying. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the strikes, but a local Taliban leader in Khost, Mawlawi Mohammad Raes Helal, said two districts were bombed by Pakistani helicopters and that 36 people had been killed. According to former WSJ reporter and founder of independent watchdog Afghan peace watch, Habib Khan, among the deaths were women and children. Death toll from Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistans Khost province increased to 40. Most of those killed are women and children. #SanctionPakistan Habib Khan (@HabibKhanT) April 16, 2022 The claim was echoed by some residents, but the Pakistan embassy spokesman denied there had been air strikes and told Reuters the ambassador and the Taliban discussed a resolution of border issues. There was no official confirmation of the death toll. Afghanistans government in exile at the United Nations also expressed deep concern over reports of civilian casualties from the airstrikes, and said that it was working to establish the facts of the attack from the ground. UNAMA is deeply concerned by reports of civilian casualties, incl. women and children, as a result of airstrikes in #Khost & #Kunar provinces last night. Civilians are never a target. UNAMA is working to establish facts on the ground and verify the extent of losses. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/lku9rUSl58 UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) April 16, 2022 A wounded boy receives treatment at a hospital following Pakistani airstrikes, in Khost on April 16, 2022. At least five children and a woman were killed in an eastern Afghan province when Pakistani military forces fired rockets along the border in a pre-dawn assault Saturday, an official and a resident said. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) Pakistan has enjoyed good relations with the Taliban for years even though Islamabad was officially an ally of the United States during its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there have been numerous standoffs along the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border with Pakistandrawn by British colonial rulers and disputed by Kabul. Increasingly frustrated by continuing militant attacks, Pakistans military has stepped up operations along the Afghan border in recent months. The Epoch Times contributed to this report. The Green US Supply Chain Rules Set to Unspool and Rattle the Global Economy Making a box of Cocoa Puffs is a complicated global affair. It could start with cocoa farms in Africa, corn fields in the U.S., or sugar plantations in Latin America. Then thousands of processors, transporters, packagers, distributors, office workers, and retailers join the supply chain before a kid in Minnesota, where General Mills is based, pours the cereal into a bowl. Now imagine the challenge that General Mills faces in counting the greenhouse gas emissions from all of these people, machines, vehicles, buildings, and other products involved in this Cocoa Puff supply chainthen multiply that by the 100-plus brands belonging to the food giant. Thousands of public companies may soon have such a daunting task to comply with a new set of climate rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hailed by prominent environmental groups as a long-sought victory, the sweeping plan released in late March would force companies to grapple with the unpredictable impact of climate change by disclosing reams of new information to investors. What are your companys climate risks, such as severe weather, and the possible financial impacts? How have the threats affected your business strategies and whats the plan to avoid the dangers? The most consequential and controversial piece of the SECs proposed regulations would require corporations to calculate their total greenhouse gas footprint, including from the supply chain. The regulations also carry political weight for Democrats in the runup to the midterms in November. The Biden administration and centrist Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia are trying once again to breathe life into clean energy legislation that died earlier this year amid a feud between them. If this latest effort at compromise failswith Manchin reportedly looking for federal support for fossil fuels as well as renewable energythen much of President Bidens ambitious climate agenda will be left riding on the SEC proposal. SEC head Gary Gensler says shareholders are demanding climate risk disclosures to make smarter investment decisions and hold companies accountable for greenwashing their operations. The regulations will also provide investors in the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) movement more leverage in their ongoing campaigns to pressure companies to reduce their carbon footprints. While many companies like Walmart and business groups like the Chamber of Commerce generally support the idea of required climate disclosures, they object to what they see as the SECs heavy-handedness in standardizing rules across the economy. The Chamber is calling for flexibility so companies can customize their climate disclosures based on whats relevant to their businesses and investors. Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, testifies during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, on Sept. 14, 2021. (Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images) Counting Supply Chain Emissions The biggest beef from companies is the rule that would require them to calculate and disclose supply chain emissions, called Scope 3. Big companies have thousands of suppliers operating in hundreds of countries, making the task of coming up with a reasonable accounting enormously complicated. First of all, many suppliers of products and services are private companies not under the control of the SEC. They may refuse to cooperate in a count because of the costs and the implications that they might have to change their business practices to reduce emissions, said Professor Gerald Patchell, who has analyzed the problems of supply chain reporting. Another obstacle is that many smaller suppliers, like General Mills cocoa farmers in Africa, dont have the capacity to measure the emissions from their own fertilizers, tractors, and farming practices. So companies will have to rely on broad country or industry averages that likely dont reflect the actual emissions created by the suppliers, according to researchers. The data that companies will be asked to collect from thousands of suppliers is mind-boggling and certainly unprecedented, said Patchell, who researches environmental policy and business. Its an idealized concept of what can actually be done by a company. The upshot is that regulations meant to bring clarity to investors on climate risk may end up providing highly unreliable emissions disclosures, leaving them worse off, wrote SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a Trump appointee who voted against the 500-page proposal. It forces investors to view companies through the eyes of a vocal set of stakeholders, for whom a companys climate reputation is of equal or greater importance than a companys financial performance. Birth of the Investor Campaign Two decades ago, the international environmental group CDP pioneered the strategy of organizing institutional investors to pressure companies around the world to reveal at least a piece of their carbon footprint. The CDP pitch: If companies figure out which parts of their sprawling global operations produce the most emissionsfrom farming and manufacturing to distribution and consumer usethey are better able to reduce them. For automakers, most emissions come from driving vehicles, not making them. For tech firms, its the opposite. Manufacturing devices is a bigger climate issue than using them. CDPs campaigns have made grinding progress over the years. In 2021, it gathered more than 160 global investment firms, including bond giant Pimco, Harvard Management Company, and hedge fund AQR Capital Management, to target 1,300 companies worldwide. They are asked to make a long list of climate-related disclosures on CDPs platform. Some companies have resisted the pressure while others likely have been shamed into making rudimentary examinations of their emissions to appease investors. In all, about 570 U.S. public companiesan estimated 15 percent of the totalhave reported a bit of climate data to London-based CDP, with Intel and PepsiCo among the dozens that earned high marks for transparency. More recently, some companies have come to see climate change as a direct threat to the bottom line, particularly those that depend on commodities like General Mills. It didnt require much pushing from investors to begin studying its own supply chain to find that farming is by far its biggest emissions hot spot, mostly through the use of chemical fertilizers and tilling of the soil which releases sequestered carbon. In a candid 2021 Global Responsibility Report, the company said extreme weather events were already hurting its ability to deliver quality food products. With the backing of CDP and investment goliaths like BlackRock, the SEC now wants to turn this scattershot voluntary reporting into a mandatory regime for most public companies. The easier pieces force companies to report emissions from operations they own or control such as a corporate headquarters (Scope 1), and the energy they use (Scope 2). Some firms already send this data to CDP without much trouble. The smokestack of the Wheelabrator Incinerator is seen near Interstate 95 in Baltimore, on March 9, 2019. (Eva Claire Hambach,Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images) The Scope 3 rule on counting emissions from the chain of thousands of suppliers, on the other hand, may be a world of trouble. The agency acknowledges that it doesnt have a handle on the costs but that they may be significant as companies hire consultants, accountants, and data specialists to do the job. But since the vast majority of emissions come from supply chains, environmental groups are advocating that Scope 3 remain in the final SEC regulations after the 60-day public comment period. Big companies could start making disclosures to the agency as early as 2024, although lawsuits challenging the authority of the SEC to make climate rules are likely. We see the disclosure of Scope 3 emissions as essential in order to make sure that companies have plans to be able to address those emissions, said Julie Nash, a senior program director at Ceres, another prominent investor advocacy group. Disclosure is the essential first step. Lessons From the Food Industry Ceres, however, also knows how tough it will be for companies to calculate supply chain emissions from its own campaign focusing on the food industry. The industry is the perfect target. It produces a third of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to a UN agency. For many of these companies, the supply chain generates about 80 percent of their total emissions. Last year, Boston-based Ceres organized more than 30 institutional investors, including giants such as Allianz Global Investors, to press 50 food companies to report Scope 3 emissions. Ceres used the same reporting requirementscalled the Greenhouse Gas Protocolas the SEC proposes in its rules. The protocol covers 15 reporting categories from the beginning of a products creation to the end of its life. McDonalds, for instance, would have to account for emissions from the production of beef it buys from many countries. The disclosures would include processing and transporting the ingredients, packaging the products, disposing of waste, and burning energy along the way. Then there are emissions from business offices, the commuting of 200,000 employees, and the operations of 40,000 restaurants globally. So how is Ceres young campaign going? So far, few if any of the 50 companies are fully reporting their supply chain emissions. Only 23 disclose some of them, according to Ceres. Nash says the complexity of counting emissions and the lack of data pose big obstacles for food companies. Consider how a food company would have to account for beef supplied from Brazil. The cattle may move to five different ranches before reaching the slaughterhouse. The company would need to know precise details of the operations of each of those ranches. What did the cattle eat at each ranch? How efficiently did the animals turn food into meat? Did their grazing cause the destruction of forests, which store carbon in trees and soil? Each of these factors, which differ depending on the ranch and the country, significantly affects the carbon footprint of cattle. Its very difficult for companies to trace this information because there are so many different stages in the supply chain, said Nash, a Ph.D. who directs Ceres food and forest program. So theres a great deal of work thats needed to improve traceability and transparency to have the most accurate numbers for a Scope 3 analysis. General Mills Emissions Count General Mills stands out among the 50 companies. A spokesperson for the company, which makes breakfast cereals, soups, pizza, and pet food, says it follows almost all of the reporting protocols in its quest to reduce its emissions 30 percent by 2030. The companys Scope 3 calculations revealed that 54 percent of its emissions come from growing and transporting crops and turning them into food ingredients, according to its website. General Mills breaks out 28 categories of emissions, including packaging at 8 percent, and consuming its products, such as shopping and cooking, at 17 percent. But how accurate are any of these emissions numbers? Its impossible to say. The maker of Cocoa Puffs doesnt send bean counters to every cocoa farm in Ghana and Cote dIvoire to find out the precise types of fertilizers, tractors, fuel, and agricultural practices they use. That would be prohibitively expensive, given that the company has suppliers operating in more than 100 countries. Instead, General Mills and other companies use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) computer models to tally emissions. But these models, like those used in everything from economics to climate science, are only as accurate as the consultants who design them and the data thats fed into them. The data is the biggest problem. General Mills hired the consulting firm Quantis to calculate its supply chain emissions. Quantis uses national averages for particular businesses like cocoa farms in Ghana that may be several steps removed from the actual farms that supply General Mills, creating uncertainty about the accuracy of the estimates. Nor do computer models typically include some of the biggest sources of emissions, such as the release from tilling the soil and from converting forests and grasslands, which sequester carbon, to crops. Quantis didnt respond to a request for an interview. We need a more accurate estimate of our baseline emissions, Steven Rosenzweig, a soil scientist at General Mills, told the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February. Using these databases means our current footprint is static, it doesnt change from year to year. It also might be based on the global average that isnt very relevant to the practices that farmers in our supply sheds are using. To make better Scope 3 estimates, Rosenzweig said, companies need to develop more sophisticated data tracking systems, which will require satellites to monitor changes to land use. In the meantime, General Mills is taking the ambitious step of attempting to transform the agricultural practices of its farmers in the U.S. and abroad who supply key ingredients like wheat, oats, dairy, and cocoa. The company and industry partners are financing efforts to support and train farmers in regenerative agriculture. It uses less fertilizer and tilling to reduce emissions and other methods to improve the health of soil, which is rapidly degrading worldwide. General Mills has more than 115,000 acres enrolled in its regenerative management programs and aims for one million acres by 2030. We consider regenerative agriculture to be our greatest opportunity for meeting our commitment to reduce our climate footprint by 30 percent by 2030, Rosenzweig said. General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch are on display on a supermarket shelf in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 15, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images) Seeking Principle-Based Rules Advocates of the SEC proposal say todays reporting flaws will be improved as more companies develop Scope 3 expertise and collect better data to share with each other. The number of companies that disclose emissions to CDP continues to grow every year, showing its just a matter of time. Professor Patchell disagrees, saying that forcing companies to make such elaborate disclosures is a waste of resources. Big firms already have a general understanding of the main sources of their emissions, such as agriculture in the food industry. The money needed to produce a precise accounting of emissions, he says, would be better spent on actually reducing them. McDonalds, for instance, didnt need a full accounting of its greenhouse gas footprint to pledge to reach net-zero by 2050. Given the difficulties in determining supply chain emissions, the SEC has carved out a few exemptions. For instance, small firms, such as those with less than $100 million in revenue, wont have to comply. The companies also will be shielded from lawsuits for passing on faulty data provided they have a reasonable basis for disclosing it. The SEC says it will help investors judge the reliability of the disclosures by requiring companies to reveal the sources of the data, including economic and government studies, suppliers, consultants, and other third parties. Asking investors to wade through all those footnotes is a tall order, but its not unlike what they already do with other financial disclosures, said Michael Lepech, a Stanford professor of environmental engineering who has worked with LCA models. When you read a financial statement, businesses talk about significant uncertainties associated with the assets and liabilities, he said. Its just buried in the extensive notes. And carbon accounting is in many regards no different than that. But the Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby, says the Scope 3 mandate may leave investors more confused than informed. The Chamber is pushing for an open-ended reporting mandate based on general principles to determine whats relevant for investors rather than precise rules, such as the Scope 3 protocol. Companies and their investors should be left to determine the necessary metrics, which means some may choose to report Scope 3 and others wont, said Evan Williams, director of the chambers center for capital markets. Critics of this principles-based approach say its so vague that companies will find ways to avoid any meaningful accounting of their carbon footprint. There is that concern, Williams said. But what we have seen is that companies are responsive to their investors, and if they demand more information on climate risks, the companies have provided it. This article was written by Vince Bielski for RealClearInvestigations. The Ukraine War Shows Nukes Mean Safety From US-Led Regime Change Commentary Some journalists like Steve Portnoy of CBS seem unable to grasp that escalations that might lead to nuclear war are a bad thing. The journalist seemed incredulous last week when asking White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki why the United States has not started a full-on war with Moscow. Psakis positionwith which any reasonable person could agreewas that it is not in the interest of Americans to be in a war with Russia. Washingtons reluctance to go to war might seem odd for anyone who has paid attention to American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. After all, for more than thirty years, Washington has been enthusiastic when presented with opportunities to start wars with many countriesincluding the civilians who live there. Iraq has been a target twice. Washington made war on Afghanistan for more than twenty years. The United States launched repeated bombing campaigns against Serbia and was happy to help bomb Libya. The U.S. regime pushed for full-scale war with Syria, and ultimately executed a small-scale invasion. U.S. troops are in Syria to this day. Iran has long been a target, and starting a war with Iran has long been a given, with John McCain once singing, Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. But now, even the White House admits war with Russia is not in the interests of the American people. In the past, when the U.S. regime accused other regimes of war crimes and aggression, that meant regime change and war. It usually means widespread bombing campaigns against that rogue states cities, and it often even means military occupation. But now, we see Washington accusing Moscow of very similar crimes, and yet no regime change is on the table. Dont think that foreign states havent noticed the abrupt change in enthusiasm over war when it comes to nuclear-armed Russia. The contrast between the U.S.s aversion to war with Russia and the U.S.s enthusiasm toward regime change in nonnuclear states sends a clear message: states with nuclear arms wont be targeted for regime change. Why Regime Change Means Nuclear War Yes, to some extent, the opposition to war with Russia is due to Russias abilities in terms of conventional warfare. Moscows conventional defensive military capabilities far surpass anything that might have been used against U.S. forces in countries like Iraq, Iran, and Syria. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Moscows military budget in 2020 was $66 billion. It was $12 billion in Iran during the same period. Both of these cases pale in comparison to the U.S.s gargantuan $700 billion-plus budget. But Russias conventional military can nonetheless inflict enough damage on U.S. forces in a conventional war to the point of making such a war politically costly to prowar policymakers in the United States. But current military spending isnt the whole story. Long-term war-making capability matters also. The total industrial capacity of the United Statesthanks to remaining latent nineteenth-century laissez-faire liberalismis vastly larger than anything the far more socialist state of Russia could possibly muster. The reason the administration is minimizing even provocations of Russia, however, is Moscows nuclear arsenal. Like the United States, Moscow controls more than five thousand nuclear warheads, and more than enough are deliverable with ICBMs. It is because of Russias nuclear arsenal that regime change is a total nonstarter for any reasonable person in Washingtonor anywhere else. Indeed, when Joe Biden, during a recent trip to Poland, said that Vladimir Putin must be removed from power, Bidens handlers rushed to publicly announce that it was not actually U.S. policy to pursue regime change. Biden, we were told, was just confused and was expressing his personal feelings. While it remains possible to conceive of a skirmish with Russia in areas outside Russias capital and core population centers, the idea of regime change remains completely off the table. Even borderland skirmishes present a risk of escalation that should be seen as unacceptable. But if the United States were to commit to a policy of regime changeas was the case in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, and contemplated in Syriathis would virtually guarantee nuclear war between the United States and Russia. It is generally believed that nuclear weapons will be used by states only as a last resort. But what does last resort mean? It means imminent regime change. If the human beings who control a state fear that the state will cease to existand its personnel will be rounded up for war crime tribunals and imprisonmentthats when the nukes are likely to fly. This, of course, is why Israel maintains nuclear weapons. It doesnt guarantee that foreign states will avoid all conflict with Israel. If, for example, Syria were to attempt to claim the Golan Heights, this may not trigger Israels use of its nuclear arsenal. But if Syrian troops began sweeping in toward Tel Aviv, then it is easy to imagine the Israeli regime using its nuclear weapons to destroy Damascus and much of Syria. The Lesson Learned The reluctance of the United States to provoke direct conflict between Washington and Moscow will surely not escape the notice of countless other states that imagine they could end up raising the ire of the U.S.s foreign policy establishment for some real or perceived slight of Washingtons interests. After all, weve already seen what happens to nonnuclear regimes that are targeted by Washington. They end up like Libya and Iraq. Moreover, in both Iraq and Libya, the regimes had at one time pursued their own nuclear weapons programs. Both states were convinced via diplomatic efforts (and via threats of economic sanctions) to abandon their nuclear programs. In the end, the United States pursued regime change in both states, complete with the killing of each states head of state. The lesson? Giving up your nuclear program is something foolish regimes do. The conclusion is obvious for regimes that dont wish to put themselves in the U.S.s sphere of influence: get nuclear weapons as soon as you can. This lesson was learned long ago by North Korea. Within years after the U.S.s first war against Iraq (in 1990), Pyongyang was committed to obtaining nuclear weapons. It is possible that at this early stage, the North Korean regime might have been convinced to abandon its program. But any chance of that completely evaporated after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the regime change in Libya in 2011. It was clear by then, from the point of view of the North Korean regime, that it would be very much against the leaderships self-interest to give up nuclear weapons. And now the Ukraine war has made this point even more abundantly clear: Washington will fall all over itself to avoid even the perception that it plans regime change when it comes to nuclear-armed powers. More savvy regimes have always known that nuclear arms bring independence from Washington. Its why the French pursued their own nuclear program not controlled by the U.S. or by the North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationFrance wanted to make its own decisions. Both India and Pakistan did not want to take orders from the U.S. in South Asia. And they both obtained their own nuclear arsenals. Last week, Pakistans Imran Khan may even have been the target of U.S. meddling, having been ousted in a no-confidence vote. Certainly, many of Khans supporters believe the move to have been due to a soft regime change effort. Pakistan and the United States have long had a very unstable relationship, but thanks to Pakistans nuclear arsenal, at least Islamabad doesnt have to worry about a U.S. military regime change effort in the style of Iraq or Libya. That fate is reserved for nonnuclear states. And moving forward, this will become even more clear to the part of the worldthat is, most of itthat wishes to remain outside the U.S. sphere of influence. Nuclear arsenals mean independence from Washington, and as such, U.S. foreign policy is probably the number one factor driving nuclear proliferation today. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Ryan McMaken Follow Ryan McMaken is the editor of Mises Wire and The Austrian. McMaken has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of "Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre." Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York, on April 4, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) Twitter Board Not Representing Shareholders: Elon Musk Elon Musk said Saturday that the Twitter Inc. board of directors is not representing the interest of its shareholders. Wow, with Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares! Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders, he replied to a post showing a chart of the ownership percentages of Twitter board members. The chart shows most members of the board own less than 0.005 percent of the companys shares. Based on Twitters latest filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the 14 executive officers and directors own 2.7 percent of the companys share. Of the 2.7 percent, Jack Dorsey, the CEO turned board chair owns 2.4 percent and the others own only 0.3 percent. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc., testifies at a hearing to examine foreign influence operations use of social media platforms before the Intelligence Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 5, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Dorsey, the co-founder, former CEO, and current board chair of Twitter, jumped into the discussion and indicated that the board was designed to restrict the ownership of board members when he joined the board in 2008. When I was fired in 2008 and made chair, the board took most of my shares away from me. I also gave 1% of the company back to the employee pool in 2015. So ended up with very little of company, he replied. Dorsey announced in November 2021 that he stepped down as CEO of Twitter and will leave the board after his current term expires at the 2022 meeting of stockholders. The Epoch Times reached out to Twitter for comment. Twitters board of directors on Friday approved a provision known in the financial world as a poison pill to ward off Musks potential hostile takeover after the latter announced hes intended to buy the company at the price of $43 billion. Under the approved provision, if any entity, person, or group acquires 15 percent or more of Twitters outstanding stock in a transaction not approved by the board, other stockholders will be able to buy additional shares of common stock at a lower price. The Tesla CEO seems to be collecting more gunpowder for his bid for the controversial big tech company. In another separate Twitter exchange, he said it could be more of a concern about other potential bidders instead of just him when a Twitter user labeled the poison pill by Twitters board as criminal negligence. Zachary Stieber contributed to the report. British Home Secretary Priti Patel (L) and Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincent Biruta shake hands after signing an agreement on the Migration and Economic Development Partnership at Kigali Convention Center, Kigali, Rwanda, on April 14, 2022. (Simon Wohlfahrt /AFP via Getty Images) UK Government Defends Plan to Send Illegal Immigrants to Rwanda The UK government has defended its plan to send illegal immigrants to the African country of Rwanda after it was criticised by a senior church leader. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on April 14 that people who enter the UK illegally, including those who cross the English Channel in small boats, may end up being relocated to the African country of Rwanda. On April 17, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, criticised the plan in his Easter sermon. He described the plan as an act of sub-contracting out our responsibilities, which he said is the opposite of the nature of God. A group of people thought to be illegal immigrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, England, on April 15, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA Media) In response, a Home Office spokesperson said: The UK has a proud history of supporting those in need of protection, and our resettlement programmes have provided safe and legal routes to better futures for hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. However, the world is facing a global migration crisis on an unprecedented scale, and change is needed to prevent vile people smugglers putting peoples lives at risk and to fix the broken global asylum system. Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. Under this agreement, they will process claims in accordance with the U.N. Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws. After signing the agreement with the Rwandan government on April 14, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the model was world-class and a world first, and will be used as a blueprint for other countries. She said she expects other countries to follow the UKs example, especially Denmark, which she said has been speaking to Rwanda for two years. The policy has enjoyed some support from Conservative MPs, but has faced a fierce backlash from opposition parties and charities. Both the prime minister and the home secretary have acknowledged it could be challenged in the courts. The Home Offices most senior civil servant has also expressed concerns about the scheme, according to an exchange of letters published by the government on April 16. Matthew Rycroft, permanent secretary at the Home Office, wrote to Patel on April 13, warning that though it was regular, proper and feasible for this policy to proceed, he did not think sufficient evidence can be obtained to demonstrate that the policy will have a deterrent effect significant enough to make the policy value for money. But issuing a rare ministerial direction compelling the plans to go ahead despite the concern, Patel said that without action, costs will continue to rise, lives will continue to be lost. She said it would be imprudent to delay delivery of a policy that will reduce illegal migration, save lives, and ultimately break the business model of the smuggling gangs. PA Media contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DARIEN The tale of two Darien pastors begins in Indianapolis. Thats where the Rev. Ryan Fleenor and the Rev. Anthony Weisman met while participating in the same early-career fellowship a decade ago. They both made independent moves to New York City, working at bustling churches in Manhattan for years and living within blocks of each other in Brooklyn. And within the past two years, both packed up their big-city ministry and brought their respective husbands and dogs to Darien. As openly gay senior ministers, Fleenor and Weisman represent a small, but increasingly vocal contingent of LGBTQ clergy represented in Protestant Christianity in the country. I think it speaks to the health of both of these churches that they wanted to get to know me and Anthony for who we are, and the ministry we do, and were open to calling someone that maybe didnt look like they expected, Fleenor said. Their moves to Darien come amid the towns own grappling with underlying tensions around race and sexuality, as well as a broader national conversation on the role of LGBTQ-identifying clergy members in nearly every Protestant denomination. In the past decade, American churches have come head-to-head with the issue, falling on either side of the aisle. Currently, the United Methodist Church is considering a split over allowing clergy to be openly gay, while denominations like the mainline Episcopal Church and most Congregationalist churches have embraced clergy members in same-sex relationships. In Darien, the congregations Fleenor and Weisman have come to lead have accepted them with open arms and warm welcomes, they said. Fleenor, a Yale Divinity School graduate, has served as the senior rector at the Episcopalian Saint Lukes Parish since July 2020. Originally from North Carolina and an undergraduate at the University of Virginia who studied history and religion, Fleenor met his husband, Stamford-based attorney Dan Noble, while at Yale. When he interviewed for the position at Saint Lukes, Fleenor said it immediately felt like the right fit. In a sign of how far the church has come, Fleenor cited a 2003 New York Times article that spotlighted Saint Lukes as it questioned its stance on LGBTQ clergy members. Seventeen years later, his own identity was accepted almost as a matter of course, he said. Im sure that for some people, its a point of pride that they have a young gay rector but I think for most people, they just think of me as their rector, Fleenor said. My sexuality is not the primary thing. That wasnt what was exciting about me. And so its wonderful to me, that they have been so welcoming and embracing of me and Dan but that its not really the lead issue. Fleenor, who said he grew up with a fair share of internalized homophobia before college, said he hopes to serve as a symbol that people with LGBTQ identities have a home in churches like Saint Lukes. I am mindful of the symbolic power of being a community where the male rector has a husband and there are other gay couples, Fleenor said. Its important that some kid growing up here who might not even know theyre part of the LGBTQ community yet ... is having this part of the human experience normalized. The idea of representation also weighs on Weisman, who said he grew up in a mostly secular family in Arizona and later rebelled into church. After he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, Weisman took posts in churches in Boston and New York City. He accepted the position of senior minister at First Congregational Church of Darien about a month ago. And in that time, Weisman said he has found the town to be a haven for him and his husband Ben, a climate finance strategist based in New York City. Ive heard a lot of people say that this place has changed a lot, and thats been our experience just going into the grocery store, Weisman said. We dont feel out of place we feel welcomed, we feel embraced by the congregation. I think the congregation feels really proud of taking this step forward ... it means something to them. But historically, for many LGBTQ people of faith, there have often been painful associations tied to growing up in church, Weisman said. Its part of the responsibility he feels to tell a different story. His new position came just months after testimony from Darien High School students who said they had been the victim of targeted harassment and homophobia because of their sexual orientation or race. Yet while speaking to younger generations at First Congregational Church, Weisman said he sees positive signs of a radically different world that seeks to bring a more broad-minded approach to what he considers outdated religious values. For them, its like, Duh, of course we have a gay minister, Weisman said. Were a part of a church that gets it, and that isnt holding us back to these kind of values that are just not who we are anymore. Now, Weisman and Fleenor are part of one of the most visible waves of change in religious history, he said. It is a really powerful thing to know that I can be one of the first generations where in the most widespread sense, we are walking the walk, Weisman said. And were doing it here, in Darien. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MEXICO CITY (AP) Rosario Ibarra, whose long struggle to learn the fate of her disappeared son helped develop Mexico's human rights movement and led her to become the country's first female presidential candidate, died Saturday at age 95. The National Human Rights Commission now headed by her daughter Rosario Piedra announced the death on its Twitter account, calling her a pioneer in the defense of human rights, peace and democracy in Mexico. She died in the northern city of Monterrey following several years of failing health. Ibarra's son Jesus Piedra belonged to an armed communist group and disappeared, apparently at the hands of authorities, after being accused of killing a police officer. Ibarra founded the Eureka Committee, a movement demanding information about the fate of her son and other disappeared persons, though his case was never fully clarified. She was the first woman to appear on a Mexican presidential ballot in 1982, though she won relatively few votes for the Revolutionary Party of the Workers. She was twice a federal deputy and once a senator. We will always remember her most profound love for the children and her solidarity with whose who suffered because of the disappearance of their loved ones," tweeted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whom she considered a friend. Still, even during Lopez Obrador's administration, in 2019, she refused an honor voted by the Senate, saying she would only accept it when Mexico learns the truth about its disappeared, who now number nearly 100,000 98% of them from 2006 onward, during an era of cartel violence rather than dirty war politics. I don't want my struggle to be unfinished," she said then in a text read by her daughter because health prevented her from appearing. Referring to the president, she added, I leave in your hands the custody of so precious a recognition and ask you to return it to me with the truth about the whereabouts of our loved and missed children and relatives. Her decades-long demands for information as well as amnesty for political prisoners took the form of marches, hunger strikes, visits to military prisons and to United Nations offices and made her a widely respected figure on the left. When Lopez Obrador alleged fraud in the 2006 presidential election that he very narrowly lost, he chose Ibarra to present him with a presidential sash of office in a ceremony declaring him legitimate president. After his universally recognized victory in 2018, Ibarra urged him in her message before the Senate not to permit that the violence and perversity of the earlier governments continues to lie in wait. She lamented that force disappearances continued in Mexico and called once more for progress: The families of Eureka continue today the same as a few years ago, she said in the letter read by her daughter. The open wound will stop bleeding only when we know where our (loved ones) are. NORWALK Data shows incidents of misbehavior have increased 7 percent since students were last attending class in-person full-time and more than six suspensions are being handed out each day in city schools. But Ryan Harold, safety and security officer for the citys public schools, isnt sounding the alarm quite yet. Its not an alarming number when you take into consideration all the things that kids are going through, Harold said. Those include a loss of academic, social and communication skills, an increase in stress and anxiety, and the influence of social media for students as they try to navigate the pandemic and back into school. None may stand out more than the struggle to communicate. We have a lot of data to track the academic skill loss. We dont have a lot of data to track the social skill loss, said Harold, who added the district is looking to administer more student surveys and gather more anecdotal evidence to get a better sense of the social aspect. Harold recently presented to the Board of Education a breakdown of incidents reported so far this school year, comparing the numbers seen this fall between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 to the data between Jan. 1 and March 31. Norwalk Public Schools did not respond to Hearst Connecticut Media Groups request for data from previous school years. Over the first seven months of this school year, 34 percent of the incidents were related to physical altercations or assaults. Another 20 percent were incidents involving possession of a weapon, drugs, alcohol or tobacco, but Harold said 90 percent of those were vaping related, either nicotine or marijuana. According to Harold, 17 percent of the incidents were disruptive or inappropriate behavior, 14 percent were verbal altercations, harassment or bullying, 12 percent were students skipping class or leaving school grounds and 3 percent were property violations. The district has confirmed six incidents have met the legal definition of bullying under federal and state statutes. The law defines bullying as unwanted aggressive behavior, an observed or perceived power imbalance and a repetition or high likelihood of repetition of the bully behaviors. The end result is not always bullying, Harold said of the hundreds of investigations handled. I think that comes down to the definition, unfortunately. I think a lot of situations morally, and in the human sense, its bullying, but in terms of legislation, they have to meet these three factors. Harold said the district is taking a more restorative and empathetic approach to disciplining, but the rate of suspensions across the district remains high. Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, there were 442 suspensions or 5.9 per day. The total dropped to 375 between Jan. 1 and March 31, but the rate per day increased to 6.25. The total includes repeat offenders. Data specific to individual schools was not available due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Under the law, a school with less than 10 suspensions cannot report its total number to protect the identities of students, according to Superintendent Alexandra Estrella. School administrators handed out 10-day suspensions far less in the last three months than the first half of the school year with the amount dropping from 26 to 10, the data showed. Theyre also suspending students for fewer days overall, giving them back thousands of hours of instructional time, Harold said. He attributed the drop in multi-day suspensions to him and Central Office getting involved earlier in the process before multiple suspensions have been handed out. I really want to support the students individually in those situations and their families, Harold said. Harold is also closely working with James Martinez, education administrator for counseling and social services for Norwalk Public Schools, to refer some students to mental health resources in the community who can provide greater support. In almost 20 years Ive been here in Norwalk, its unprecedented, a mental health administrator like myself and a safety security administrator like Ryan for the district are working as a team, Martinez said. emily.morgan@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PITTSBURGH (AP) Shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh early Sunday killed two 17-year-olds and wounded at least eight other people, police said. Hundreds of people the vast majority of them minors had gathered at a short-term rental property when some kind of altercation occurred and shots were fired at around 12:30 a.m., Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said at a midday news conference. Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, and potentially back and forth." Bullet casings found at the scene indicating handguns and one rifle were used, he said, and police believe there were multiple shooters. Two male gunshot victims died at the hospital. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified them as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17. Eight people were also being treated for gunshot wounds, and others were injured trying to escape, Schubert said, including two who broke bones after jumping from windows. One victim was injured after a car was shot up, Schubert said. George Stevens said he was outside a bar next door to the rental property smoking a cigarette when he heard what he thought were fireworks, then saw kids fleeing. Stevens told The Associated Press he let three girls hide in his vehicle and call their parents as bullets flew by. He said he saw someone inside the rental property holding a gun, as young people ran screaming and crying away from the building. It happened so quick, he said. It was just crazy. Kids were running everywhere. ShotSpotter indicated more than 90 rounds were fired, and Schubert said we know there was a lot more than that between inside the structure and outside. Police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home. Arriving officers found a very chaotic scene with injured victims, medics trying to treat them and people fleeing on foot and in vehicles, he said. No arrests were immediately reported but Schubert said it is our top priority to find out who did this and get them off the street." He said he couldn't comment on a possible motive, but he decried the number of illegal guns and too many people with access to them as well as the potent mixture of alcohol, drugs and guns. Its heartbreaking; here we are at Easter and we have multiple families, two that wont see a loved one, Schubert said. Others that are going to be how can you even have a holiday when your child was involved in something traumatic like this? Allegheny General Health reported that seven people were treated at Allegheny General Hospital and one at Jefferson Hospital for gunshot wounds or other injuries, but officials declined to release their conditions or other information. Pittsburgh Public Schools will impose a limited lockdown Monday out of an abundance of caution, Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters said in a statement, meaning only people with scheduled appointments will be allowed into the districts buildings. Neighbor Mitchell Wilston, 30, told the AP that he and his wife weren't at home during the shooting but before leaving saw the neighborhood packed with people, with cars parked the wrong way down the street and a line outside the rented home. It was so obvious that there was going to be a problem there was a line of 14-year-old kids trying to get into this place, he said. The house has been rented for bachelorette parties or other events before, or for families of baseball players due to its proximity to the stadium, but no problems had occurred, he said. In the morning, Wilston said he found his wifes white car smeared with blood, possibly from someone trying to hide behind the vehicle. Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit confirmed the house was rented through the company. He said the booker, who would have had to be 18 or older per Airbnb rules, has received a lifetime ban. Breit's statement says the party was thrown without the knowledge of the host, whose listing banned parties and advertised an overnight noise curfew. Breit said Airbnb was cooperating with authorities. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey condemned the violence, which he attributed in part to a failure to get guns off the streets and provide adequate resources to communities. He said the city would call a meeting with local leaders to get feedback on a new, citywide approach to public safety. The time is now for us to move with a sense of urgency to bring justice to the victims and peace to our city, Gainey, who is in isolation because of a recent COVID-19 exposure, said in a statement. ___ Associated Press journalists Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report. Morel mushroom mania has started for the season and one Madison County expert might be the first hunter to find a specific morel species this year. Gary Vondrasek, of Edwardsville, whos in his 70s, has been mushroom hunting for 50 years, and more than 40 of those years in Madison County. He recently found the Morchella esculenta, or the yellows, commonly known as common morel, morel, yellow morel, true morel, morel mushroom, and sponge morel. It is one of the most readily recognized of all the edible mushrooms and highly sought. Its the most delicious wild flavor growing in the woods right now, Vondrasek said. I found the earliest of that variety, when its the most robust and most flavorful. "You dont need to wash them," he said. "A mushroom hunter, a good one, never washes them. Vondrasek, a retired special ed teacher originally from the Chicago area, finds many varieties which he shares with friends, family and neighbors. Hell also help others learn to mushroom hunt, for a little piece of their woods and half the bounty. Generational changes and agricultural practices are making the woods scarce that he has hunted for years. He said he has a semi-clandestine circle of friendly mushroom hunters who have found little grey morels. The little greys taste pretty good if you get enough of them, but its hard to find a lot of them, Vondrasek said. He finds his Bohemian Czechoslovakian culture, rooted in Bohemia, a historical country that was part of Czechoslovakia, in mushroom hunting. His sister Lynne Slack, of Worden, and his brother and his wife, Ken and Cheryl Vondrasek, of Alton, also are avid mushroom hunters. Gary Vondrasek has eaten 54 varieties of mushrooms, 46 of which he found himself in the wild. The Slavic people should be known as the mushroom people of the world, he said, eating, knowing and having more recipes than any other region in the world. Im proud of it. Vikings chased us into the mountains before even building ships, he said. It put Slavic people in a panic and we had to survive on mushrooms, berries, wild boar, stag, what we had. Were not as known as the French and Italians that have those wonderful truffles. He said though that his people dont care much about being lesser known for their mushrooms. We just enjoy them, he said. He owns three manuals about mushrooms written in a Czech language that he cant read, but he knows the words that mean whats important: edible, deadly and edible, but leave alone because of the disgusting flavor. I can translate a whole book knowing those words, he said. I use Czech and French books to try rare species. Vondrasek considers his brothers wife, Cheryl, who works at Market Basket, a mushroom aficionado. He gains knowledge through her and his family, which is who prompted him to move downstate. The first three years of his mushroom hunting, he simply traveled to Madison County to hunt. After those three years, he moved here. From my sister and her husband living her and my brother working at MRF (Mississippi River Festival), they had a good, fun life here, and the music and everything got me hooked, he said. He grew up traversing his family property near Lemont, Illinois, which was a true savanna, with prairie touching an oak forest. He taught special education for eight years in Rogers Park, in the city of Chicago. When I first came here, I usually found over 400 of these morels. There were five different species; I think only four are left, Vondrasek said. Giant elms have died off, thats the tree they liked to invade. Each year the population goes down. This year I hope to find a couple hundred, and I might have been the first to find this species (yellow morel) this season that I know of. He said the yellows are supposed to grow a couple weeks later when lilacs and dogwoods first blossom. Since Ive been hunting in this area for 40-plus years, people have let me hunt in their woods or farm they own, Vondrasek said. Their sons and daughters seem to want to drive their all-terrain vehicles and ruin the grounds where mushrooms grow, and chemicals and runoff destroy the wild conditions. Theres less and less woods to hunt. Thus, Vondrasek will show wooded property owners how to hunt mushrooms. 'Look up, thats one of the secrets, he said. It seems counter intuitive but identifying the trees that morels will grow near, you save tons of time. There are 10 to 12 kinds of trees under which its a waste of time to look, he said. Theres the elm to look around, but if its a young one you wont find anything, he said. The older elm, thats a hot one there. Among other hot trees for morels is the silver maple and ash. Im really running low on woods, and those who are next to my woods dont want anyone on their property, he recalled. There are more and more bullies out there telling me to stay out of their woods. So, I will teach mushroom hunting and split what we find. To contact Gary Vondrasek call him at 618-581-3734. Vondrasek does not sell his mushrooms and he teaches mushroom hunting for free. He works as a conservation contractor preserving, restoring or innovating historic or historic-looking objects that belong with what already exists, such as classic and fine architecture, and furniture and fine art, including oil paintings but mostly frames for such art. He also has restored wallpaper patterns on walls and at a church restoring statues of angels taller than him. It took him four winters to restore an 800 A.D. Buddhist statue. Florida's Department of Education has rejected 54 Mathematics textbooks for containing materials inappropriate for Florida students to be exposed to. You can be sure it isn't New Math they are mad about. Sun Sentinel: The Florida Department of Education says it has found that many math textbooks submitted by publishers contained "prohibited topics" such as references to critical race theory, the legal framework taught only in graduate school and college-level law courses. Out of 132 submitted textbooks, the education department approved only 78 of them, and rejected more than ever before, according to a news release. It rejected 54, including several it said had critical race theory and other prohibited subjects. "Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics," the state's news release stated. "The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies." Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, has enough funds to buy anything, whether it is a social platform or a place like Nigeria. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is currently worth about $260 billion. Elon Musk, who is a U.S. citizen, was born in South Africa to a Canadian mother and South African father. The billionaire financier Elon Musk is said to have offered to take Twitter Inc. in a deal valued at $43 billion. The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire said he is trying to buy Twitter as it is not doing well in expanding freedom of speech, the backbone of a functional democracy. While discussing buying Twitter, Musk recently told TEd Talk that "I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," while discussing buying Twitter. Many tech leaders and lots of people are resisting him, so I say to Musk, like Twitter, Nigeria needs to be turned into a free expression haven, as the largest country in Africa with more than 200 million people. Nigeria remains a major political and economic power in Africa and wields influence regionally, but it is marred by restrained freedoms, a regressing economy, hunger and malnutrition. It is surrounded by ethnic and religious distrust, bouncing corruption, rising levels of homelessness, and the risk of democratic breakdown. Unlike the current huge resistance Musk is facing regarding Twitter's takeover, just take a poll, survey, or quiz. The feedback from Nigerians will be totally welcoming. Nigerians are currently living in daredevil times. Musk, known for space exploration, clean energy, and constantly offering plenty of opportunities for new technology and free ventures, can use some of his money to bring hope, build stability, and transform the future of Nigeria. As for Musk, who is known for using unusual names, as in "Technoking of Tesla" and giving the name X A-12 Musk tohis baby boy and his daughters name as Exa Dark SiderlMusk., he will be welcomed by Nigerians to change the name of Nigeria as it has a global reputation for being bad. Musk is known for his "carrot and stick" leadership style and wild firing rages of non-performing and misbehaving employees. The Musk style of leadership will be welcomed into the Nigerian environment known for its chronic "toxic" leadership environment, which fosters bad leaders with the consequences of bad governance. The directorate of the U.N.'s World Food Programme not long ago called on Musk to help end global hunger by making a $6.6 billion donation, and Musk said he could be willing by selling shares of the electric car company, which is worth more than $1 trillion. So, I say this: Musk should inform the U.N. that as a person who can unlock the "extraordinary potential" of a communication platform like Twitter, he could do the same for Nigeria, a rich natural resource country riven with disorderliness and poverty due to corruption and nepotism. I have no doubt that Nigeria, with its huge natural resource wealth and abundant resources such as diamonds, gold, crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, and iron, will attract Musk, who has offered to purchase Twitter for $43 billion in cash. He can buy Nigeria for the same amount or more as long as the payment goes to the people of different ecological zones and regions. Musk, during the Ted Talk interview, said his reason for wanting to purchase Twitter is not about making money but about "the future of civilization." A turning point for civilization is what Nigeria needs right now, so buy it to make it a trusted country for democracyand make it a better place to improve human quality of life, freedom, and equal opportunity. Prof. Egbeazien Oshodi, an American-based forensic/legal/clinical psychologist and police/prison scientist, wrote in via [email protected] Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good offices to urgently review and withdraw the pardon granted to former governors of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye, and Taraba State, Rev Jolly Nyame who are serving jail terms for corruption. SERAP is also urging him to propose constitutional amendment to the National Assembly to reform the provisions on the exercise of the prerogative of mercy to make the provisions more transparent, and consistent and compatible with Nigerias international anti-corruption obligations. Mr Dariye and Mr Nyame were jailed for stealing N1.16bn and N1.6bn, respectively. However, the National Council of State last week endorsed the pardon of Mr Dariye, Mr Nyame and 157 others serving jail terms following the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. In the letter dated 16 April, 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: Impunity for corruption will continue as long as influential politicians escape justice for their crimes. The constitutional power of prerogative of mercy ought not to be an instrument of impunity. SERAP said, The pardon power ought to be exercised in a manner that is consistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], particularly the provisions on oath of office by public officers, and section 15[5] which requires your government to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. SERAP also said, Indeed, the presidential pardon power must be exercised in good faith, and in line with the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution on fundamental rights. According to SERAP, We would like your government to clarify if the pardon granted to Mr Dariye and Mr Nyame would entitle them to the return of the stolen assets already forfeited to the government. SERAP said, The pardon also constitutes an interference in the exercise of judicial power. Because the pardon appears to be arbitrary, it undermines the authority and independence of the judiciary, and access to justice for victims of corruption. The letter, copied to the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, read in part: The pardon is clearly inconsistent and incompatible with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution, and the countrys international obligations including under the UN Convention against Corruption. Presidential pardon for corruption cases is inconsistent with the rule of law, and the public interest, as it undermines the principle of equality before the law. It will undermine public confidence in your governments fight against corruption, and the justice system. SERAP is concerned that while the pardon power is routinely exercised to shield influential politicians and politically exposed persons from justice and accountability, ordinary people who have committed petty offences but with no money or influential politicians to speak for them, languish in prisons and are rarely considered for pardon. While there is no doubt that Section 175 of the Constitution vests wide discretionary power in the Nigerian president to grant pardon, it does not stipulate the conditions under which such power should be exercised. However, when section 15(5) of the Constitution is read together with the oath, it would seem to impose some ethical conditions on you to ensure that the exercise of the discretionary power of prerogative of mercy is not such that it will encourage corruption or impunity of perpetrators. Mr Dariye and Mr Nyame should have been allowed to complete their jail terms. The exercise of the presidential pardon in their cases would seem to be unfair and undeserving. The investigation and prosecution of the corruption cases involving the pardoned former governors Dariye and Nyame reportedly cost over N300 millions of taxpayers money. The cases went from the High Court to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Similarly, article 26 of the UN Convention against Corruption requires your government to ensure effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions in cases of grand corruption. Article 26 of the convention complements the more general requirement of article 30, paragraph 1, that sanctions must take into account the gravity of the corruption offences. SERAP notes that in your inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 you stated that, We are going to tackle pervasive corruption head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to us. However, the latest Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index shows that Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points, and ranked 154 out of 180 countries surveyed, falling back five places from the rank of 149 in 2020. This places Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in West Africa. The pardon power, if properly exercised, can help to protect citizens against possible miscarriage of justice. SERAP therefore urges you to urgently withdraw the presidential pardon granted to Mr Dariye and Mr Nyame, and to propose amendment to section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution that will make the exercise of the power to pardon more transparent and consistent and compatible with the countrys international obligations. Any proposed amendment should also empower the citizens to challenge the legality of any arbitrary exercise of the power of prerogative of mercy. Kolawole Oluwadare SERAP Deputy Director 17/4/2022 Lagos, Nigeria Emails: [email protected] ; [email protected] Twitter: @SERAPNigeria Website: www.serap-nigeria.org For more information or to request an interview, please contact us on: +234816053720 2 Full Moon Party draws over 10,000 revellers in Phangan SURAT THANI: Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan island off this southern coastal province was packed with revellers for the first full-scale Full Moon Party since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday night (Apr 16). By Bangkok Post Sunday 17 April 2022, 05:03PM Party-goers flock to the first full-scale Full Moon Party since the COVID-19 epidemic began, on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani on Saturday night. Photo: Supapong Chaolan / Bangkok Post Following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, more than 10,000 tourists mostly foreigners enjoyed an event that ran smoothly throughout the night with marine police, tourist police and immigration police and more than 60 administrative officials led by Surat Thani Deputy Governmor Suthipong Klai-udom deployed to maintain law and order. The road leading to the beach was restored to its erstwhile vitality, with shops selling snacks and beverages, body-painting kiosks and clothing stalls, reports Bangkok Post. After the party was over, most of the tourists returned to the mainland by ferry to Donsak or to Koh Samui. Others remained on the island, which has seen many rental accommodations fully booked over the past month. On Saturday, Raja Ferry announced its ferries departing at 8.00am, 11.00am, 2.00pm and 5.30pm were fully booked. It had to arrange two more trips, departing Donsak at 12.30pm and 6.30pm. Manop Sae Tiew, a Koh Phangan resident, said the return of a large number of foreign tourists indicated the Full Moon Party was still in their minds after a long suspension. "Koh Phangans beaches are most beautiful on full moon nights. We also have many other attractions which must be preserved. The party went on without problems last night. I believe the next party, scheduled for May 16, will definitely draw even more tourists," he said. The last full-scale Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan was on Feb 8, 2020 during the onset of the first outbreak of Covid-19 in the Kingdom. Inhuman situation in Ukraines Mariupol as Russia claims almost full control KYIV: Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol is inhuman and called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons, as Russia claimed it was in control of almost all of the strategic port city and urged its last defenders to surrender. RussianUkrainedeathmilitaryviolencepolitics By AFP Sunday 17 April 2022, 11:53AM Russian soldiers walks along a street in Mariupol on Apr 12, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine. Photo: Alexander Nemenov / AFP Moscow said Ukrainian forces in the city must lay down their arms by today (Apr17), after weeks of relative calm in the capital Kyiv were brought to an end by renewed Russian airstrikes. Austrias chancellor, the first European leader to meet with Vladimir Putin in person since the invasion began, said he thought the Russian president believes he is winning the war in Ukraine. But in the south, the devastated city of Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraines unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on Feb 24. Moscow officials now say they are in full control there, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the citys fortress-like steelworks. The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman, President Zelensky said in a video address. Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. Ukraines Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the city was on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and warned the country was compiling evidence of alleged Russian atrocities there. We will hand everything over to The Hague. There will be no impunity, he said. Moscow yesterday issued an ultimatum to the fighters, urging them to lay down their arms by 6am Moscow time (9am Phuket time) and to evacuate the premises before 1pm. But with the Russian forces closing in, Zelensky issued his own warning. The elimination of our troops, of our men (in Mariupol) will put an end to any negotiations, Zelensky told the Ukrainska Pravda news website. We dont negotiate neither our territories nor our people. Insidious and ruthless In the capital, smoke rose from the Darnyrsky district in the southeast of the capital after what Moscow said were high-precision long-range strikes on an armaments plant, killing one person and wounding several others. A heavy police and military presence was deployed around the factory, which was badly damaged. Our forces are doing everything possible to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The strike came a day after a similar attack on a plant that produced Neptune missiles - the type which, according to Kyiv and Washington, sank Russias Black Sea flagship Moskva on Thursday. It was among the first attacks since Russian forces began withdrawing from that region last month, instead turning their focus on gaining control of the eastern Donbas region, for years controlled in part by pro-Russian separatists. Kyiv regional governor Oleksandr Pavliuk said there were at least two other Russian strikes on the city Friday and that civilians thinking about returning should wait for quieter times. Nevertheless, families and off-duty soldiers were out in the parks of central Kyiv yesterday, bringing a semblance of normality to the once bustling city. Its the first time weve been back in the city centre... Its really making me happy to see people out and about, 43-year-old vet Nataliya Makrieva told AFP. Meanwhile, in Ukraines second-largest city Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, a Russian missile strike on a residential district killed at least two people yesterday and wounded 18 others, the public prosecutors office said. Incoming fire in the citys centre turned an industrial kitchen inside out, pitching loaves of bread into the street. The blast was so big that at first we didnt understand what was happening, 52-year-old volunteer worker Genadiy Vlasov told AFP. When the walls started moving we all knew we had to get out. And Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said three people were killed and four others critically wounded in a demining operation near the city. War logic Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met Putin on Monday in Moscow, said he thinks the Russian president believes the war is necessary for his countrys security. I think he is now in his own war logic, Nehammer said in an interview with NBCs Meet the Press, portions of which were released yesterday. I think he believes he is winning the war. Adding to tit-for-tat sanctions imposed since the invasion began, Russia said yesterday it was banning entry to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several other top officials. The foreign ministry accused London of unprecedented hostile actions, in particular referring to sanctions on senior Russian officials, and pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons. Moscows new entry blacklist includes Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Johnson paid a surprise visit to Kyiv a week earlier, and was filmed walking through the capitals empty streets with Zelensky. Britain has been part of an international effort to punish Russia with asset freezes, travel bans and economic sanctions, while several Western countries have supplied Ukraine with extensive weaponry. Russia warned the United States this week of unpredictable consequences if it sends its most sensitive weapons systems to Ukraine. Its defence ministry claimed yesterday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. Zelensky meanwhile issued a fresh warning about the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons as the conflict wears on - echoing comments by CIA director William Burns this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told CNN that Russia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an existential threat. No way home Zelensky said Friday that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the conflict, compared to 19,000-20,000 Russian dead. Moscow has said its losses were far smaller. Russias apparent new focus on seizing the eastern Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists control the Donetsk and Lugansk areas, would allow Moscow to create a land corridor to occupied Crimea. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the region to quickly leave ahead of what is expected to be a large-scale Russian offensive. In Geneva, the UN refugee agency warned that many of the nearly five million people who have fled the conflict will not have homes to return to. Many have gone abroad, with thousands seeking refuge in Israel, according to the countrys immigration ministry figures. Joining them are many Russians, too, who say they no longer feel safe in their home country under the increasingly repressive rule of Vladimir Putin. I lost my country. It was stolen from me. It was taken by Putin and those KGB thugs, Moscow-born linguist Olga Romanova told AFP. Marriott and Living Waters Phuket team up Collaboration to create the largest hotel-based emergency food-relief effort on the island Community By Advertorial Sunday 17 April 2022, 11:00AM The Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotels and resorts in Phuket, Phang Nga and Koh Samui have entered a new collaboration with Living Waters Phuket (LWP), a registered charity Foundation. This will ultimately support LWPs efforts with its ongoing emergency food relief initiatives throughout Thailand. The collaboration commenced at the start of April, and continues its efforts for over two weeks, with a donation of 1,600 Life Bags for communities in Thailands southern provinces. When we learned about the amazing project that Living Waters Phuket has been running and how much our local communities need immediate attention, we wanted to offer our support right away, said Mr Brad Edman, Multi-Property Vice President Phuket and General Manager at Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa. Marriott hotels and resorts in Phuket have always supported the communities in which we operate, especially during the pandemic. Our collaboration with LWP will help to further support communities in need. Demand for emergency food aid is at an all-time high due to the pandemic and ongoing effects on tourism, and the fact that thousands of people are still required to live in community isolation for extended periods of time. The Living Waters Phuket Foundation was set up in November 2021 to build brighter futures for communities in need in Phuket and across Thailand. It essentially helps to raise awareness of critical projects and provides funding around essential relief areas, including emergency food supplies, education requirements, renewable energy and sustainable environmental solutions. We are thrilled to see the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio work together with us at this level; this is the largest single hotel based collaboration on Life Bags and is a pleasure to be part of the difference this will make to the communities across southern Thailand, said Shaun Stenning, Founder of Living Waters Phuket. This is part of the roll out joint initiative with Foundation and the Phuket Hotels Association (PHA) Life Bag Project, which we have been working on in recent months. In April 2022, all 16 Marriott Bonvoy hotels and resorts in Phuket, Phang Nga and Koh Samui will work with Living Waters Phuket to organise two major Life Bag Project events; the first in Koh Samui from April 2nd- 5th and the next across the three districts in Phuket from April 19th 20th. 1,600 Life Bags will be distributed with the goal of helping over 6,400 people in desperate need. Each Life Bag can feed a family of four people for up to four days and contain staple family food products. Serving our world is one of Marriotts core values and giving back to the communities where we operate is one of our main commitments. Business Council, GMs, and NextGen team of associates work together closely to support local communities through various activities and initiatives. Phuket has been a major focus for us during the pandemic. We are very happy that were now able to extend our support to Phang Nga and Koh Samui through our collaboration with Living Waters Phuket, said Mr Daryn Hudson, Head of Marriott Southern Thailand Business Council and General Manager at Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort. There are 16 Marriott Bonvoy portfolio hotels and resorts across Phuket, Phang Nga and Koh Samui taking part in this initiative. For more information, please visit www.marriott.com. Living Waters Phuket www.livingwatersphuket.com Facebook Instagram Twitter Weeboon Donations: Living Waters Phuket Mariott International, Inc. www.marriott.com Facebook Twitter Instagram WASHINGTON Western New York's 2022 congressional races are beginning to take shape but they're amoeba-like shapes that could change suddenly thanks to rulings from a state court or the State Board of Elections. A state judge in Steuben County earlier this month ruled that the House district lines drawn up by the Democratic State Legislature are unconstitutional. But those lines remain in place while that decision is being appealed, so it's not entirely clear yet exactly what the district map will look like for either the June 28 primary or the Nov. 8 general election. And while primary candidates are challenging all three of the incumbent House members running in those three yet-to-be-finalized districts, the Board of Elections will have to decide if those candidates actually qualify for the ballot. An objection has been filed against the petitions of Mario Fratto, a lawyer and small business owner from Geneva who is waging a Republican primary challenge against Rep. Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park. And a similar complaint has been filed against the petitions of Emin "Eddie" Egriu, a local contractor who is once again hoping to challenge Rep. Brian Higgins of Buffalo in a Democratic primary. Here's a closer look at the three prospective congressional districts that include parts of metro Buffalo and the races that are shaping up in each of them: Jacobs and his challengers Only six weeks ago, it looked as if as many as four Republicans would be challenging Jacobs, the former Erie County clerk and state senator first elected to Congress in June of 2020. But only one Republican challenger filed the required number of signatures on petitions to appear on the June 28 primary ballot: Fratto. And as often happens at this point in the campaign season, a Jacobs ally, local attorney Joseph Burns, has challenged Fratto's petitions, saying he didn't collect enough valid signatures. The State Board of Elections hopes to rule on petition challenges in time for its May 2 meeting. Then on May 4, the state board is scheduled to certify the primary ballot, with local boards set to do the same thing the next day. But for now, Fratto is viewing the challenge to his petitions as a sign of Jacobs' weakness. "Chris Jacobs has shown his hand and is running scared," Fratto said. "He knows he cannot win at the ballot box, so he wants to take the choice away from the voters by using his political connections and the establishment to get us out of this race." Fratto brands Jacobs as a "RINO," or Republican in name only, and is running to his right as an "America First Republican." What's more, he's investing in his own race: The quarterly financial report Fratto filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission showed that he had lent his campaign $100,000. Between that loan and donations, Fratto reported $206,338 in campaign cash on hand as of March 31. That's a credible sum for a primary challenger at this point in the campaign, but he will need more to be financially competitive with Jacobs in the new, huge 24th Congressional District, which starts along Lake Ontario in Youngstown, swings south of Rochester and then stretches northward all the way to Watertown. Jacobs raised $202,604 in the first quarter and had more than twice as much money on hand than Fratto did as of March 31: $481,505. Chris Jacobs has proven time and again that he is talented legislator, tireless campaigner and one of best fundraisers in the state," said Cam Savage, Jacobs' political consultant. "No one has fought harder to stand up to the Biden administrations reckless spending, government mandates and disastrous open borders policies and hell keep fighting for Western New York. Steven Holden, a Syracuse-area Army veteran and progressive activist, is the only Democratic candidate who filed petitions to run in the heavily Republican 24th District. His first-quarter campaign finance report was not yet available as of late Friday. Higgins and his challengers Egriu is aiming for the fourth time to face off against Higgins in the Buffalo-based 26th District, but he potentially faces the same challenge that has stymied his earlier campaigns: getting on the ballot. A voter named Lisa Saunders has objected to the petitions filed by Egriu, who has been knocked off the ballot thanks to similar objections in the past. But Egriu said he's sure his petitions are in good shape this time for a run against Higgins, whom he sees as an establishment Democrat who needs a strong challenge from the left. "I feel like he's still abandoning the crucial issues that are throughout the community," Egriu said. "All the resources he's continuously bringing into Western New York are always about the canal (Canalside) and the waterfront, and nothing to communities at all." Egriu spent $63,791 in campaign funds during the first quarter much of it funded by loans from the candidate leaving him only $11,938 left on hand as of March 31, his campaign finance report said. He will have to raise a lot of money quickly to pose a serious financial challenge to Higgins. Campaigning for his 10th term, Higgins raised $171,158 in the first quarter and showed $1.55 million on hand as of March 31. Congressman Higgins is honored to have widespread support across Western New York, with more than 12,000 constituents from every neighborhood in the district signing nominating petitions in support of his re-election, including some big numbers in new areas added as a result of redistricting," said Higgins' campaign spokesman, Chuck Eaton. "Brian has worked hard to bring federal resources to every corner of his district, and he looks forward to running on his record of delivering positive results for Western New York. The only Republican to file petitions to run in the heavily Democratic 26th District, retired Army Sgt. Steven Sams II of Getzville, had only $2,220 on hand as of March 31. Meantime, he reported campaign debts of $8,793. Tenney and her challengers Rep. Claudia Tenney, the Utica-area Republican running to replace the retiring Rep. Tom Reed in the Southern Tier's 23rd District, has two potential primary challengers but neither are approaching her with the same kind of aggressive effort that Fratto and Egriu promise. George K. Phillips, a Broome County schoolteacher who has challenged Tenney previously, filed petitions to run against her this time, too. Yet he has not yet filed his campaign with the Federal Election Commission and therefore hasn't raised any money. "My official statement is we're just seeing what happens with the redistricting lawsuit, and if we have anything public about our intentions after that, we'll let you know," Phillips said. Ray Juliano of Springville, an asphalt contractor, has filed petitions to run as a Republican in the 23rd District, too. Billing himself as "a nonpolitician willing to put the American people first," Juliano criticized Tenney for choosing to run in the heavily Republican 23rd District rather than a Utica-area district that was drawn up to benefit Democrats. "She's going to the district that's easy for her," Juliano said. "I think she puts her needs over the needs of the people." But Juliano appears to have not taken all of his own needs into account when planning his campaign. Believing that money corrupts politics, he isn't fundraising at all: in fact, his campaign website features a "don't donate" button. "I'm just doing this 100% by myself, which that might have been a losing strategy to begin with, but I feel that's the right way to do it," Juliano said. Tenney clearly disagrees. She raised $314,000 in the first quarter and had nearly $1.3 million on hand as of March 31. "The outpouring of support and momentum from every corner of NY-23 is inspiring," Tenney said in a statement. The Democratic candidate in the 23rd District, Air Force veteran Max Della Pia, raised $15,070 in the quarter and had $14,802 of that money left when the quarter ended. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BETHALTO The Easter Bunny had no trouble finding Bethalto on Saturday. Hundreds of youngsters and their parents gathered in Central Park for the annual Bethalto Rotary Club/Lifebrook Church community egg hunt. There were plenty of games and activities available leading up to the big event. At noon, the siren sounded and excited children scoured the grounds, leaving nary a colored egg unfound in their quest for Easter treats. You get lots of candy at Easter egg hunts. I like chocolate, said six-year-old Sophia Eberhart. She shared that she also put in a request while in the park for the Easter Bunny to bring me a purple bike. Five-year-old Sylvia Klopmeier of Dorsey hoped to find Starburst. "I get them a lot, she said. I hope the Easter Bunny comes to my house and delivers eggs and candy. But did young Miss Klopmeier have perhaps too much candy already? Yeah! Klopmeier said enthusiastically. Bethalto resident Owen Treadway, displaying the wisdom of his 8 years, confided, I dont really have a strategy for the Easter egg hunt just run and pick up as many as I can. And Treadways Easter treat of choice? Swedish fish and Hersheys cookies and cream, Treadway said. And probably more candy. Three-year-old Kymiro Johnson of Edwardsville had no trouble finding the Easter Bunny. He excitedly pointed out the giant rabbit to his aunt, Kaylee Neutzling. We have a live rabbit at home so he loves bunnies already, Neutzling said. So this is like a bunny on steroids, for sure. Special tickets were hidden in some of the eggs, and children could redeem them for prizes. Easter egg hunts have a long history. According to English Heritage.org, eggs held associations with spring and new life in many ancient societies, and early Christians adapted these beliefs, making the egg a symbol of the resurrection and the empty shell a metaphor for Jesus tomb. During Medieval times eating eggs was forbidden during Lent, but on Easter Sunday the Lenten fast ended and eating eggs was an important part of the celebration, especially for poorer people who could not afford meat. The Easter egg hunt custom dates back to 16th century Germany when Protestant reformer Martin Luther organized egg hunts for his congregation. Men hid eggs for women and children to find in a nod to the Resurrection story in which the empty tomb was discovered by women. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MYKULYCHI, Ukraine (AP) On a quiet street lined with walnut trees was a cemetery with four bodies that hadn't yet found a home. All were victims of Russian soldiers in this village outside Ukraines capital, Kyiv. Their temporary caskets were together in a grave. Volunteers dug them up one by one on Sunday two weeks after the soldiers disappeared. This spring is a grim season of planting and replanting in towns and villages around Kyiv. Bodies given hurried graves amid the Russian occupation are now being retrieved for investigations into possible war crimes. More than 900 civilian victims have been found so far. All four bodies here were killed on the same street, on the same day. Thats according to the local man who provided their caskets. He bent and kissed the cemeterys wrought-iron crosses as he walked to the makeshift grave. The volunteers tried digging with shovels, then gave up and called an excavator. As they waited, they recounted their work secretly burying bodies during the monthlong Russian occupation, then retrieving them. One young man recalled being discovered by soldiers who pointed guns at him and told him Dont look up as he dug a grave. The excavator arrived, rumbling past the cemeterys wooden outhouse. Soon there was the smell of fresh earth, and the murmur, There they are. A woman appeared, crying. Ira Slepchenko was the wife of one man buried here. No one told her he was being dug up now. The wife of another victim arrived. Valya Naumenko peered into the grave, then hugged Ira. Dont collapse, she said. I need you to be OK. The two couples lived next to each other. On the final day before the Russians left the village, soldiers knocked at one home. Valyas husband, Pavlo Ivanyuk, opened the door. The soldiers took him to the garage and shot him in the head, apparently without any explanation. Then the soldiers shouted, Is anyone else here? Iras husband, Sasha Nedolezhko, heard the gunshot. But he thought the soldiers would search the homes if no one answered. He opened the door and the soldiers shot him too. The mens caskets were lifted out with the others, then pried open. The four bodies, wrapped in blankets, were placed in body bags. The lace-edged white lining of each casket was stained red where the head had been. Ira watched from afar, smoking, but stood by the empty caskets as the others left. All this land is in blood, and it will take years to recover, she said. She had known her husband was here. Nine days after his temporary burial, she came to the cemetery scattered with picnic tables, following the local custom of spending time with the dead. She brought coffee and cookies. I want this war to end as soon as possible, she said. The other bodies were a teacher and a local man who lived alone. No one came for them on Sunday. In the house next to the cemetery, 66-year-old Valya Voronets cooked homegrown potatoes in a wood-warmed room, still getting by without water, electricity or gas. A small radio played, but not for long because the news gets too depressing. A plate of freshly cut radishes rested near the window. A Russian soldier once came running and pointed his gun at her husband after spotting him climbing onto the roof to get a cellphone signal. Are you going to kill an old man? 65-year-old Myhailo Scherbakov replied. Not all the Russians were like that. Voronets said she cried together with another soldier, barely 21. Youre too young, she told him. Another soldier told her they didnt want to fight. Still, she feared them all. But she offered them milk from her only cow. I felt sorry for them in these conditions, she said. And if youre nice to them, maybe they wont kill you. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Olyphant held its traditional blessing of the Easter baskets on Saturday. The Rev. Nestor Iwasiw, pastor, performed the blessing. Blessing of Easter baskets is a Holy Saturday tradition in many churches, particularly those with Eastern European ties. Pastors typically bless baskets containing traditional foods like kielbasa, Paska bread and decorated eggs, but many families have their own favorites. Close A Lockport company has ended its court battle to recover $392,495 that was seized almost two years ago by federal agents investigating alleged fraud and money laundering by local debt collection firms. Officials of the Market Street Debt Partners admitted no wrongdoing when they recently signed a court document agreeing that they will no longer seek return of the money. The company has relinquished its claim to money seized from a company bank account. According to court papers filed by the U.S. Attorneys office, Market Street was hired to process payments for debt collection companies run by Mark M. Miller, 49, a Kenmore businessman. No criminal charges have been filed against Miller, who denied any wrongdoing Thursday in a brief message to a News reporter. Miller said he is no longer involved with debt collections and is still seeking to recover $90,385 that federal agents seized from his home in May 2020. Im out, Miller told The Buffalo News. And fighting for money. "My client has made no admission of any wrongdoing. If there was any kind of fraud involved, it had nothing to do with Market Street," Herbert L. Greenman, the attorney for Market Street, said on Friday. "The company processed payments for Mr. Miller in good faith. I think you can safely say the company intends to sue Mr. Miller." When investigators from the Homeland Security Department seized the $392,495 from Market Street Debt Partners in May 2020, Greenman filed a court challenge, saying the company conducts a legitimate business, broke no laws and should get its money back. But on Jan. 25, Greenman, company owner Joseph Torriere and a federal prosecutor all signed a court document stating that Market Street has agreed to let the government keep the money. Torriere knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waives his right to a jury trial on the forfeiture of assets, the court document states. While not admitting any wrongdoing, Torriere and his company agreed in the document that federal agents had probable cause to institute this action regarding any alleged criminal activities by a third party. Miller is not mentioned in the Jan. 25 document but prosecutors stated in two previous court documents that debt collection companies run by Miller were under investigation for alleged wire fraud and money laundering. Law enforcement officials and other sources told The News that the Miller probe is part of a still-ongoing effort to crack down on alleged fraud by Western New York debt collectors. The National Consumer Law Center has called Buffalo an epicenter of unscrupulous debt collection practices, and over the past six years, government investigations have shut down several multimillion-dollar collection agencies in the region. The state Labor Department told The News last year that 157 collection agencies were registered to do business in Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany counties. The department said those agencies have 3,441 employees. In court papers filed last year, Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace M. Carducci described Market Street as a debt processor for five companies run by Miller that were involved in illegal debt collection activities. The payment processor is a necessary entity that facilitates a wire fraud scheme/unlawful debt collection operation by providing the debt collection business with the capability of accepting debit/credit cards as payments, the prosecutor said in court papers. Barbara Burns, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys office in Buffalo, declined Thursday to comment on the Market Street seizure latest developments in the or to provide any update on the Miller investigation. Prosecutors said last year they were investigating almost $2.8 million in transactions related to debt collection firms run by Miller. They alleged that Miller's companies engaged in illegal debt collection practices, including the use of profane language, threats and scare tactics. Miller has denied any wrongdoing in interviews with The News, claiming that he has been unfairly targeted by law enforcement. Federal agents in Army suits, pointing machine guns, raided my home and my business almost a year ago, Miller said last year. They have not charged me with anything ... because my companies follow the law. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. IVY GOODMAN, Stonington, Girls, Lacrosse, Senior; Goodman scored 12 goals and had 13 assists in three games. Her seven assists in the Bears win over Waterford established a school record. She surpassed the 50-goal mark for the season in Stoningtons victory over Ledyard. DEAN PONS JR., Westerly, Baseball, Senior; Pons, a senior, struck out 14 batters in the Bulldogs five-inning win against Wheeler School/Rocky Hill. Pons had an assist on the remaining out, throwing out a runner on a groundout. Pons allowed just one hit and walked only two. KATIE PIERCE, Wheeler, Girls, Lacrosse, Sophomore; Pierce scored five goals and the Lions beat Griswold to earn their first victory of the season. Wheeler avenged an earlier loss to the Wolverines this season with the 15-4 victory. WEEKO THOMPSON, Chariho, Girls, Track Sophomore; Thompson, a sophomore, bettered her school record in the discus at the Classical Classic meet. She finished first in the event and also won the shot put. Vote View Results Huge sums of money were borrowed from the trust fund that was meant to cover the cost of funerals sold by collapsed plan provider Safe Hands, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Loans worth millions of pounds were taken from the fund to buy a number of commercial properties even though the trust fund was supposed to be ring-fenced and used explicitly to pay for funerals. The discovery of the loans comes a week after The Mail on Sunday revealed sums from this supposedly safeguarded trust fund were routinely paid into Safe Hands' general coffers (2million in the year to the end of May 2018, 1.17million the year before) and then passed on as dividends to directors. We are in shock... firm has treated us with contempt Disgust: Pat and Ernest Hughes paid 3,395 into the Safe Hands plan Ernest and Pat Hughes paid Safe Hands 3,395 three years ago to ensure all their big funeral costs would be met when the first one of them died. The couple, who live in Llandudno, North Wales, asked for their money back when rumours surfaced that Safe Hands was in financial trouble. Ernest, 83, says: 'They rang back and promised our money would be returned within 28 days minus a cancellation fee.' He adds: 'We waited and waited and then called them again. We were told it had gone bust. We were in shock.' The retired washing machine engineer is disgusted with what has happened. He says: 'Safe Hands has treated elderly, vulnerable people with utter contempt. How the trust fund that our money was held in is now under water is a scandal.' Toby Walne A petition has now been launched demanding that the Government set up an emergency fund to support victims of failed funeral plan companies. The petition requires 10,000 signatures before the Government must respond. Safe Hands collapsed last month leaving 47,000 customers unsure whether the plans they bought from the company costing them each around 3,000 will be honoured. Industry insiders do not rule out the collapse of other plan providers as they fail to pass strict financial tests imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority, ahead of regulation at the end of July. The Mail on Sunday today publishes more evidence about the way customer money was handled by Safe Hands. We can reveal that money was borrowed from the trust fund by SHFT Properties in the period 2018 to 2020 to purchase a number of commercial properties. According to accounts filed at Companies House, these borrowings rose in value from just over 1.25million at the end of October 2018 to 1.3million two years later. The money was used to buy properties in West Yorkshire (Barnsley, Batley and Wakefield where Safe Hands was based) and Consett in County Durham. SHFT Properties was set up by a former director of Safe Hands who resigned more than two years ago. Its sole director is now Richard Philip Wells who is also a director of SHP Capital Holdings, the owner of Safe Hands. Financial information is not available on whether the loans to the trust fund have been paid back. But a report on the financial position of the Safe Hands Plans Trust published early this year by independent actuary Zenith does confirm there are outstanding loans of just over 1.1million. As reported last week, Zenith confirmed the trust fund had a deficit of 3.7million at the end of May 2021. In other words, it did not have enough assets to meet the cost of all the funerals customers had bought. On Friday, Howard Hodgson, chief executive of funeral plan provider Memoria told the MoS: 'I am absolutely appalled by the Safe Hands situation. What has happened is an utter betrayal of the trust that Safe Hands' customers put in the company.' We asked Sterling Trust Corporation, trustees of the Safe Hands fund, to comment on the loans. It did not respond. To date, five plan providers have withdrawn their application to be authorised from the end of July. But none, other than Safe Hands, have so far been barred from selling new plans. The petition can be signed at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/614579. Access to cash is an issue that this money section is passionate about. It is a fundamental right that consumers should have a choice of how they pay for services face to face. Of course, contactless cards and mobile phone payments are convenient, but not everyone wants to use them. My mother, for one, would not entertain the thought of waving a bit of plastic or a mobile phone over a card reader to carry out a transaction. She's not alone, as my mailbag constantly reminds me. It's why we run our Keep Our Cash campaign. Stalling: Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised legislation on access to cash It's why we have railed against the bank branch closures that Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have announced this year all 180 of them. More are to come before the year is out I'd bet the contents of my Isa on it. And it's why we support initiatives such as shared bank branches in communities where access to cash has been stripped away as a result of the closure of the last bank branch in town and often the free-to-use ATM attached to it. There's a chance for the Government to safeguard cash next month when the new legislative programme is outlined in the Queen's speech. For the last two years, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised legislation on cash, but has stalled partly because of Covid and I imagine pressure from the banks. Now is his chance to redeem himself by putting in place legislation that will require banks to provide nationwide access to cash. Just to emphasise the importance, more than 70 MPs have signed an open letter stating legislation is 'vital'. Lead signatory is Esther McVey, Conservative MP for Tatton. The letter doesn't mince its words. Legislation must be introduced 'without further delay to avoid an irreversible hollowing of the UK's cash infrastructure that leaves communities unable to withdraw or deposit cash'. It concludes by saying legislation would ensure consumers are not left behind and that cash can continue 'to play a practical and vibrant role that meets the future needs of both UK businesses and the wider UK economy'. A coalition of pro-cash allies, led by ATM provider Cardtronics, will press the case for legislation on Tuesday at a parliamentary event. Choice in payment methods should be a financial right. We should not allow the banks to railroad us into a cashless society. Woeful train service reminds me of FCA Why do we always have to suffer on bank holidays as some mainline train stations close and train services are suspended? Getting into work two days ago was a nightmare, turning Good Friday into Bad Friday. I wouldn't mind if there was a discernible improvement in train services following the track and signalling works. But that doesn't happen. Trains where I live regularly get cancelled without explanation, especially if the service is an early one and station employees are nowhere to be seen. It's on a par with the woeful service that the Financial Conduct Authority provides as part of its remit to protect the financial interests of consumers. Scandal after scandal is missed while redress takes forever and an age to arrive. Keep an eye out: The app will feature Dodl the friendly monster Investment platform AJ Bell will launch an app this week, aimed at enticing people with five-figure sums tucked away in cash into the stock market for the first time. Called Dodl, as in doddle and featuring Dodl the friendly monster, the app will be cheaper to use than investing via the company's traditional platform. But the choice of funds and shares that investors can buy and sell via their phone will be restricted to just 80. To put this into perspective, investors who use AJ Bell's online platform have more than 8,000 funds and equities to choose from. Research ahead of the launch has indicated that nearly two in five adults are put off investing because they don't know how to start. Nearly half say they would be encouraged to invest if the options offered were more limited and therefore easier to choose from than currently available through an online platform. Andy Bell, chief executive of AJ Bell, says the new app will provide people with a 'simple investment journey'. He believes it will 'appeal particularly to those new to investing and who want an easy way to manage their investments'. He adds: 'It needn't be scary, hence the use of a friendly monster in our branding. In developing Dodl, we've focused on removing jargon, making it quick and easy to open an account and narrowing the range of investments that customers have to choose from.' You can open an account through the mobile phone app in just a few minutes with the key information required being a National Insurance number (although my initial attempt wasn't without its problems see below). Money can be paid into the account via Apple or Google Pay and debit card. Investors can choose between investing in an Isa, pension or a general investment account. There is no setting-up charge and no dealing fees, just an annual account charge of 0.15 per cent of the total invested subject to a minimum of 1 a month. AJ Bell says that someone investing their annual Isa allowance of 20,000 in four shares through the app will pay fees of 30 a year. This compares to 89.80 if the same investment was made via its online platform Youinvest 50 of annual fees and 39.80 in commission charges. As the table shows, other app-only investment platforms from Moneybox and Freetrade are more expensive. They are different services though, as Freetrade offers a wider selection of shares than Dodl, while Moneybox offers its a selected range of funds. AJ Bell hopes to attract some of the 8.6million adults that the Financial Conduct Authority says have more than 10,000 of investible assets sitting in cash and earning paltry rates of interest. Andy Bell wants to lure long-term investors rather than day traders who bubbled to the fore during the pandemic when many looked to make quick profits from buying and selling shares. Its range of 80 funds and shares is eclectic. There are a series of low-cost AJ Bell-labelled multi-asset funds that investors can choose from, according to the level of investment risk they want to take. The more risk, the higher the potential rewards, and potential losses. Funds can be bought that track the performance of specific stock markets such as the UK, the United States and Japan. There are also options to invest in a socially responsible way. The shares available include strong consumer brands such as Aston Martin, Domino's, Greggs, Ocado and Tesco. Hargreaves Lansdown has had an app for more than ten years. But it accesses the full service offered on its online platform and users pay the same charges. It means someone using its app to invest 20,000 in four UK shares via an Isa would pay 92.80 a year, including trading fees. Hargreaves has almost 700,000 'active' app users with nearly a third using it each day and able to look at how their investments are faring, how markets are behaving or to trade. Of all clients who logged into their accounts between January and the end of March, 70 per cent did so through the app. Hargreaves' Alex Lambert says: 'The app allows investors to manage their money when they're out and about. For some time, more people have been logging into their account via the app rather than through their desktop. Naturally, this lends itself to younger people who use technology more.' Interactive Investor says a quarter of all investor trades are now done via its app. Vanguard says it is 'looking at an app as a potential future enhancement'. Jeff gives Dodl a try... and it isn't exactly a doddle Being told that something is the best thing since sliced bread is one thing. Testing it yourself can prove otherwise. Last week, I signed up to Dodl as a 'tester' before it goes live to the world this week. Downloading the app was fine and the process of opening an account was straightforward. All I had to do was confirm that I am aged 18 or over (just!), give my home address, declare I am not a US citizen, provide my National Insurance number and put in my bank account details. My application was successful. Easy-peasy, although it didn't recognise my bank to begin with. The 300 payment into my new investment account from my debit card went smoothly. It was when I went to invest 250 from my money in the app that problems began. I opted for a themed fund called iShares Automation and Robotics. Its objective is to track the performance of an index comprised of companies generating revenues from the development of automatic and robotic technology. Companies such as US phone giant Apple, tech firm Nvidia (US based) and US software company Splunk. Yet, when I looked at the fund details, I was greeted with a blank purple phone screen (purple is Dodl's colour). It temporarily turned my face purple as I was stranded in cyberspace. I sent an SOS through via its chat service. No immediate response. So, I contacted AJ Bell to be told there was an issue with an independent investment research provider which was impacting its investment platform and that of rivals. Thankfully, the 'issue' was soon resolved and I was able to make my fund purchase. Twenty nine shares at just under 8.42 a share. That glitch aside, the app is easy to use with good signposting. In time, I imagine I will use it regularly, although not as frequently as I use a rail app to buy my train tickets to visit Mother. A doddle? Not quite. Investment trust Edinburgh has had its downs in recent years, most notably when it was run by Mark Barnett at Invesco. A long streak of under-performance led to the manager finally being sacked in late 2019 and replaced by Majedie Asset Management. Although Majedie has since been absorbed into investment house Liontrust, James de Uphaugh, who took over the reins from Barnett, remains the trust's manager. Now head of Liontrust's 'Global Fundamental' team, Uphaugh says it remains business as usual with the objective being to run an 'all-weather' investment trust which delivers investors a mix of capital and income growth in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index. The 1billion trust, listed on the London Stock Exchange, is invested in 52 stocks, mostly UK. The big holdings are familiar names the likes of Shell, HSBC and NatWest. 'My goal,' says Uphaugh, 'is to establish this fund as a core holding for investors, one with a long history [going back to 1889], low charges and a good track record'. It's a challenge. The portfolio has been over-hauled while the new team had to deal with the sharp market correction in early 2020 as a lockdown in the UK was enforced. Although the performance numbers are beginning to look a little better it has just about outperformed the FTSE All-Share Index over the past three years challenges lie around every corner. While dividend growth is part of Edinburgh's objective, this was put on hold in the financial year to April 2021 with annual income remaining at 28.65 pence per share. Uphaugh says it will be the board's decision as to whether the annual income for the year to the start of this month is notched up. The first two quarterly payments of 6 pence a share were the same as the year before. The trust is managed flexibly with no pre-conceived investment agenda it's neither a growth or value-orientated fund. 'We pursue multiple investment themes,' he says. These include 'Darwinism' and 'ESG rehabilitation' ESG standing for environmental, social and governance. Food retailer Greggs is an example of survival-of-the-fittest Darwinism that is, a company that has cemented its position as the country's leading baker through lockdown, expanding its property portfolio and market presence. Uphaugh says Shell, its biggest holding, is desperately trying to improve its ESG standing by promising to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050 at the latest. Shareholdings that the company has tickled up in recent months include defence firms BAE Systems and Thales Group (listed in France) and healthcare giants GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. Uphaugh is keen that the trust's shares reflect the value of the underlying assets. Currently, they trade at a near 7 per cent discount, meaning the underlying assets are worth more than the price you pay to invest in them via the trust. But he says Liontrust's willingness to market the fund augurs well it has launched a dedicated website at edinburghinvestmenttrust.com. One big positive is that come the end of September, it will be able to cut the cost of 100million of borrowings as a result of a refinancing deal. The interest charges will fall from 7.75 per cent to 2.4 per cent. Over the past five years, Edinburgh has delivered an overall investor return of 11 per cent, compared to 26 per cent from the FTSE All-Share Index. Its annual charges are a reasonable 0.5 per cent and its annual income is around 3.8 per cent. Its stock market identification code is 0305233 and its market ticker is EDIN. In 1991, fewer than a million people were over the age of 85 in this country. Now, that figure is approaching two million and by 2030, a good three million UK citizens will be in their late 80s and above. Many of them will be able to live happily and healthily at home. Some 15 per cent, however, will need to be looked after, ideally in residential or nursing homes. More than 400,000 older people already live in care homes but that number will almost certainly increase over the next eight years and beyond. This creates a host of challenges. Growing demand: Impact Healthcare owns 129 care homes and is expanding as Britain's population ages. There are the financial ones, which the Government is trying to address, not least with the hugely unpopular hike in National Insurance rates. But there are logistical and operational hurdles as well. The number of homes has declined over 20 years, good staff can be really hard to find and quality of care requires constant oversight. Impact Healthcare was set up to try to resolve some of these problems, while also delivering substantial returns to shareholders. The shares are 1.24 and should rise steadily as the company expands and develops. The group also offers an attractive income through quarterly dividends. Last year, the payout totalled 6.41p and a 6.54p payout is expected this year, putting Impact on a yield of more than 5 per cent. Impact owns 129 homes which cater for more than 5,000 residents. These homes are let out to specialist care companies which pay Impact rent on a monthly or quarterly basis. However, Impact does not just sign leases with the first tenants who come along. Instead, companies are closely vetted, over months or even years, to ensure they have a genuine record of delivering high quality care to residents. Impact also pays close attention to potential partners' accounts, only working with firms in strong financial health which can afford to pay the rent. Intense due diligence is a critical part of Impact's strategy. The group is run by Andrew Cowley and Mahesh Patel, who have decades of industry experience between them. When they look for homes to acquire, they analyse not just the local demand for care but also the availability of nearby staff and the quality of managers on site. Once leases are signed, tenants deliver monthly reports so that any issues can be spotted early and dealt with promptly. So far, Impact has amassed a group of 13 tenants, each of which owns between three and 80 homes. Cowley and Patel prefer to work with small and medium-sized operators, who, they believe, are better able to keep a close eye on their businesses. The duo add two or three new partners to their roster each year, thereby steadily increasing the size of their estate. Most of Impact's homes are in the Midlands, North of England and Scotland and two-thirds of residents are funded by the NHS or local authorities, which means that the majority of Impact's rents are Government-backed. When leases are signed, Patel and Cowley also ensure that rents are affordable. As a result, Impact has consistently collected 100 per cent of rent due, even through the Covid-19 pandemic. This resilience has allowed Patel and Cowley to pay out attractive and rising dividends since their business floated in 2017. Looking ahead, further strong growth is expected. Impact actively strives to make homes better, ensuring sites are well maintained, adding new facilities, such as wet rooms and improving environmental credentials too. The group recently moved in to development as well, funding homes which are already pre-let to tenants, including a new spot in Norwich, combining full-time care and assisted living. Midas verdict: Few people want to put their loved ones in a care home or end up in one themselves. Cowley and Patel are acutely aware of this and strive to make Impact's homes as warm and welcoming as possible. The duo also recognise that the UK needs more good quality homes. Today, they have just 1.5 per cent of the market but would like at least to double that share, while still ensuring that Impact only works with operators whose businesses are sustainable and well regarded. The approach has worked well so far and should continue to do so. At 1.24, the stock is a long-term buy and the income is an extra attraction. Traded on: Main market Ticker: IHR Contact: impactreit.uk or 020 3146 7100 Asheville made Motel 6s list of the most pet-friendly spots in the nation due to its access to pet-friendly restaurants, veterinarians, dog parks, greenspaces and hiking trails. Its unlikely the USS The Sullivans will sink from the breach in her hull, but it will take at least a week to make preliminary fixes. And crews have shifted focus from pumping water out of the vessel to removing contaminants from it to protect the environment and Lake Erie. Progress is being made, said Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown. I want to make it clear that this is an intensive process. Its going to take some time. It will not be done by the end of this weekend, probably will not be done by next week. Officials who provided an update Saturday on the World War II-era destroyer said the ship is stable but not completely out of danger from sinking. Is it possible? Yes. Not if we can help it, said Paul Marzello, president and CEO of the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park. The Sullivans is a floating tribute to a working-class family that lost all five of its sons aboard the USS Juneau during World War II when it was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of 687 men. Marzello discovered around 9 or 10 p.m. Wednesday that the ship was taking in water in the shallow waters of Buffalo's Inner Harbor. Industrial-sized pumps worked throughout Thursday night and reached a point of "equilibrium," in that they were pumping out as much water as was leaking into the vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard estimated Thursday afternoon there were more than 3 million gallons of water inside the ship. On Friday, crews from an industrial diving company were attempting to get to areas of the ship that remain full of water and then seal them once the water is removed, Marzello said. The breach is aft of midship, on the starboard side of the vessel, which is listing to one side. Officials still did not know the cause of the problem. We dont know that there is a hole yet. We dont know the cause, and we wont know the cause until we get divers in the water. The idea that there is water is coming in obviously means that the hull has been penetrated in some form. How? Whether its a small hole, a large hole, a seam rip, we just dont know. And I think were not going to find out until things clear up a little bit and we get some divers in the water, Marzello said Saturday. Efforts to pump water out of the ship were temporarily halted Friday because diesel oil was leaking from The Sullivans into the harbor. Saturday officials said the focus had shifted to removing contaminants from the ship. Divers had started skimming inside the vessel, pulling out thousands of gallons of contaminants diesel, hydraulic and lube oils that would have been present during the operation of the ship and may still be in the ship. The goal is to try and prevent the contaminants from damaging the ecology or Lake Erie. Basically (theyre) pulling the product out of the vessel and bringing it onto the shore into a tank to be disposed of. At this point there have been 2,520 gallons of product that have been pulled off of the vessel, and it continues. That process is still continuing, said Bill McKinstry, commander of the Coast Guard Buffalo sector. Were putting up all the equipment needed to ensure that we collect whatever does get into the water and doing the best we can with that. But right now, were trying to get it from the ship before it ever hits the environment, ... and then we can start to address the water (pumping) side of it, McKinstry said. Representatives from the Coast Guard, the park, BIDCO, City of Buffalo, Erie County and New York State have been assembled as a unified command staff for operations to save the ship, Marzello said. Monday an international commercial marine salvage company and a Navy architect will be offering support. The salvage company will be in a consulting role initially. If necessary, it will follow up with equipment and/or manpower. The Navy architect will advise on the characteristics of the vessel. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RENSSELAER Mayor Michael Stammel has for years retained control of a building that formerly housed the now-inactive Rensselaer Volunteer Ambulance Service but is frequently rented for private events, with little apparent accountability of its business dealings or finances. Stammel said he is a member of the organization's apparently inactive board, but refused to name any others. He also confirmed that the nonprofit forfeited its certification last year, but continues renting out the building at 901 Third St. to community members for parties and gatherings. The building's use has raised questions about the nonprofit's finances and the lack of publicly available business records. In addition to refusing to identify the other individuals that he claims are members of the board information that is normally public he would not provide any records detailing rental agreements or payments. Interviews with the building's neighbors as well as others formerly associated with the organization reveal that many individuals have been unable to learn any details of the volunteer ambulance squad's operations. One of the residents interviewed for this story dubbed the Third Street building's status as an ambulance-company-turned-party-venue an "open secret." Stammel is the only contact listed on the ambulance squad's website, which includes a page touting its use as rental space: "If you're looking for a place to hold your next gathering, birthday party, celebration or event, we're here to help. "Our banquet hall is suitable for up to 100 people and features a professional kitchen with a restaurant-grade stove and oven. Our facility includes private parking and restrooms and is handicap accessible," the website states. A second phone number listed at the top of the website has been deactivated. Records on file with the state attorney general's Charities Bureau where nonprofits are required to register and disclose their financial assets also offer few details on the ambulance squad's business dealings. The Times Union requested all filings the volunteer organization made with the bureau from 1990 until late 2021. The results reveal a 15-year gap in its record-keeping: From after 2006 through 2021, there wasnt a single filing to account for its operations, finances, hall rentals or board members. The last record filed was a 2006 disclosure form that two previous members signed with a 2007 date. Indeed, the only document filed with the attorney general's office in that span referring to the ambulance squad was a complaint leveled against the nonprofit in 2019. It was filed with the attorney general's office and state Board of Elections by an unidentified person. The complaint alleged the nonprofit had failed to file its taxes or other required submissions since 2006 and had no accounting of any insurance money paid under a policy after a fire damaged the building in 2012. The complaint also noted the building was being used to host political events and was being rented out with little public accountability. The attorney general's office did not provide any documents indicating whether the complaint was investigated. Typically, nonprofit organizations have to register with the charities bureau annually and disclose their board members and details of their financial assets and operations. Morgan Rubin, a spokeswoman for the state attorney generals office, said operating charities in the state must register under one of two statutes unless they are eligible for an exemption. Both statutes, however, carve out exemptions for volunteer ambulance companies. The exemption doesnt apply to organizations that have paid staff members, which "rarely" happens, Morgan said. "What likely happened here is the Rensselaer Volunteer Ambulance Service was exempt from registration and annual filing with the charities bureau," Morgan said. "That is why there are no filings for the organization and it does not appear in our registry." Stammel said he has been on the board for 15 years and that the building remains in possession of the ambulance squad board. When asked for the identity of his fellow board members and their contact information, he declined to share that information. Instead, he said the board is "reorganizing" and "fluid." Stammel said he is the buildings caretaker. "Anybody who wants information out in the neighborhood, they know how to talk to me," he said. When asked about the hall rentals under the volunteer ambulance squad's name despite its inactive status and the forfeiture of its nonprofit certificate Stammel said only that the nonprofit organization files its tax documents like everyone else. The Rensselaer City School District said taxes for the volunteer ambulance building were paid in the full amount $1,581.99 for 2021. Sharon Martin, Rensselaer's assessor, also confirmed the city taxes were paid in 2021. Prior to 2021, the Third Street building was listed on city tax rolls as a "special district," which made it exempt from tax levies. Martin said the exemption was removed last year. Still, that filing happened only recently and doesnt explain the steady stream of revenue from rentals or the apparent lack of reporting for more than a decade. When asked about the groups lack of disclosure to the attorney general's office, Stammel declined to explain it. "We're trying to decide what we want to do with that building in the near future, just like every other ambulance service in the county or the Capital District is," Stammel said. He added they hope to get a resolution for a request for proposals with the City Council so an ambulance service can rent out the Third Street building and provide aid to the city. The volunteer ambulance company stopped providing service in the city in 2013 after a fire at its headquarters badly damaged its equipment and garage. But about three months before the fire, in October 2012, the city contracted with Mohawk Ambulance a third-party company for Rensselaer's first responder service for the next year. According to interviews with people familiar with the building, it is rented out often, usually on the weekends. Stammel said he charges fees ranging from $150 to $200 a day to use the space, revenues that he said are used to pay taxes, maintenance bills and utilities. He said the mortgage was paid off years ago. Chris Kilhullen, who lives nearby, said the rentals are "consistent" and that the building was "dead" before Stammel took office as mayor at the beginning of 2020. Kilhullen said in his opinion the property gets too crowded on some weekends, to the point where the parking lot is full and visitors park on the street. During weekdays, the only person he regularly sees there is Stammel almost every day. It has left him with questions. "He rents that place out," Kilhullen said, questioning where the funds go. "Maybe he's got a big stash of money there, who knows." Michael Moore, a lead pastor of City Church, which rented the hall for events in 2016 and 2017, said each time he made out checks to the volunteer ambulance squad, which were accepted by Stammel but mailed to a residential address instead of the Third Street building. Moore wasnt sure why, but said, "nothing really felt off or anything." In an unrelated matter, Stammel was questioned by a State Police investigator at City Hall in December in connection with an ongoing investigation of ballot fraud allegations in Novembers election, when Stammel, a Republican, defeated Democratic challenger Richard J. Mooney. The mayor said the investigator, who had a search warrant, seized his mobile phone during the interview. A State Police investigation is ongoing, although Stammel contends he and those affiliated with him haven't "had anything to do with any wrongdoing with any absentee ballots or any voting intimidation." A former ambulance squad volunteer who asked not to be identified said that in 2014, a couple of years after the fire, Stammel and the organization's treasurer, who he identified as Bonnie Lee Hahn, locked everyone out of the building. The former volunteer said members were told they could no longer participate in the organization. They questioned how much insurance money was paid to the ambulance squad as a result of the fire and requested an audit, but the treasurer refused both requests. The Times Union was unable to reach Hahn or previous board members for comment. City Council President John DeFrancesco said Stammel lives with Hahn. "Everybody knows where the money went way after the fire to rebuild the building, they know what that cost was," Stammel said, noting that of the $200,000 paid out from the policy, approximately $60,000 was used for repairs and the rest to buy furniture and pay off the mortgage. Stammel acknowledged that over the years there were "some financial problems" with the organization. He said there were a couple of takeover attempts involving different treasurers he did not name them and that there was a group that wanted to sell the building and divide the profits, although the organization "really never had a lot of money." According to the mayor, there is no active treasurer on the board. DeFrancesco contends Stammel treats the building like his "clubhouse." "Somehow (it) ends up being he's one of the last survivors and it (the building) really should be sold and any money split amongst everyone, but he keeps it under his wing and uses it to his advantage," he said. DeFrancesco further noted that when put it was back on the tax rolls, the building's value substantially decreased, lessening the property taxes. The buildings full market value was lowered from $608,796 to $110,000 between 2020 and 2021. "And it don't make sense. It's one of the larger properties in the city," the council president said. Martin said when an exempt property reverts back to the taxable roll, the assessor must review the value. "If you have visited the property, then you have noticed that it is not a $600,000 property. The property was revalued using comparable property sales of like buildings within the county," she wrote in an email. In 2020, DeFrancesco and Stammel battled in a case filed in state Supreme Court over the mayor's attempt to unilaterally contract with a new ambulance company for Rensselaer without issuing request for proposals; the move came after he vetoed the City Council's decision to extend its contract with Mohawk Ambulance. A judge ruled that Stammel violated city policy, voiding his agreement with the outside ambulance provider. Stammel couldnt explain the lapse in documentation but insists there have been no improprieties involving its business operations. "There's never been anything nefarious done or anybody stealing anything or nothing of that nature," he said. This story was updated to reflect the spokesperson from the attorney general's office is named Morgan Rubin, not Rubin Morgan as previously stated. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Everyone knows what natural gas is. Its the stuff we use to heat our homes and fuel power plants across the state. But now, with the stroke of a pen and a vote, the 22-member group charged with designing New Yorks road map to a carbon-free economy has changed the name of natural gas to fossil gas. The new name emerged back in December when members of the states appointed Climate Action Council agreed to use the term in their draft scoping plan which is a road map to clean energy in the coming years. The plan lays out preliminary strategies and policies for making large-scale reductions in CO2 emissions by 2050, as outlined in a 2019 law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The draft plan refers to fossil gas in a number of contexts. The vast majority of current fossil gas customers (residential, commercial, and industrial) will transition to electricity by 2050, reads part of the plan that calls for electrification of buildings that is using electricity rather than gas to heat homes, offices, schools and industrial spaces. The move hasnt come without some controversy. And its an example of how language and semantics play a role in discussions about climate change and how to combat it. There are some technical reasons for changing the terminology. Natural gas, for instance, is in fact a fossil fuel. But using the term fossil gas rather than natural gas could also be seen as part of a larger effort to sell the states clean energy plans to the public. As policymakers enact an ambitious shift toward renewable power such as solar and wind, New Yorkers will see changes in the kinds of cars they drive, the way they power their homes and probably in their energy bills, which will likely rise, at least in the short term, due to the changes. With that in mind, the language used to describe these changes is important in convincing the broader public that the cost is worthwhile in order to fight global warming. Council members reaffirmed that idea during a meeting last month when they voted to swap the term fossil gas for natural gas in a chapter about infrastructure such as pipelines in the draft scoping plan. They said, and I agree, that calling gas clean or zero emissions or natural is misleading. They further suggested calling gas fossil gas rather than natural gas, explained Robert Howarth, a Cornell University ecology and biology professor who serves on the Climate Action Council. The initial suggestion, he explained, came from a subcommittee of the CAC. We have agreed that fossil gas is less misleading than natural gas, he said in an email. Not everyone on the CAC agreed, though. The word fossil gas does not exist anywhere in any regulatory document, said Gavin Donohue, president and CEO of the Independent Power Producers of New York, which represents power plants, many of which are gas-powered. Switching terms from natural to fossil will be confusing and misleading to many members of the public, Donohue said. Thats especially important, he added, since the public hearings over the draft scoping plan have just started. My concern was that weve got to stop introducing new terminology. That was my worry, said another CAC member, Dennis Elsenbeck, president of Viridi Parente, which makes electric battery packs to power heavy equipment like front-end loaders. The natural gas system is something that everybody is familiar with. I think fossil gas sounds more alarming than natural gas, Elsenbeck added. Elsenbeck, Donohue and Donna DeCarolis, who runs the National Fuel gas distribution firm in western New York, were the only members of the CAC to vote against the name change. Public perceptions But there is research that suggests the wording used to describe a certain type of fuel impacts the public perception. The American public perceives natural gas much more favorably (76% favorable) than other fossil fuels like oil (51% ) or coal (39%), according to a 2020 survey by the Yale University program on Climate Change Communication. Overall, natural gas generated the most associations to themes like energy, clean, fuel, and cooking, surveyors found. This survey compared the term natural gas to methane gas. Methane is the key component of natural gas. Surveyors also found partisan differences when they asked about the term "fossil gas" which had a far more negative image among Democrats than Republicans. Either way, people expressed more positive feelings toward the term natural gas. I think fossil gas sounds more alarming than natural gas, said Elsenbeck. Theres a perception in the public that natural gas is more benign than, lets say, coal or oil, added Jeffrey Freedman, a research associate at the University at Albanys Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. He noted that methane, which can leak from natural gas facilities at wellheads and other spots is actually a far more potent greenhouse gas than the CO2 from oil or coal. Using the term fossil rather than natural gas reinforces the idea that this is a potentially harmful fossil fuel. Youre trying to wean the public off of something that they are used to using all of their lives, said Freedman. Definitions carry weight Definitions like this may matter quite a bit going forward, especially given the decisions that the Climate Action Council will have to make about our gas infrastructure. There have been debates about whether the states existing network of gas pipelines should be maintained or downsized in future years. In the regulatory arena, the difference between the words maintain and downsize can mean a lot. One suggests keeping the lines open and another means eventually closing them down. Theres an interplay between the language and the interests that are going on, said Jennifer Dodge, associate professor of public administration and policy at UAlbanys Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. If you can change the language in a favorable way, that helps you, she said. The language used in discussions of climate change and environmental protection has evolved over the years. An array of interest groups, including political advisers and public relations experts, have played a role in those changes. Perhaps most famously, national Republican consultant Frank Luntz in 2001 told politicians to drop the term global warming in favor of the more neutral-sounding climate change, which has since worked its way into the lexicon. Change is a lot less threatening than warming. Its a much more benign term, said Dodge. (Luntz also advised New York Senate Republicans on a variety of issues, including property tax rebates, when former Gov. George Pataki was in office.) Climate change language has also morphed to some extent. The most outspoken environmentalists, such as Swedens Greta Thunberg, now refer to a climate emergency rather than climate change. Time will tell whether New Yorkers in the future refer to fossil gas, natural gas or both. One of the first indications may be the reaction from people who attend the series of public hearings on the draft scoping plan that are now going on around the state. Either way, though, framing the issue will continue to be an important part of this debate. Sometimes semantics matter, said Freedman. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Today is a time of uncertainty about General Electric's longtime plan for Schenectady, but 130 years ago the company was being incorporated in the city that eventually earned the nickname "Electric City" because of the corporate giant's once-dominating presence. On April 15, 1892, Thomas Edison formed General Electric Co. by merging his Edison General Electric Co. in Schenectady with a competing firm. He created one of the most important and iconic manufacturing and technology firms in history. Over the next 130 years, the company would make everything from power plants and light bulbs to MRI machines and jet engines. GE CEO Larry Culp Jr. announced plans last year to break it all apart a move that will likely have serious implications for GE's Capital Region operations, including its historic Schenectady campus, which employs several thousand workers. So far, there is no clear indication of how the breakup will unfold and what the impact will be in the region, where GE also operates a sprawling research campus in neighboring Niskayuna. The Schenectady campus is home to GE Power, which, along with Paris-based GE Renewable Energy, will be merged into GE Digital into a new standalone public company in 2024 under Culp's current plan. GE would also spin off its health care division and an aviation company. In honor of the 130th anniversary, GE published a "Happy Birthday" post Friday, and questioned "What does the future look like now?" Its response to its own question read: "It could have planes powered by sustainable aviation fuel and hybrid electric engines; precision diagnosis and treatments aided by cloud-enabled software and AI-powered medical devices; and floating wind turbines, power plants using hydrogen that emits no carbon, and a digital grid that will seamlessly integrate electricity from many sources while protecting itself and healing quickly after a storm." The company said splitting into three sections will drive long-term growth and value for stakeholders. As strong, customer-centric businesses, each will benefit from greater accountability, team alignment and capital allocation flexibility to enable a more sustainable, healthier and connected future, Culp said in the company release. It's not guaranteed that GE Power will become an independent entity. Culp's plan could dramatically change due to global economic and political events such as war in Ukraine, political tensions with China and a potential recession. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Former GE CEO John Flannery had also wanted to break up GE - believing like Culp that the company's various industrial units would be more valuable as independent companies than aggregated together. But Flannery's plans fell apart, and he was let go by GE in 2018 after just 14 months on the job. Culp, who is known as a skillful turnaround executive, was his replacement. GE Power has been headquartered in Schenectady for a decade now, but back when it was known as GE Energy, GE moved it to Atlanta, a major blow to Schenectady, which had at one time been home to tens of thousands of blue-collar employees. Today less than 800 union workers make steam turbines at the GE plant. There are more white-collar employees now it is believed, although GE will never reveal exact employment figures. Total GE employment in Schenectady County is estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 people, although GE no longer provides site-specific employment numbers. GE Healthcare has a digital X-ray machine assembly plant in North Greenbush where it has as many as 125 workers that will eventually become part of the health care spinoff, planned for 2023. Schenectady has always been the historical home of GE, with the iconic GE logo sign lighting up the night sky atop the roof of Building 37 since the 1920s. And even though GE moved its headquarters to New York City in the 1930s, the Schenectady Works, as it was known, has always remained one of the company's most important manufacturing sites, even though employment today is nowhere near World War II levels when 40,000 worked there. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future. Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol Mother, grandmother weep over a 15-year-old killed in shelling of Kharkiv Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children. Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling. The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote. Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive. ___ WASHINGTON Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city. Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city. Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames. At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified. ___ VATICAN CITY In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. ___ MILAN Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. ___ LONDON In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine. 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 leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week the week leading to Easter he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives. The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender. It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. ___ SOFIA, Bulgaria Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. ___ KHARKIV, Ukraine Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen. Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone. The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe. The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. ___ NEW YORK A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. ___ WASHINGTON Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation. He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future. New York is the sole state in the U.S. with multiple counties at high risk of COVID-19 impacts, according to the most recent data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are now 10 counties in the state at high risk of coronavirus illness, all in the Finger Lakes, Central New York, North Country and Southern Tier regions. This comes as the state has identified two highly contagious omicron sub-lineages that are making their way through Central New York and surrounding regions where coronavirus spread is most prevelant. The CDC computes "high" risk based on confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, as well as new hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients, and percent of staffed hospital beds that are occupied with those confirmed to have the illness. As a comparison, there is only one other county in the continental U.S. at high risk of COVID-19 and it is in Kansas. Almost all of the country is at "low" risk for COVID-19. But there is evidence of increasing risk throughout New England, with much of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont also now in the "medium" risk category for coronavirus. Albany and Rensselaer counties, in addition to Rensselaer neighbors Berkshire County, Massachusetts and Bennington County, Vermont, were also in "medium" risk as of Sunday. While New York is facing the most high risk of coronavirus spread in the U.S. right now, there has been no indication there will be a return to certain government pandemic mandates, like mask wearing. New York ended its indoor mask mandate in February; schools outside of New York City followed March 2. On Friday, ahead of the Passover and Easter holidays, State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett "advised" people "gathering in indoor public spaces to consider wearing masks." The CDC's designation recommends those in "high" risk areas should wear a mask indoors, get tested if symptoms arise and that those who are medically vulnerable should take additional precautions to avoid infection. But even though New York leads the nation in counties at "high" risk of COVID-19, will that translate to more people getting seriously ill from these new subvariants? The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Hospitalizations statewide, while slightly inching up, are still very low compared to the omicron surge in January. For example, COVID-19 hospitalizations Thursday were at more than five people per 100,000. While that is going back to March levels, at the height of the winter surge COVID-19 hospitalizations were at more than 62 people per 100,000 Jan. 15. Also, in perhaps an indication that focus should also be on disease treatment, the state noted Friday that in Central New York, where coronavirus spread is greatest, "use of therapeutics is up considerably." The state noted the increased use of a drug called Paxlovid and the doubling of the use of Molnupiravir. The state no longer wants people to look at the percent of tests coming back positive as a measure for COVID-19 spread because it said it no longer requires testing centers to submit all their data. However, judging by number of new cases per 100,000, case rates have more than doubled in the last two weeks in the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Western New York, and have nearly doubled in the Capital Region. The New York counties at highest risk for COVID-19 as of the CDC's Thursday data are: Broome, Cayuga, Jefferson, Lewis, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Tioga and Wayne. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Provided by U.S. Army Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Skip Dickstein/Times Union Historic Images Show More Show Less 3 of 3 ALBANY A Korean War solider from Warren County whose remains were identified only last year will be honored at a tribute in Tuesday in Albany. Sgt. Howard R. Belden of Hague was classified as missing in action during the brutal Battle of Chosin Reservoir on Dec. 1, 1950, according to the U.S. military. His remains were recovered in July 2018 and identified on Oct. 14, 2021. Manchester United cast their eyes on Branthwaite | Sunday, 17 April 2022 Manchester United are keen on signing Everton's young defender, Jarrad Branthwaite, according to the Daily Mail. The 19-year-old agreed a new contract with the Blues last December that tied him to the club until 2025 and with injuries and suspensions causing intermittent selection crises in defence this season under Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard, he has had opportunities to display his talents at first-team level. Branthwaite's promise, technical and physical prowess and composure despite his tender years has drawn covetous attention from other clubs and Everton's well-publicised financial losses mean that transfer speculation around their biggest stars or most promising young talent is only likely to increase in the coming weeks. Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer About these ads ToffeeWeb A hot mess at a strip club cost a senior citizen lady her life not so long ago in a tragic case of mistaken identity. This week a jury convicted the defendant of Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and two counts of Armed Criminal Action. Here's part of the story . . . According to court records, Kansas City police responded to Interstate 70 West near the Interstate 35 entrance ramp on a reported injury accident about 3 a.m. Jan. 16, 2019. Police found the victim, Barbra J. Harper, 71, deceased. She had suffered a gunshot wound. Holes in the headrest of the passenger's seat appeared to be from gunfire. The driver's side window was broken, as well as a passenger side window. Spent shell casings were found in the roadway nearby. Police detectives obtained surveillance video from city cameras and showed another vehicle speeding behind the victim's vehicle before the victim's vehicle swerves and strikes the guard rail. The vehicle speeding behind her vehicle exited onto Harrison Street from Interstate 70. Other video detected the sounds of two gunshots and showed the subject vehicle. Police determined the license plate number on the suspect vehicle and conducted surveillance on the residence associated with the plate. The defendant pulled into the driveway of that residence in what appeared to be the same vehicle. While he was arrested, police found a 9 mm handgun in his waistband, another 9 mm under his armpit, a large amount of cash and an I-phone. Another handgun was found inside as well as three pounds of marijuana with scales and sandwich baggies. During the investigation, detectives also learned of a disturbance and shots being fired near the Shady Lady on East 12th Street shortly before the homicide. Analysis of spent shell casing revealed they and those found near the homicide scene were fired from the same gun. Detectives believe the victim's vehicle may have been mistakenly targeted by the defendant after the Shady Lady incident. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Independence man convicted in death of 71-year-old woman in Kansas City An Independence man has been convicted of second-degree murder and other charges in the death of 71-year-old Barbra J. Harper in 2019. Prosecutors say a jury found Dakkota Siders, 28, guilty of murder second degree, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of armed criminal action. Independence man convicted in 2019 shooting near Downtown KC KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jackson County jury finds a 28-year-old Independence man guilty in the fatal shooting of a woman in her vehicle in Downtown Kansas City in 2019. The jury convicted Dakkota Siders of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, and two counts of armed criminal action. Developing . . . The impact of trending Kansas City deadly gunfire doesn't stop for Easter Sunday. Accordingly . . . TWO MORE SHOOTING DEATHS PUSH KANSAS CITY'S HOMICIDE COUNT EVEN HIGHER ON EASTER SUNDAY!!! As we noted yesterday . . . We're now quickly moving past a tragic and historic pace for Kansas City killings over the past two years. This week KCMO recorded 9 homicides and two days wherein police investigated multiple murders in less than a 24 hour period. Right now we focus on reports of the recent violence over the past 24 hours . . . Here are the reports: LATE DEATH - Homicide 4300 block of Hardesty Ave Just after 10:15pm last night, officers were called to the 4300 block of Hardesty Ave in regard to a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located the victim, an adult male, inside a residence suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to the hospital by EMS and was listed in critical condition. Detectives and Crime Scene Personnel responded to the scene last night. They processed the scene for evidence and spoke to witnesses. Unfortunately this morning the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Detectives continue their investigation this morning and are asking for anyone with information to call them at 816-234-5043. Or you can remain anonymous by calling the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 cash for information leading to an arrest in this case. ################## From early this morning . . . Homicide 7900 block of Longview Rd Just after 10:30pm officers were called to the 7900 block of Longview Road on a reported shooting. Upon arrival, officers located a victim, an adult male, suffering from apparent wounds inside a residence. The victim was transported to the hospital with life threatening injuries and was unfortunately pronounced deceased. Detectives have responded to the scene as well as Crime Scene Personnel. They will be processing the scene for evidence and canvassing for any potential witnesses. There is no suspect information at this time. Detectives are asking if you have any information in regard, please call them at 816-234-5043. Or if you would like to remain anonymous you can do so by calling the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. ############## Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . KCPD investigating fatal shooting Saturday near Hardesty Ave KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Police Department says one person died Sunday morning from their injuries after a fatal shooting Saturday night. The incident occurred in the 4300 block of Hardesty Avenue when police responded to a shooting call. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male inside a residence suffering from gunshot wounds. Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department investigates fatal shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An adult male passed away Sunday morning after a fatal shooting Saturday night in the 4300 block of Hardesty Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to reports of a shooting around 10:15 p.m. Saturday. Shooting near Longview Road leaves one person dead KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting that leaves one person dead Saturday night. Around 10:30 p.m., officers were called to the 7900 block of Longview Road on a shooting call. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male suffering from wounds inside a residence. 1 dead in Saturday night fatal shooting in Kansas City, Missouri KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An adult male has died in a fatal shooting which took place Saturday evening in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to a reported shooting shortly after 10:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of Longview Road in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City police investigate two homicides within minutes of each other Saturday night Kansas City, Missouri, police are looking for suspects in two homicides that happened within 15 minutes of each other Saturday night.Officers say a man died Sunday morning at the hospital after he was shot around 10:15 Saturday night. Officers found the victim inside a home near Hardesty Avenue and E. A Violent Crisis A gunman opened fired in a Brooklyn subway, wounding 10 people on Tuesday and injuring others. A mall shooting in South Carolina yesterday wounded 10. A gang shootout this month in Sacramento killed six and wounded 12 more. New Orleans reported its bloodiest weekend in 10 years. Developing . . . UPDATED with late death report . . . The latest local killing puts this cowtown on track to repeat a historic cycle of violence. Unofficially, the Kansas City homicide count now stands at 44. The raw data deserves a first look . . . Here are the numbers from the latest KCPD blue sheet that was published yesterday . . . UPDATED . . . Another THREE murders in less than 24 hours have put Kansas City back on track for another tragic & deadly year. Remember . . . 2020 set the all-time record for KCMO homicides And 2021 was the 2nd deadliest year in local history. Accordingly . . . REPORTS OF RECENT MURDERS PUSH THIS COWTOWN PAST THE RECORD SETTING PACE FOR HOMICIDES OF OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS!!! The latest . . . Homicide 1500 block of Campbell Just after 7pm last night, officers were called to a residential facility in the 1500 block of Campbell in regard to an EMS call for service. Upon arrival, officers located the victim, an adult male, suffering from unknown injuries. The victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Detectives and Crime Scene Personnel responded to the scene last night. They processed the scene for evidence and spoke to witnesses. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The Medical Examiners Office determined the victim died of internal injuries and has ruled this death a homicide. A subject of interest has been identified and detectives will present this case to the prosecutors office to determine any applicable charges. Detectives ask if you have any information in regard you would give them a call at 816-234-5043. Or you can remain anonymous by calling the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. ################### Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KCPD investigating death ruled homicide in 1500 block of Campbell KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is investigating an incident in the 1500 block of Campbell. Friday night officers arrived at a residential facility around 7 p.m. and located an adult male suffering from unknown injuries. The victim was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. Death of man injured at Kansas City residential facility ruled homicide Kansas City, Missouri police say a man who was injured last night at a residential facility has died. Police say just after 7 p.m. Friday officers were called to the facility in the 1500 block of Campbell St. They found a man with unknown injuries who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Here's the report from this morning's murder . . . Homicide 8600 Block of Newton Just after 3:15am, officers were called to the 8600 block of Newton in regard to sounds of shots. While officers were en route, the call was updated to a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located the victim, an adult male, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. EMS responded to the scene and declared the victim deceased. Officers detained a subject of interest at the scene. Detectives and Crime Scene Personnel have responded to the scene. They will be processing the scene for evidence and speaking to witnesses. If you have any information, you are asked to call detectives in the Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043. Or you can remain anonymous by calling the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. ################ Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Man killed in early morning shooting in southern Kansas City A shooting in southern Kansas City, Missouri, has left one man dead.Police say they got a call about the sound of gunfire in the area of 86th Street and Newton Avenue at around 3:15 a.m. Saturday morning. Officers arrived on scene and found the victim with bullet wounds. Man dies in Kansas City, Missouri, fatal shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One man has died in an overnight fatal shooting in Kansas City, Missouri. The homicide took place shortly after 3:15 a.m. Saturday in the 8600 block of Newton Avenue. Developing . . . Your browser does not support the video tag. It started out as a tale bound not to Easter but to a famous Frank Capra movie about Christmas. Four months ago, Elizabeth "Lill" Kress of West Falls took a call that reminded her both of how she came to be and of how an act of sacrifice remains a living force for generations. Her maternal grandmother, Elisabetta Varacalli, was from Seneca Falls, arriving there a century ago for one main reason: On April 12, 1917, Elisabetta's brother a 20-year-old Italian immigrant named Antonio Varacalli was working near a bridge over the Cayuga-Seneca Canal when a despondent teenager plunged into the frigid water below. The bridge, built in 1915, is in the heart of the village. At the time, said Seneca County historian Walter Gable, it was surrounded by industrial bustle. Varacalli jumped in to try and save Ruth Dunham, 17. He managed to push her to safety on the bank before he was overcome by the sheer temperature of the canal, and drowned. According to accounts of the time, Dunham barely survived. As World War I raged in Europe and a flu pandemic soon cast a lethal shadow, a community grateful for a reminder of pure humanity erected a plaque on the bridge to honor Varacalli, then raised enough money to grant a family wish: A fundraising drive helped his mother, sisters and a nephew leave Italy 100 years ago this summer to join his grieving father in Seneca Falls. That is how Elisabetta, grandmother and namesake of Lill Kress, arrived in this nation. Two generations later, Kress who was a child when her mother died would spend summers in Seneca Falls with her aunt, Asunta Palandro. They often walked together to the plaque on the bridge, where Asunta would explain: Every minute of Lills journey could be linked to a great-uncle who was not around long enough to leave behind a family photograph, and gave his life for a teenager he had never met. In Seneca Falls, which holds an annual festival to celebrate its similarities to the Yuletide film Its a Wonderful Life, the Varacalli rescue is held up as a real-life example of the cinematic scene in which George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, leaps from a strikingly similar bridge to save a stranger. While that movie invokes a Christmas theme, the events that caused Kress and her husband Don to travel from Erie County last week, exactly 105 years to the day since the rescue, had far more to do with the philosophy surrounding this weekend's holiday. From death comes life, and thats Easter, said Rev. James Fennessy, a Catholic priest who attended a small and emotional ceremony on the bridge. The goal was bringing together the 62-year-old Kress with Kathy Williamson, 71, a retired special education teacher from St. Louis. Williamson brought a gift for Seneca Falls: A framed family image of her own grandmother, a woman named Ruth Winslow, who settled in Washington, D.C. To the best of Williamson's knowledge, her grandmother never spoke of how her own life began as Ruth Dunham in Seneca Falls, a Seneca County community about 115 miles from Buffalo that is best known as the cradle of women's rights. She displayed inspiring courage of her own, leaving behind the terror at the bridge to lead a long life of warmth and grace. Yet Williamson believes the trauma of that moment led to this result: Dunham's grandchildren never knew the only reason they were born was because Varacalli risked everything to save their grandmother an act that led to a posthumous Carnegie Medal from a Pittsburgh commission that honors extraordinary bravery. Last Tuesday, on the bridge, Williamson and Kress studied the plaque that describes how Varacalli gave his life to save another. The event was organized by Anwei Skinsnes Law, Henry Law, Fran Caraccilo and other coordinators of an "It's a Wonderful Life" museum, which is closely tied to a Seneca Falls December festival that celebrates the film, set in the fictional upstate community of Bedford Falls. For years, organizers have been passionate about similarities between the movie and their small town. "It just seemed so important for Seneca Falls to bring together people whose lives intersected in such a way," said Skinsnes Law, explaining last week's gathering on the bridge. Williamson and Kress met for the first time Monday night, at the nearby Gould Hotel. That connection occurred only because of Megan Smolenyak, a Florida researcher and genealogist. She is an old friend, and when she learned last year I was writing of the rescue and its legacy, she took a shot at helping me to find descendants on both sides a task that always led me to frustrating dead ends. As usual, Smolenyak discovered answers. My biggest challenge, after she came up with contacts for Williamson and Kress, was keeping them on the phone long enough once I called to convince them my interest in their long-ago family stories was for real, and not some elaborate scam. Thankfully, though leery at first, they did not hang up. The initial column ran last December, explaining the ongoing impact of a story of faith and sacrifice that transcends even the movie, because this narrative is true. In Seneca Falls, which holds a separate "Antonio Varacalli Day" later in April to celebrate acts of civic selflessness, the next step seemed obvious: Sean Kirst: In Seneca Falls, a desperate leap and real-life angel tie in to 'It's a Wonderful Life' The grandmother of Elizabeth "Lill" Kress of West Falls arrived in the United States because of a community reaction to the sacrifice of a great-uncle, Antonio Varacalli, who died saving a young woman from drowning near a famous bridge in Seneca Falls. They needed to close the circle with a meeting on the bridge. Throughout the year, volunteers already encourage visitors to hang small memorial bells near Varacalli's plaque, bells inscribed with the names or memories of someone you love. Each one is a reminder of the moment in the film when a child called Zuzu says that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. For the anniversary of the rescue, not far from the spot where Varacalli saved a young woman's life, his great-niece joined the granddaughter of Ruth Dunham in ringing a bell for the teenager who survived and for the young man who gave his life for her. It led Williamson to say of Varacalli what she expressed repeatedly during her visit: "Without him, I would not even exist." She made the 750-mile drive from St. Louis with a friend, Terri Stendeback. During that ride, Williamson worried the meeting with Kress might be "awkward" she was thinking of how one family's blessing came from another's sacrifice but their bond was quickly cemented by all they shared in their careers. Kress is a retired nurse practitioner, and the two women marveled at how they each spent decades dedicated to the well-being and success of people born with developmental disabilities. That blew my mind, Williamson said. On the bridge, they rang a bell set on a simple table, before hanging their own small memorial bells near the plaque recalling Varacalli. Kress dedicated hers to her Aunt Asunta, from whom she learned the story as a child, while Williamson wrote down the names of her grandmother, her siblings and her mother, Rose Marie all these lives that only happened because of the rescue at the bridge. Afterward, during a reception at the nearby National Womens Hall of Fame a beautiful space carved from a 19th century stone knitting mill Kress met Tony Dellefave, Debra Swenson and Lena Marr. They are cousins whose grandfather, Dominic Romeo, stepped in to cover the balance when an Elks Club fundraising drive came up a little short in the effort to bring Antonio Varacallis family to this country. Once again, Kress saw every second of her own life cascading from a stranger's generosity, long ago. "If Antonio hadn't saved Ruth, I wouldn't be here and Kathy wouldn't be here," she said. Like Williamson, she spoke of the gratitude that accompanies such a realization: Without an act of utter sacrifice by a guy without even a photo, nothing of who and what they are would be the same. It was a thought they carried with them, as they drove home toward Easter. Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Buffalo News. Email him at skirst@buffnews.com. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A debate over leadership sparks allegations of racism from local activists and this cowtown's so-called "paper-of-record" that doesn't produce a print edition on Saturday. Here's a peek at the newspaper's position regarding the ruckus . . . "The two Black members on the seven-member board could end up getting shut down on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion that the district has been wrestling with for three years. Here and across the country, school boards have become polarized over these issues, fighting over how to address race in the classroom and over false charges that schools are trying to indoctrinate students with divisive racial ideology. "Equity efforts began in Lees Summit under former Superintendent Dennis Carpenter, the schools first and only Black superintendent. Carpenter won a fight to get equity work started in the predominantly white suburban district." Something also worth consideration . . . The push for "equity" and been financial devastating and increasingly divisive for the district. One example out of many . . . Amid Racial Tension, Lee's Summit Will Pay Its First Black Superintendent $750,000 To Resign Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Nationwide media continues to report outrage against LGBT crackdown efforts in Missouri . . . One of this town's rising stars in the world of politics is at the forefront of this plight . . . Here's a recent social media update on his efforts . . . Thank you @Newsy for having me on to talk about the record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills threatening our community here in Missouri and nationally. We wont be erased. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . From the candidate's social media feed . . . A social media note sparks Saturday afternoon concern amongst denizens of the city college. To wit . . . DIFFERENT COPIES OF THIS ALERT CLAIM FEAR OF TEEN SCOOTER GANG NEAR UMKC STREETS!!! We advise readers to be skeptical but still alert. Take a peek . . . For what it's worth . . . Crime on the UMKC campus has been a problem since the 1970s. However . . . I'm not sure anybody should be too afraid of youngsters on e-scooters . . . They're easily traceable, most of them are broken and the fad seems to be fading out locally. More to the point . . . Whilst this note has hit Twitter, Facebook and a few lesser places . . . There's not a lot of corroboration because UMKC students are typically jaded and don't care about anything happening on campus. Yes, UMKC students are often easy targets and that's why the current streetcar scheme doesn't seem very thoughtful given that most "scholars" attending this institution take off in their car within 3 minutes of finishing class . . . The student life is mostly sad and/or for people who are building their resume by way of faking human interaction. Still . . . For the faint of heart, it will provide one more reason to stay home. Developing . . . Local students are getting an education in protesting culture that continues to garner headlines across the metro. Here's a bit about their crusade . . . The students are organizing with support from housing advocacy group KC Tenants, which has organized a number of other renter groups around the metro. The new UMKC Tenant Union is calling for increased transparency over rent and fees, more frequent and available building maintenance, better accessibility and an end to the requirement that students in university housing purchase a meal plan. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Costco updating its operating hours and here's what shoppers need to know The same Niagara Falls families that have run The Como Restaurant for the past 95 years will continue to own the Italian eatery after an online auction held last week failed to find an acceptable buyer. Real estate broker Louis Rizzo said Saturday the Colucci and Antonacci families "did not get a successful bid" during the 48-hour auction, which opened Monday. Como Restaurant, Niagara Falls' iconic Italian eatery, to be auctioned off If you've always wanted to own a famous Italian restaurant with a loyal customer base in a city that draws millions of tourists each year, here's your chance. Bidding started at $475,000, with a minimum sale price of $725,000. At least one offer was made on the restaurant, according to the Niagara Gazette. Rizzo, an associate broker for Howard Hanna Real Estate, would not say how many bids came in. Italian immigrant Frank Antonacci opened the longstanding Niagara Falls restaurant in Pine Avenue's Little Italy district in 1927. The Como has since expanded to two other locations: on Niagara Falls Boulevard across from the Niagara Falls airport and on Center Street in Lewiston. All three were included in the auction and remain for sale. In the meantime, The Como will remain open, serving homemade pasta, pizza bread and meatballs, among other Italian favorites. Old, familiar favorites from area's long-established restaurants A tour of the Buffalo Niagara regions longest running restaurants gives diners a taste of familiar favorites. "Their immediate intentions are to grow their business and their brighter days are ahead of them," Rizzo said. "Coming out of the pandemic, restaurant businesses got hit hard and they're making their comeback. They've been there for 95 years. They lived through a depression and they lived through a recession. They'll live through this and they'll move on and continue to grow the business." Rizzo told The Buffalo News in March that The Como's owners were selling the family restaurant because no one in the next generation wants to take over running the business. The restaurant was put up for sale in August 2020. It was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, Rizzo said, as restaurants were forced to shut down and international bridge closures kept Canadian customers away for more than a year. The original restaurant, at 2220 Pine Ave., boasts a large dinning room, bar, four banquet rooms and a deli. The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, and the deli is open Monday through Saturday. Banquet rooms are available for events and parties. There will not be another auction, Rizzo said, but the restaurant is still for sale. The owners are waiting for the right deal to come along. None of The Como owners could be reached for comment Saturday. "It needs to be the right deal," Rizzo said. "They had some opportunities that just weren't right for them." The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Ukrainian military destroyed 36 Russian aggressors and 13 units of military equipment in the southern direction on April 16. The Operational Command South reported this on Facebook, according to Ukrinform. It is noted that the enemy continues to carry out artillery and missile strikes on cities and villages in southern Ukraine. "The enemy fired 5 cruise missiles and volley fire systems in Mykolaiv region over the past day, damaging infrastructure; no casualties reported. In Kherson region, the enemy's main efforts were focused on attempts to establish control over the region and maintain the occupied positions, the report says. In particular, the Russian invaders continue to exert psychological pressure through their propaganda TV channels and biased Crimean TV channels, spreading fakes about the war in Ukraine. Intimidation and terror of the civilian population also continues. As Ukrinform reported, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian troops lost about 20,100 personnel in Ukraine from February 24 to April 16. iy Russia continues to move its army units to the territory of Ukraine from Kursk, Bryansk and Voronezh regions, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. "Russia continues to move its units to the territory of Ukraine from Kursk, Bryansk and Voronezh regions. Units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation located in Ukrainian territories have significant supply problems. At the same time, they were able to accumulate significant stockpiles of ammunition," the General Staff wrote on Facebook. In the Severskyi direction, missile strikes and artillery shelling from the territory of the Russian Federation are possible on military and civilian infrastructure in Chernihiv and Sumy regions. In the Slobozhanskyi direction, there have been no significant changes in the composition and position of the enemy forces. The occupiers continue to partially block the city of Kharkiv and shell its residential areas. In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the enemy continued to launch air strikes on Mariupol. Russian forces conducted assault operations near the seaport. In the Southern Buh direction, the enemy's main efforts are focused on maintaining their positions. In Donetsk and Luhansk regions, ten enemy attacks, fifteen tanks, twenty-four armored units and ten vehicles, as well as three enemy artillery systems have been repulsed over the past 24 hours. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit thirteen air targets in the previous day: one plane, one helicopter, five UAVs and six cruise missiles. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles. iy The Russian leadership is preparing new lies to cover up the atrocities of the Russian military in Ukraine, which is indisputable evidence. The British Foreign Office said in a statement on Twitter, Ukrinform reports. We know that the Kremlin is preparing fresh lies to account for atrocities on civilians in Ukraine. These attempts to cover up horrific acts of violence will not deter investigators, the statement says. In an attached video, the British Foreign Office said there is clear evidence of numerous atrocities committed by Russian troops against the civilian population in Ukraine and civilian infrastructure, and that "Putin's war is built on lies." "The UK is offering funding, personnel and military expertise to hold perpetrators to account, the statement says. In March, the International Criminal Court, at the request of 42 countries, announced the launch of an investigation into war crimes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ICC Prosecutor Khan stated that grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC were committed in the territory of Ukraine. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles. iy Rescuers from four countries will help Ukrainian colleagues to eliminate the consequences of the war in towns and villages liberated from Russian invaders. Professional firefighters and rescuers from the United States, Australia, Germany, and Poland arrived in Ukraine to help Ukrainian colleagues to eliminate the consequences of the war in the de-occupied towns and villages, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine posted on Facebook. As noted, they started to work in Borodianka, Kyiv region. Earlier, the U.S. defense company Vita Inclinata Technologies handed over a unique Vita Rescue System worth more than $500,000 to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. On February 24, Russia launched a new phase of the eight-year-long war against Ukraine a full-scale offensive. The enemy massively shells and bombs Ukrainian cities, towns and villages. The Armed Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces and the entire Ukrainian people are effectively resisting Russian troops and inflicting heavy losses on them. ol After President Volodymyr Zelensky's interview with the BBC, Russian propaganda scrambled to "deny" the use of mobile crematoria by invaders in Ukraine. Thats according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Ukrinform reports. According to the Center, mobile crematoria have been deployed in Ukraine since early March. Initially, it was assumed that they were intended to burn the bodies of fallen Russian servicemen in order to hide the actual number of casualties. However, after the atrocities committed by the Russians in Bucha, Irpin, and other Ukrainian cities were exposed after the settlements were liberated, it became clear that the cremation effort was intended including to cover up Russian war crimes. Earlier, Ukraines military intelligence said that the Russians had deployed in Mariupol at least 13 mobile crematoria to get the bodies of killed civilians off the streets. The intelligence also recorded the use of mobile crematoria in the Chernihiv region and in Novoaydar in the Luhansk region. The disinformation watchdog has called on all witnesses of Russian atrocities to file their reports that would be used in international courts in the future to the official chatbot of the Security Service of Ukraine: @russian_war_tribunal_bot. As Ukrinform reported, Zelensky said in an interview with the BBC that tens of thousands of people were killed and many went missing in Mariupol, while the fate of those forcibly deported to Russia remains unknown. The Russian forces are erasing the letter Z from their military hardware, setting up Ukrainian flags, in an apparent preparation for provocations in Zaporizhia region. Thats according to the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces, Ukrinform reports. As of April 17, Russian invaders continue their full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, launching missile and bomb strikes on Ukraine's industrial and civil infrastructure. The enemy undertook no active efforts in the Volyn and Polissya areas, the report notes. In the Siversky direction, there is a possibility that the Russians will deploy sabotage and reconnaissance groups and launch missile strikes from the Russian territory on Ukraines military and civilian infrastructure. In the Slobozhansky direction, the Russians are partially blocking Kharkiv, firing on the positions of Ukrainian forces and critical infrastructure. In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, hostilities intensified. The Russians continue to launch missile and bomb strikes on the city of Mariupol, including with the use of Tu-22M3 strategic bombers. Assault operations were launched near the seaport and the Azovstal plant. In the South Buh direction, the enemy continued to focus its efforts on holding ground. In the area of the settlement of Vasylivka, Zaporizhia region, it was noted that the enemy is possibly plotting provocations as the Russians were seen erasing the letter Z from military equipment, setting up Ukrainian flags. The reports of the destruction of the Moskva Cruiser by Ukraine have received considerable public outcry in Crimea. There is growing distrust among the population about the official Russian media reports. Due to lack of human resources, the Russian invaders are trying to draft locals from the temporarily occupied territories. Thus, in the city of Izium, the forcible mobilization of male residents has begun. Preparations for an illegal referendum on the proclamation of the so-called "Kherson People's Republic" continue in some territories temporarily occupied by the Russian forces. To falsify its outcome, it is planned to use personal data of residents, collected by the occupiers during the issue of "humanitarian aid." Information is being spread among the locals that once the pseudo-referendum results are announced, they will be "mobilized" into the Russian armed forces. Meanwhile, over 50 cases were reported across military training fields in Russia where soldiers deserted. Police said 40-year-old Danielle Robinson, whose last known address was on West Balcom Street, was reported missing on Friday. The last known contact with Robinson had been on April 1. She has been been known to frequent both Lackawanna and Niagara Falls, according to authorities. Police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge thanked the public and the media for their assistance. The head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, has said that an oil embargo could be part of the sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia. He wrote this on Telegram, referring to the German newspaper Zeit, Ukrinform reports. "Some insider information from Germany's Zeit, which refers to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU is considering mechanisms to include oil in the next sanctions package, and they are also considering restrictions on the banking sector, especially Sberbank, and Russia's energy sector," Yermak said. At the same time, he stressed that "regarding the banking sector, sanctions against Gazprombank, through which payments for Russian gas are made, will also be effective." The leadership of the European Union is working on the possibility of imposing an embargo on Russian oil products, which will be one of the strongest blows to the Russian economy, which has already suffered significantly from sanctions due to the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Photo: President's Office As part of sanctions endorsed by the European Union, Russian-flagged ships are not allowed to enter Estonian ports from April 17, 2022. The relevant statement was made by Estonias ERR, referring to the Estonian Economic Affairs and Communications Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. This ban will also apply to the vessels that switched their Russian flag to any other state after February 24, 2022. According to Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Minister Taavi Aas, Europe is rethinking its economic activities and becoming more and more independent from Russia, as the Kremlin is showing no signs of ending its aggression. Exceptions will be made only for Russian-flagged ships in distress. They will be allowed to enter Estonian ports with the permission of the Police and Border Guard Department, which will determine the need for assistance in advance. Earlier, Bulgaria also banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its sea and river ports. From 00:00 (midnight), April 16, 2022, all vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after February 24, 2022, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, Bulgarias Maritime Administration announced. A reminder that Italy, Belgium and Romania also banned Russian ships from entering their ports as part of expanded EU sanctions. Photo: Jaan Kronberg/HHLA TK Estonia mk Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk discussed Georgia's accession to the global sanctions policy against the Russian Federation with Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili. "We discussed a number of issues related to Georgia's accession to a strong global sanctions policy against the Russian Federation," Stefanchuk said at a joint briefing with Papuashvili at the Parliament of Ukraine on April 16, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. In addition, according to Stefanchuk, the UkraineGeorgia relations in the future after Ukraines victory over Russia were discussed. "First of all, this future concerns a joint movement towards the European integration prospects. We agreed that such a unique chance for Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova became possible, including due to the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people in this terrible war," Stefanchuk noted. He also said that trade and economic cooperation was among the issues discussed during the meeting. In addition, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine invited politicians and the people of Georgia to take an active part in the restoration of Ukraine after the victory over Russia. At the same time, Stefanchuk thanked the Georgians for their support for Ukraine in the war. He also honored the memory of the fallen Georgian citizens who had been fighting on the Ukrainian side. As reported, the Georgian parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Shalva Papuashvili arrived in Ukraine on April 16. During the visit, the parliamentarians visited the de-occupied localities of Kyiv region Bucha and Irpin. Read also: Stefanchuk rebukes Georgian parliament speaker for refusal to visit Bucha and Irpin Earlier, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Georgia had no plans to join Western economic and financial sanctions against Russia due to a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ol SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon designed to boost its nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Sunday, a day before its chief rivals the United States and South Korea begin annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The 13th weapons test this year came amid concerns that North Korea may soon conduct an even larger provocation. That may include a nuclear test in an effort to expand the countrys arsenal and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul while denuclearization talks remain stalled. The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un observed what it called the weapons successful launch. It released a photo showing a beaming Kim clapping his hands with military officers. KCNA said the weapon tested has great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the front-line long-range artillery units, enhancing the efficiency in the operation of (North Koreas) tactical nukes and diversification of their firepower missions. KCNA didnt elaborate, but its use of the words tactical nukes suggested the weapon is likely capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit strategic targets in South Korea, including U.S. military installations. The KCNA dispatch didnt say when and where the launch occurred. North Korea is trying to deploy not only long-range nuclear missiles aimed at American cities but also tactical nuclear weapons to threaten Seoul and U.S. bases in Asia, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. Pyongyangs purposes likely exceed deterrence and regime survival. Like Russia employs the fear it could use tactical nukes, North Korea may want such weapons for political coercion, battlefield escalation and limiting the willingness of other countries to intervene in a conflict, he said. Some observers said the weapon showed in North Korean photos suggested it might be a smaller, lighter version of its nuclear-capable KN-23 missile that has a highly maneuverable flight aimed at defeating missile defense systems. Others said it could be a new missile that combines the technical characteristics of the KN-23 and another short-range ballistic missile called the KN-24. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it had detected two launches from the Norths eastern coastal town of Hamhung early Saturday evening. It said the missiles flew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) at an altitude of 25 kilometers (16 miles) and a maximum speed of Mach 4. South Koreas presidential office said officials have met twice this weekend to discuss the North Korean military activities. South Koreas military said later Sunday that its nine-day springtime drills with the United States will start on Monday. It said the allies decided to hold computer-simulated command post exercises that dont involve field training after reviewing factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the allies combined defense readiness. The exercises could further intensify animosities on the Korean Peninsula because North Korea has previously responded with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric. North Korea has started this year with a slew of weapons tests, including its first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. homeland since 2017. South Korea recently said it has detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before it entered now-dormant nuclear talks with the United States in 2018. A possible nuclear test by North Korea would involve a tactical nuclear warhead, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. He predicted that North Korea would push to mount a tactical nuclear warhead on the weapon tested this weekend and deploy such nuclear missiles near the border with South Korea. North Korea has a domestic imperative to make and perfect weapons ordered by Kim Jong Un last year regardless of what the U.S. does or doesnt do. The test also tells his people that their country is strong despite their apparent economic difficulties, said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at Washingtons Center for a New American Security. One reason for the political timing could be to protest anticipated U.S.-South Korea military drills. On Friday, Kim attended a massive civilian parade in Pyongyang that marked the milestone 110th birthday of his state-founding grandfather, Kim Il Sung. It appeared the country passed its most important national holiday without a highly anticipated military parade to showcase its new weapons systems. Kim may still hold a military parade on the April 25 founding anniversary of North Koreas army. But if that anniversary goes without a military parade again, some experts say that might mean Kim doesnt have new powerful missiles to display and that his next provocative step will likely be a nuclear test. Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Politics has become real over the past few weeks for Gov. Kathy Hochul. A long and contentious budget process left her a bit bruised and battered. And she lost some of the goodwill her congeniality brought to the Governors Mansion following her predecessors imperial reign. But passing a budget ranks as the main function of state government. Deep divisions are inevitable. Life goes on. Hochuls determination to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills featuring $850 million in public funds added to her woes, even though many New Yorkers cheered. A cadre of influential progressives in the Legislature say the money could be used for different purposes (not to mention left-leaning gubernatorial opponents like New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams). Those battle lines remain. Conservatives say she failed to sufficiently back off from criminal justice reforms enacted by the Legislatures new Democratic majority in 2019, which she must confront in this election year. And last week, Hochul had to acknowledge that her most important political appointment of her young administration former State Sen. Brian Benjamin as lieutenant governor ranked as a colossal mistake. Thats about the only thing you can say when the states second-in-command gets arrested for bribery and other charges. Williams, during one of his frequent Buffalo appearances, asked on Wednesday how the new governor had erred so badly in vetting such a key appointment. He rejected her I didnt know explanation. That says to me she was embarrassingly out of the loop of whats going on, he told reporters, or embarrassingly unable to do the job. While Williams and his running mate Ana Maria Archila staged their Wednesday press event in front of a Starbucks shop on Delaware Avenue to support unionization efforts, they found the massive headquarters of Delaware North Cos. conveniently located across the street. Last week, the Politics Column noted that other Democratic primary rivals like Rep. Tom Suozzi of Nassau County raised conflict of interest questions because the firm maintains concession contracts at the current Bills stadium while employing the governors husband, Bill, in a top legal position. The column also pointed out that the governor and her husband signed promises that their careers would not improperly intersect, and that all ethical safeguards would be maintained. That didnt stop Suozzi. He highlighted what he calls a conflict, and didnt let up last week. Lets look at the four Bs: Benjamin, budget, bail reform and Buffalo Bills, he said. She has failed at every one. Last weeks calamity aboard a Brooklyn subway train only compounded Hochuls tough week. At least 29 people were injured when a gunman opened fire, on the same day that Benjamin was arrested in Manhattan. Nobody pegged the governor with responsibility, but the story combo played across the New York City tabloids and upstate front pages, too. Williams pounced. The state should celebrate the Buffalo Bills, he said, but suggested other priorities. New Yorkers are increasingly concerned about public safety, from Brooklyn to Buffalo, about gun violence, the candidate said. Our 10-point plan put in place $1 billion for gun violence prevention and victims services. We didnt get that. Not even close. But we got almost $1 billion for the Buffalo Bills. Hochul offered an explanation for her Benjamin problem last week during an interview with WNYC Radio in New York. I made the best decision I could with the information I had at the time, she said. But the point remains just like the Delaware North situation, and despite explanations, Hochuls opponents will not hesitate to pile on to her problems via millions of dollars in damning TV ads. And watch for Hochul, by the way, to play by the same rules when her ads air. This is politics in New York. And as the late Judge Tom McMahon used to say: It aint beanbag. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :Chairman, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) Dr. Syed Hussain Abidi has said that precision agriculture can help enhance agricultural productivity as well as water use efficiency. Addressing the participants as chief guest here while inaugurating the wheat & Brassica harvesting at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR) Research Farm, Koont, Dr. Syed Hussain Abidi lauded the initiatives of PMAS-AAUR to attract farming community to witness demonstrative exhibitory attractions at the farm. PMAS-AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Qamar uz Zaman, deans, directors, faculty members and farmers also attended the ceremony. Dr. Abidi was of the view that trained manpower and modern innovative technology play an important role not only to enhance productivity of the agriculture sector but will also be helpful for food security in the country. To increase per acre production, he urged the faculty members to do their level best to solve the problems faced by the farming community to become a self-sufficient country. Dr. Qamar-uz-Zaman said that the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology has been working at the Campus to train manpower by adopting innovative and affordable agricultural tools in order to bring mechanical revolution in Pakistan. He highlighted various technologies and their impact on the farming community. He said that solar power control, water pumping & fertilizer mixing station, drone sprayer, bed plantation, drip irrigation and sprinkler system etc were displayed at the University Farm to attract small farmers towards water use efficiency. Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :The live televised presidential debate Wednesday between President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen is set to be a crucial moment in a tight race for the Elysee. The pair will trade blows from 1900 GMT in a clash set to be watched by millions of French nationwide ahead of the April 24 run-off election. Unlike the United States, where Republican and Democratic candidates spar at least twice, France's frontrunners get just one chance to take each down on live tv. AFP takes a look at past clashes in what is now a French political tradition, many of which are etched into the memories of the French as turning points in political history. Around 25 million people tuned in for France's the first ever US-inspired televised presidential debate, pitting Socialist candidate Francois Mitterrand against centrist finance minister Valery Giscard d'Estaing. The two were neck-and-neck in the polls but the patrician Mitterrand's attempts to lecture his reform-minded opponent on wealth redistribution backfired. "It's a matter of heart not just intelligence," Mitterrand argued, to which Giscard retorted: "You don't have a monopoly on the heart, Mr. Mitterrand." Giscard won the election. Seven years later, the two met again, with Mitterrand itching to take revenge. This time, the incumbent was the one talking down to his opponent, calling him a "man of the past" and asking him to prove his economic credentials by quoting the franc-deutschmark exchange rate. "I'm not your student!" Mitterrand objected. Giscard suffered the ignominy of being the first French president voted out after a single term. - 1988: President vs premier - 1988 produced the strange spectacle of a president taking on his own prime minister. Mitterrand and centre-right candidate Jacques Chirac were uneasy bedfellows in what the French call a "cohabitation", where the president and government are from opposite sides of the left-right divide. Sparks flew when Chirac insisted on calling the incumbent "Mister Mitterrand" instead of "Mister president." "Tonight I'm not the prime minister and you're not the president of the republic...We're two equal candidates," Chirac said. "You're quite right, mister prime minister," Mitterrand snapped back. Mitterrand got re-elected. - 1995: Return of the right - While the first three debates got voters' blood up, the excessively civil duel between Chirac and former Mitterrand minister Lionel Jospin in 1995 was met with howls of disappointment. The only memorable line from their exchange was Jospin's claim that "it's better to have five years with Jospin (he backed the shift from a seven-year to a five-year presidential mandate) than seven years with Chirac." Chirac triumphed nonetheless, winning back the presidency for the right. - 2002: No debate with Le Pen - In 2002, France was in shock after far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen overtook Jospin in the first round of the election to tee up a spot in the run-off against the incumbent Chirac. Chirac refused to have a debate with Le Pen saying that "faced with intolerance and hatred, no debate is possible." Le Pen accused him of "copping out." Backed by moderates from both the right and left Chirac trounced the former paratrooper. - 2007: 'Calm down!' - The first woman to make a presidential run-off, the Socialist Party's Segolene Royal, went on the attack in 2007 against then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy over support for the disabled. Sarkozy, who has a reputation for irascibility, refused to take the bait. "Calm down!" he tells her. "To be a president, you have to be calm." Royal refused to concede the point, insisting her anger is "very healthy". Sarkozy won. - 2012: 'I, president' - Five years later, the pugnacious Sarkozy badly needed to land a knockout blow on Royal's former partner Francois Hollande in order to hang onto the presidency. The taunts flew. Sarkozy called Hollande "a little slanderer" and accused him of lying. But it is the Socialist Party leader, who had campaigned as a Mr Normal, who delivered the most memorable lines. In a series of statements starting "I, as president of the republic" he set out plans to clean up the tainted political landscape bequeathed by his rival. Hollande won. - 2017: Wipeout - The 2017 debate, pitting nationalist Marine Le Pen -- daughter of Jean-Marie who made history when he got into the run-off round in 2002 -- against liberal centrist Macron is deemed the most brutal of all. Le Pen was accused of drawing from Donald Trump's populist playbook by mocking Macron's relationship with his wife, Brigitte. Macron for his part accused her of "lies". Le Pen got increasingly flummoxed and rummaged through her notes when Macron, a policy wonk, took her to task on her economic programme, including her plans to bring back the French franc. Le Pen later admits that she "failed" the test. Macron won. Stockholm, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :Plans by a far-right group to publicly burn copies of the Koran sparked violent clashes with counter-demonstrators for the third day running in Sweden, police said on Sunday. Litter bins, a bus and a car were all set on fire in a series of incidents in the southern city of Malmo overnight, police said in a statement. "The situation calmed down towards 3:00 am (0100 GMT)," police spokeswoman Kim Hild told SR public radio, adding that no officers were hurt, but a number of members of the public were slightly injured. Nearly 20 complaints had been filed, including for vandalism. There have been similar clashes in recent days over plans by the anti-immigration and anti-Islamic Stram Kurs (Hard Line) movement led by Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan to burn copies of the Koran in public. The clashes on Saturday broke out after a rally by the group's supporters on Saturday. Three police officers had to be taken to hospital after a riot broke out in the city of Linkoping in eastern Sweden on Thursday. Two people were arrested at that protest. And on Friday, nine police officers were injured in similar clashes in Orebro in central Sweden. In the wake of the string of incidents, Iraq's foreign ministry said that it had summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires in Baghdad on Sunday. It warned that the affair could have "serious repercussions" on "relations between Sweden and Muslims in general, both Muslim and Arab countries and Muslim communities in Europe."Paludan plans to hold further rallies at two other cities in Sweden, but the demonstrations have not received the go-ahead by police. (@ChaudhryMAli88) New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :The son of famed novelist Paul Auster has been charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the drug overdose death of his 10-month-old daughter, New York City's police said Sunday. Daniel Auster's daughter Ruby was found unconscious in a Brooklyn home on November 1 last year and pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital. The medical examiner's office found the cause of death to be "acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and heroin," the police said in a statement to AFP. "The incident has been deemed a homicide," the police said, adding that Daniel Auster, 44, had been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Local New York media said he was arrested on Friday evening. Daniel Auster had a previous tangle with law enforcement in 1996 when Andre "Angel" Melendez, an alleged drug dealer, was murdered -- though the younger Auster was not implicated in that crime. He pleaded guilty to possessing $3,000 that had been stolen from Melendez and was sentenced to probation. Two others -- Michael Alig and his roommate Robert Riggs -- pleaded guilty to Melendez's murder and to dumping his body in the Hudson River. Daniel's father, Paul Auster, is one of New York's best-known writers, and has been celebrated for notable works such as "The New York Trilogy," "Moon Palace" and "Leviathan."In his 2003 novel "Oracle Night," the narrator is a writer whose son is a drug addict. af/zm/dhc/sw Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :A Russian ultimatum for the last remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender expires on Sunday, with Moscow poised for a major strategic victory in the southeastern port city. In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. "During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunitions factory near the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv region," Russia's defence ministry said, the third such air strike near the capital in as many days. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol, which Moscow's forces claim to have brought under their control, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks. Moscow on Saturday issued an ultimatum to the fighters, urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 13:00 pm. "Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol," Vereshchuk wrote. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Russian forces kill Kyiv's troops remaining to defend the city, then a fledgling negotiation process to end nearly two months of fighting would be ended. - 'Inhuman' - Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol is "inhuman" and called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine's unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24. "The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman," Zelensky said in a video address. "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there." Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the city was on "the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the country was compiling evidence of alleged Russian atrocities there. "We will hand everything over to The Hague. There will be no impunity," he said. With fighting raging in the east, Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk said that humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to flee would not open on Sunday after failing to agree terms with Russian forces. "As of this morning, April 17, we have not been able to agree with the occupiers on a ceasefire on the evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," she wrote in a statement on social media. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the eastern Donbas area to move west to escape a large-scale Russian offensive to capture its composite regions, Donetsk and Lugansk. - 'No place to go' - They have also recently accused Russian forces of targeting evacuation infrastructure, including busses and a train station in Kramatorsk where more than 50 people were reported killed in Russian strikes. Many in the region have been living with war since pro-Russian separatists started trying to take control in 2014, including in Svyatogirsk, a village about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Donbas capital Kramatorsk. "The civilians have learned what war is," a territorial reservist who gave his name as Buffalo told AFP. "They stay in the basements and it's all they can do to stay alive. "Any time we can, we bring them food and water. There are a lot of elderly people there who have no place to go." Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the first European leader to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in person since the invasion began, said he thinks the Russian president believes the war is necessary for his country's security. "I think he is now in his own war logic," Nehammer said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", portions of which were released Saturday. "I think he believes he is winning the war." - 'Unpredictable consequences' - Russia warned the United States this week of "unpredictable consequences" if it sends its "most sensitive" weapons systems to Ukraine, as Zelensky has requested. Its defence ministry claimed Saturday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. Russia's apparent new focus on seizing the eastern Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists control the Donetsk and Lugansk areas, would allow Moscow to create a land corridor to occupied Crimea. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the region to quickly leave ahead of what is expected to be a large-scale Russian offensive. In Geneva, the UN refugee agency UNHCR warned that many of the nearly five million people who have fled the conflict will not have homes to return to. Many have gone abroad, with thousands seeking refuge in Israel, according to the country's immigration ministry figures. Joining them are many Russians, too, who say they no longer feel safe in their home country under the increasingly repressive rule of Vladimir Putin. "I lost my country. It was stolen from me. It was taken by Putin and those KGB thugs," Moscow-born linguist Olga Romanova told AFP. RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2022 ) :Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) conducted four operations in different areas of the country during last 24 hours and recovered over 43 kg narcotics including 42.600 kg charras, 133 grams heroin and 553 grams Ice besides netting seven accused. According to an ANF Headquarters spokesman, ANF Sindh and ANF Intelligence conducted a raid near Karachi Malir-15 and held three drug smugglers namely Abdullah Siddiqui, Abdul Raheem and Syed Fasihullah on recovery of nine kg charras. In another operation, ANF Peshawar and ANF Intelligence recovered 98 capsules containing 553 grams Ice and 133 grams heroin from a passenger namely Muhammad Rasool resident of Khyber. The accused was going to Bahrain from Bacha Khan International Airport through Gulf Airline, flight no GF-787. ANF Peshawar and ANF Intelligence foiled another attempt to smuggle narcotics and recovered 77 capsules containing 616 grams heroin from a passenger namely Muhammad Ayaz, going to Bahrain from Bacha Khan International Airport. In fourth operation, ANF Peshawar and ANF Intelligence intercepted a Toyota Premio car near 'Pishtakhara Chowk', Peshawar and recovered over 33.600 kg charras besides arresting two accused namely Abu Bakar and Ramazan Farooq resident of Peshawar. Separate cases have been registered against the accused while further investigations are in progress. 395 Russia stepped up air strikes on Kyiv on Saturday, killing at least one person at a tank factory a day after Moscow warned it would renew attacks following two weeks of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukraine, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2022 ) :Russia stepped up air strikes on Kyiv on Saturday, killing at least one person at a tank factory a day after Moscow warned it would renew attacks following two weeks of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital. The fresh bloodshed in Kyiv came as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the elimination of the last Ukrainian troops trapped in the besieged southern port of Mariupol would put an end to stalled peace talks with Moscow. "The elimination of our troops, of our men (in Mariupol) will put an end to any negotiations" between Ukraine and Russia, Zelensky said in an interview with the Ukrainska Pravda news website. "That will be an impasse as we don't negotiate neither our territories nor our people." Peace talks have continued since early in the fighting but offered no concrete results. Russian officials have said they are in full control of the besieged and ruined port city of Mariupol, although Ukrainian fighters are still holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks. In Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person was killed and several wounded in the latest attack. Smoke rose from the Darnyrsky district in the southeast of the capital after what Moscow said were "high-precision long-range" strikes on the armaments plant. "Our forces are doing everything possible to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless," Klitschko said. "It's no secret that a Russian general recently said they were ready for missile attacks on the capital of Ukraine. And, as we see, they are carrying out such shelling." A heavy police and military presence was deployed around the factory, the day after a similar strike on a plant that produced the Neptune missiles Kyiv and Washington say sunk Russia's Black Sea naval flagship on Thursday. Russia, which used sea-based long-range missiles to hit the Vizar plant on Friday, says the Moskva missile cruiser sank while being towed back to port after ammunition exploded on board. A Russian missile strike on a residential district of Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, in the northeast of the country, killed at least two people and wounded 18 on Saturday, the public prosecutor's office said. Amid escalating tit-for-tat sanctions since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, Russia on Saturday said it was banning entry to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several other top UK officials. "This step was taken as a response to London's unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for restricting our country and strangling the domestic economy," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry accused London of "unprecedented hostile actions", in particular referring to sanctions on Russia's senior officials, and "pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons". - Sanctions - Britain has been part of an international effort to punish Russia with asset freezes, travel bans and economic sanctions, and Moscow's new entry blacklist includes Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Saturday's strike on the Ukrainian capital was among the first since invading Russian forces began withdrawing from regions around Kyiv last month, instead turning their focus on gaining control of the eastern Donbas region. Kyiv regional governor Oleksandr Pavliuk said there were at least two other Russian strikes on the city Friday and that civilians thinking about returning should "wait for quieter times". Nevertheless, families and off-duty soldiers were out in the parks and on the terraces of central Kyiv on Saturday, bringing a semblance of normality to the once-bustling city. "It's the first time we've been back in the city centre. We wanted to see if public transport was working and people-watch. It's really making me happy to see people out and about," 43-year-old vet Nataliya Makrieva told AFP. A Pentagon official said that the sinking of the Moskva, which had been leading Russia's naval effort in the seven-week conflict, was a "big blow" for Moscow, while the fate of its crew of more than 500 was uncertain. - Focus on east - Zelensky said on Friday that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the conflict so far, compared to 19,000-20,000 Russian dead. He said that around 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been wounded, and that it was "difficult to say how many will survive". Russia has so far detained around 1,000 Ukrainian civilians and captured 700 soldiers, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, while Ukraine has captured around 700 Russian soldiers. Nine humanitarian corridors were to be opened on Saturday to allow civilians to flee the fighting, including from Mariupol, the UNIAN news agency quoted her as saying. At least 200 children have been killed in the Russian offensive and another 360 wounded, the public prosecutor said. In Geneva, the UN refugee agency warned that many of the nearly five million people who have fled Ukraine will not have homes to return to, as another 40,000 fled the country in 24 hours. "People's greatest wish is to go back home. But for so many, there is no home to return to since it's been destroyed or damaged, or is located in an area that is not safe," said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR's representative in Ukraine. Russia's military focus now seems to be on seizing the eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists control the Donetsk and Lugansk areas. This would allow Moscow to create a southern corridor to the occupied Crimean peninsula, and Ukrainian authorities have been urging people in the region to quickly move west in advance of a large-scale Russian offensive. Lugansk governor Serhiy Gaidai called Saturday for civilians to leave the area while they still can. "Evacuate, while there's still an opportunity," he wrote on Telegram, warning that they might be used as human shields if they remain. Russian forces on Saturday attacked an oil refinery outside Lysychansk, a town near the front line in eastern Ukraine, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th April, 2022) One migrant was killed in a shooting between Greek border guards and a Turkish boat carrying illegal migrants on the river Evros near the Greek town of Soufli, media reported on Sunday. According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, the incident occurred after 9 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) on Saturday. The Greek border patrol reportedly noticed a boat with migrants on board crossing from the Turkish to the Greek side of the river Evros, which serves as a natural border between the two countries. Greek border guards gave the boat a warning using light signals, but the boat not only ignored the warning but started firing shots, prompting the Greek guards to respond in kind, according to the report. One of the migrants on board the boat died during shooting and another six were rescued by the Greek authorities, the newspaper said. Greek newspaper Proto Thema reported that the victim, a woman, was shot "almost at point-blank range" with a 22-caliber gun, which is used by neither the Greek nor Turkish officers, therefore she could have been shot by someone on board the boat, likely the smugglers. The firing at Greek border guards, on the other hand, was coming from the Turkish territory, possibly carried out by the Turkish military, according to the report. According to Proto Thema, there were five surviving migrants - all of African descent, possibly Ethiopians - who were arrested and brought to Alexandroupoli. For decades, Greece has been at odds with Turkey over a range of issues, such as competing territorial claims in the eastern Mediterranean and the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus. In addition, Greece has been greatly impacted by the large number of illegal migrants coming into the country through the border with Turkey. Human smuggling gangs regularly bring illegal migrants from one state to another. There is widespread agreement that the nursing home industry must be reformed, if not reinvented, in order to give residents a consistently high standard of care. A report released this month by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine made a series of bold recommendations for changing the industry. Some of the suggestions are practical, others more pie-in-the-sky, but few of them will come to reality unless government officials summon the will and the funding to effect real change. The authors most ambitious proposal is creating a new national long-term care system outside of Medicaid, which in New York covers nearly 75% of nursing home care. New York States reimbursement rate for long-term care facilities has been stagnant in recent years; its daily rate falls $55 short of what it costs nursing homes to care for each patient, according to Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association. The health bill passed as part of the state budget last week will enact a 1% increase in state Medicaid rates, which the industry says is not enough. Long-term care providers say more federal funding is needed to accomplish any meaningful improvements in how they do business. What we cannot support are unfunded mandates, said a statement from the American Health Care Association, a lobbying group for nursing home operators. The operators in New York State are squirming under the new "safe staffing" law, which took effect on April 1. It requires facilities to provide 3.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day. We did not support the law, which we saw as an overly broad brush that would hamper well-run care facilities and restrict their ability to innovate. A better approach would have patterned itself on the state receivership program that focuses on under-performing schools. Nursing home owners make a convincing case that staffing shortages from the height of the pandemic still persist today, making the new law nearly impossible for them to accommodate. Kaiser Family Foundation tracked state-by-state data on nursing home staffing for the week ending March 20. Of 570 facilities reporting in New York State, 29% had staffing shortages, 27% shortages of nursing in particular. LeadingAge, a nursing home trade association, says more than 12,000 new nurses and aides are needed in New York to meet the new requirements. James W. Clyne Jr., president and CEO of LeadingAge New York, said the mandate will only drain nursing homes of the very resources they need to recruit and retain more staff, by forcing them to pay heavy penalties due to conditions beyond their control. The facility operators say more federal and state funding would allow them to raise wages in order to attract new workers. The Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank based in Albany, released a report this month questioning whether staffing mandates would correlate with better care. The centers analysis of state and federal nursing home data for the past two years showed that increased nursing home staffing was not associated with better health outcomes related to Covid-19 mortality. Nearly 170,000 nursing home residents across the United States are estimated to have died from Covid-19. The National Academies report also called for fortifying emergency preparedness before future waves of Covid strike, and for developing innovative approaches such as small-home models of care to improve residents quality of life. When lawmakers at the federal and state levels decide on annual funding, there are countless competing programs and special interests raising their hands. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has raised the curtain on the struggles of many residents of long-term care facilities. The isolation of people living in nursing homes can make them all too easy to forget. Politicians in Albany, Washington and elsewhere need to ensure that does not happen. 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. Two USF Students Receive Hollings Scholarship Two USF sophomores, Danya Awshah and Abigail Reed, were honored this year with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship. This program includes an academic scholarship and a 10-week, full-time paid summer internship at a NOAA facility. During their internship experience, students also complete research under a NOAA mentor and are provided funding to present at national conferences. Both of this years USF Hollings recipients are members of the Judy Genshaft Honors College and worked with the Office of National Scholarships (ONS) during their application process. Their NOAA internship and research experience will take place in summer 2023. Danya is an Environmental Science and Policy major, with a minor in Chemistry. She is involved across campus, including currently serving on the executive board of the USF Student Environmental Association. Danya participates in undergraduate research as an assistant in Dr. Ping Wangs Coastal Geology Lab, analyzing sediment samples. She hopes to eventually obtain her Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry and spend her career researching climate change and its effects on the oceans and atmosphere. Danya hopes that she can utilize her skills in multiple disciplines to expand her impact. Last year, she participated in an internship with B is for Benefit, a company that works with businesses to promote economic growth while focusing on positive environmental impact, much like the mission of NOAA. Her experiences in research, leadership, and communication will allow her to not only make discoveries in the lab, but apply them in protecting our world. Abigail is also an Environmental Science and Policy major, pursuing minors in Philosophy and Geology. She began research on water quality in southwest Florida in middle school, attending numerous science fairs, winning the Stockholm Junior Water Prize twice, and being recognized by the American Meteorological Society. She also created a program teaching inclusive sex education for LGBTQ+ high school students, which led to her being named a Point Scholar in 2020. Abigail hopes to promote environmental stewardship and justice through her work, pursuing potential careers in environmental law and water management. She is currently assisting within the Ecohydrology Research Group at USF, under Dr. Kai Rains. Their project, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, focuses on how geographic information systems can be used to establish priorities for watershed restoration in the Indian River Lagoon. Abigail looks forward to her experience with NOAA and graduate school in the future. I am very proud of Danya and Abigail and know that they will contribute important work to protect our environment for future generations, says Judy Genshaft Honors College Endowed Dean, Dr. Charles Adams. I am also grateful to our staff in the Office of National Scholarships for helping these talented students identify and pursue these life-changing opportunities. Read more about the Hollings Scholarship here, or email our advisors to schedule an appointment to discuss the application process. Music Time in Africa is VOAs longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and Host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on whats happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. Recap of April 17 FIGHTING * Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's shelling on Kharkiv has been constant, saying, "This is nothing but deliberate terror. DIPLOMACY * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS Sunday there have not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and Ukraine at the level of their foreign ministries. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. ECONOMY * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine's financial stability and the country's post-war reconstruction. The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. All times EDT: 8:28 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond, The Associated Press reported. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. 6:18 p.m.: Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, criticizing Russian forces for not letting up its bombing campaign on Orthodox Palm Sunday, urged all citizens who could find shelter to do so, The Associated Press reported. He added that if they were able to leave, they should, saying the city would help them relocate. 4:47 p.m.: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address that Russia's shelling on Kharkiv has been constant. "This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians," Zelenskiy said. 3:15 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine's financial stability and the country's post-war reconstruction, according to a Reuters report. He tweeted: "Discussed with IMF Managing Director Georgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine's financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have clear plans for now, as well as a vision of prospects. Im sure cooperation between the IMF & Ukraine will continue to be fruitful. 2:38 p.m.: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he would attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington this week and will seek more financial assistance for Ukraine, Reuters reported. 2 p.m.: Ukraine has filled out a questionnaire to receive European Union candidate status, according to Ihor Zhovkva, a deputy chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, The Kyiv Independent reported. Now the European Union is expected to decide on giving candidate status to Ukraine. 1:30 p.m.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS news there have not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and Ukraine at the level of their foreign ministries and that the situation in Mariupol, which he described as "dire", may be a "red line" in the path of negotiations. 1:15 p.m.: Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents" occurring in the region, TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov as saying. 12:30 p.m.: Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that the EU is not considering an outright ban on Russian oil, as it would only lead to shortages, rising market prices, and ultimately strengthen Putin. The Kyiv Independent quoted Von der Leyen as saying the EU is developing smart mechanisms that will allow oil to be included in the next sanctions package. 12:15 p.m.: Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Tatar-Bashkir Service reports it has spoken with Ukrainians from Mariupol and activists in Astrakhan in southern Russia, who say that they were brought to the country by force. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of transporting thousands of civilians from devasted Ukrainian cities, seizing their documents and placing them in filtration camps" established in separatist-controlled areas, RFE/RL reported. 12 p.m.: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Sunday that his country is running a $5 billion-a-month deficit and needs financial support. "We are so grateful to American people, especially to President Bident for support of Ukraine," Schmyhal told ABC Newss This Week. "We need more sanctions from our West partners, Schmyhal said. We need more ammunition to protect our country and European borders. We need more finances to support our people, our refugees, our internally displaced persons." 11 a.m.: Reuters reported that Ukraine has asked G7 nations for $50 billion in financial support and is also considering issuing 0% coupon bonds to help it cover a war-linked budget deficit over the next six months. Speaking on national television Sunday, the president's economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said these options were being actively discussed. 10:30 a.m.: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world must be prepared for the possibility that Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons in its fight for Ukraine. "We should not be afraid but be ready, he told CNNs Jake Tapper Friday in an interview that aired Sunday. For them, the life of the people is nothing. 10 a.m.: Austrian Chancellor Karl Niehammer, who last week visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha, told NBC News that he later traveled to Moscow to confront Russian President Putin with what he had seen. I told him what I saw. I saw the war crimes. I saw the massive loss of the Russian army, Niehammer said. He told me he will cooperate with an international investigation on the one hand; on the other, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. 9:45 a.m.: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC News that the country will continue to try to stop the war diplomatically, But if Russians wouldnt like to have negotiations, we will fight to the end. We need more sanctions from our West partners, Shmyhal said. We need more ammunition to protect our country and European borders. We need more finances to support our people, our refugees, our internally displaced persons." 9:30 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 Ukrainian military have died so far and 10,000 have been injured; it is nearly impossible to estimate how many civilians have died, he said, especially in the south, where so many towns are blocked. Zelenskyy said 44,000 of Ukraines finest troops are currently positioned at the southeastern city of Donbas; for that reason, he said, What happens at Donbas could influence the entire course of the war, Zelenskyy said. While appreciative of the $800 million in new U.S. security aid to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, It will never be enough. Enough isnt possible. 8:20 a.m.: Ukraine said it was pausing the evacuation of civilians from the war-scarred east of the country for a day because of a failure to agree terms with Russian forces. "As of this morning, April 17, we have not been able to agree with the occupiers on a ceasefire on the evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. 7:40 a.m.: The Washington Post reports that Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, is urging civilians to evacuate to safer areas of Ukraine to avoid the possibility of Russia forcibly deporting them to remote regions of Russia where cheap labor is needed. 7:45 a.m.: Britains Defense Ministry said Russian forces continue to redeploy combat and support equipment towards eastern Ukraine, including locations close to Kharkiv and Severdonetsk. In a security update posted on Twitter, the ministry said Russian troops were committed to forcing Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation, and that strikes were being carried out throughout the east of the country as Russia plans to renew its offensive activity. 7 a.m.: On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for an end cruelty to the war in Ukraine and urged the faithful to appeal for peace and the end to and senseless destruction. May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. 5:36 a.m.: There's no indication Ukrainian fighters at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol have surrendered, The Washington Post reports. Russian troops, who control most of the city except for the large plant, gave the Ukrainians holding out there a deadline to surrender, promising to spare their lives if they did. The Post and other media outlets have reported there was no sign in the hours after the deadline passed that large numbers of Mariupol defenders had given up. 3:30 a.m.: 2:47 a.m.: A missile attack in early hours of Sunday damaged infrastructure in the city of Brovary, near Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, Reuters reports. There were no details on the extent of the destruction or potential casualties. 12:58 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city, the Associated Press reports. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, Zelenskyy said. 12:30 a.m.: Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine early on Sunday, Reuters reported, and there were no immediate indications of a response to Russia's demand that Ukrainian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol start surrendering from 0300 GMT. Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers. The unrest happened just two days after clashes with Palestinians at the same site. Violence in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators a year ago escalated into an 11-day Gaza war. The hilltop compound housing the mosque is the third-holiest site in Islam, while it is the holiest place for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. The competing claims to the site have sparked numerous rounds of violence. This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the week-long Jewish Passover are all occurring at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the city after coronavirus restrictions have been mostly lifted. Israeli police accused Palestinians of defiling and desecrating a holy site, while Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to divide the sensitive holy site. What happened in Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous escalation, the repercussions of which are to be borne by the Israeli government alone, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Police said they entered the compound to facilitate the routine visit of Jews to the holy site. They said Palestinians had stockpiled stones and set up barriers in anticipation of violence. The police said they were committed to ensuring freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims. The police cleared Palestinians out of the sprawling esplanade outside the mosque itself early Sunday, while dozens of Palestinians remained inside the building chanting God is Greatest. Video released by police showed small groups of youths throwing stones, as well as fireworks being fired from inside the mosque. Palestinians reported brief clashes with Israeli police just outside the mosque compound, while police said Palestinians had thrown stones at buses outside the Old City. Paramedics said five people riding in buses received treatment for minor injuries in the attacks. Police released a video showing a crowd of youths pelting a passing bus with stones just outside the Old City. Another video from the police, taken inside one of the buses, showed Jewish families sitting on the floor of the vehicle as it continued on its way. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including five people who were hospitalized. Israeli police reported nine arrests. By midday, witnesses said police had moved out of the compound. Jordan, which serves as custodian of the holy site, issued a statement condemning Israel's actions, saying they undermine all efforts made to maintain the comprehensive calm and prevent the escalation of violence that threatens security and peace. Under longtime understandings, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount but are barred from praying there. For decades, Jews avoided worship there for religious reasons. Israeli authorities say they are committed to maintaining the status quo, but in recent years large groups of nationalist and religious Jews have regularly visited the site with police escorts, something the Palestinians view as a provocation. The number of visitors often rises during religious holidays. Palestinian officials said nearly 550 Jewish visitors entered the compound, compared to just a few dozen on most days. Such practices have fueled concerns among Palestinians that Israel is plotting to take over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or partition it. Israel strongly denies such claims, saying it is committed to protecting freedom of worship for all. Clashes erupted at the site before dawn on Friday after police said Palestinians had hurled stones toward the Western Wall, an adjacent Jewish holy site. Police entered in force and clashed with dozens of Palestinians shortly after dawn prayers. Israel captured east Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want a future state in all three territories. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and is building and expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank. Hamas controls Gaza, which has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group seized power there in 2007. A radical Jewish group recently called on people to bring animals to the site in order to sacrifice them for Passover, offering cash rewards for those who succeeded or even tried. Israeli police work to prevent such activities, but the call was widely circulated by Palestinians on social media, along with calls for Muslims to prevent any sacrifices from taking place. Israeli police accused Palestinians of spreading disinformation on social media, heightening the tensions. TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) - Singapore-based fund 3D Investment Partners is pleased that shareholders of Toshiba Corp rejected the Japanese conglomerate's separation plan, the fund said on Friday. In a statement, the fund called for Toshiba's strategic review committee to immediately re-examine all the company's options. The statement came a day after an extraordinary general meeting voted down competing proposals, one from Toshiba management and another backed by activist shareholders, leaving uncertain the future direction of the embattled company. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) The party of far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon gave no voting instructions for the French presidential runoff after its internal consultations showed most people would abstain or vote blank on April 24, adding to the uncertainty over the outcome. President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen are looking to attract voters who chose Melenchon, after he came in third in the first round April 10 with about 22% of the vote. With the electorate fragmented and undecided, the election will likely be won by the candidate who can reach beyond his or her camp to convince voters that the other option would be far worse. After the first round, Melenchon called on his supporters not to vote for Le Pen, but he stopped short of advocating for Macron and said his party would hold a public consultation to help guide the millions who backed him. According to results published Sunday, about 215,000 party sympathizers who participated in that, more than 66% said they would abstain, leave their ballot paper blank or spoil it. Just over 33% said they would vote for Macron. The option of voting for Le Pen was not given to respondents. "The results are not an instruction to vote for anybody... everyone will conclude from this and vote as they see fit," Melenchon's campaign team wrote on its website. Pollsters estimate the overall abstention rate for next Sunday's election at about 30%, similar to the first round. It is not clear what a high abstention rate either overall or among Melenchon voters would mean for either candidate. Both Macron and Le Pen were able to mobilize their core support in the first round but are struggling to appeal beyond their own camps. The vote next Sunday is a repeat of the 2017 match-up in the second round. Then, Macron, a pro-European Union centrist, easily beat Le Pen when voters rallied behind him to keep her party out of power. This time round he is seen as facing a much tougher challenge, although the latest opinion polls give him a nine to 10 point lead over Le Pen. An IPSOS-Sopra-Steria opinion poll on Saturday showed that some 33% of Melenchon voters would back Macron, with 16% supporting Le Pen on April 24. But 51% of people were undecided. Wooing Melenchon voters For decades, a "republican front" of voters of all stripes rallying behind a mainstream candidate has helped to keep the far right out of power. But Macron, whose sometimes abrasive style and policies that veered to the right have upset many voters, can no longer automatically count on that sentiment. Le Pen is going for the more working-class, rural part of the Melenchon base by focusing on the cost of living, rising food costs and high petrol prices following the war in Ukraine. Macron, meanwhile, is trying to woo the more educated, center-left and urban segments of Melenchon supporters. On Saturday he told supporters in Marseille, which voted massively for Melenchon, that he had heard their message and would focus his new presidency on making France free of fossil fuels. He slammed Le Pen as a "climate skeptic." "I don't know what he is basing that on, but I've never been climate skeptic and have a program that takes into consideration the environment and ecology," Le Pen told France 3 television. Macron's promises to do more for the environment may not hit the spot for some voters. The head of the Green party, Julien Bayou, said the president was not credible on the subject. "He had five years to act, and he didn't," he told Franceinfo radio, adding that the Green call to vote for Macron was purely to stop the far-right from coming to power. Climate change activists from Extinction Rebellion forced the closure of a main square and avenue in the capital Saturday, protesting the environmental programs of both candidates. Unpredictable local COVID-19 policies combined with Chinas zero-pandemic approach to the coronavirus are taking a toll in Hong Kong, where residents and others say they are feeling increased pressures during the pandemics worst wave. Reports of dead bodies filling hospital rooms, old people on beds outside hospitals in winter rain, long lines in freezing cold for mandatory PCR tests and complaints of neglect in government quarantine facilities have been in newspaper headlines in the last three months. The city recorded the highest COVID death rate across the globe in early March, and residents witnessed the highest dissatisfaction rate with the government since the pandemic began. Lack of support One Hong Kong resident, requesting anonymity, was among those experiencing weeks of stress during the omicron wave. The 28-year-olds mother started coughing in late February, and soon tested positive with at-home test kits. At the time, the government only recognized COVID tests conducted in designated testing stations, which struggled to cope with explosive demand. My mother wanted to go to the stations for a test, but she was refused due to her symptoms. And there were so many people lining up seriously even if I wasnt infected, I probably would have contracted the virus if I had to line up like that, the education worker told VOA. Doctors at private clinics refused to see her mother because of her COVID symptoms. Then she went to the hospital to be told she would be better off going home as she would have to wait for over 10 hours if she stayed. My mother was extremely anxious at the time, and we didnt know what to do since we didnt know how bad it could get. We tried calling the government hotline for more support, but no one picked up. I couldnt sleep for a few nights, she said. The daughter tested positive a few days later using the at-home test but given the reported conditions in quarantine facilities including unpalatable food, negligence and shared toilets she did not to report her test result to authorities to avoid being sent to one. Inconsistent policies On February 18, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a citywide testing plan under its zero-COVID approach to single out the confirmed patients and send some to quarantine facilities. At the time, she said a lockdown would not go hand in hand with the citywide testing. Ten days later, Health Secretary Sophia Chan told public broadcaster RTHK that the city would not rule out a lockdown along with mass testing. That statement fueled fears among Hong Kongers, who were seen emptying supermarket pharmacy shelves in preparation. A day later, Lam urged people to stay calm and not to believe in rumors of a lockdown, despite Chans comments. Eight days later, Lam said the city would drop citywide testing which had been supposed to launch in March as a priority. Starting April 21, dining in in restaurants will resume, and recreational venues, including gyms, cinemas and theme parks will reopen. Another Hong Kong resident, who wished to stay anonymous, told VOA she did not report testing positive to the government because of mercurial policies. I cant even begin they [the government] didnt have any organizational skills. Their measures are mercurial, so residents dont know how to adapt. When I was sick, I couldnt get my hands on any medication because by that point, people already stocked up a lot [during panic buying]. I was worried that my symptoms could be very serious, she said. Financial and mental strains Hong Kong residents fear losing their jobs due to mandatory quarantine, Benjamin Cowling, division head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong, told VOA in an email. A lot of people could be uneasy about the idea of being locked inside a relatively small room for an unknown amount of time, and separated from their family members and pets. Some people have lost their jobs as a result of being isolated, because if they dont show up to work, they will be replaced, Cowling said. The head of Soulgood, a local online counseling platform, told VOA the demand for counseling services jumped tenfold in the last three months. Mental stress has definitely increased in the past year due to COVID as there is more stress related to COVID policiesMain symptoms of this group were isolation, anxiety and depression, Ben Cheung, CEO of the platform, wrote in an email. More than 65,000 people applied for the governments unemployment relief plan for COVID on the first day it was open, according to a government statement in late March. A separate local survey revealed that that two-thirds of Hong Kongers would see their household income affected if they are restricted from going out during the citywide testing, and half think that they would be infected when getting their specimens collected at the testing station. The survey also indicated that close to half of Hong Kongers do not support policies requiring confirmed patients to quarantine at government designated facilities. Zero-COVID approach Hong Kong cannot make the final decision on its COVID policies, according to Alfred Wu, assistant professor at the National University of Singapore specializing in governance in the Greater China region. It is clear that Beijing makes the final decision. China thinks zero-COVID policy works, and so every city should try to implement that, including Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government knows they have to listen to Beijing, even when many people and businesses are opposed to stringent restrictions, Wu told VOA by phone. A zero-COVID approach is likely only effective when the population is mostly vaccinated, according to Dr. Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at the Canberra Hospital in Australia. Policies that keep covid at low levels or at zero levels are a good idea initially while you get you population vaccinated, Collignon told VOA in an email. Hong Kongs elderly have been hit the hardest by the Omicron wave, with people aged over 80 witnessing the highest number of deaths. This group also saw the lowest vaccination rate - below 60%. The biggest mistake in Hong Kong was to presume they [the government] could maintain zero COVID but more importantly, not to ensure that those most likely to die from COVID when it inevitably entered Hong Kong and spread widely, the elderly, were vaccinated. Hence why the death toll in HK is so high per capita compared to other countries who also had low levels or zero covid before, Collignon added. The Media Institute of Southern Africa in Malawi (MISA-Malawi), a watchdog group, has accused the Malawi Police Service of hacking a website for the Platform for Investigative Journalism. The accusation comes after the media organization said Thursday that its website was compromised. Police have denied the allegation, saying the group lacks evidence. The website hacking came more than a week after police arrested the managing director for the Platform for Investigative Journalism, Gregory Gondwe. They wanted to find out where and how he obtained documents he used in a story about corruption involving government authorities. Police could not get Gondwe to reveal the information; however, they did confiscate a mobile phone and laptop belonging to him and forced him to reveal passwords. Gondwe was unconditionally released four hours later due to international pressure, largely from the U.S. and British embassies in Malawi. Police returned his equipment a day later. In a statement, the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Malawi (MISA-Malawi), a watchdog organization, says it believes the hacking was intentional and cannot rule out the involvement of state agents, considering the circumstances. Teresa Ndanga, the chairperson for MISA-Malawi, spoke to VOA via a messaging application. This hacking incident happened a few days after the managing director of the Platform was arrested, his gadgets seized and was forced to hand over his passwords. So, they essentially had access to everything that Gregory has - his private life, his work life and everything else. And that coincidence in itself is conviction enough on our part to conclude or to suspect that police are involved, she said. Ndanga says it is concerning that police officers who must be in the forefront in combating cybersecurity crimes have been linked to actions that qualify them as prime suspects. Hacking is a crime in Malawi under the Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act of 2016. Offenders face fines and seven years imprisonment. MISA-Malawi has therefore asked the government to investigate and prosecute anyone suspected in this incident. Harry Namwaza, deputy spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service, told VOA via a messaging app that MISA-Malawis allegation lacks evidence. Actually as police, you actually know that we have a mandate to summon any person we feel that will be important in our inquiries and the investigation was legally binding. So, this is why we are saying basing the accusation on that, is not substantial in terms of evidence, he said. Namwaza said the investigation of Gondwe is still ongoing. Interrogating him was one of the stages of our investigations we are conducting because he is one of the people we know that can help in the investigations. But it has nothing to do with the hacking. Namwaza says police have yet to start investigating the hacking incident because they have not received a complaint from the Platform for Investigative Journalism. Gregory Gondwe says his group is still assessing what happened. We havent complained because we are looking at what has been happening," he said. "The police, to us, are the main suspects because of what has led to the hacking. The first was the arrest, the confiscation of the IT gadgets, and the hacking of our website. How do you expect me to go to the same police, and lodge a complaint? Gondwe says, so far, his media organization has engaged independent IT experts to help track down the hackers. Security analyst Sheriff Kaisi says police should work with other organizations like the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority to assist in tracking and arresting the hackers if it wants to come out in the clear. Mali's army said Saturday that it had killed "a dozen terrorists" including a French-Tunisian jihadis in airstrikes in the center of the Sahel nation. The armed forces carried out two strikes on Thursday "to neutralize a dozen terrorists in the forest of Ganguel" about 10 kilometers from the village of Moura, the general staff said in a press release. "These strikes made it possible to neutralize some cadres of the GSIM," (the Group to Support Islam and Muslims) the biggest jihadi alliance in the Sahel, it said, "including Samir Al-Burhan, a Franco-Tunisian terrorist cadre." The army said it acted on precise information regarding a "group of terrorists" it said had come "to boost the morale" of GSIM fighters and provide support to them after their "serious setback at Moura." Mali's military-dominated government says it "neutralized" 203 jihadis in Moura at the end of March, but witnesses interviewed by media and Human Rights Watch (HRW) say soldiers actually killed scores of civilians with the help of foreign fighters. No photos or video to support either the account by Malian authorities or HRW have emerged from Moura since then. The U.N. mission in Mali has for days been asking to be allowed to send a team of investigators to the area but without success. Ruled by a military junta since August 2020, Mali has been in a political crisis since 2012. The spread of jihadis from the north of the vast, impoverished country has spilled into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, and the conflict has become more complicated with emergence of local militias and criminal gangs. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-firing of an apparently nuclear-capable new-type tactical guided weapon, state media reported Sunday, the latest in a series of provocative launches by Pyongyang. The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper posted pictures of the apparently short-range weapon emerging from a mobile launch vehicle parked on a beach, as Kim observed, apparently from an observation vehicle parked nearby. The weapon is of great significance in radically increasing the fire striking power of the long-range artillery units on the front and strengthening the effectiveness of tactical nuclear operation of the DPRK and diversification of the firepower task, the report said, using an abbreviation for North Koreas official name. Based on that description, analysts said the rocket appears meant to deliver tactical nuclear weapons, an attempt to fulfill one of several key military modernization goals laid out by Kim in a speech last year. The rocket appears visually similar to the KN-23 and KN-24, two short-range North Korean ballistic missiles first tested in 2019, said Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All three could serve as a tactical nuclear weapons delivery system if they so chose. I'm not sure why they'd introduce yet another new short-range missile type specifically (for) this role, Panda told VOA. South Koreas military on Sunday said the North Korean launch involved two projectiles, which were fired about 6 p.m. local time Saturday. The projectiles, it said, flew a distance of about 110 kilometers at an altitude of about 25 kilometers much shorter than even North Koreas recent short-range launches. It is not clear why the North and South Korean accounts differed regarding the number of weapons fired. North Korea has conducted multiple tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could likely reach the U.S. mainland. Its latest such test occurred last month. But the North also seeks the capability to deliver smaller nuclear weapons at shorter distances, which would pose a major threat to U.S. allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea has for months ratcheted up tensions with the United States. Many analysts expected the North to conduct a major weapons test around this week, while the country celebrates the birth anniversary of the countrys founding leader, Kim Il Sung. State media did not say when the latest launch occurred. South Koreas military also did not issue its typical real-time missile launch alert to reporters although sometimes Seoul does not issue such alerts for smaller launches. The first sign of a launch came early Sunday, when authorities on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam released a statement saying there was no indication that a reported launch from North Korea posed a threat to the island. The statement raised eyebrows, since at that point, there had been no reports of a North Korean launch. So far this year, North Korea has conducted at least 14 rounds of launches. Last month, it conducted its first ICBM test since 2017. U.S. officials have warned the North could soon conduct another nuclear test. As North Korea tests bigger weapons, the U.S. and its allies are also ramping up their displays of military strength. Last week, a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group entered international waters near South Korea for the first time since 2017. The U.S. and South Korea are also set to hold major joint military drills later this month. The military exercises will likely involve bigger weapons and more personnel than in recent years, some analysts predict. Since 2018, the two allies have scaled back or spread out joint drills to preserve the chances for diplomacy and because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is highly likely that both sides will agree to restore the annual joint military exercises to previous levels, said Bong Young-shik with Yonsei University's Institute for North Korean Studies. Why continue (scaling down the exercises) if it has been proven not effective at all in terms of pacifying North Koreas behavior? Meanwhile, North Korea has rejected invitations by U.S. officials to resume nuclear talks. Negotiations between Kim and former U.S. President Donald Trump broke down in 2019 over disagreements on how to pace sanctions relief with steps to dismantle North Koreas nuclear program. Pope Francis on Saturday invoked "gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war" in an Easter vigil homily in St. Peter's Basilica attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three Ukrainian lawmakers. The pontiff noted that while "many writers have evoked the beautify of starlit nights, the nights of war, however, are riven by streams of light that portend death." Francis did not refer directly to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has called for an Easter truce in order to reach a negotiated peace. That call appeared in vain Saturday, as Russia resumed missile and rocket attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond in a stark reminder that the whole country remains under threat. At the end of his homily, the pontiff directly addressed Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov and Ukrainian lawmakers Maria Mezentseva, Olena Khomenko and Rusem Umerov, who sat together in the front row. "In this darkness of war, in the cruelty, we are all praying for you and with you this night. We are praying for all the suffering. We can only give you our company, our prayer,'' Francis said, adding that "the biggest thing you can receive: Christ is risen," speaking the last three words in Ukrainian. Fedorov was abducted and held for five days by Russian troops after they occupied Melitopol, a strategic southern city. Fedorov and the lawmakers have been visiting European capitals asking for more aid for their war-torn country and met earlier Saturday with the Vatican's No. 2, Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. For Christians, Easter is a day of joy and hope, as they mark their belief that Jesus triumphed over death by resurrection following his crucifixion. "For with Jesus, the Risen Lord, no night will last forever; and even in the darkest night, the morning star continues to shine,'' the pope said in his homily. Francis, who has been suffering from an inflamed ligament, did not participate in a candle-lit procession up the aisle of the darkened basilica at the start of the Mass. He instead sat in front of the altar on a wooden upholstered chair in white robes. Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said the Mass instead. Arrayed before the steps of the altar was a row of cardinals, wearing ivory robes and face masks for the first Easter vigil Mass with the faithful present since the pandemic. Among those in the basilica were seven adults who were baptized by the pope during the Mass. The Vatican said these new faithful are from Italy, the United States, Albania and Cuba. From a shell-shaped silver dish, Francis poured holy water over the bowed heads of the seven, after they walked up to him one by one and listened to him calling their first names. On Sunday, Francis celebrates Easter Mass in the late morning in St. Peter's Square and gives a speech from the basilica balcony, known by its Latin name "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and to the world), in which he recounts the trials and conflicts facing the world. On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis said Jesus, the victor over sin, fear and death, called on the world not to surrender to evil and violence. He made an impassioned plea for an end to the war in Ukraine and urged the faithful to appeal for peace and the end to cruelty and senseless destruction. For the crowds this Easter was a true resurrection after two years of pandemic that brought Holy Week events to a standstill. Pope Francis made a strong plea for peace in what he called this Easter of war. Tens of thousands turned out in a sunny but windy Saint Peters Square this year to attend Easter mass, hear the popes words and receive his blessing. In his Urbi et Orbi [to the city and the world] Easter message the pope called for peace to return in war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. Francis called on the world not to get used to war and said may a new dawn of hope soon appear." Let there be a decision for peace, Francis said, may there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. He urged everyone to commit tocall for peace from balconies and streets and expressed the hope that the leaders of nations will hear the peoples plea for peace. The popes thoughts went to the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. Francis added that amid the pain of war, there are also encouraging signs, many acts of charity as families and communities open their doors to welcome migrants and refugees throughout Europe. On Easter Sunday believers mark the most joyful day in the Christian calendar which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus three days after his death on the cross. Today, more than ever, the pope said, we hear echoing the Easter proclamation so dear to the Christian East: Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Today, more than ever, he added, we need him, at the end of a Lent that has seemed endless. Francis said the conflict in Europe should also make the world more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations in many areas of the world that cannot be overlooked or forgotten. He mentioned the Middle East, racked by years of conflict and division and specifically Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan and Myanmar. The pope also urged peace for the whole of the African continent and for assistance to be given to people suffering from social conditions in Latin America. Francis ended his Easter message with powerful words: Peace is possible, peace is a duty, peace is everyones prime responsibility. A tenuous truce between the Thai government and armed separatists in the countrys far south and a deal to discuss some of the rebels core concerns are spurring hopes of progress toward a lasting peace after years of sputtering talks, despite a rebel attack in the region Friday. The two sides met face to face in Malaysia on March 31 and April 1 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. They agreed to mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with an informal cease-fire, to run from April 3 to May 14, and to set up three joint working groups on reducing violence, consulting the public and hashing out political solutions to the conflict. The separatists have been fighting to make an independent state of Buddhist-majority Thailands predominantly Malay Muslim southern provinces, which comprised the sultanate of Patani when Britain handed them over to what was then the kingdom of Siam in 1909. More than 7,300 people have been killed in related violence since the occasional bouts of rebellion flared up again in 2004. Official peace talks started nine years later. If this becomes a peaceful Ramadan, then I think it will build confidence on both sides, said Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, a lecturer at the Peace Studies Institute of Thailands Prince of Songkla University. If they can manage that, she added, they might then negotiate a more formal, long-term cease-fire and even move on finally to discussion on the substantive matters. She and other analysts told VOA last week that the truce, while fragile and lacking official monitors, appeared to be holding. On Saturday, however, a rebel group affiliated with the Patani United Liberation Organization, which was left out of the talks, reportedly claimed responsibility for bombings in Pattani province the day before that killed a civilian and injured three police officers. The governments negotiating team told VOA Sunday that the truce was still in effect. Paradigm shifts The Thai government struck the Ramadan deal with Barisan Revolusi National, the largest and most active of the rebel groups. Rungrawee said the government seems to be giving up its narrative that BRN and the rest are no more than criminal gangs. They were trying to delegitimize the people who have undertaken this armed resistance, so to state it clearly that this is a political problem that needs a political solution, I think it is an important shift on the part of the government, she said. Matthew Wheeler, Southeast Asia senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said openly treating the conflict as a political problem could help pave the way toward something short of independence for the southern provinces. Presumably a political solution would involve ... some change to the existing relationship between local people in the southernmost provinces and the state, so that suggests some sort of decentralization or devolution of political power, he said. But what form thats going to take, when it would happen, all of that is yet to be determined. Neither side has gone public with the full text of the Ramadan deal. But Wheeler said the statement the Thai government issued just after the meeting did refer to a Patani community, possibly the first time it has conceded the existence of a distinct cultural identity born from the old sultanate. National identity has been so central to the nation-building concept in Thailand in the modern era, and thats encapsulated in the [national] slogan of nation, religion and monarchy,' which of course is something that this government champions. So, to acknowledge a subnational identity I think is an important step, he said. The same statement also says that both sides agreed to aim for a settlement that respects the Unitary State of Thailand in accordance with the Constitution. The first article of the constitution says the country is indivisible. Wheeler said that suggests BRN itself may be willing to consider something short of independence, at least for now. Having a senior figure from BRNs military wing at the table for the first time, a man known by the alias Deng Awaeji, also signals that the peace talks are finally being taken seriously by more than just the groups political wing, Rungrawee said. This is a major issue for the Thai government, she said. They want to know whether there is buy-in from the military wing or not, because they are doubtful that the people who come to the dialogue table have command and control over the militants on the ground. To the extreme Observers still see a long and winding road ahead for the peace talks, though, with potential pitfalls that may yet derail the process. Don Pathan, a Thailand-based security analyst who has been following the conflict for decades, said BRN political leaders seem to be giving way on the groups long-held goal of independence for the southern provinces without first convincing their rank-and-file fighters to go along. He said both the Thai government and BRN delegations to the latest meeting dodged pointed questions about BRNs current stance on independence at their press conferences on April 1. BRNs brief remarks to the media made no mention of adhering to the Thai constitution or the notion of a unitary state of Thailand, as the governments statement did. Thats the worrying point right now, Pathan said. If the combatants feel that this point, independence, is off the table, has been compromised, I have a strong feeling that there could be a split, a splinter group created, because for the past 18 years theyve been told that independence is a moral obligation. Any splinter group, he added, is likely to be more radical and violent. Some research suggests that extremism may be rising in the ranks already. Panitan Wattanayagorn, an adviser to Thailands National Security Council and special government envoy to the southern provinces, said that is the conclusion of a paper he co-authored on the insurgency and is soon to be published by Thailands Chiang Mai University. Despite an overall drop in violence for the past few years, he said his research and interviews suggest that the younger generations of fighters are, for example, more willing to die in combat and more likely to have their politics infused with religion. If not tackled soon, he warned it could lead to a new spiral of violence and dampen the mood for more peace talks. There are a lot of political consequences ... if this thing is not handled properly at the national level, Panitan said. And in the end the Thai public will get even more nationalistic, you see, and like they always do maybe support more troops to the south, which is quite bad. The southern provinces have been living under heightened security measures for years already, with repeated accusations of human rights abuses by soldiers and police, including the torture and death of suspected insurgents in custody. Russia is waiting Sunday for holdout Ukrainian fighters in the besieged port city of Mariupol to surrender their weapons. "There was no sign of compliance by Ukrainian fighters holed up in the vast Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov, according to Reuters, hours after the 0300 UTC deadline. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Saturday, The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman ... Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there in Mariupol. If Russia does capture Mariupol, it would be Russias first capture of a major Ukraine city since Russias invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Zelenskyy said he talked with the British and Swedish prime ministers Saturday about the situation in Mariupol, as well as toughening sanctions against Russia, and defense and support for Ukraine. Russia has also resumed missile attacks on several Ukrainian locations, as well as shelling attacks on other cities. Although we have heard many intentions from those who wanted to help Ukraine fight off the Russian troops, Zelenskyy said in his address, none of them have been realized yet. An explosion in Kharkiv Saturday destroyed a community kitchen set up by celebrity chef Jose Andres World Central Kitchen, which is feeding people in several locations across war-torn Ukraine and in neighboring countries. Andres told The Associated Press that the groups chefs will continue to cook in Ukraine and the attack on the kitchen demonstrates that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. The death toll from floods that have battered South Africa's east coast has risen to 443, including a rescuer, a regional official said on Sunday, as dozens more are still missing. "The death toll now stands at 443," Sihle Zikalala, the premier of the KwaZulu-Natal province told a media briefing, adding 63 other people are still unaccounted for. A member of the rescue and recovery team "experienced difficult breathing and was airlifted to... hospital. Unfortunately he passed away." Rains were starting to let up in the flood-ravaged east, allowing for search and relief aid operations to continue after one of the deadliest storms in living memory. Zikalala said the "inclement weather has slowed our assessment and rescue operation on the ground, but we are once again back in the full swing." Floodwaters engulfed parts of the southeastern coastal city of Durban and surrounding areas early last week ripping apart roads, destroying hospitals and sweeping away homes and those trapped inside. 'Rains clearing' The city of 3.5 million was overcast but the South African Weather Service's Puseletso Mofokeng said "rainfall is actually clearing." "The rainfall is going to clear [away] completely as we move to Wednesday," he told AFP. But recovery operations and humanitarian relief continued in the economic hub and tourist magnet city whose beaches and warm Indian Ocean waters would normally have been teeming with Easter holidaymakers. The number of flood-related emergency calls had decreased compared to early last week. "Emergency services are still currently on high alert on Sunday morning," Robert McKenzie of the provincial KwaZulu-Natal emergency services told AFP. It rained on Saturday and overnight, "however now, it has stopped," said McKenzie. Even so, emergency services were busy attending to a scene in the district of Pinetown where a house collapsed overnight. "Fortunately now the flood waters have receded and [some] roads cleared. It's a lot easier to access the community," he said. Christians congregated at churches across the city and further afield to offer prayers for those affected by the floods as they celebrated Easter Sunday. "It's a tragedy of overwhelming proportions," said Thabo Makgoba, the Archbishop of Cape Town in his Easter message, a day after his visited Durban. "The community is suffering severe emotional stress and pain," said Makgoba, successor to Desmond Tutu. Government, churches and charities were marshalling relief aid for the more than 40,000 people left homeless by the raging floodwaters. The government has announced an immediate one billion rand ($68 million) in emergency relief funding. Hospitals and schools destroyed Deputy Social Development Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, said some 340 social workers had been deployed to offer support to traumatized survivors with many still missing children and other relatives. Most casualties were in Durban, a port city and a major economic hub. Parts of the city have been without water and electricity since Monday after floods ripped away infrastructure. Scores of hospitals and hundreds of schools have been destroyed. The intensity of the floods took South Africa, the most economically advanced African country, by surprise. While the southeastern region has suffered some flooding before, the devastation has never been so severe. South Africans have previously watched similar tragedies hit neighboring countries such as cyclone-prone Mozambique. These floods have forced President Cyril Ramaphosa to postpone a working visit to Saudi Arabia that was scheduled to begin Tuesday. The loss of hundreds of lives "and thousands of homes, as well as the economic impact and the destruction of infrastructure, calls for all hands on deck," said Ramaphosa. The country is still struggling to recover from the COVID pandemic and deadly riots last year that killed more than 350 people, mostly in the now flood-struck southeastern region. Anna Vakili said she was detained by police in Iran for wearing 'non-Islamic' clothing. (WireImage) Love Island contestant Anna Vakili has claimed she was arrested in Iran for wearing tight-fitting jeans. The 31-year-old reality TV star, whose parents are Iranian, appeared on broadcaster Johnny Seifert's Secure the Insecure podcast this week and recalled the scary incident. Read more: Anna Vakili claims there's Love Island animosity after show Vakili said she was approached by officers while out with her aunt and they told her that her outfit was "non-Islamic". "It was really scary because I just remember all these police women grabbing me and trying to put me in the van," said the model and influencer. Anna Vakili appeared on the 2019 series of Love Island. (ITV) She added: "They were saying in Farsi 'your jeans are too tight and it's not Islamic', and they were trying to push me into the car. "My auntie was grabbing me and pulling me away and saying: 'She's English, she's from England, she doesn't know'. Read more: Love Island stars discuss etiquette of dating friends' exes "I pretended that I couldn't speak Farsi and they let me go because I was from England and I didn't know the laws enough." Vakili discussed her pride in her Iranian heritage on the podcast, but said she felt she didn't fit in with English girls at school or with Iranian people when she visited the country as a youngster. Anna Vakili formed a close relationship with Amber Gill during their time in the Love Island villa. (Getty) She said: "There was always that 'which one am I?'. Now I can say that I'm Persian, but British Persian. I'm both. "I do love my roots. I like being different and I love the Iranian culture." Read more: Zara McDermott says she won't be "kept in a box" after Love Island Vakili appeared on the fifth series of Love Island in 2019 and left the villa as a singleton after several explosive rows with partner Jordan Hames. During her time on the show, she formed a close friendship with Amber Gill, who eventually went on to win the show alongside Greg O'Shea beating clear favourites Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague. Watch: Love Island stars offer advice on relationships Sri Lankans protesting for days near the president's office criticized a lack of progress in finding those responsible for the deaths of more than 260 people in Islamic State-inspired bombings on Easter Sunday three years ago, piling pressure on the government already embroiled in a deep economic crisis. The protesters demanded the government uncover what they called the real conspirators behind the attacks on three churches two Catholic and one Protestant that included simultaneous suicide bombings during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing 42 foreigners from 14 countries. On Sunday, hundreds of people lit candles and displayed banners and placards during a silent protest in the capital, Colombo, calling for justice for the victims of the attacks. The demonstrations were held at Colombo's main esplanade, where thousands of people have been protesting for eight days to demand the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the worst debt crisis that has caused critical shortages of fuel, food and medicines in the Indian Ocean island nation. Protesters including relatives of the victims accused the government of failing to deliver justice for the bombings. They displayed a huge banner that read: "It's been 3 years, we cry for justice" and placards that read: "Who was behind this attack?" "My entire family is gone. Today, I live a very lonely life. I have no words to explain my agony," said Shiran Anton, whose wife and only daughter died in the attacks. "I want to find out who the real culprits were behind this attack and why they did it," he said, adding he was not satisfied with the investigation. Officials have charged dozens of people who allegedly received weapons training and participated in indoctrination classes from the two local Islamic extremist groups accused of carrying out the attacks. The groups had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Friction between the country's former president and former prime minister who belonged to different political parties was blamed for the failure to act on the intelligence warnings. The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has also been critical of the investigation into the bombings. Church leaders have repeatedly blamed Rajapaksa's government for not taking action against former President Maithripala Sirisena and other top officials for failing to prevent the bombings. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has said the true conspirators in the attacks could still be at large and questioned the government over allegations that some members of state intelligence knew and had met with at least one attacker. The attacks shattered the country's tourism industry a key source of hard currency just a year before the pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the economy. Protesters also blame the government's mismanagement of the country's debt payments, including taking loans for dubious investments. The country is on the brink of bankruptcy, saddled with $25 billion in foreign debt over the next five years nearly $7 billion of which is due this year alone and dwindling foreign reserves. Talks with the International Monetary Fund are expected later this month, and the government had turned to China and India for emergency loans to buy food and fuel. Much of the anger has been directed at Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who head an influential clan that has been in power for most of the past two decades. Shuffling down the corridor of a refugee center in Ukraine with his gray tracksuit sleeve rolled to his shoulder, 71-year-old Vladimir Lignov reveals the remains of a severed limb he says he can still feel. "It was on the 21st of March, I went out to smoke. Then a shell hit. I lost my arm," he says, recalling the strike on his home in Avdiivka, an industrial hub in east Ukraine and a military priority for invading Russian forces. Now in relative safety in the central Ukraine city of Dnipro the former train conductor is among what aid workers say is a particularly vulnerable segment of the population the elderly. In the Dnipro maternity hospital, hastily opened to accommodate people fleeing Moscow's forces, Lignov is struggling to come to terms with what happened and why not to mention what might come next. Medical staff at the Myrnorad hospital near ongoing fighting and where Lignov was treated after the strike say he should return for treatment in a week. Staff in Dnipro, he says, told him he should return in three days. "I don't understand what's going on. Maybe it's better if I just go to the graveyard. I don't want to go on living," he says, as another elderly man hobbles past him in the corridor. A van arrives from the east ferrying three elderly people groaning in pain as volunteers lower them gingerly into wheelchairs. Other passengers are erratic. One man, dazed, reaches for his cigarettes as soon as he gets out of the van and grabs his belongings as if he is rushing to safety. "The hardest are the people who spent long stretches in cellars," says Olga Volkova, the volunteer director of the center, that houses 84 residents, most of whom are elderly. "A lot of people were left on their own. We helped them before the war, but then they were left to fend for themselves." The elderly are "often forgotten, very vulnerable" in times of war says Federico Dessi, the Ukraine director of the NGO Handicap International, a group that provides equipment and will financially help the Dnipro home. "Cut off from their families" and "sometimes unable to use telephones or communicate" they are particularly vulnerable in conflicts, Dessi said. Leaving aside physical health, the elderly often require "additional help, which is often not available." Aleksandra Vasiltchenko, an 80-year-old ethnic Russian from Ukraine is luckier than most of the other new arrivals. For one, she is sure on her feet, despite other ailments, and her grandson comes to pick her up as soon as she arrives at the Dnipro home. She was relieved to have escaped after spending weeks alone in her three-room apartment in the eastern Ukraine city of Kramatorsk, where Russian strikes recently killed nearly 60 people trying to flee by rail. "I was hiding all the time in the bathroom. I was constantly crying. I was imprisoned in my own flat," she tells AFP, saying she wished death on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children. Perched on a bedside, her hands gripping a walking aid, Zoya Taran considers herself among the lucky ones that's despite having only one working kidney, precarious balance, diabetes and poor eyesight. Thats because her rock musician son quit a career in "show business" two decades ago to care for her. "I am that elderly babushka," she says smiling. "My son is my eyes, my hands and my legs. I have nothing on my own." So as Russian strikes edged closer to Sloviansk, Taran, who had initially hesitated to leave, finally decided it was time in order to "save my son." "Why do we need this war? What do they want from us?" she says, sobbing. Citing Ukrainian government figures, Handicap International estimates that 13,000 elderly Ukrainians or people with disabilities have arrived in the wider Dnipro region since Russia launched its invasion in late February. Another hub, mainly for evacuees from the besieged and destroyed port city of Mariupol, and their children, has also offered shelter to elderly residents from the east. "Even if you open 10 places like this, they will all be full, says Konstantin Gorshkov, who runs the center with his wife Natalia. Among the 30 new arrivals joining the roughly 100 existing residents is 83-year-old Yulia Panfiorova from Lysychansk in the northwestern part of the Lugansk region, under attack by Russian forces. The former economics professor now hard of hearing was "very scared" by the sound of shooting in her town and the three shells that stuck close enough to her home to blow out her windows. "This is my third war," she said, referring first to World War II, then the outbreak of fighting in 2014 between the Ukrainian army and pro-Kremlin separatists. "Lysychansk was freed from the Nazis in 1943. I remember how we returned home. Of course, I have some memories about it. "They were Nazis. Then our country was invaded, and now our country has been invaded by a foreign state. Then the freedom of our state was at threat. Now it is the same. We should fight... But the war is so scary." Ukraine's prime minister said Sunday that the strategic port city of Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control. "The city still has not fallen, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABCs This Week, hours after the expiration of a Russian deadline for holdout Ukrainian fighters in the besieged port city to surrender their weapons. "There's still our military forces, our soldiers. So, they will fight to the end, he said. Asked about reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes Moscow is winning the war, Shmyhal noted that while several cities are under siege, only Kherson in the south has fallen under Russian control. More than 900 cities, towns and villagesare freed from Russian occupation, Shmyhal said, adding Ukraine has no intention of surrendering in the eastern Donbas region. Watch related video by Arash Arabasadi: On NBCs Meet the Press Sunday, Austria Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Putin is in his own war logic and believes Russia is winning the war in Ukraine. Nehammer said he had visited the Ukraine town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, where evidence of killings and torture were found after Russian forces withdrew from the area. He later met with Putin in Moscow and said that he confronted the Russian leader with what he had seen in Bucha, adding, It was not a friendly conversation. On Saturday, Zelenskyy said that if surrounded Ukrainian troops in Mariupol were killed, peace talks with Moscow would be scrapped. Putin had already said the talks were at a "dead end." Shmyhal said Sunday that Ukraine wants a diplomatic solution "if possible. We won't leave our country, our families, our land, he added. Zelenskyy tweeted Sunday that he had discussed ensuring Ukraine's financial stability and preparations for post-war reconstruction with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. On Twitter, Georgieva responded, saying that support was "essential to lay the foundations for rebuilding a modern competitive #Ukraine." Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN taped Friday and aired Sunday, said Ukraine is prepared to fight for the Donbas region. The battle will be critical, he said. If Russia were to capture Donbas, it could once again try to seize Kyiv. "It is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle ... can influence the course of the whole war," Zelenskyy said. Asked whether he was concerned that Russia could resort to using nuclear force, Zelenskyy said he and the rest of the world should be worried. They can. For them, the life of the people is nothing, he said. Russia initially described its aims as disarming Ukraine and defeating nationalists there. Kyiv and its Western allies say those are bogus justifications for an unprovoked war of aggression that has driven a quarter of Ukraine's 44 million people from their homes. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Authorities in South Carolina say they are investigating a shooting at a club in Hampton County early Sunday that left at least nine people injured. It was the third mass shooting in the United States over the Easter holiday weekend. The three shootings in South Carolina and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left two minors dead and at least 31 people injured. South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating, said in an email there were no reported fatalities in the early shooting at the Cara's Lounge in Hampton County. No information was immediately available on the severity of the injuries. Hampton County is roughly 129 kilometers (80 miles) west of Charleston. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. In Pittsburgh, meanwhile, two minors were killed and at least eight people were injured during a shooting at a house party. The shooting, which followed an altercation, happened around 12:30 a.m. during a party at a short-term rental property where hundreds of people had gathered the "vast majority" of them underage, Chief Scott Schubert of the Pittsburgh police department told reporters. The shootings on Sunday come just a day after gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of where Sunday's nightclub shooting took place. Nine people were shot and five people were injured while trying to flee the scene at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. The Columbia Police Department announced the arrest of 22-year-old Jewayne M. Price, who was one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest in the mall shooting. Price was scheduled to have a bond hearing at 2 p.m. Sunday on charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol. It is not immediately known if Price has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Police said the 73-year-old victim continues to receive medical treatment, but the other victims have been released from local hospitals or will be released shortly. "We don't believe this was random," Holbrook said. "We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire." The three Easter weekend mass shootings are in addition to other shootings in recent days. Last week, a gunman opened fire in a New York subway car, injuring 10 people. A suspect was arrested the next day. Earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol. One week ago, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded, authorities said. And last month, 10 people were shot at a spring break party in Dallas, Texas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire, police said. KYIV/MARIUPOL Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine's capital and other cities Saturday, as Moscow said its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol and only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remained inside a steelworks plant in the besieged southern port. Russia's claim to have all but taken control of Mariupol, scene of the war's heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the February 24 invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday the situation in the besieged port remained extremely severe and Kyiv was in touch with city's defenders every day. Zelenskyy, speaking in an online address, accused Russia of trying to wipe out the city's inhabitants but did not address Moscow's claim earlier in the day that its troops had cleared the entire urban area of Mariupol of Ukrainian forces. "The situation is very difficult" in Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ukrayinska Pravda news portal. "Our soldiers are blocked; the wounded are blocked. There is a humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, the guys are defending themselves." As Russia launched more long-range attacks following the sinking of its Black Sea fleet's flagship, Moscow said its warplanes had struck a tank repair factory in Kyiv. An explosion was heard, and smoke rose over the southeastern Darnytskyi district. The mayor said at least one person was killed and medics were fighting to save others. The Ukrainian military said Russian warplanes that took off from Belarus had fired missiles at the Lviv region near the Polish border and four cruise missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses. The western city has been relatively unscathed so far and serves as a haven for refugees and international aid agencies. In the port city of Mariupol, Reuters journalists in Russian-held districts reached the Ilyich steelworks, one of two metals plants where defenders have held out in underground tunnels and bunkers. Moscow claimed to have captured it Friday. The factory was reduced to a ruin of twisted steel and blasted concrete, with no sign of defenders present. Several bodies of civilians lay scattered on nearby streets. The RIA news agency said as of Saturday, Ukrainian forces in the city had lost more than 4,000 people. The governor of Kharkiv province in the east said at least one person had been killed and 18 were injured in a missile strike. In Mykolaiv, a city close to the southern front, Russia said it had struck a military vehicle repair factory. Retaliation after ship sinks The attacks followed Russia's announcement Friday that it would intensify long-range strikes in retaliation for unspecified acts of "sabotage" and "terrorism," hours after it confirmed the sinking of its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva. Kyiv and Washington say the ship, whose sinking has become a symbol of Ukrainian defiance, was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Moscow says it sank after a fire and that its crew of around 500 were evacuated. Russia's Defense Ministry published video of the head of the navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, meeting on a parade ground with about a hundred sailors it said were members of the crew. A month and a half into President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Russia is trying to capture territory in the south and east after withdrawing from the north following an assault on Kyiv that was repelled at the capital's outskirts. Mariupol 'will always be Ukrainian' Mariupol is the main port of the Donbas, a region of two provinces in the southeast that Moscow demands be fully ceded to separatists. The owner of both steelworks factories in Mariupol, Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, vowed to rebuild the city. "Mariupol has been and will always be a Ukrainian city," Akhmetov told Reuters. Ukraine says it has so far held off Russian advances elsewhere in the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where at least one person was killed in shelling overnight. In the front-line Luhansk town of Lysychansk, civilians fled for safety from incoming shells as thick smoke rose from a blackened shop and burned-out cars. Ukraine gained the upper hand in the early phase of a war, in part by successfully deploying mobile units armed with anti-tank missiles supplied by the West against Russian armored convoys confined to roads by muddy terrain. But Putin appears determined to capture more Donbas territory to claim victory in a war that has left Russia subject to increasingly punitive Western sanctions and with few allies. Zelenskyy told Ukrainian reporters the world should prepare "in a number of ways" for the possibility Russia might use nuclear weapons. He did not give evidence for the assertion. Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would resort to nuclear weapons only in the case of a "threat to the existence" of the country, and not as a result of the Ukraine conflict. An adviser to Zelenskyy said the country needed a swifter supply of weapons from its European Union partners. "Ukraine needs weapons. Not in a month. Now," Mykhailo Podolyak said in a Twitter post. Russian defense officials said its anti-aircraft systems in the Odesa region shot down a Ukrainian transport plane delivering weapons supplied by Western governments. It did not provide any evidence. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Zelenskyy said about 2,500-3,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed so far and up to 20,000 Russian troops. Moscow has given no updates on its casualties since March 25, when it said 1,351 had died. Western estimates of Russian losses are many times higher. Ukraine says civilian deaths are impossible to count, estimating at least 20,000 were killed in Mariupol alone. Overall, around a quarter of Ukrainians have been driven from their homes, including a tenth of the population that has fled abroad. Nearly 400 people have died in floods in South Africa's eastern coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal. In the normally bustling city of Durban, survivors are left to begin digging themselves out of the mud and debris. Ankle-deep in mud, residents of the informal settlement called Mega Village in the south end of Durban have begun the arduous process of cleaning up after devastating floods. The heavy rains that saw as much as 300 mm (13 inches) fall within 24-hours at its peak have been called one of the worst weather events South Africa has ever seen. Ben Motshwa is among the countless residents of Mega Village who saw their homes, made of corrugated iron, wash away in the blink of an eye Monday. When the flood was coming, we only had to run, he said. There was nothing we could do. And if were running, where are we running to? We didnt have anywhere to go to. Just moving. Just going to where we think there is some sort of dry area where we can maybe stand. We lost basically everything. Motshwa said his small printing business was also washed away, leaving him with no source of income. The community, built on a flood plain, is a symptom of the countrys preexisting housing crisis, now under even greater pressure. The government estimates that over 13,500 homes were damaged by the floods, of which nearly 4,000 were destroyed. Many people have sought temporary shelters. Mlungisi Thabethe and his wife were among dozens of people who registered for shelter, sleeping on the hard floor of a community hall in an apartment block by Mega Village. We came here because we have no house, no nothing now, he said. Me, Ive got only my bag here and my umbrella. And I got a chance to take my jacket. And then thats all I have now, nothing else. Im lose everything. Even my trust now. I lose my hope too. I dont know what Im going to do. Even residents who didnt lose their homes were battered by the destruction. Both electricity and water to Mega Village was out for nearly a week. Appliances were broken, furniture and belongings were drenched and damaged. The government has pledged to deliver aid to everyone affected, but for residents battling to clear out the debris, help wasnt coming fast enough. Tutu Hlophe, a sangoma or traditional healer in Mega Village, started his cleanup, hand-washing the mud off his clothes and linens, along with his neighbors. He said it wasnt the first time the area was flooded although it was the worst and he doesnt trust the ruling African National Congress to deliver aid. This government of ANC cant help us, he said. Ten years now staying in this area, everything is not okay. He added that change is needed because people are just suffering and need the governments help. Officials from the regional government visited the community Friday to assess the damage and prioritize what necessities need to be delivered. Cosmos Khanyeza, a community leader in Umlazi, who was helping set up temporary shelters for flood victims and collect aid, said officials promised to bring foam mattresses and blankets for the homeless Saturday. People they are sleeping down, down on the floor on this cold weather, he said. And people are scared to go back to their shacks or to build another shack in that place because they said they dont (want to) become the victims again if the floods happen again. Those in shelters may be staying dry, but low-lying communities have found themselves at risk again. The South African Weather Service warned heavy rains that returned Saturday could cause repeated flooding and mudslides, further damaging homes and infrastructure. Harare (AFP) Zimbabwe has begun repossessing idle land from black farmers who benefitted from controversial land reforms two decades ago, Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said Wednesday. People whose farmland is lying unused and those who own multiple farms will lose land, he said. The land will be given to aspiring farmers from a waiting list left from earlier rounds of land reform, he said. "Zimbabwe has a finite geographic space," Masuka said. "We have allocated 99 percent of the land, and the land that I am currently allocating to those on the waiting list is land that I am taking from blacks, allocating to blacks." Government will not repossess productive farms, he added. "We will leave a family with a farm," Masuka said. Speaking at the opening of annual tobacco auctions, Masuka said some repossessions had already occurred, but did not give details. Former president Robert Mugabe launched land reforms in 2000, forcibly removing white farmers and giving their land to blacks. The scheme was supposed to redress legacies of British colonialism but in practise, many of Mugabe's close allies ended up with multiple farms. But many new farmers had little knowledge, training or support, and vast swathes of land became derelict. Once renowned as a breadbasket, Zimbabwe now suffers from chronic food shortages, while a quarter of a million farmers are on the waiting list for land. Masuka's deputy, Vangelis Haritatos, told AFP that government had also allowed former white commercial farmers to return to some farms through joint ventures. "We don't have a set criterion as government," he said. "What we want is fairness for everyone." "We need to take our country to self-sufficiency, in food and nutrition," Haritatos said. According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, some 10 million of Zimbabwe's nearly 15 million people risk hunger by September after a poor rainy season. The country has long depended on donors for basic food supplies. The action of Ozark returns to its titular setting after the Chicago-set flashback of chapter eight and continues the death spiral of several supporting characters. Its ultimately a pretty tragic episode, capturing the murder of two men by their niece when Ruth chooses her potential future with Marty over a violent past with Russ and Boyd. Since the Byrdes landed in the Ozarks, its felt like death has been inevitable for many characters, and the Grim Reaper comes for Russ and Boyd this week when Russ sees all the potential plans crumble into dust. Russ is undeniably a bad dude a violent man trying to kill Marty but theres also something heartbreaking about how he was used by an FBI agent who saw him as a means to an end. Both things can be true. The episode opens with a sort of Chekhovs gun just in case viewers werent already nervous when Tuck buys a weapon for Jonah, which he later buries in the woods under some dead leaves. Back at the Byrde house, Wendy is pouring coffee for Marty and offering to help with the day after sleeping on the couch seemingly proffering an olive branch after the vicious fight that ended the seventh episode. Marty doesnt really take it, and he leaves. Buddy gets the best line when he comes upstairs and says, If my ex-wife and I had it out like that, we might still be together. You two are up to your ballsacks in drama. Marty arrives at the smoldering church with Sheriff Nix, who tells him that its an active crime scene, meaning Marty wont be able to clear it and make the Snell situation disappear. Doesnt Nix work for the Snells? Why would he delay? Does he not know about the lake scheme yet? Everyone needs the church ashes to go away right now. Especially after Marty learns that Mason burned it down himself after learning what Byrde does for a living. Meanwhile, Agent Evans comes to talk to Wendy Byrde, wondering why theres a Mexican enforcer blatantly following her, turning up the heat. He offers one more life raft for Witness Protection, but she doesnt even consider taking it. She pushes back, knowing the feds dont have enough to take her in or sell her out to the Mexicans. Evans is grasping at straws. Its really pathetic how disorganized both Petty and Evans are in season one. The tragedy of Russ Langmore starts in a motel-room scene between him and Petty in which they talk about where they could go to create a life together as a couple. Imagine where Russ is here finally able to come out of the closet after a life of violently responding to his sexuality. And then Petty drops the hammer: Im an FBI agent, and I have you on conspiracy to commit murder. Theres an impressively long pause as Russ processes how everything he dreamed has been just another lie. Petty wants Russ to get something on Ruth so they can turn her to get Marty. Russ lashes out, accusing Petty of turning him gay, and they physically fight. Petty reveals that he knew Russ was arrested for picking up a male prostitute, meaning that the FBI used Langmores closeted status against him. While Petty manipulates Russ, the Byrdes continue to use poor Sam Dermody. He blames himself for his mother being cleaned off a garbage truck. Im never going to be able to take out the garbage without thinking about her is one of the shows best darkly funny lines. He will need some of the money back for her funeral, but Marty cant let that happen. He agrees to get a credit increase to pay for it himself, but Wendy discovers that Eugenia Dermody had some extreme conditions around her death. She wanted to be embalmed, posed, celebrated, and even turned into a diamond. Its all to the tune of around $50,000, which Wendy doesnt have. The master politician sees an opening, offering an alternate solution, and the whole bizarre Dermody saga ends with the Byrdes owning a funeral home. Back at the Blue Cat, Marty has to win Rachel back after the blow-up when she discovered his operation. He swears he only needs until like the end of the week. He leaves a message on Rachels voicemail that threatens her life under the supposition that she could use it if they all got caught for money laundering. Its a good scene because its not fully clear if Marty comprehends that faking a threat is still, well, threatening. Russ goes into action, pushing hard on Ruth to get a further confession on tape. He demands to know if she will try to kill Marty again. It doesnt work. Petty uses Russs affection for him as a weapon, handing him off to Evans as a handler (Petty is an awful person). Russ goes back in and wants to talk to just Ruth, sending the boys off to Steak n Shake (yum). Russ tries to force a confession again, and it fails miserably. Ruth is too smart for that, and Russ knows hes failed. He gets more desperate, telling Boyd that something has to happen tomorrow. He drops all the info on him, telling him hes been turned and they need to move. He orders Wyatt and Three to start packing whats in the trailer, and Wyatt gets upset when he learns that Ruth isnt coming with them. Not understanding Wyatts connection with his cousin will be his biggest mistake, because Ruth senses something is very wrong when they hug later in the episode. She knows she has to make a decision. As shes processing everything on the Langmore compound, a truck pulls up at the Byrdes place with money for them to wash. Its $50 million! Thats way more than they have the operations to support right now, and so they need to wrap the cash and put it somewhere safe. They cant put it in the walls because of rot. They get the kids in on the family business directly, having them wrap the money. Russ and Boyd come to the Blue Cat on a boat to do something drastic to Marty while the kids wrap money. The murderous Langmores get to the dock, and Russ grabs the ladder and bzzzzt. Boyd calls his name and then touches him too, getting zapped himself. The lights flicker at the Blue Cat, and Marty, Rachel, and the enforcer see the smoking bodies on the boat. Why do they have guns and a grab bag, Marty? Rachel sees that someone messed with the wiring and did this on purpose. Marty knows who it was. But he first saves Rachels life from the bad guy who wants to remove a potential loose end. Marty comes into the office to find a solitary Ruth. Did it work? She protected Marty. I couldnt have them kill you, she says. And Ruth cries as they hug each other. Petty is at the bar when he gets the call. It was an accident. Evans comes right out and accuses Petty of being to blame, making Ruth do it. She was onto them. Petty got Russ killed. He hangs up, slams a beer bottle into a guys head, and shoots the TV over the bar. He probably wont be going back there. Dirty Laundry Theres a key transition scene wherein Wendy and Marty ask the question thats really key to a lot of the action on this show would these two still be together if they werent running from a drug cartel? Think about it. What if the delivery of the tape from the P.I. and Dels discovery of Bruces scheme had been even a week apart? Might Wendy and Marty have already been separated? This is a show that hinges on quick decisions and twists of fate, and the timing of Bruces death has shaped all of it. RIP Russ Langmore. Hes a complicated character drawn very well by Marc Menchaca, who took a part riddled with cliche traps and avoided them. If youre wondering if Eugenia Dermodys request for extreme embalming is a real thing, so was I. You can read more about it here, but be warned that its pretty creepy. Cristoforetti to document her mission to International Space Station on TikTok. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is preparing to take the social media platform Tiktok to space, inviting people to follow her "to boldly go where no TikToker has gone before!" Cristoforetti, popularly known in Italy as AstroSam, will join three other crew members on the Minerva mission to the International Space Station (ISS), with lift-off scheduled from the NASA Kenney Space Center in Florida on 27 April at 09.52 Italian time. An astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), Cristoforetti will be launched into orbit on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with three NASA astronauts: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins. Cristoforetti, 44, holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut (199 days, 16 hours) from her mission to the ISS in 2014. Introducing #Crew4 now on #TikTok! I hope you enjoy this new channel. Dont forget to let me know in the comments what youd like to see next. #MissionMinerva @TikTok_it @esa pic.twitter.com/226ao5wu8r Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) April 13, 2022 The Milan-born astronaut - Italy's first woman in space - chose the name Minerva for her latest mission, in reference to the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom. As part of the mission she will carry out experiments and research on the effects of micro-gravity on ovarian cells, which in the future could lead to new medical treatments to combat cancer. On her last mission in 2014 Cristoforetti became the first astronaut to brew espresso in space. This time she is taking olive oil to the ISS, to see how the quality of the oil changes in space and also because it gives flavour "even to the rehydrated salads that we eat up here. Photo Samantha Cristoforetti (NASA/Robert Markowitz) Placeholder while article actions load Scott Aitchison is one of several politicians in the running to lead Canadas opposition Conservative Party. And one of his big ideas is something that would never fly but should in Americas opposition Republican Party: federal action to deregulate the housing sector. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight We are facing a housing crisis in Canada, Aitchison tweeted last week. We need URGENT action to fix this mess. Its time for big cities to say YES in my backyard to more housing. Aitchison is not alone on the Canadian right. Conservative MP Raquel Dancho questioned the incumbent housing minister on land use regulation in Parliament on April 5, while interim party leader Candice Bergen said on April 7: Canadas housing crisis cant be left up to municipalities to solve on their own. We need federal leadership to build more supply. Pierre Poilievre, another leadership candidate, said that under his fiscal plans, if they want more federal money, these big-city politicians will need to approve more homebuilding. Advertisement Aitchisons analysis is correct and the partys prescription is a good one. Left to their own devices, localities tend to overweigh purely local interests in their land-use planning and dont approve enough new homes. This may help them avoid costs such as traffic jams and school crowding, but it imposes large economic costs on non-residents. Meanwhile, people who dont move to town because there arent enough new homes dont just vanish they live elsewhere, which makes the savings in terms of infrastructure illusory. In Canada, as in the U.S., the federal government finances a fair amount of local government activity. So it makes sense to tie funding to new housing permits. If towns and cities want money for infrastructure, they need to do their share to add to the national housing supply. Advertisement In the U.S., this is considered a daring left-wing idea. Its main proponents in congress are Representative Jim Clyburn and Senator Cory Booker, whose 2019 HOME Act would tie Community Development Block Grant and Surface Transportation Block Grant money to land-use reforms. President Joe Biden endorsed a version of this approach during his campaign, and at one point it was part of his Build Back Better proposal. But it was dropped in congressional negotiations. And its been the subject of a years-long fearmongering campaign from the right. Former President Donald Trump spent much of the 2020 campaign warning that Booker had a plan to abolish the suburbs. Earlier this month, while Canadas conservatives were pushing more density, Senator Tom Cotton went on Fox News to complain that Democrats want to make us all poor. They want to make you live in downtown areas, and high-rise buildings, and walk to work or take the subway or ride an electric scooter, or whatever it is that Pete Buttigieg takes to work. In terms of the culture war, its easy to see where Cotton is coming from. American cities are full of Black people, immigrants, LGBT people, and people who like art galleries and weird food. To many people of a conservative temperament, thats not very appealing. Talking Points USA leader Charlie Kirk even went so far as to say last week that tall buildings make people liberal. Advertisement On the economics, however, Cotton and Kirk could learn a lot from their conservative friends north of the border. An apartment building is a more efficient use of land and material than a detached single-family home. Consider an analogy: Walmarts large and efficient supply chain helps it offer always low prices, which are appealing to lower-income people. But no self-respecting Republican especially one, like Cotton, from Arkansas would think that allowing Walmart to exist makes people poor. Walmart has a downscale customer base, so banning Walmart would be bad for low-income people. And ultimately it would be bad for everyone even fancy city snobs benefit in the long run from the existence of efficient retail operations that raise productivity. By the same token, across large swaths of America not just big cities like New York and Los Angeles, but college towns and places near mountains or beaches land is more expensive than it is in Arkansas. Prohibiting the use of productivity-enhancing building types duplexes, rowhouses, small apartments and, yes, the dread high-rise in those places makes the country as a whole poorer. Advertisement Thats not a question of what kind of lifestyle people ought to prefer, or about whether city dwellers or rural folks are more virtuous. Its basic economics, where prescriptive regulation imposes burdens on the economy. And with housing accounting for more than one-third of household consumption spending, regulatory burdens on the housing sector are a huge deal. Not so long ago, this was conventional wisdom on the right: The reason New York and California were so expensive and losing people was because their economies were so overregulated. Its an idea articulated years ago by conservative Harvard economist Edward Glaeser. It used to be difficult to get progressive-minded people interested in zoning reform, because talking about the virtues of deregulation smacked of right-wing politics and neoliberalism. Books such as Segregation by Design by UC-Merced political scientist Jessica Trounstine, which explore the role of overregulation in promoting racial inequality, have been useful in getting the left interested in the topic. Unfortunately, political entrepreneurs like Trump and Cotton have embraced the notion that if Booker and Clyburn think something is good for racial justice, they ought to be against it even if the thing in question is good old-fashioned free-market economics. Advertisement Thats the kind of thinking that poisons Americas political system and hurts the U.S. economy. The correct lesson is that convergence between left and right, to promote ideas that are broadly beneficial, is possible. If federal action to discourage municipal overregulation is good enough for the Canadian right, then it should be good enough for the American right, too. Related at Bloomberg Opinion: Americas Supply Chain Collides With Californias Nimbyism: Virginia Postrel Canadas Reasonable Vision of Gun Control: Francis Wilkinson More Housing? YIMBY, Please: Tyler Cowen This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Matthew Yglesias is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and writes the Slow Boring blog and newsletter. A co-founder and former columnist for Vox, he is also the author, most recently, of One Billion Americans. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load BALTIMORE The Baltimore Police Department plans to become one of the first law enforcement agencies in the nation to hire civilians to investigate low-level crimes, internal affairs complaints and cold cases. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Baltimore will set a standard for staffing allocations in law enforcement agencies across the country, which have struggled with hiring and retention, Mayor Brandon Scott (D) said at a news conference Thursday at police headquarters. This will free up our sworn detectives to better meet the needs of our residents by being out on our streets, deterring and solving crimes, Scott said. He and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison provided new details on plans to hire 35 civilian investigators this year, which is included in the mayors proposed $4 billion city budget for the coming fiscal year. The mayors spending plan calls for $560.4 million for the police department, which would include funding for the new roles and would eliminate 30 vacant sworn officer positions. Advertisement The plan must still be approved by the City Council and Board of Estimates. Other agencies have expressed interest in hiring more civilians to address shortages, but few others have focused on civilian investigators, Baltimore officials say. In Arizona, Phoenix police say hundreds have applied for a few dozen civilian jobs, according to reports. Baltimore officials say they have identified an additional 135 positions for civilian hires for future years. The civilian positions are part of a broader plan to boost the number of civilians within the department as a way to address increases in attrition and struggles with recruitment with which most law enforcement agencies are grappling. Baltimore has 2,274 sworn officers and 519 civilian employees, police officials said. Thats below the budgeted 2,640 sworn officers and 615 civilian positions. Advertisement This is going to allow us to tap into previously unexplored but qualified personnel resources that can go through the hiring process in a more timely manner, Scott said. We want to ensure our police resources are being used effectively, constitutionally and focused where we need them in Baltimore City. Nine civilians would be added to the department to staff the citys Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which aims to focus resources on people most likely to be the victims of violence or perpetuate it. Ten civilians would be moved to facilities and fleet maintenance duties, freeing up officers for patrol or other duties. Twelve civilians will help staff the Telephone Reporting Unit, which receives nonserious police reports that do not require an officers response, restoring civilian positions cut from the 2021 budget, according to city officials. Advertisement Unlike sworn police officers, civilian officers would not carry guns, have arrest powers or require the same level of academy training. The new civilian investigator positions would have a starting salary of $49,000 and still require background investigations but allows us to hire at a much faster pace, Harrison said. They will receive basic training on policies, state and local law plus basic investigative tactics. Harrison said the initiative helps us with speed; it helps with frequency. We can get to cases faster, and we can take on more cases at the same time. We dont want to reduce or compromise quality. Eric Melancon, chief of staff for the police commissioner, said the added investigators will improve clearance rates, which will have a dramatic impact on reducing crime in the city. Advertisement Currently, the department has a 48.9 percent clearance rate for homicides and 22.4 percent rate for nonfatal shootings, which adjust throughout the year as the number of cases increases. Harrison said the plan is not about taking away jobs from sworn members of the department. Police union leaders, however, expressed skepticism about the plan and said department leaders should focus on hiring more officers. The priorities of the BPD should be recruitment and retention of sworn personnel, said Sgt. Mike Mancuso, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3. New recruits and veteran officers will not come to the BPD, or stay here, until they make our officers salaries and working conditions competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. The reason for hiring civilian investigators is nothing more than the BPDs acknowledgment that the BPD cannot hire or retain sworn officers. Advertisement Although the department did increase starting salaries to $55,000 to $60,000 a year, making Baltimore the highest-paying major law enforcement agency in the state for new recruits, Mancuso said the department must increase salaries across the board and provide retention bonuses. According to the department, 70 sworn officers have left the department and 26 were hired this year through March. Still, national law enforcement experts say recruiting and retention are a challenge across the country. The demand for workers is very high across all industries, said Nola Joyce, a member of the monitoring team that is helping Baltimore police implement their consent decree. Unemployment is low, and there are more options now, she said. The spotlight, rightfully so, and the challenges of policing [have] caused some to think about it twice before getting into the profession, Joyce said. Advertisement In Baltimore, applications are coming in, but people are not following through on the first step after applying, she said. Joyce said team members were briefed several times about the departments plans. The consent decree is really about fair and just policing and ensuring there is sufficient personnel, especially in the areas of community engagement and internal affairs, she said. Its more important for us that it is the quality of the work and the delivery of the service, instead of who. Like sworn officers, civilian employees accused of any misconduct would be investigated by the departments public integrity bureau or internal affairs unit, Melancon said. If an allegation of misconduct is sustained against a civilian the penalty matrix is reviewed by a Civilian Disciplinary Review Committee, made up of internal managers within BPD, to recommend discipline, he said. They have the right to appeal that decision before a hearing officer, but there is no trial board process the way there is for sworn members, Melancon said. Advertisement Increasing the number of civilian employees has been a trend in policing for the past 20 years, said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a D.C.-based policing think tank. Its very expensive to hire a police officer, he said. You have to train them. Additionally, departments are increasingly looking for jobs that dont require a sworn officer with a badge and a gun, as well as ones that would benefit from professionals, such as those with backgrounds in forensics and digital technology. The general trend in policing is about identifying people from different backgrounds, Wexler said. Some positions require a full-service law enforcement officers; in other positions you look for people with different skills. Baltimore Sun GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Muslims and Hindus clash in New Delhi Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Clashes broke out during a Hindu religious procession in New Delhi on Saturday, injuring several people, including police officers, police said, days after similar religious violence in three states. Eyewitnesses said the violence erupted between Muslims and Hindus during a procession to mark the Hindu festival of Hanuman Jayanti in Jahangirpuri, a suburb of New Delhi, the Indian capital. Police said they were still investigating. Earlier on Saturday, protesters in New Delhi shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modis government. The protesters said Muslims were violently targeted by authorities in the aftermath of Hindu-Muslim clashes in parts of three states ruled by Modis Hindu nationalist party. Clashes last Sunday during a religious festival prompted police to impose a curfew in one town and ban gatherings of more than four people in parts of the states. Local authorities tore down the homes and shops of suspected Muslim rioters. Advertisement Reuters Thousands protest Le Pen in Paris, elsewhere in France: Thousands of anti-far-right protesters marched across France on Saturday as opponents of presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seek to form a united front to prevent her from winning an election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on April 24. In central Paris, thousands of people gathered chanting anti-far-right slogans and warning of democratic upheaval if Le Pen was to win. One banner read: "Against the far-right. For justice and equality, not Le Pen at the Elysee," referring to the French president's official residence. Taliban accuses Pakistan of airstrikes in Afghan territories: Taliban authorities summoned Pakistan's ambassador in Kabul to protest airstrikes in Afghanistan's Khost and Konar provinces, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said. There was no official confirmation of a death toll, but a local Taliban official and residents said 36 people were killed in airstrikes on Friday by Pakistani aircraft entering Afghan airspace. A Pakistani Embassy spokesman denied any such mission. Advertisement 35 migrants die after boat capsizes off Libyan coast: A small wooden boat carrying about 35 migrants capsized off the Libyan coast, and six bodies have been retrieved, the International Organization for Migration said Saturday. The 29 others are presumed dead after Friday's accident, it said. Thai rebel group claims deadly bombing, breaking cease-fire: Thai rebels sidelined from peace talks claimed responsibility for deadly bombings in the country's Muslim-majority south. The attack broke a Ramadan holiday cease-fire between the main rebel group and the government. The two explosions on Friday, which killed a civilian and injured three police officers, were carried out by G5, a militant group of the Patani United Liberation Organization, its president, Kasturi Mahkota, told Reuters. Chinese astronauts return from record space mission: Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months aboard their country's newest orbital station. It was the longest crewed mission to date for China's ambitious space program. The three were the second crew aboard Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace. Authorities have yet to announce a date for launching the next station crew. From news services GiftOutline Gift Article Russias invasion of Ukraine is one of the most documented wars ever. (The Post) Post Verified Eyewitness videos Madison businessman Eric Hovde will not be joining the GOP race for governor this fall, but instead is considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2024 for the seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Hovde, who lost in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2012, had previously said he was considering a gubernatorial run this year, but said he decided now was not the best time to launch a statewide campaign, due in part to recent health issues with his father-in-law. Family is the first thing in my life, Hovde said Friday. It was a tough decision. Hovde added his primary interest in federal issues like spending and the economy may be better suited for the U.S. Senate seat, which Baldwin, D-Madison, has held since 2013. Im taking a very serious, hard look at the Senate race, he said. Republicans running in the Aug. 9 primary for governor already include former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Marine Corps veteran Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport. Im going to definitely be supporting whoever is victorious, Hovde said of the GOP primary. The winner of the GOP primary will face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is seeking a second term this fall. The general election is Nov. 8. Other potential additions to the GOP field include former Gov. Tommy Thompson and Tim Michels, who co-owns Michels Corp. construction company. Thompson has said hell make a decision about whether to join the gubernatorial race by the end of April. Michels said in a text Friday he had nothing new to report on whether hell run. Business owner Robert Meyer, who unsuccessfully challenged former Gov. Scott Walker in the 2018 GOP primary, wrote in a guest column in the Sun Prairie Star earlier this month that he is also running for governor this year as a moderate Republican. I look forward to seeing who ends up getting into the race, Hovde said. A February Marquette Law School Poll found among likely GOP primary voters 30% support Kleefisch, 8% support Nicholson, 5% support Ramthun, and 54% have no preference. Half of respondents said they havent heard of or have no opinion of Kleefisch, compared with 80% for Nicholson and 86% for Ramthun. Candidates can begin circulating nomination papers Friday to get on the primary ballot. The deadline for gubernatorial candidates to secure 2,000 signatures is June 1. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When climate activist Anjali Sharma gets home from school, she rarely has time to have a snack before she is making calls and writing statements. I wish I could be a normal teenager and just be able to focus on homework and nothing else. The teenager first became involved in the climate movement in 2019 after an Instagram ad found its way onto her news feed. While she had always been concerned about the environment, having seen the impacts of climate change play out in her home country of India, it was the School Strike 4 Climate movement that inspired her to become more active. Climate activist Anjali Sharma. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Sharma is part of a generation of young activists driven by the urgency of warnings that the global tipping point is approaching and that governments are failing to respond. The activists are turning to traditional forms of direct action and using more creative methods to convey their message. The Melbourne 17-year-old has planned and organised protests, spoken to thousands of people and led a federal court case against environment minister Sussan Ley. But just as the climate movement reached its peak in 2019, the global pandemic stopped it in its tracks. Organisers were forced to turn to online actions about 2000 people logged onto Zoom for last Octobers Sydney protest, which was a far cry from the 80,000-strong group that gathered in Sydneys CBD a few years earlier. Australians are showing no signs of needle fatigue, with a promising uptake of the flu vaccine so far this year, according to experts. Influenza has been all but eradicated on Australian shores throughout the pandemic, leaving doctors concerned people could forget how severe the disease can be and forgo their annual jab. Australians may be jab-weary but are still beginning to turn out for the annual flu shots. President of the Royal Australia College of General Practitioners Dr Karen Price said demand had been strong for flu immunisations within her practice. I havent seen any hesitancy at all, which is good, she said. Electric car ownership has become increasingly popular as Australians look for greener modes of transport, but the availability of charging stations will test the states ability to cope with the emerging technology. There is no definitive source for the location of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations but data from PlugShare.com shows there were 192 postcodes in Greater Sydney that did not have a public charging point by the start of 2022. Meanwhile, the easiest places to charge your EV are in the Sydney CBD where about 75 plugs are located, followed by Glebe with 21 plugs, Lane Cove with 19 plugs, while Blacktown and Eastern Creek had 18 each. But the locations of these charging stations dont always coincide with where the EVs are located. Sydney Harbour will welcome cruise ships after a more than two-year ban on the liners lifts on Sunday, marking a major step in the countrys tourism industry reopening. The federal government announced a ban on all cruise liners on March 15, 2020, a week after the Ruby Princess ship docked in Sydney with more than 130 sick passengers on board. Sydneysiders can expect a familiar sight to return to the Harbour from Sunday as the ban on cruise ships lifts. Credit:Wolter Peeters Despite initially being slated to last for 30 days, cruises remained banned for 764 days under the 2015 Biosecurity Act as Australia attempted to manage the spread of the virus. While it is up to the states to decide when cruise ships can enter, NSW, Victoria and Queensland have agreed to welcome the vessels from Sunday. A former Vice music editor who recruited up-and-comers from Canadas hip-hop scene to courier cocaine into Australia says he became involved in the scheme to boost his journalistic profile and cultivate underworld contacts for a publication that glorified drug use and criminal activity. Slava Pastuk born Yuroslav Pastukhov and known online as Slava P claims in a new memoir, Bad Trips, that on his first meeting with the Mexican cartels Canadian representatives in 2015 he was told that the drug ring had already completed about 150 trips to Australia, and that Sydney Airport customs officers were on the payroll. Slava Pastuk says there are no victims and no villains in his account of running drugs to Sydney. Credit:Facebook Pastuk was then living in an uninsulated Toronto apartment he had nicknamed the favela, taking more drugs than he could afford on his meagre salary, and lobbying fruitlessly for a transfer to the New York office. He supplemented his income by dealing marijuana and MDMA, throwing cover-charge parties that traded on the unauthorised use of the Vice name and introducing influencers to brands. Drug use was tacitly endorsed by the company, with American staff at the publications 20th anniversary celebrations in Manhattan each given envelopes containing $200 cash, which they interpreted as coke money. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this weekends French election isnt who won, but who lost and what it might mean for America. French President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party won enough of the vote 27.8% and 23.2% respectively to head into a runoff on April 24. Close behind them were an assortment of hard-right and hard-left candidates. And in the also-ran category: Valerie Pecresse (4.8%) and Anne Hildago (1.8%). Amazingly, their parties the Republicans and the Socialists dominated French politics for decades, and now theyre fast on their way to obscurity. Its a little bit like if America held a giant nonpartisan jungle primary and the Republican and Democratic candidates combined didnt break double digits, never mind fail to make the runoff. Of course, Frances politics and political system are quite different from ours so the analogy shouldnt be taken too literally. Theres a reason France had five republics, and were still working on our first. Macron created his party, La Republique En Marche, in 2016 just so he could run for president. Still, French politics have changed a lot in recent years. The most notable change is that the center of gravity has moved decidedly rightward. Le Pen, daughter of the far-right nativist Jean-Marie Le Pen (whom she expelled from the National Front party in 2015, for his antisemitic comments), is a national populist who, according to a YouGov poll, led Macron among all voters under the age of 55. Meanwhile, in part because Macron has branded himself as the only centrist in French politics, the left has become more radical. Jean-Luc Melenchon, dubbed by British papers as Frances Corbyn (perhaps in part for his own problems with the Jewish community), came in third with nearly 22% of the vote, barely a point shy of Le Pen. Melenchon wants to scrap the Fifth Republic entirely and start over. Another important difference between France and America is that liberalism over there still has more of its original meaning. A French liberal, or neoliberal, on economics is a champion, or at least a proponent, of laissez faire economics. Meanwhile, both the far left and far right alike are far friendlier to state-driven regulation of the economy. The differences mostly manifest themselves over which winners and which losers the state should pick. Given that our politics are moving in a French direction, its an interesting thought experiment: What if America had its own French-style jungle primary? Its harder than it might sound because polls arent entirely reliable. Partisanship in our polarized two-party system often drives big shifts in voter attitudes on some issues. For instance, when Donald Trump railed against free trade, a lot of Republicans and Democrats switched positions. Its easy to imagine an Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders moving toward something close to Melenchons agenda of constitutional radicalism and confiscatory taxation (in 2017 he even proposed a 100% tax on earnings above 400,000 euros). And even if they wouldnt go that far, you can be sure someone would. Thats part of the problem with Frances system, the bigger the field in the first round, the more incentive there is for fringe candidates to throw their hats in. On the right, the picture is murkier. The loudest voices on the right champion their own versions of populism and nationalism. Foxs Tucker Carlson, who has praised Sen. Warrens economic program, has also promoted anti-immigration replacement theory, which is all the rage in France. While I suspect Carlson would leap into the race, hed have a lot of competition in his lane. A host of Republicans have embraced the idea that the GOP should become the party of the working class, at war with Big Tech and woke corporations generally. What this means in practice, varies widely. What unites them is rejection, in whole or in part, of the American rights traditional laissez faire dogma about not using the state for picking winners and losers. In September, J.D. Vance, whos running for the Senate from Ohio, asked why the state doesnt confiscate the assets of nonprofit institutions he dislikes and give it to the people whove had their lives destroyed by their radical open borders agenda? Who would be a Macron-like centrist? Im not sure and, not wanting to hurt their standing among Republicans, Im reluctant to offer a guess. What I am certain about is that while I have ample contempt for both parties these days, I am grateful for our two-party system and constitutional safeguards. The founders were as concerned about the tyranny of autocracy as they were about the tyranny of the majority and the tyranny that would result from any single faction that might attain momentary power thanks to periodic gales of populist rage. Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Australians love a good holiday, even if they are no longer so attentive to holy days, and Easter is a particularly good one with its double-long weekend. It is the paramount Christian celebration, commemorating the core beliefs of the faith about Jesus death and resurrection, but its connection to Christianity is relatively recent. We first encounter Easter through the eighth-century English church historian Bede, who wrote about Christians appropriating the spring equinox festival of the pagan goddess Eostre, which celebrated new life and rebirth (hence bunnies for fertility and eggs for new life). Some Easter traditions are thought to derive from the festival of pagan goddess Eostre, celebrating new life and rebirth (hence bunnies for fertility and eggs for new life). Credit:James Alcock The link to the Jewish Passover is more ancient, its formal celebration by the church dating back to the second century. But if the earliest Christians had no particular calendar celebration of Jesus death and resurrection, they were very concerned about the meaning of these events. The central message was that Jesus had conquered death as the New Testament book of Acts puts it: God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. In his resurrection, Jesus became the guarantee of resurrection for his followers, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (Saint Paul). Melbourne survived another Formula 1 grand prix last weekend. The circus came to town, performed better than expected and promptly packed up to move on to ... where? Do you know where the next race is? No, of course not, only devoted F1 fans do. I will help you out. The next race is in Imola in Italy on April 24. The reason it matters is that the entire economic and business case for forking out a guesstimated $55 million a year of taxpayers money for the right to host the race is based on voodoo economic modelling that inflates the value of name recognition for F1 host cities to squillions of dollars. It is actually worth diddly squat. The Grand Prix circus, came, conquered and left after another big three days in town. Credit:Joe Armao, We have to guess at the licence fee because the actual amount is commercial in confidence which is code for embarrassing. Do the local government officials who control the circuit at Imola, east of Bologna in Italy, claim billions in naming benefits? Or is their emotional and nostalgic connection to Enzo Ferrari enough reason to host a race? What about Montreal, Baku (to save you looking it up Azerbaijan), Budapest and so on? A Pharmacy Guild campaign for a government subsidy rise could bring the cost of medicines down to about $20 for most Australians. But the campaign for a subsidy hike has been described as a cash grab aimed at lessening competition from discount chemists. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese on the campaign trail on Tuesday. Credit:James Brickwood, Alex Ellinghausen As the major parties head into a federal election being fought on the cost of living, the Pharmacy Guild is pushing for an increase of up to $20 to the taxpayer subsidy for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines, which would bring the price down for most consumers to $22.50. While concession cardholders only pay a maximum of $6.80 for prescription medicines on the PBS, general patients pay a maximum co-payment of $42.50. Its a special type of care, it needs to be rewarded, she said. Who are we as a society or community if we cannot care for our elderly and our most vulnerable? In country towns, our elderly are the keepers of all the memories. Taylor said she had met with Southern Cross Care and offered to broker a solution with federal government workforce support, but was rebuffed. The federal government does not seem to have the levers to impose on the provider to stay, she said. Southern Cross Care chief executive Helen Emerson said the provider had no choice but to close Currawarna because it could not find enough staff, particularly registered nurses, due to low industry pay rates and poor housing availability. We did approach another local provider [to take over] but they said unfortunately, we cant make it work, Emerson said. Loading We could see that we were becoming non-compliant, purely because we just did not have enough suitably qualified staff. Emerson said the offer of workforce support had rung hollow as she had noted a sparse availability of surge staff throughout the pandemic. Garnocks mother-in-law Shirley, 94, had lived on a property 10 kilometres north of Bombala for almost 70 years before moving into Currawarna three years ago. Being in town meant Shirley, who has dementia, could still spend time on the farm and receive care from workers who lived locally. She loved to look out over the hills and paddocks, Garnock said. But the family had to move Shirley to a home in Pambula, a 2.5-hour round trip. Its a shame for Shirley because shes not going to be able to come to the farm anymore, she doesnt do that mountain trip well, Garnock said. Currawarna was built in the late 1970s with funds donated by the local community and was managed by a volunteer committee for more than 20 years. Garnock said locals felt betrayed by Southern Cross Cares decision to shut without first seeking the communitys help to keep the doors open while a new provider was found. They havent tried hard enough and theres no rule saying they cant do this sort of thing, she said. We tried to complain with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, but we were told only two weeks notice is required. Helen Parr, whose mum Judy was moved to a local hospital after her aged care home closed, is furious at its former operators. Credit:Angi High Helen Parr said she was stunned, devastated and horrified when Southern Cross Care told her she would have to find another home for her 87-year-old mother Judy Pereira, who had lived at Currawarna for five-and-a-half years. We were absolutely appalled and shocked and then we just got very angry, she said. Because of her advanced dementia, Judy could not be relocated out of town and was instead moved to the Bombala hospital. She was distressed, Parr said. She definitely noticed the change. It threw her out of whack. Emerson said the homes closure had become politicised. Were really in the middle of that political sandwich, especially leading up to the election, she said. Federal Labor is seeking to convince voters that aged care is a major policy difference between the two main parties, with its promise to spend an extra $2.5 billion and file a supporting application in a Fair Work Commission case seeking a 25 per cent wage increase. Morrison has conceded a Coalition government would absorb the cost of any pay rise awarded. Labor has committed to mandating nurses 24/7, a year earlier than the Aged Care Royal Commission recommended by July 2023 although providers would be given flexibility if they cannot find enough nurses. The Coalition is yet to commit to this recommendation. Neither has outlined a detailed plan to specifically support rural aged care. Labor MP Kristy McBain holds the seat of Eden Monaro on a margin of 0.8 per cent. I have no doubt that this will keep happening, and regional communities will continue to be left behind, McBain said last month, blaming the government for Currawarnas closure. A spokesman for Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck said more than four times as many services opened (46) in the 2020-21 financial year than closed (12) and that the governments $18.8 billion royal commission response included early intervention measures to help providers improve their viability. Providers do have a responsibility to give communities and the department notice of a decision to close, the spokesman said. He said the government was working on a long-term aged care option for Bombala with the NSW government. A Labor campaign spokeswoman said an Albanese government will fix our broken aged care system. After days of public criticism from Labor, legal groups and retired judges about the failure to legislate a federal integrity body and his labelling of the NSW ICAC as a kangaroo court Morrison will be encouraged that his backbenchers believe the issue is not cutting through with voters. Loading However, there will be concern in Liberal ranks that the issue could have an impact in seats such as North Sydney, Wentworth and Goldstein where the incumbent is facing a challenge from a high-profile teal independent candidate. Jason Wood, who holds the marginal seat of La Trobe, said a federal integrity commission was not being raised by voters in his electorate. Im getting no heat on it out my way, he said. Wood said he was not against a federal integrity commission and that integrity in politics was important, but it shouldnt hold public hearings like many of the state-based watchdogs. He pointed to the suicide of former Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon earlier this year, who was subject to a probe by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission in Victoria. The former police officer said those calling for a commission with public hearings should have a look at the case of Amanda and ask would any of them like to go through that. Councillor Amanda Stapledon was dragged through IBAC, he said. Obviously, you want justice to take place. Ive been in the police force for 17 years we would never have media in there, cameras and have it broadcast live, theres so much extra stress and anxiety. Anyone who is pushing this just has to look at this public exercise of an IBAC. A Resolve poll in February found 70 per cent of voters back the need for the new agency. But Coalition sources insist it is not coming up as a top-order issue in focus group interviews with swinging voters. NSW MP for the seat of Reid Fiona Martin nominated cost-of-living pressures, jobs and lower taxes as voter priorities. She would not say whether voters had raised a federal integrity commission with her. Queensland MP Ted OBrien, who holds the safe Sunshine Coast-based seat of Fairfax, said the key issues people were raising related to the economy. For small businesses, the No.1 issue is finding enough workers; for individuals, its cost-of-living pressures and then theres some uncertainty about the global environment. People dont use the word infrastructure, they talk about roads and rail. Loading [A federal] ICAC is not being raised. There is some email traffic on the issue, but it wouldnt be in the top 10 issues. It is raised very rarely with me directly and Im on the street every day, at the shops, or doorknocking. Victorian MP Russell Broadbent, who holds the Gippsland-based seat of Monash, said that in his electorate, its always roads, and in the last week or so they are raising Albo. Whats important to you or I is not important to 90 per cent of the public. This election will be won and lost on how people feel about the economy and who will look after them, he said. Asked if voters in his seat had raised an integrity body, Broadbent said: No, it has not been raised with me. Bert Van Manen, who holds the outer-suburban Brisbane-based seat of Forde, said voters raised three key issues with him: Housing and rental affordability for people in my area because it is growing so quickly, infrastructure and then public services. On the proposed federal integrity body, Van Manen said no, these are the issues people are mainly talking to me about. Queensland MP for the seat of Petrie Luke Howarth said national security, the shift to a 30 per cent tax rate and obviously unemployment is topical, because of Albanese not knowing the rate. Maybe a couple in three years. Nothing now unless they are locked on Labor voters parroting the talking points because it always comes with three other Labor points, he said. Herbert MP Phillip Thompson, whose seat is based around the northern city of Townsville, said the number one issue in his city was youth crime. After that, voters raised skill shortages, roads, the need for more manufacturing jobs and, in a garrison city where Australia had its largest defence base, national security. I dont think its no one cares, people want to see integrity from their politicians, he said, but the proposed federal ICAC was not a top-order issue. Late last year, Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer crossed the floor to vote for independent MP Helen Haines proposed federal integrity commission with much greater powers, such as the ability to hold public hearings and launch its own investigations, which the Liberal model could not do in most circumstances. Asked whether his proposed commission would hold public hearings, Albanese said on Saturday there would be scope for public hearings if the anti-corruption commission itself felt that was necessary. Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14. The Eastpoint tower in Edgecliff has done developer Mirvac proud since it took shape in the early 1980s. The two-bedroom apartment in Edgecliffs Eastpoint tower sold for $3 million. Credit: Leonie Baldock has bought a Sydney apartment. Credit:Philip Gostelow The late Lady (Florence) Packer was an early buyer on level 13 and made it her Sydney home away from Monte Carlo, until 2010 when she sold it for $2.75 million. More recent additions to the building have included property magnate John Roth and his wife, lawyer Jillian Segal, former car dealer Neil Sutton, and missing fraudster Melissa Caddick, who bought the penthouse for her parents in 2016 for $2.55 million. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine with the intention of wiping out a democracy on his border, a first step in rebuilding the Russian empire. The pretext was Putins feigned concern that Ukraine might join NATO. Thanks to the steely determination of the prime ministers of Finland and Sweden last week, Putin might wind up being the most effective recruiter for the Western alliance. Lets remember how we got here. As Max Fisher wrote for the New York Times at the start of the war: Since the end of the Cold War, a number of countries in Eastern Europe have chosen to join NATO, making them military allies of Moscows former adversaries in the West. In 2008, Washington pushed NATO to announce that it might one day consider membership for Ukraine, though Western leaders have insisted ever since that they see little prospect of this coming about any time soon. Fourteen years later, Putin has called NATOs expansion a plot to destroy Russia. This is a lie, of course. NATO is a defensive alliance. President Joe Biden on Feb. 24 reiterated: This was never about genuine security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about Putins desire for empire by any means necessaryby bullying Russias neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause. Putins aggression in Ukraine has been a spectacular blunder. It has drawn NATO allies closer and induced European members to step up their own defense spending and wean themselves from Russia oil. The United States has increased the number of troops in NATO countries, demonstrating solidarity with allies and a refusal to be intimidated. The Washington Post also reported last week that the open door to NATO membership might now become a busy thoroughfare: Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, speaking Wednesday in Stockholm in a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson, said Finland is ready to make a decision on NATO within weeks rather than months following an extensive debate in the 200-seat Eduskunta legislature. Marin stressed that Finland and Sweden, two neighboring Nordic countries that have close economic, political and military ties, will make independent decisions regarding their security policy arrangements, including whether to join NATO. The Post reported that the ruling Social Democratic Parties in Finland and Sweden are expected to announce their NATO views in early and late May, respectively. Parliaments in both countries are ready to finally decide the mattersomething that could happen in Finland in late May and a bit later in Sweden. Putin has been huffing and puffing as soon as Finland and Sweden started to consider the move, threatening to deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the region. As Reuters noted, Lithuania said Russias threats were nothing new and that Moscow had deployed nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine. The prime ministers of the Nordic countries refused to give in to Putins intimidation. Former Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb, who has long supported joining NATO, observed in an interview with Business Insider: Putin has only himself to thank. You know, I should probably be grateful to Putin, as a strong advocate of Finnish NATO membership, I was giving up hope. Witnessing skillful leadership from the United States as well as decisive and coordinated action from NATOs European members, Marin and Andersson recognized the new world they are living in. Rather than cower, they are now poised to defy Putin, enhance their nations security and add to the list of Putins calamitous failures as a result of his war. For standing up to Putins bullying and making common cause with Western democracies, we can say, well done, Prime Ministers Marin and Andersson. VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the senseless war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. Pope Francis hoists the Gospel book during the Catholic Easter Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the "senseless" war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. "Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing "the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Yet again, the pontiff didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. People's hearts are filled with "fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," the pontiff said. Pope Francis leaves at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) "Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. "May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: "'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'" He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifesto's text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Easter coming on April 24 Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name "Urbi et Orbi" to the city and to the world. Pope Francis on his popemobile drives through the crowd of faithful at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) "May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that "Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places" in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, "which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims." He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that country's people. He also prayed that God grant "reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists," and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and "terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region," as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. But Francis found hope in the "open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe,'' referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. 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. "They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country," said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them "forget for a moment about all the terrible things" that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: "I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter." Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end "as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe" Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peters Basilica. After Easter morning Mass, Francis boarded the white popemobile for a whirl through the square among the cheering ranks of the crowd. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. ___ Jill Lawless in London, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Medyka, Poland, contributed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating Lucky Charms cereal after dozens of customers complained of illness after eating it. 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. FILE - Boxes of General Mills' Lucky Charms cereal are seen on a shelf at a Costco Warehouse in Robinson Township, Pa., Thursday, May 14, 2020. On Saturday, April 16, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that it is investigating Lucky Charms cereal after dozens of customers complained of illness after eating the product. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating Lucky Charms cereal after dozens of customers complained of illness after eating it. The FDA said Saturday it has received more than 100 complaints related to Lucky Charms so far this year. The FDA takes seriously any reports of possible adulteration of a food that may also cause illnesses or injury, the agency said in a statement. Several hundred people have also posted on a food safety website, iwaspoisoned.com, complaining of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting after eating Lucky Charms. General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis-based company that makes Lucky Charms, Cheerios and other cereals, said its aware of those reports and takes them seriously. But the company said its own investigation has not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to Lucky Charms. General Mills said it encourages consumers to share their concerns directly with the company. TORONTO - After remortgaging her house and borrowing from friends and family to keep her business alive through the pandemic, Carolyn Hatfield is happily struggling to keep up with demand from pet owners seeking daycare for their COVID puppies. TORONTO - After remortgaging her house and borrowing from friends and family to keep her business alive through the pandemic, Carolyn Hatfield is happily struggling to keep up with demand from pet owners seeking daycare for their COVID puppies. "We're booked out for assessments through to June," the owner of The Canine Social Company Ltd. said in an interview. Like many in the pet industry whose businesses were upended by COVID, Hatfields biggest challenge now is managing the heightened separation anxiety of workers and their pets as more people return to the office. She carefully screens dogs to make sure they're a good fit for her doggie day care facility east of Toronto's Greektown. Whereas most dogs were approved in the years before COVID, as few as 40 per cent of applicants are currently accepted because their high stress would disrupt other four-legged customers. "It's kind of (like) the phenomenon of kids going to kindergarten for the first time, and they're clutching the parent's leg," she said. Nearly half of dogs she sees are exhibiting anxiety these days. Most are puppies that have never been separated from their owners, but even some older dogs are indicating that they'd rather be at home on the couch. This animal anxiety comes after the pandemic upended the pet business. Retail stores were periodically forced to close during successive waves after being declared non-essential services while demand for dog walkers, daycare and boarding dried up as pet owners worked from home and stopped travelling. Through it all, Canadians added pets to their families in record numbers. Pet fostering increased 70 per cent during the pandemic, while space-related euthanasia cases at shelters has been virtually eliminated for dogs and drastically reduced for cats. COVID "really demonstrated how much Canadians love animals," said Barbara Cartwright, CEO of Humane Canada, whose members include Humane Societies and SPCAs across the country. Fears that there would be a wave of pet surrenders as Canadians return to work has so far failed to materialize, she said. Melanie Patterson, owner of Pamper the Pooch, is welcoming furry guests at home again as demand for her small dog boarding and cat visit business has surged after bookings vanished during the pandemic. "I would say it's definitely back to where it was before COVID, if not a little bit better, because of the new clients that seem to be coming in," she said. But caring for these dogs can be difficult because many are unused to being alone or to being around other dogs. "I've had a dog here who's literally sat at a window for an entire day, just crying, waiting for their (owners) to come back for them." Dogs aren't the only ones under stress. Patterson said she's had to help first-time pet owners who are worried about being separated from their puppy. "I am doing a lot more communication, sending a lot more pictures, videos, text, any sort of form of communication that my clients want just to reassure them that their dogs are doing OK." Pandemic puppies pose an extra problem because many are not well-socialized and can be nippy with walkers and bark or bite out of frustration, said Nicola Smith, owner of dog walking service We Wag Toronto. Anxious pet owners are increasingly turning to technology or distractions to keep their animals occupied or monitor their behaviour while they're left home alone. They are buying remote cameras with treat dispensers, two-way cameras with microphones and apps that allow videocalls home. Use of CBD oil to calm dogs is on the increase as well. Anxiety in animals can manifest in constant barking and pacing, urination and defecation, and in extreme cases destructive behaviour. There can also be tremendous stress on owners if they live in a multi-tenant building, with threats of eviction as well as guilt about the animal's unhappiness, said Andre Yeu, founder and head trainer of When Hounds Fly, a dog training service in Toronto and Vancouver. Treatment can help but it can take weeks or months of gradually increasing separations before the dog is confident with being left alone. Animal behavioural specialist Dr. Colleen Wilson says videotaping a dog can help identify if it is suffering from separation anxiety or some other problem. Telemedicine can also be useful to assess animal behaviour because separation anxiety is frequently misdiagnosed. "It's great because the true sense of the animal is when there's no stranger in your house or you're not bringing your dog to a veterinary clinic," she said. Wilson said studies have shown that pets are often stressed because the owners are stressed. So being calm will model the appropriate behaviour in pets. And adopting independence training that takes a slow approach to getting an animal used to being alone will avoid problems, she said. Some Canadian companies have opened their doors to employees' dogs. Vancouver-based tech company HootSuite, which has welcomed pets for years at some of its global offices, said the practice helps to relieve stress for animals and employees alike. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. It's also a great benefit to attract and retain employees amid a tight labour market, said Carol Waldman, director of global facilities and real estate. "Anything we can add to make it a better employee experience and kind of encourage mental health and wellness and happiness in the workplace, I think we're really striving to continue to develop in those areas," she said. The company is also piloting a free dog walking service for one hour per week. Carolina Heyman, manager of Tier 2 technical support, says her mini goldendoodle Nessie, acquired during the pandemic while Hootsuite's offices were closed, loves to go to the office. And Heyman said it relieves her own stress by not being required to leave her dog at home. "I'd probably work from home more often because it's important to me to not leave her alone all day." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2022. OTTAWA - Newly disclosed documents reveal the breach of an internal computer network at Rideau Hall was described to senior government officials as a "sophisticated cyber incident" in the days before the public was told of the security lapse. OTTAWA - Newly disclosed documents reveal the breach of an internal computer network at Rideau Hall was described to senior government officials as a "sophisticated cyber incident" in the days before the public was told of the security lapse. Internal government emails, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, also say officials were "unable to confirm the full extent of the information that was accessed." As a result, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General was looking to make credit monitoring services available to employees due to concerns that sensitive personal information might have been pilfered. All managers were encouraged "to reflect on the information holdings they manage in their respective units" and raise any concerns they might have, says a Nov. 17, 2021, draft of a message that was to shared with Rideau Hall employees. In a Dec. 2 news release, the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General said there was "an unauthorized access to its internal network" and that it was working on the investigation with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security a wing of the Communications Security Establishment, Canada's electronic spy service. It mentioned efforts to improve computer networks as well as consultation with the federal privacy commissioner's office. Ciara Trudeau, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Secretary, said it communicated with Rideau Hall employees and "external partners who may have been affected by the incident." However, she declined to provide a general update on the breach, the sort of information accessed, or other details about how and why it took place. Trudeau also would not discuss the provision of secure credit monitoring services to employees. The internal emails indicate several senior Privy Council Office officials were advised of the breach two weeks before the event was made public. Spokesmen for that office declined to comment on the incident. Communications Security Establishment spokesman Evan Koronewski said the CSE and its cyber centre could not discuss specific details of the breach. "What I can tell you is we continue to work diligently with (the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General) to ensure they have robust systems and tools in place to monitor, detect and investigate any potential new threats," he said. The CSE is providing cyberdefensive services to the Office of the Secretary in co-ordination with partners at Shared Services Canada, he added. Hacking into databanks has become increasingly attractive to cybercriminals, said Chantal Bernier, a former interim privacy commissioner of Canada. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "It is risk-free, very cheap and highly profitable," she said in an interview. "Sadly, there is also a lot of state-backed hacking." Bernier lauded Rideau Hall for swiftly alerting the CSE, looking at credit monitoring for employees, and contacting the privacy commissioner's office even though the Office of the Secretary is not subject to the Privacy Act. The case underscores the need to broaden the mandate of the commissioner in an era when the internet has created an imbalance of power between individuals and the organizations that possess their personal data, she said. "It's now so complex. And we cannot, each of us individually, hold the organizations accountable it's beyond us," said Bernier, who now handles privacy and cybersecurity cases at law firm Dentons. "The magnitude of breaches and consequences is such that we need to have a regulator that is strong enough to hold all organizations that hold our data accountable." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2022. Marc Tallman is the founder of Empty Cup Collective, but his life is nothing if not full. Marc Tallman is the founder of Empty Cup Collective, but his life is nothing if not full. In the past 12 months despite a COVID-19 pandemic thats wreaked havoc on businesses, especially ones in the hospitality sector Tallman has burst onto Winnipegs independent coffee scene, opening a trio of modern and striking, yet accessible and friendly, cafes in the city. Owner Marc Tallman (left) with Rempel opened the Panet Road location last year. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) And by the way hes only 26 years old. In a wide-ranging hour-plus chat at the Panet Road location over hot drinks on a recent mid-week morning, Tallman an ambitious but amiable fellow spoke about his rapidly growing concept, philosophy in business, and big plans for the future. Tallman grew up in Tuxedo and attended St. Johns-Ravenscourt school, before attending the University of Winnipeg to get a bachelor of business administration degree. When he graduated in 2017, he wasnt passionate about coffee at all. "I liked coffee like a lot of people, just drinking it to get through the day, but I never liked it enough to care what I was drinking," he said, making a comparison to beer to illustrate his point. Tallman opened Empty Cup in the Panet Road building owned by his familys Princess Auto and which, for a time, served as a Princess Auto location. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press) "I was more of a Bud Light person, not a craft beer person." While backpacking across the world on a year off, he drank a lot of canned cold brew coffee to beat the heat of locales such as Australia, the South Pacific and Thailand. He got to thinking that starting his own line of cold brews when he returned to Winnipeg might be a good and profitable idea. You see, business is in Tallmans blood like caffeine he comes from an extremely entrepreneurial family. His grandfather, Harvey Tallman, bought Princess Auto Wrecking in 1942 with the money he made from selling the truck he used while working in Alaska. Harvey, who was turned down by the Canadian Armed Forces twice because of his psoriasis, transformed a little shack on Princess Street into a war surplus supplier, and later, into a tools and equipment mecca. Empty Cup recently opened an Academy Road location in a former Starbucks. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) Harveys son, and Marcs father, Bob Tallman expanded Princess Auto Ltd. into the national company it is today, with 48 locations across all 10 Canadian provinces. Harvey is still around and is nearing 100. Bob is in his mid-60s and is "90 per cent retired now," Marc said. Bob left Marc and Marcs older brother, Matt Tallman to manage Princess Auto in 2018. But Bob also wanted his sons to have businesses of their own. Matt, 30 years old, is the president and founder of popular Kenaston Avenue taproom and brewery Trans Canada Brewing, which opened in October, 2017. Marc opened Empty Cup at a similar age, as his idea for a line of canned cold brew quickly blossomed into ideas of a full-blown cafe. Barista Emily Green steams milk while making a vanilla latte at Empty Cup on Academy Road. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) "It was like, Well, were going to roast the beans, so why not sell the beans?" Tallman said. "We have a space, so why not have a cafe?" But Tallman and his business-partner-slash-close-friend, COO Dexter Rempel, had a lot to learn. Neither had worked in a coffee shop before. "We literally had no idea Weve learned everything the past two years," Tallman said. They hired consultants, travelled to Colombia to study coffee beans and the growing process, and went to Italy for a barista course learning how to properly steam milk, pull shots of espresso and the like. They got their training done just in the nick of time. They left Italy just as the first wave of COVID-19 occurred there in early 2020. Beans roasting away at the Panet Road location. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) Tallman moved with confidence as he jumped behind the line to make us drinks when I arrived. (He needlessly apologized for the lack of art on my hazelnut oat latte.) Opening on Panet Road first was logical. Tallman owned the building already, as it used to be a Princess Auto (there is still a Princess Auto directly south of the shop.) However, the space needed a lot of work. Tallman planned to open in 2020, but unsurprisingly hit several roadblocks including a brutal second COVID wave and construction delays along the way. It at least gave him more time to practise. The shop finally opened on April 1, 2021. Tallman and Rempel opened the second Empty Cup location, in Sage Creek, in late September 2021, and followed that up by opening a location on Academy Road in a former Starbucks location in February. He said a lot of people in North River Heights have told him how badly their neighbourhood needed a coffee shop since Starbucks departed, and hes more than happy to fill the void. Rempel pours beans into the company roaster at the Panet Road location. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) The Empty Cup locations the name, by the way, is a play on the phonetic pronunciation of Marc Tallmans initials, "M.T.," have a slick vibe, with a sharp monochromatic colour scheme, sleek counters, and lit-up marquees on the ceilings that read "EMPTY." (The marquee was a last-minute addition to the Panet location but has now become a signature in all three shops.) Despite the look, Empty Cup is not a "third wave" shop, Tallman said. "Third wave" craft coffee appeals to hardcore coffee fans, and Tallman said it can be quite bitter and acidic. Empty Cup strives to be a bit more accessible with a variety of blends. "Were really not trying to just appeal to coffee lovers," Tallman said. "Were trying to appeal to anyone who wants to drink coffee or tea were trying to get people who are a tad out of their comfort zone to come in for a coffee and learn that were not the coffee theyre scared of," he said. Its important to Tallman that Empty Cup is welcoming to all. "I want customers to not be afraid to ask what a different coffee is. I want people to be able to learn about coffee, have a great experience, and be in what I think is a cool place." The nose knows: operations leader Dexter Rempel grabs a sniff of a batch of beans, getting ready to end roasting at just the right time. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) Unlike the Panet Road location, which is not in a particularly walkable location on the edge of an industrial park, the Academy location attracts plenty of walk-up traffic and more who sit in. Panet is doing well, and about 50 per cent of the customers there are regulars, but Academy is doing gangbusters. Sage Creek had a slower winter but has a large patio that should be bustling come summer, Tallman said. One of the biggest things Tallman has learned over the past year other than the ins and outs of running a cafe is how to deal with people. "My dad always told me people are the hardest part of business and I think its true," he said. "Everybody wants something and you want whats best for the business and you have to try and manage both of those, manage how people get along, and everything else that goes with it." Birthday cake latte is a feature coffee. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) One lesson his grandfather and father taught Marc, a lesson he has kept at the forefront of his mind, is to make people the biggest focus both customers and the approximately 50 staff. "Its all about people, whether its customer service or our team members, doing the right thing for them" Tallman said. "We never laid a single person off here through COVID. Weve had way lower turnover than you would ever think in a quick service cafe. The team are all friends. They get along. Its fantastic so far no complaints." Tallman isnt behind the line too much now, but at the beginning, would jump in as needed and knows how to make the whole menu. He trusts his experienced staff to represent the business well, and was even able to take a vacation recently without worrying that the shops would fall apart while he was gone. We heart coffee: frothed milk tops a vanilla latte. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) Collaboration between Matt and Marc has been frequent. Trans Canadas beer is on tap at all Empty Cup locations, and the pizzas on offer are some of Trans Canadas most popular and can be baked up in a matter of minutes. The brothers collaborated on a cold brew coffee stout sold at Trans Canada last year, and Tallman gave me one of the two cans he estimated to still be in existence. Empty Cup is also similar to Trans Canada in the way customers can get a peek behind the scenes. The glass wall behind the counter at the Panet location gives a clear look at the roasting equipment and canning line Tallman hopes to have the first-ever cans of cold brews ready by the Victoria Day weekend just like the glass wall at Trans Canada gives a clear look of the vats and brewing activities. Tallman and Rempel who arrived about an hour into the interview gave the reporter a mini tour, and its clear they now know their stuff, showing the different types of beans from various countries and explaining the roasting and cold-brew production processes. While Tallman is young, hes no rookie thanks to his family background. As a result, no ones tried to throw cold water on his plans or told him hes too young to hack it. Bags of coffee of various varieties are for sale Empty Cup. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) However, when he goes to events and expos he and Rempel travelled to Boston the day after the interview for the Specialty Coffee Expo and interacts with suppliers, some are surprised that someone in his mid-20s has stores of his own. "Ive had that all my life, though, so I dont really notice it anymore, as much. But theyre definitely surprised," he said. As for the advice hed offer other young entrepreneurs, Tallman is blunt. "Dont half-ass it," he said. "If youre going to do it, do it, and make sure its up to the standard that you want. I think that businesses that fail kind of half-ass it" A common design scheme between the original Panet Road location and the Academy Road location (shown) ties the two stores together. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press) "Just look at this cafe. Its very experiential. We have the array full of everything" he continued, including the food menu of bowls, overnight oats, pizzas, and pastries from La Belle Baguette; beer and cold brew on a nitro tap; merchandise for sale; and a newly established rewards program where customers collect "drips" to redeem for free drinks. "If we wanted to, we could have just done coffee and had some coffee bags, but we tried to really extend it and make it a full offering, a full experience, rather than kind of stopping halfway." "I really wanted this place to kind of operate from morning to night come here for your first coffee or your last beer." Tallmans plans to offer that experience in more places to expand are, unsurprisingly, heady. Hes striving to keep Empty Cup on a firm upward trend. In addition to rolling out a line of canned cold brews, Empty Cup is opening its fourth location at Pineridge Hollow in Oakbank. The shop will be part of the new "Village at Pineridge Hollow" concept, which will consist of two large buildings with six individual shops each and a large covered farmers market. Tallman and Rempel have also bought a small trailer to use for pop-ups, with plans to take it to events within Winnipeg and to Tall Pines Marina in Kenora this summer. On top of all that, Tallman eventually wants to have a location with a drive-thru, which have become key for many businesses since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but isnt sure where hed want that location to be. He sees the potential for Empty Cup in other cities, but wants to get their processes refined more before hed make such a move. "I think we have a solid base, and we can build on that. I think that people love our brand," Tallman said. "Academys proven that its extremely busy; its hard to sit down in there. Im hopeful for the future, and well see where we go." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Tallman is a big-picture guy but provided a couple of examples of his attention to detail that will also serve Empty Cup well as it expands, whether thats within Winnipeg or beyond. "If we only went with cold brew and didnt design the cans properly, that would be a failure in my eyes," he said, as an example. "For us, cups were also big thing," he continued, gesturing to his black-cupped Americano, adorned with the italicized lower-case e logo and "EMPTY" in capital block letters from the bottom to the top. "A lot of cafes just have white cups. If we did that, that would have not been a full offering to me. I really wanted to create something that looks like a business thats been around for a while." "A lot of people have asked if were franchised or a chain, and in my eyes thats a good thing, because it means were doing something right and were looking like weve done our research and fully built the business that we wanted to build." declan.schroeder@winnipegfreepress.com When Pope Francis comes to Canada in late July, he is not expected to visit Winnipeg. Pope Francis on his popemobile drives through a crowd of faithful at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff is expected in Canada for a four-day tour in July. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) When Pope Francis comes to Canada in late July, he is not expected to visit Winnipeg. According to a report published by CBC, the three locations on the list for his four-day trip during which he will apologize to Indigenous people for their experience at Roman Catholic-operated residential schools are Quebec City, Edmonton and Iqaluit. The report cited confidential sources who were not authorized to speak publicly. The sources also said the trip, which was being planned before the March 28-April 1 meetings between the Pope and delegates from the First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities, will be funded by the Canadian Catholic Church. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for Indigenous people across Canada to hear the Pope. Vatican advance teams have already scouted the three cities in preparation for the trip, according to Metis National Council President Cassidy Caron. If the Pope goes to Edmonton, it is possible he will deliver an apology at Lac Ste. Anne, a pilgrimage located 78 kilometres west of the Alberta capital. The pilgrimage is popular with Metis and Indigenous people; at his April 1 audience with delegates in Vatican City the Pope said he hoped to "be with you" on St. Annes feast day, July 26. In a statement, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) would not confirm the locations, saying any official announcement about dates and locations will come from the Vatican. As for the trip itself, the CCCB said "The Canadian bishops are grateful that Pope Francis has accepted our invitation to visit Canada on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation." It went on to say "We have had meaningful conversations with Indigenous people, about the timing, focus and themes of the visit." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The CCCB has also been in conversation with the federal government, knowing the national importance of such an event, it added. "Given the Holy Fathers advanced age and desire for simple, modest visits, we can expect the Canadian visit to reflect this reality in both the length of the pilgrimage as well as the geography of such a visit, given the size of Canada. We can anticipate that the visit to Canada will be very different than those of the past," the CCCB added. Regarding costs, until it has confirmation of dates, locations, and scope of the visit, the CCCB is "unable to provide detailed information on the budgeting for this trip," said Jonathan Lesarge, government and public relations adviser. "There is widespread enthusiasm around the pilgrimage from the bishops of Canada, other members of the Catholic community, and Canadians more broadly," he said, adding the CCCB is confident of its ability to raise the necessary funding for the Popes trip. Any costs for the papal visit "will be on top of the $30 million being raised to support healing and reconciliation projects across Canada," he added. faith@freepress.mb.ca COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. People walk through a parking lot at the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday, April 16, 2022, as police investigate a shooting at the shopping center. (Justin Smith via AP) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, he said. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running. People walk through a parking lot at the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday, April 16, 2022, as police investigate a shooting at the shopping center. (Justin Smith via AP) Johnson said people were screaming for their children and spouses, knocking over tables in the food court as they fled. Everybody was trying to get outside, Johnson said. When I was coming out, you could see baby strollers turned over, peoples phones and left keys. It was kind of a hectic situation. Johnson said he gathered his wife, daughter and son and began heading toward the exit after letting the crowd clear out for a bit. Authorities stage in a parking lot at Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C., following a shooting, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford) My biggest thing was and not to sound selfish was to make sure that our family was OK and to get them out safely because this is not something that we love to do for Easter weekend. Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting, though officers began letting more traffic through the streets surrounding the shopping centers and strip malls that are usually packed on weekends. Officers were also stationed outside a nearby hotel designated as a reunification area for people at the scene of the shooting and their families. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Workers from a couple of stores remained clustered in the mostly empty parking lot Saturday evening, waiting for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings so they could leave. They said they did not hear or see anything during the shooting but followed the malls alert system and were evacuated by police shortly after. They declined to give their names, citing company policies. Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook speaks to members of the media near Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C., following a shooting, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford) Todays isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," Columbiana Centre said in a statement. "We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement. The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near malls across the country. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Officials said he was with a group of boys when they got into a dispute with a second group. On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said. And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol. VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the senseless war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. Pope Francis hoists the Gospel book during the Catholic Easter Sunday mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) VATICAN CITY (AP) On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the "senseless" war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. "Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing "the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Yet again, the pontiff didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. People's hearts are filled with "fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," the pontiff said. Pope Francis leaves at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) "Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. "May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: "'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'" He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifesto's text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Easter coming on April 24 Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name "Urbi et Orbi" to the city and to the world. Pope Francis on his popemobile drives through the crowd of faithful at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. For many Christians, this weekend marks the first time in three years they will gather in person to celebrate Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) "May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that "Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places" in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, "which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims." He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that country's people. He also prayed that God grant "reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists," and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and "terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region," as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. But Francis found hope in the "open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe,'' referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country," said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them "forget for a moment about all the terrible things" that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: "I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter." Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end "as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe" Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peters Basilica. After Easter morning Mass, Francis boarded the white popemobile for a whirl through the square among the cheering ranks of the crowd. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. ___ Jill Lawless in London, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Medyka, Poland, contributed. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. A woman injured in a Russian attack is treated by emergency workers in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. The fall of Mariupol, the site of a merciless 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin, would be Moscow's biggest victory of the war and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. Capturing the southern city would also allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets. As its missiles and rockets slammed into other parts of the country, Russia estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian troops and about 400 foreign mercenaries were dug in at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill, which covers more than 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is laced with tunnels. Many Mariupol civilians, including children, are also sheltering at the Azovstal plant, Mikhail Vershinin, head of the citys patrol police, told Mariupol television on Sunday. He said they are hiding from Russian shelling, and from any occupying Russian soldiers. Galyna Bondar, mourns next to the grave of her son Oleksandr, 32, after burying him at the cemetery in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday, April 16, 2022. Oleksandr, who joined the territorial Ukrainian defence as a co-ordinator was killed by a gunshot by the Russian Army. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Moscow had given the defenders a midday deadline to surrender and "keep their lives, but the Ukrainians rejected it, as they've done with previous ultimatums. We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABC's This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but we do not have intention to surrender. As for besieged Mariupol, there appeared to be little hope Sunday of military rescue by Ukrainian forces anytime soon. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian troops and civilians in Mariupol are basically encircled. He said they continue their struggle, but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers last March 30 in Bucha, during his funeral in the cemetery of Mykulychi, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. After nine days since the discovery of Vadym's corpse, finally Nadiya could have a proper funeral for him. This is not where Nadiya Trubchaninova thought she would find herself at 70 years of age, hitchhiking daily from her village to the shattered town of Bucha trying to bring her son's body home for burial. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Easter greetings via Twitter, saying: "The Lords Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil. If Mariupol falls, Russian forces there are expected to join an all-out offensive in the coming days for control of the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin is bent on capturing after failing in its bid to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have killed at least 21,000 people, by the Ukrainians' estimate. A maternity hospital was hit by a lethal Russian airstrike in the opening weeks of the war, and about 300 people were reported killed in the bombing of a theater where civilians were taking shelter. Bodies of civilians lie on the ground as local residents walk past a destroyed part of the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. Mariupol, a strategic port on the Sea of Azov, has been besieged by Russian troops and forces from self-proclaimed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine for more than six weeks. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov) An estimated 100,000 remained in the city out of a prewar population of 450,000, trapped without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. Drone footage carried by the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti showed towering plumes of smoke over the steel complex, which sits on the outskirts of the bombed-out city, on the Sea of Azov. Russian trenches and firing positions in the highly radioactive Red Forest stuffed with radioactive remnants near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for battle in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Russian forces, meanwhile, carried out aerial attacks near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity ahead of the anticipated assault. After the humiliating sinking of the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet last week in what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack, the Kremlin had vowed to step up strikes on the capital. Sergei looks out of the window of a train minutes before arriving with his family in Lviv, from Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Russia said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Explosions were also reported overnight in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. At least five people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris, including part of at least one rocket. A dog peers over a large Ukrainian flag during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, in front of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, in an impassioned address marking Orthodox Palm Sunday, lashed out at Russian forces for not letting up the bombing campaign on such a sacred day. And Zelenskyy, in his nightly address to the nation, called the bombing in Kharkiv nothing but deliberate terror. A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least two people were killed when Russian forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote, near the front line in the Donbas. Passengers rest in the train minutes before arriving in Lviv from Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Zelenskyy said Russian troops in parts of southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world to respond with more weapons and tougher sanctions. Torture chambers are built there, he said in his address. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the Russians continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to reinforce their ground troops. CAPTION CORRECTS LOCATION -Ira Slepchenko, 54, cries looking at the coffins, one of them with the body of her husband Sasha Nedolezhko, 43, during an exhumation of civilians buried in a mass grave in Mykulychi, Ukraine on Sunday, April 17, 2022. All four bodies in the village grave were killed on the same street, on the same day. Their temporary caskets were together in a grave. On Sunday, two weeks after the soldiers disappeared, volunteers dug them up one by one to be taken to a morgue for investigation. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) The looming offensive in the east, if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory that he could sell to the Russian people amid the war's mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the West's sanctions. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow this week the first European leader to do so since the invasion Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. CAPTION CORRECTS LOCATION - Ira Slepchenko, 54, cries next to coffins, one of them with the body of her husband Sasha Nedolezhko, 43, during an exhumation of civilians killed and buried in a mass grave in Mykulychi, Ukraine on Sunday, April 17, 2022. All four bodies in the village grave were killed on the same street, on the same day. Their temporary caskets were together in a grave. On Sunday, two weeks after the soldiers disappeared, volunteers dug them up one by one to be taken to a morgue for investigation. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) ___ Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Since becoming president of Minnesota State College Southeast last July, Ive learned so much about our college. The MSC Southeast community is versatile, resilient, innovative, and tenacious. The colleges greatest asset is our dedicated faculty and staff who are passionate about helping our students. The work we do is more important now than it has ever been. Our students are the workforce, citizens, and leaders of tomorrow. As a college, we are an engine of social and economic mobility. We are the hope for the future for our students. I want to share with you my vision for success at Minnesota State College Southeast. From my point of view, what matters most is to be a college where the needs of the students and community come first. I honestly believe that if we use that as our motto, everything else will take care of itself. I want to lead a college that focuses unwaveringly on the goals of its students, whether that be completion of a degree, entry into the workforce, or transferring to another college. Using data, evidence, and high-impact practices, we must continuously improve student learning outcomes, developing and delivering curriculum that measurably improves learning for all of our students. We need to be student ready ready to meet students where they are, help them to reach their goals, and inspire them. We will match our high academic expectations with high levels of support, so students can stay on the path to completion of their goals. We will work together to reduce the achievement gap for traditionally minoritized individuals. Ours is a college with an inclusive and equitable community culture, a place where students, faculty, staff, and community members can feel safe, can feel valued, and where they can be their genuine selves. MSC Southeast must be dedicated to working adult learners, providing education that will enhance their careers. This will require changes in how, when, and where courses are offered and student services are provided. At the other end of the spectrum, due to demographic shifts, there is a declining population of high school graduates. We need to focus on recruiting the 40% of high school students who dont currently chose secondary education after high school. Every day on the news we hear that there isnt enough workforce available to fill available positions, and every business that I visit says their number one need is for more qualified workers. We will engage our business, industry, and education partners to help us positively impact the economy and social vitality of our region. We will increase the number of our grads prepared for high-wage, high demand jobs and transfer to university so that our region can continue to prosper. Realizing this vision will take courage and persistence. I hope Southeast will be a college that has a solutions-oriented mindset, values action over inaction, starts with yes and asks, why not? Together, we will grow the success of Minnesota State College Southeast by always putting the needs of the students and the community first. You deserve no less from us. Its why were here. Dr. Marsha Danielson is president of Minnesota State College Southeast. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The markers of progress that define the journey of Winona State University center around one primary theme: student success. At Winona State, we prepare our graduates to serve generously, lead responsibly, and respond imaginatively and creatively to the challenges of their work, their lives, and their communities. Even amidst the challenges of the last two years, our commitment to serving our mission did not wane. Im proud to report that WSU students continue to achieve the highest success rate of all 37 colleges and universities in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Our measures of success continue after graduation, with 97% of WSU graduates employed within one year of graduation. Further, our BIPOC graduates (those who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color) are significantly more successful in securing employment than BIPOC graduates from other schools in the Minnesota State system. While we are proud of our students achievements, we still have much work to do. It is our goal to eliminate all equity gaps in education, wealth, upward mobility. We are committed to increasing support for students of color, and building in new processes that use an equity lens. We take this responsibility seriously and have launched a number of initiatives to expedite the closing of equity gaps Race Matters Study Groups, the George Floyd Scholarship, and the Wealth Building Series, among others. Efforts across our physical campuses also aim to impact student success by increasing access and creating environments responsive to the needs of the future. Centralizing our residential facilities this year has offered students more equitable opportunities to be engaged; better access to campus resources; and the ability to walk to classes, the library and campus events. Our Leading Energy Savings & Sustainability initiative (LESS) will position WSU as Minnesota States most energy efficient university and save $26 million over the projects lifetime. We will install the largest solar energy system on any Minnesota State campus and dramatically reduce WSUs overall environmental impact, while at the same time providing STEM learning opportunities for students throughout the Winona area. Similarly, our Center for Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Engagement & Learning (CICEL) will create the first Net Zero Energy and carbon neutral building in the Minnesota State system. The Center aims to meet the needs of todays students and faculty by creating a space where students from art and design, computer science, and mathematics and statistics can collaborate and build skills and solutions for today and into the future. CICEL will in part mirror the successes of Education Village, providing state-of-the-art learning and teaching spaces equipped with modern technologies and resources. And Education Village, which currently benefits more than 2,000 WSU students each year, will soon foster even more student success through our new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program in partnership with Minnesota State College Southeast. Championed by Rep. Gene Pelowski and Sen. Jeremy Miller, the CTE program will emphasize career development and occupational experiences, and focus on preparing high school students for specific occupations and postsecondary training and education. Prioritizing student success means continually examining how we support our students from where they live, to what services they need, to how they pay for their education. In the last five years, WSU has created more than 100 new scholarships through the WSU Foundation and awarded close to $8.5 million annually in student scholarships. This past year, we launched a new Resident Tuition Scholarship, which will benefit most, if not all, incoming students. Im proud to say that Winona State is working actively to keep a WSU education affordable and accessible for all students. Reflecting on our progress, it should come as no surprise that Winona State University was named the No. 1 public university in the State of Minnesota in this years U.S. News and World Report. Our students, our faculty, our staff, our community partners, and our alumni and alumnae network 50,000-strong around the globe work together to achieve the markers of success that define who we are. I am proud to be a member of this community of learners. Its a great day to be a Warrior! Scott R. Olson is president of Winona State University. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Given the experiences Ive had over the last four years, I would say that being a college student has a very different meaning now than in previous generations. The college years that my peers and I experienced were unique, to say the very least! I began my college career at Winona State University in the fall of 2018. Along with students all across the country, I moved to a new city, became familiar with new surroundings, and began searching for people I hoped would be lifelong friends. None of us knew what would be in store for us in the next four years. While we searched for some normalcy within an ever-changing world, Winona became home. My friends and I took comfort in a cup of coffee from Acoustic Cafe, the changing leaves across the bluffs, the nightlife on Third Street, and the Winona State campus, which gave us our first taste of freedom. Winona is the place we experienced birthdays, felt the triumphs and tribulations of finals week, and above all else, the place we discovered who we are and what we hope to be. While many of us were able to enjoy the different experiences Winona has to offer, some students also faced major hardships: college tuition is expensive, COVID-19 is uncertain, and equality is still needed within our communities. To combat adversity, students worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, protested to be heard, and advocated to be listened to. The diverse experiences and skills that WSU has given us have helped us find our voices and positioned us to succeed in a world that goes far beyond Winona, Minnesota. As many of us prepare for graduation day, which is just around the corner, we look back on all the moments that brought us here. Things like pulling all-nighters to finish an assignment, days spent in our small rented Winona homes, and going to the library to study but actually just talking and laughing with friends. To the WSU students who still have years left to experience in Winona, I promise that if you let it, this small riverboat town along the Mississippi River will give you so much. So, find your comfort coffee shop, the people who youll waste time laughing with instead of studying, and the moments youll get to look back at and be thankful this is the route you chose. To the residents of the city of Winona, thank you for letting us come into this city and make it our own throughout our college careers. Even though being a college student today is much different than it was in years past, the city of Winona still has the same adventurous bluffs, busy Third Street, and friendly Winona State University campus. For years to come, even with all of the stress and hardship that comes with being a college student, Winona will still have the comfort and beauty that make it home. Kaitlyn Mercier will graduate this spring from Winona State University with bachelors degrees in Public Relations and Political Science. She plans to relocate to the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area to pursue a career in public relations. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Baraboo Hills forest block grew by 8 acres Saturday, with new trees being planted near Baxters Hollow. Tree planters from across the state were aided by staff and volunteers from The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental conservation. The Conservancy has chapters in every state, and the Wisconsin branch hosts a tree planting event like Saturdays each year. According to Baraboo Hills project coordinator Ann Calhoun, around 80 volunteers punctuated the hillside for five hours from the late morning to afternoon, planting over 2,000 tree seedlings. Many of the trees going into the dirt, Calhoun said, will grow to serve as homes for neo-migratory birds who travel south for winter. As (the birds) make their way northward to nest for the year, they need really big blocks of forest to successfully raise their young, she said. A project like this really helps expand and maintain that big block of forest. Beyond cultivating avian habitats, Calhoun said the seedling selection burr oak, red oak and hickory was curated with climate change in mind. Were trying to think about trees that are going to be successful and thrive over the next 50-plus years, Calhoun said. The mix of oaks that were planting are species that, based on a lot of different science, are projected to fare pretty well. Nature Conservancy media manager Emily Mills added that the Baraboo Hills themselves are a really, really special area in Wisconsin, mainly due to their varying topography, including hills and gorges. We call this the resilient connected network, Mills said. In total, the network Mills referred to comprises around 16,000 acres between Baxters Hollow and the Baraboo Hills. According to Calhoun, the resiliency of the network will be a vital quality to preserve looking ahead at the effects of climate change. It is really important ... in the face of climate change having connected areas that wildlife and species can move across the landscape and be able to shift and adjust, Calhoun said. Similarly, Mills said the help of volunteers is vital to the proliferation of areas like the Baraboo Hills. Saturdays turnout was a good example. Organizations like our thrive on volunteers, Mills said. Its an awesome way to pitch in in your community. Those interested in volunteering for future Conservancy events can learn more at nature.org/wisconsin. Crazy Quilt Mania April 16, 2022 - June 30, 2023 Crazy quilts emerged in the United States during the late nineteenth century. Stitchery from Londons Royal School of Art Needlework as well as the display of Japanese arts and crafts at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 inspired women across America to take up their needles in new and different ways. Significantly, the authors of the household decor literature associated with the resulting Art Needlework movement were not the first to promote crazy quilts. Rather, as quilt historian Virginia Gunn has noted, these textiles emerged as a grass roots response to Aesthetic Movement fashions. By 1884, the fad for crazy quilts was so great that terms such as mania, maddening, maniacal, and insanity appeared with regularity in newspaper and magazine articles. Crazy quilts appealed to urban and rural women alike. Unquilted and therefore technically not quilts at all, they consisted of randomly shaped and sized pieces of fabric that were attached to a foundation layer and then embellished with decorative embroidery that covered the seams. Realistic and naturalistic embroidery motifs, ribbons, and pre-embroidered appliques often provided additional surface decoration. In the 1880s, scraps of brightly colored silk, taffeta, and brocade were the fabrics of choice. Towards the end of the following decade, woolens in a limited palette of muted, darker colors gradually replaced luxe fabrics in popularity, individual pieces became larger, and the use of embroidery was increasingly limited to stitches that disguised the seams. After 1900, the renewed interest in patchwork coincided with the rise of the Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts movements, and fashion tastemakers declared crazy quilts unfashionable. Even so, some women continued to make them. Whatever the origins of these textiles, the phrase crazy quilt holds a prominent place in the vocabulary of Americans. During this era, crazy quilts were the subject of poems and stories, and newspapers of the era used the term frequently to describe the weather, sporting events, theatrical productions, and political contests. Even today, most Americans form a mental picture of something that is seemingly random or chaotic when the term crazy quilt is used. The exhibit, Crazy Quilt Mania, examines the above trends through the exhibition of 23 crazy quilts selected from the Kentucky Museum collection. In addition to crazy quilts, this exhibit includes examples of textile and non-textile fancywork as well as numerous fancywork illustrations and advertisements from the period. RIYADH, April 16 (Xinhua) In his phone conversation with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted the strategic and overarching significance of China-Saudi Arabia relations. Over the past year, China and Saudi Arabia have joined their efforts and moved forward together, facilitating new development in bilateral ties, Xi said. The Chinese side supports Saudi Arabia in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability, and in independently exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions, Xi stressed. Xi has, on many occasions, affirmed his commitment to promoting cooperation with Saudi Arabia at various levels. The following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard. April 20, 2021 In a phone conversation with the crown prince, Xi said that China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia and other members of the international community to build an equitable climate governance regime that is cooperative and beneficial to all. He also called for concerted efforts to push for a comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Feb. 6, 2020 During a phone conversation with King Salman, Xi said he deeply appreciates that King Salman and the Saudi side have repeatedly expressed their firm support to China at this critical moment when China is fighting the novel coronavirus, which has fully demonstrated the sincere friendship and the high level of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. He also said that the Chinese side will keep on working with all countries, including Saudi Arabia, to jointly handle the epidemic, and maintain public health safety in the region and around the world in the spirit of openness and transparency. Feb. 22, 2019 When meeting with the crown prince at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi said that China regards Saudi Arabia as a good friend and partner and is ready to work jointly with Saudi Arabia to build on past achievements to open up a new horizon for bilateral friendship and strategic relationship. China and Saudi Arabia should continue to extend mutual support on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns and promote political mutual trust, he said. China firmly supports Saudi Arabia's efforts on promoting economic diversification and social reforms and safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and stability, stated Xi, saying that China opposes any moves to interfere in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs. Nov. 16, 2017 In a phone conversation with King Salman, Xi said China's determination to deepen strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia will not waver, no matter how the international and regional situation alters. Remarking on the importance of maintaining close communication between the two countries' heads of state, Xi said China and Saudi Arabia were comprehensive strategic partners with deepening strategic mutual trust and win-win cooperation. China supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and realize greater development, the Chinese president said. March 16, 2017 During their talks in Beijing, Xi and visiting King Salman have agreed the two countries will step up cooperation in all areas and push forward their all-round strategic partnership. China supports Saudi Arabia as it advances on a development path suitable to its national conditions, maintains national sovereignty, security and development interests, and plays greater role in regional and global affairs, Xi said. China is a reliable and stable market for Saudi Arabia's oil, Xi said, calling for closer cooperation in such areas as energy, communication, aviation, finance and investment, culture, education, public health, technology, tourism, media and security. Jan. 19, 2016 "Since China and Saudi Arabia forged diplomatic ties 26 years ago, our relationship has developed by leaps and bounds, with mutual political trust deepening continuously and rich results in cooperation in various fields," Xi said in written remarks upon arrival in his first visit to Saudi Arabia. Xi and King Salman decided to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. "I believe it will deepen the mutual strategic trust, lead to greater achievements in our mutually beneficial cooperation, and help facilitate and broaden our shared interests in international and regional affairs," Xi said on the upgrade of bilateral ties. (Source: Xinhua) Medical debt is a leading cause of bankruptcy, if not THE leading cause. So Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkins recent vetoes of a pair of laws aimed at helping patients strapped by medical bills defies understanding. One of the laws the Republican governor struck down placed a statute of limitations of three years on lawsuits to collect unpaid health care bills. Democratic Del. Nadarius Clark sponsored the bill. But the Republican-run House voted for it twice, passing it initially 88-11 and later voting 87-9 to approve it with the addition of an amendment added by the Democratic-run Senate, which voted 40-0. This kind of cooperation and those kinds of margins demonstrate bipartisan government at its best. Legislators worked their way through a series of discussions and reviews to arrive at a consensus. The vote for the second medical debt collection bill Youngkin vetoed was closer but still bipartisan. Offered by Democratic Sen. Creigh Deeds, who represents parts of the Charlottesville-Albemarle region, the law prohibited health care providers from collecting medical debts from crime victims as they try to qualify for payments from the states Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. That law passed the Senate 24-15. An amended version passed the House 91-7 and came back to the Senate which passed it 27-12 and then 22-17 on reconsideration. Regardless of the margins, no humanitarian or political rationale exists for favoring debt collectors over the sick or injured. Youngkin explained the statute of limitations veto, saying the law had significant implications on financial regulations by inadvertently capturing other forms of debt other than medical debt. He said the crime victims protection bill could harm small healthcare providers by creating additional legal liability and result in higher health care costs for Virginians. Anyone who is worried about the financial ruin of the American health care system should check out the publicly available tax returns of misnamed non-profit hospitals. They often sit on piles of cash. For-profit hospitals, sometimes owned by physicians, suffer no pain either. You hear providers complain about inadequate Medicare reimbursement rates, but there is not a medical device maker out there who doesnt want its product covered by Medicare. Medicare commands so much of the market, it determines which services get covered by private insurance. As we were once told by an unusually candid hospital administrator, the reason the U.S. health care system costs so much and so strongly resists change is because everyone in the systems make so much money. So everyone gets taken care of except the patients who face charges out of whack with almost anything else they pay for. A day of coronary care at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic runs $5,500, according to a price list on its website. A heart patient with decent health insurance may only get charged for their deductible. If you have a high deductible plan, you will still owe thousands of dollars that, like as not, you were not expecting to pay. If you have lousy insurance or no insurance, you either delay treatment or risk bankruptcy. Being forced to go to the emergency room is not just a medical crisis. Too often, it creates a financial crisis. The confounding thing is how little control anyone has over medical debt. The Federal Reserve reported in May 2021 that 17% percent of adults had major, unexpected medical expenses in the prior 12 months, with the median amount between $1,000 and $1,999. Now, lets talk about harassing calls to your workplace or threats of wage garnishments or a whole host of other stress factors that come with bill collectors. An element of certainty, if not consideration, ought to govern medical debt collection. Forcing patients into bankruptcy for health problems that were beyond their control is a double whammy on bodies and minds. Those injured in crimes, above all others, do not deserve that So what was the governor thinking when he used his veto power to victimize those who were already victims? We worry that he was not thinking at all. Click the photo and watch the video. * Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. * The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit. * This year, China will complete the in-orbit construction of its space station. The return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship lands successfully at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Lian Zhen] BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Shenzhou-13's return capsule, carrying astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 9:56 a.m. (Beijing Time). The Shenzhou-13 manned mission was a complete success, the CMSA announced. Astronaut Zhai Zhigang is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Lian Zhen] The trio were carried out one by one by ground workers and placed onto chairs in front of the capsule. They looked relaxed and waved to the ground crew. "Welcome back home," people cheered for the trio and raised their cameras to capture the historic moment. "It is the power and strength of our country that built the high-flying space station. I am proud of my great motherland," Zhai, the mission commander, told the state broadcaster CCTV in a live program. Astronaut Wang Yaping is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Lian Zhen] Wang, first woman to China's space station, said she is very happy to return to the motherland and wants to tell her 5-year-old daughter that "her stars-picking mom is back." Ye, a newcomer to space, said that he has realized his dream of flying into space. The return capsule separated from the spaceship's orbiting capsule at 9:06 a.m. under the command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The braking engine of the return capsule was ignited at 9:30 a.m., followed by the separation of the return capsule from the propelling capsule. After the return capsule landed successfully, the ground search team arrived at the landing site. The medical personnel confirmed that the astronauts were in good health. Astronaut Ye Guangfu is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Cai Yang] From separating from the space station core module to return to Earth, the journey took only over nine hours, the first time for a Chinese manned spacecraft to use the "rapid return mode." It shortened the flight mainly by reducing traveling circles around the orbit, according to the CMSA. The Shenzhou-13 spaceship was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 16, 2021, and later docked with the space station core module Tianhe. During their stay in Tianhe, the crew conducted a number of scientific and technological experiments, including manual remote operation and module transfer supported by the robotic arm. They performed extravehicular activities (EVAs) twice during the mission, in November and December respectively. The first EVAs, performed by Zhai and Wang, took approximately 6.5 hours. Wang's EVAs made her the country's first woman astronaut to leave footprints in outer space. Zhai and Ye carried out EVAs for the second time, completed tasks such as lifting panoramic camera and testing goods transport in about six hours of EVAs. The EVAs further tested the function and performance of the core module airlock cabin, extravehicular suit and mechanical arm, and assessed the technologies related to EVAs, the coordination of astronauts inside and outside the space station, and the coordination between space and Earth. Students attend a livestreamed popular-science lecture given by Chinese astronauts from China's space station Tiangong, at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2022. [Xinhua/Guo Zhongzheng] The crew members delivered two live classes from the space station, on Dec. 9 and March 23, respectively. In the classes, they conducted various scientific experiments, such as the crystallization of supersaturated solution, a liquid bridge demonstration, water-oil separation and throwing objects under the zero-gravity condition, amazing numerous students on the ground. In the second class, the trio expressed their expectations for the students on Earth. "We hope you will continue to gain scientific knowledge and explore the mysteries of science. The future space station is waiting for you guys," Wang said. The six-month mission also saw Shenzhou-13 crew members celebrate traditional Chinese festivals in space. The trio became the first Chinese to spend the nation's most important festival the Chinese Lunar New Year in outer space. They extended their Spring Festival greetings in a video released by the CMSA on New Year's Eve. They wished the motherland and all Chinese people prosperity. Astronaut Wang Yaping receives flowers from her daughter on her arrival in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Tian Dingyu] With five launches, including two crewed missions, China completed the technology verification phase of its space station program. This year, China will complete the in-orbit construction of its space station. It has planned six launch missions, including the launching of two lab modules Mengtian and Wentian, two cargo crafts Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5, and two crewed missions Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15. Video reporters: Li Guoli, Ma Yuanchi, Zhao Shitong, Li Zhenyu, Zou Jianpu, Da Rihan, Yang Zhigang, Tian Dingyu, Yu Jia; video editors: Yang Zhixiang, Wang Houyuan, Yin Le, Wei Yin, Peng Ying (Source: Xinhua) TOPSHOT - An aerial view taken on April 12, 2022, shows the city of Mariupol, during Russia's military invasion launched on Ukraine. - Russian troops on April 12 intensified their campaign to take the port city of Mariupol, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine, as the Russian president made a defiant case for the war on Russia's neighbour. (Photo by Andrey BORODULIN / AFP) (Photo by ANDREY BORODULIN/AFP via Getty Images) Welsh seafood to be showcased at worlds largest trade event in Spain Welsh seafood will be on display in Spain this month at the worlds largest trade event for the sector. Featuring more than 2,000 companies from 89 countries, Seafood Expo Global will be held in Barcelona from April 26 to 28. Seen as the place to be for the seafood industry, the event attracts suppliers, buyers and seafood professionals from across the world looking for everything from seafood to processing equipment. The last Seafood Expo Global, held in 2019, attracted more than 29,000 buyers with representatives from 155 countries. During this years event Welsh seafood will have a dedicated presence at the event which is being held at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via Venue. Visitors to the stand will be able to hear more about the work of the Welsh Seafood Cluster a Cywain-led project which encourages collaborative working among companies and individuals in the seafood industry. There will also be an opportunity to try some Welsh seafood, too, as chef Harri Alun, from the renowned Carden Park Hotel, will cook samples to order throughout the event. Barcelona is regarded as a major European seafood hub and destination for trade events such as Seafood Expo Global. North Wales-based wholesalers Ocean Bay Seafoods, and The Lobster Pot will be in Barcelona. Richard Williams from Ocean Bay Seafoods said: Ocean Bay Seafoods mainly exports products to Europe; with our biggest customers being in Spain, France, Denmark and Italy. Its essential we attend these shows to expand our customer base and stay up to date with the latest developments in the seafood industry. It will be good to meet existing customers, and of course, we hope to attract new customers. This is the first time it has been held in Barcelona, previous Seafood Expo Global exhibitions have been held in Brussels, so it is exciting to be exhibiting in a new location. Having a dedicated presence at this event is also very important for Wales as a whole, and that we get the opportunity to showcase to the world premium quality Welsh seafood. Tristan Wood from The Lobster Pot said: Its a huge event. Its the meeting place for everyone involved in seafood from all parts of the globe. Its made a considerable difference to our image, getting our name out there. Many of our existing customers attend, so its good to see them face to face. And it also gives us the opportunity to meet potential new customers. This year is more important (post covid) than ever as we try to re-establish relationships to safeguard sales and in turn, jobs. But its not just about customers, its also about meeting suppliers. A lot of the catch comes from Welsh waters where we have an exceptionally loyal supply chain. However, in a seasonal business where customers expect year-round supply, we are also looking for new fishermen and suppliers from across the UK. Lesley Griffiths, the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, added: This event provides a great opportunity for our fantastic Welsh seafood businesses to showcase what they do best. The seafood world market is a challenging one which is why it is important for companies in the sector to be part of international trade events such as Seafood Expo Global. Welsh seafood already enjoys a reputation for quality and excellence, and having a presence in Barcelona will bring it to the attention of an even wider audience and potential customers. Those who sell tobacco products in Benton County face a fee hike for licenses to operate and stricter oversight. The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 12, discussed proposed changes to the local tobacco retail licensing program. Oregon Senate Bill 587, which passed last year, requires retailers selling tobacco products, including vapes, to be licensed by Jan. 1. Benton County has historically been a tobacco prevention leader in Oregon, according to Sara Hartstein, Healthy Communities manager. She noted the city of Corvallis was the first jurisdiction in the state to have a comprehensive smoke-free workplace ordinance, and Benton County and Philomath came soon after. This protected our community from indoor secondhand smoke for 10 years before the state implemented their comprehensive indoor clean air act in 2007, Hartstein said. Weve also had our own tobacco retail license programs in Corvallis, Benton County and Philomath since the late '90s and early 2000s. The programs aimed to limit youth access to tobacco products and prevent nicotine addiction, Hartstein said, adding they also let the county track tobacco sales and limit sales locations, for example prohibiting sales near schools or other tobacco retailers. She said the programs allow for local control and code strengthening. Despite all the strengths in Benton Countys programs, Hartstein said enforcement has always needed improvement. She said the programs current nominal fee of $35 a year does not fully fund them and really only covers administration thus the need for an increased license fee. Under SB 587, jurisdictions with existing tobacco retail licenses programs could either opt-in for the states program, allow local public health to run local programs, or run programs themselves. The local options require the programs to meet state standards. Hartstein said only a handful of jurisdictions are sticking with local programs. Benton County Health Department will handle the program locally. It will require some adjustments. The state standards are much stronger than any of our current tobacco retail license programs that we have in Benton County right now, Hartstein said. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. The county plans for enhanced enforcement to meet state standards and improve retailer compliance with tobacco laws and regulations. The retail license code also requires an update to fall in line with the state. At $560, the new proposed annual fee in Benton County is significantly higher, according to county documents which indicate the state is charging $953. The documents offer comparisons with other areas, including Eugene going from $150 to $600 and Clatsop County going from $350 to $530. Multnomah County will charge $580. The question of possibly reducing the local fee failed to gain traction with the commissioners, who seemed to agree that it would amount to subsidizing tobacco sales. The fee pays for retailer outreach and education, compliance and complaint-based inspections, and remediation planning and follow-up for retail violators. It also pays for quarter-time enforcement staff and the ability to temporarily hire too-young-for-tobacco sales inspectors to ensure retailers are not selling to the underaged. Hartstein said after many discussions, all jurisdictions in the county Corvallis, Philomath, Monroe, and Adair Village will fall under the same program. She said among the reasons for keeping enforcement in the purview of the county is local pride in having led the charge against tobacco. It also allows us to maintain the parts of our code that are stronger than the state, she said. Hartstein offered examples such as required distances from schools and other tobacco retailers, and also the ability to make changes faster than state bureaucracy allows. She cited the rise of synthetic nicotine as an example of an emerging issue that is better and faster handled locally. North Albany wont be included in the Benton County plan, according to Hartstein, who said those retailers are under the state program. The Board of Commissioners is slated to consider the updated tobacco retail license at its May 3 meeting with a second reading May 17. The annual license renewal process has a June 30 deadline. Enforcement begins July 1. Cody Mann covers Benton County and the cities of Corvallis and Philomath. He can be contacted at 541-812-6113 or Cody.Mann@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @News_Mann_. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The current interest to increase housing supply may be missing the mark. Does continuous building solve the housing issues? What else could be at play? Chuck Collins (Institute for Policy Studies, see Opinion page, Sept. 2, 2021) states it is who owns the supply of housing and rentals that counts. He noted that anonymous shell companies designed to shield actual wealth own 40% of rental housing in the U.S., per U.S. Census data. So do we really have a housing shortage? Alex Schwartz and Kirk McClure (The Conversation, published Nov. 27, 2021, Philadelphia Inquirer) state that In much of the country, there is actually no shortage of rental housing. The problem is that millions of people lack the income to afford whats on the market. And given the well-documented wealth gap in our country, it is not a surprise that many Americans cannot afford housing in the communities where they work. So it seems investors buy up housing and increase prices for a greater return on their investment, which reduces the supply of affordable housing. This puts a burden on the taxpayer to subsidize those who cant afford what landlords are demanding for rents, another example of corporate welfare. (Perfect.) Again, from the article above: In fact, there is not a single state, metropolitan area or county in which a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford the fair-market rent for a two-bedroom home, as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Can we think creatively here? What if wages were increased? Can we allow those with small businesses with razor-thin margins to pay a minimum wage, but then require, based on business size and profits, larger businesses to pay a living wage? Rather than increasing only the supply of housing, could we consider indexing the percent of affordable housing in a region to the percent of those living at the median income level? Oregon has become a popular place to move to, especially as people seek smaller, less stressful places to live. Just because demand is high, does that mean all prices must increase? Supply and demand doesnt work at all for those making nonliving wages, especially when we can manipulate both ends of that equation. Marketing inflates demand, and we do have heavy marketing of real estate in Oregon. The supply-and-demand model leaves those with low wages completely out of the running. And there is the compounding affect that population growth has beyond the demand for housing, such as encroaching on green spaces and exacerbating climate change constraints (e.g. clean water access, wildfire prevention). For example, building housing in hard-to-reach urban-wildland zones, such as current housing developments proposed in Corvallis, is contrary to the forward thinking we need in our community. Currently building codes and regulation are heavily influenced by the real estate industry. Planning commissions have become nothing more than a rubberstamp for development. Roger Samelson from Corvallis recently stated in his As We See It (The Corvallis land development code needs to be amended, March 6) that the Corvallis code needs to be amended. He is correct. It is foolish to place more homes at the urban-wildland interface. As I see it, we need to think ahead and plan for living spaces such as high-rise apartments and plan for a percentage of those to remain at affordable prices in tandem with what the regional population can afford. Ask your senators and representatives to look into real reasons for lack of affordable housing, and not just do the simplest thing. Therese S. Waterhous lives in Albany. She owns and operates a small private practice, serving people with eating disorders throughout Oregon. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 In this image from video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks Friday, April 15, 2022, from Kyiv, Ukraine. Both Adrian College and Siena Heights University will confer honorary degrees upon Zelenskyy at their spring commencement ceremonies in May. ADRIAN Both Adrian College and Siena Heights University will confer honorary degrees upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at their spring commencement ceremonies in May. At least 17 colleges and universities in the United States intend to honor Zelenskyy, 44, for the leadership he has shown since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24 and caused widespread death and destruction amongst Ukraine's civilian population. The suffering, anguish, death and separation that the people of Ukraine have experienced is unconscionable, SHU President Sister Peg Albert said in a release from the university. Through all of this, Zelenskyy has resolutely defended his country and forged forward to preserve his nation and all that it stands for. His heart-felt compassion and unwavering courage are not witnessed too often in our world today. Siena Heights will bestow on Zelenskyy the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during its commencement ceremonies on May 78. "In a time of great division within our land, I believe our country is united around support for the Ukrainian people," Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking said in an emailed statement. "Groups from both ends of the political spectrum believe that Russia's indiscriminate bombing of civilians, women, and children in a sovereign country is a brutal crime and should be condemned by people everywhere. "It is difficult to believe that the unprovoked slaughter of thousands of innocent people in a sovereign nation continues to take place in the 21st Century. It is up to the civilized nations of the world and the peace-loving people who inhabit those nations to oppose President Putin in every way possible. One of the ways to voice our collective opposition to this tyranny is to honor President Zelenskyy for his courage and unwillingness to surrender." Adrian College's spring commencement will take place May 1. Both schools are part of a group of higher education institutions that are conferring honorary degrees upon Zelenskyy. The movement started in New York State, when Alfred University approached the Ukrainian embassy about having Zelenskyy give a virtual address to its graduates. Story continues When an official at the Ukrainian embassy declined the western New York university's request, the institutions agreed to award honorary degrees in absentia to honor Zelenskyy. The gesture was motivated by the inspiring example provided by President Zelenskyy to his people and the broader world in defense of freedom and democracy, Alfred University President Mark Zupan said in a news release. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian College, Siena Heights to honor Zelenskyy with honorary degrees For decades, Corvallis used to be a Pepsi town, and if you went to a restaurant and ordered a fountain drink, your cola option probably was Pepsi. That was confusing for visitors, and a distinct departure from the nationwide norm and consumer preferences in the United States Coca-Cola remains the top seller. Corvallis, however, was a sort of Bizarro spot in the Cola Wars, with Pepsi the undisputed king in this city for years. There was a simple reason why. Two reasons, really. One of them always wore a Greek fishermans cap. The other, his wife, was a talented artist. For decades, the Pastega family owned the Pepsi bottling plant in Corvallis. And for decades, Mario and Alma Pastega were tireless community servants and philanthropists. Alma Pastega died in 2008 and her husband passed away in 2012, but their legacy of giving back continues to enrich the mid-Willamette Valley and Oregon. The Mario and Alma Pastega Foundation distributed about $950,000 in 2019, the latest year tax documents were available on GuideStar, a website that compiles data on charitable organizations. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. A recent gift from the foundation was a $350,000 donation that led to a $2.8 million expansion of the Pastega House at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. The Pastega House is a home away from home for out-of-area patients and their families traveling to Corvallis for medical care. Often, these visitors come for cancer treatments, heart surgeries or other specialized care that can be expensive and stressful. Theyre able to stay in the Pastega House at a low cost or even for free. The 6,000-square-foot Alma Pastega wing doubles the size of the facility to 24 guest rooms, and patients started using it earlier this month. Mario Pastega was a Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation trustee from 1981 until 2011, and he spearheaded important initiatives for the facility, such as the Pastega House. He was the major benefactor and chief fundraiser for the $2.3 million campaign to build and endow the guest house, which opened in 2004. Overall, the Pastega Foundation has given more than $3 million to the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, said a Samaritan Health Services spokesperson. Of that, $1.6 million has been given to the foundations Cancer Care Fund. But thats not even the Pastegas most visible largesse. Starting in the early 1980s, the Pastegas turned the Pepsi bottling plant into a glittering light display during the holidays. Visitors drove through a forest of colored lights depicting cartoon characters, storybook figures and The Twelve Days of Christmas. Alma Pastega created some of those artworks herself. Today, the Pastega Light Display is hosted at the Benton County Fairgrounds, and it continues to make winter brighter and more magical. The Pastegas contributed to causes large and small, from major campaigns by the Oregon State University Foundation to efforts to fix up local elementary school playgrounds. And they often matched donations. While Mario Pastega was the public face of their philanthropic work, he said his wife was the driving force behind everything he did. Despite their success and importance, the Pastegas stayed down-to-earth. Mario Pastega, for example, could be found stocking grocery store shelves with Pepsi products into his 90s. Overall, the Pastegas showed a vibrant energy, a love for their community, and a knack for improving Corvallis. More than a decade has passed since they died, and in that time Coke has made dramatic gains in Corvallis. Most restaurants and bars in town still serve Pepsi, though. There remains a large degree of true blue loyalty with older, established businesses whose owners havent forgotten Mario and Alma Pastega and what they represent. The Pastegas are still making things better for mid-valley residents. Perhaps that should come as no surprise. At Mario Pastegas funeral Mass, one of his favorite sayings was read by a grandson. A hundred years from now, it wont matter how much wealth or fame or prestige we had. But if along the path of life you can help a fellow human being, that will make a difference. Mario and Alma Pastega continue to make a difference. So heres a toast to the Pastegas our glasses will be filled to the brim with ice cold Pepsi. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis implicitly criticised Russia for dragging Ukraine into a "cruel and senseless" conflict and urged leaders to strive for peace as he marked what he called an "Easter of war" on Sunday. The 85-year-old pope made the comments in his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) address - traditionally an overview of world conflicts - to about 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square. It was the first Easter since 2019 that the public was allowed into the square to hear the twice-yearly address following two years of COVID-19 restrictions. Francis dedicated much of the message to Ukraine, comparing the shock of another war in Europe to the shock of the apostles when the gospel says they saw the risen Jesus. "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing," he said. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," he said. Moscow describes the action it launched on Feb. 24 as a "special military operation". Francis, who did not mention Russia by name, has already rejected that terminology, calling it a war and previously using terms such as unjustified aggression and invasion. "Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering," Francis said on Sunday, going on to thank those who had taken in refugees from Ukraine, most of whom have gone to Poland. Earlier this month in Malta, Francis implicitly criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, saying a "potentate" was fomenting conflict for nationalist interests. Story continues NUCLEAR SPECTRE Francis again raised the spectre of the war leading to a nuclear conflict, something he has spoken of several times since the Russian invasion began. This time, he quoted the 1955 manifesto by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein: "Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?" Francis, who suffers from leg pain, appeared comfortable during the long Mass that preceded the "Urbi et Orbi" address, and then toured the crowd in the square and a nearby street while sitting in an open white pope mobile. Afterwards, he read most of the address from the balcony sitting down, standing only at the start and for the final blessing. On Saturday night, he attended but did not preside at an Easter vigil service, apparently to rest up for Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar. "Please, let us not get used to war," Francis said, looking down on the square bedecked by tens of thousands of flowers donated by the Netherlands. "Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets. May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace." "I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground," he said. He also called for reconciliation among Israelis and Palestinians and among the people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which he is due to visit in July. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Helen Popper) Bruce Means on hike from Double Drop Falls Camp to Sloth Camp in Guyana. As he turns 80, Bruce Means continues to search for new species in a biodiversity hotspot he has been exploring for more than 30 years. He's set to speak April 27, 2022 on Lost World Found. Local subscribers to National Geographic Magazine found quite a surprise in their newly arrived April issue a 36-page spread detailing the latest adventures of Tallahassees own Bruce Means. A venerable, highly acclaimed fixture in the landscape of North Floridas natural wonders for decades, Means is the central focus of Islands in the Sky, the magazines April cover story. The article describes a National Geographic-funded expedition into the wilds of the Guiana Highlands, a vast, rain-forested and mountainous region that links Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. Boana Roraima treefrog, on Bruce Means' expedition into the wilds of the Guiana Highlands, a vast, rain-forested and mountainous region that links Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. St. Francis Wildlife: No vacancy: Wild baby season is here and St. Francis Wildlife already at capacity | Beck Biofuel research: The future of biodiesel and aviation fuel could be growing in a Quincy field Mystery Plant: Hot on the trail of a phlox species with a Harvard botanist | Mystery Plant The month-long expedition in February 2021 was Means 33rd foray into the region since he first set foot on the South American continent in 1987. Astounded by what he saw on that trip 45 years ago, Means vowed to return as often as he could to study the biology and evolutionary history of what naturalists the world over describe as possibly the richest and least undisturbed natural treasure on the planet. Documentary airs on Earth Day On April 22 fittingly international Earth Day National Geographics Explorer television series will carry an hour-long documentary of Means latest South American venture, "Explorer: The Last Tepui." Episode 10: First ascent of a sky island The show will be streamed by the Disney Plus channel, the magazines television partner. The documentary also features the legendary mountain climber Alex Honnold, a key member of the expedition team. Bruce Means wading in the water on scientific mission at elevational transect of the Upper Paikwa River Basin near Guyanas northwestern frontier with Brazil and Venezuela to look for new species of amphibians and reptiles in one of the worlds richest and least explored hotspots of biodiversity. That Means was eager to be the lead biologist on the mission knowing full well hed turn 80 on the trip is hardly surprising to any of his friends or family members. Now 81, the six-foot-four biologist with the gait of an Alaskan lumberjack has a long history of punishing both students and fellow naturalists in the field. Story continues Keeping up with him on day-long slogs through acres of alligator-infested mud flats, mirey sloughs and log-choked streams was no small measure of pride for the hundreds who signed up for the highly popular, coastal plains ecology courses he taught at FSU for nearly 25 years. Tallahassee naturalist Bruce Means on the tepui trail at the spectacular Double Drop falls. The documentary on the expedition will air on the Disney Plus Channel on April 22. Seventh expedition to land of tepuis The National Geographic teams central interest in putting together last years expedition was to put one of its favorite scientists back on a research trail that few biologists know as well as Means does. It would be the seventh time the National Geographic Society had funded an expedition into the region with Means at the helm of its biological research mission into the mysterious land of tepuis. The word tepui (teh-POO-ee) literally means house of the gods in the language of the local Pemon people of Venezuela. The Guiana Highlands is dotted with tepuis, about 60 in all. Like the well-known mesas of the American Southwest, tepuis are flat-topped mountains carved by eons of erosion. Huge tarantula found on the trail during Bruce Means' expedition into the wilds of the Guiana Highlands, a vast, rain-forested and mountainous region that links Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. But unlike mesas, tepuis vault to staggering heights from the floors of rainforests, giving rise to some of the most spectacular scenic backdrops in all of nature. Because of their remoteness and isolation, scientists regard them as ecological islands where evolutionary forces have remained active and undisturbed for millions of years. For scientists, tepuis essentially represent evolution in a bottle. Tepuis are like the Galapagos Islands, Bruce once told a colleague. But so much older and more difficult to study. Hoogmoed's tree frog, Boana roraima. Following the evolution of a frog Means earned his doctorate in biological science at FSU and soon became a specialist in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. Over his career he has discovered numerous animals completely new to science, including a giant earthworm in Arkansas and a snake in the Apalachicola National Forest. But in tepui-country he holds the worlds record for finding and naming frogs, toads, lizards and snakes that no one knew existed. To date, the number of new species credited to his research in the region stands at seven confirmed and 10 others pending certification. Rocket frog (Pristimantis sp.) seen on the expedition. Bruce Means will give a talk about the experience to the Tallahassee Scientific Society and the public on April 27. Means uncanny ability to find organisms no one has ever seen before is why National Geographic loves to have the Tallahassee-based biologist on so many of its South American adventures. The primary goal of this latest venture was to find some key relatives of a particular group of frogs that Means and other biologists have been studying for years. Means convinced the National Geographic team that if this single frogs evolutionary tree could be pieced together, it might reveal a trove of information about how life evolved not only in tepui-land but possibly even evolved at all. And he argued that one of the best places to start looking for the animal would be a massive, 7,600-foot-tall tepui named Weiassipu (why-ASS-eh-poo) lying on the border of Guyana and Venezuela, a place he knew well from previous expeditions. Bruce Means at Sloth Camp - Guyana on expedition to Upper Paikwa River Basin near Guyanas northwestern frontier with Brazil and Venezuela to look for new species of amphibians and reptiles in one of the worlds richest and least explored hotspots of biodiversity. Muddy, treacherous terrain But as any researcher knows, almost nothing in field biologyregardless of where the field isis simple or easy. Organizers of the expedition knew from the start that what they were planning to do might be the challenge of their explorer lives. For starters, the plan called for a 34-mile hike from the nearest base camp they could find in Guayana to the foot of Weiassipu. That included hacking at least 10 miles of fresh trail through the forest by hand. And if the idea of taking a 79-year-old scientist into the heart of some of the most rugged terrain on earth for a month-long trek through miles of muddy, rock-strewn jungle wasnt daunting enough, planners had other problems to sort out. If their star scientist slipped and fell anywhere along the way and snapped a bone or got gashed, there would be no way of quickly getting him to a hospital and he could very well die. Bruce Means doing his research at Double Drop Falls Camp - Guyana. The goal of this scientific mission was an elevational transect of the Upper Paikwa River Basin near Guyana's northwestern frontier with Brazil and Venezuela to look for new species of amphibians and reptiles. Means will talk on 'Lost World Found' As quixotic as the plan might have seemed from the get-go, the team never lost sight of its goal, and paramount in that was to see to the safety and well-being of Dr. Donald Bruce Means. The result was a visually and emotionally compelling nature documentary that only a team from National Geographic can pull off. On Wednesday, April 27, Means will present Lost World Found, a talk about his latest adventures in Guyana, as part of the Tallahassee Scientific Societys Horizons series. Video clips from the National Geographic documentary The Last Tepui will be featured. This ticketed event will be held in the IMAX theater in Kleman Plaza and starts at 7 p.m. For more information visit the TSS website at tallysci.org. Frank Stephenson is a freelance writer living in Carrabelle, Florida. Email him at fh1stephenson@gmail.com. If you go What: Tallahassee Scientific Society talk with Bruce Means on "Lost World Found" When: 7 p.m. April 27 Where: IMAX theater in Kleman Plaza Tickets: $8-$15; visit the TSS website at tallysci.org. 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: Documentary tracks Bruce Means' expedition from Tallahassee to 'Tepui' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine as attacks from Russia on the countrys eastern region continue. When asked by CNNs State of the Union host Jake Tapper whether there were plans with the White House for such a visit, Zelenskyy sidestepped the question but said that he believes Biden will eventually come to Kyiv to witness the damage that Vladimir Putins forces have inflicted. I think he will, but its his decision, of course. And about the safety situation, it depends, Zelenskyy said. But I think hes the leader of the United States, and thats why he should come here to see. Zelenskyys comments come after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an unannounced visit to Kyiv last week, becoming the most high-profile world leader to visit the besieged capital. Johnson pledged to send more arms to Ukraine in support while the Kremlin responded by barring Johnson and other top British officials from entering Russia. While the U.S. and other countries have withdrawn financial and trade support from Russia and offered arms and intelligence support to Ukraine in response to the invasion, Zelenskyy has criticized world leaders for not doing enough to stop the genocide that Russia is attempting against his country. I dont believe this feeling that we should believe, some countries or some leaders. We dont believe their words. After escalation of Russia, we dont believe our neighbors, he told Tapper. If you are our friends or partners, give us weapons, give us hands, support us, give us money and stop Russia You can do it if youre a friend. Watch Zelenskyys interview with Tapper in the video above. Photo credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis - Getty Images On Friday, Rihanna and her boyfriend A$AP Rocky met his family in Barbados, landing in the airport in comfort and style. The meet-and-greet takes place during a week where the couple faced an onslaught of false cheating rumors online that have since been refuted. As always, Rihanna was in gorgeous maternity style, wearing a colorful mini dress in orange, pink and purple. The fabric clung to her curves, emphasizing her pregnancy. The dress was vintage Jean Paul Gaultier from his nineties collection. She walked through the airport on a pair of tall gold heels that matched her gold jewelry accessories. The beauty mogul had her hair swept up in a bun. Following behind her, A$AP carried a Goyard Maison and a North Face Gucci limited duffle bag, and wore a pink and purple tie-dye hoodie over his head, paired with printed pants and a glittering belt. The rapper was accused of having an affair with shoe designer Amina Muaddi, who has styled Rihanna in her footwear. It began with a tweet from fashion blogger Louis Pisano, who has since recanted his statements. Muaddi denied the rumor on Friday, writing on Instagram, I've always believed that an unfounded lie spread on social media doesn't deserve any response or clarification, especially one that is so vile....I initially assumed that this fake gossipfabricated with such malicious intentwould not be taken seriously. She continued, However in the last 24h I've been reminded that we live in a society that is so quick to speak on topics regardless of factual basis and that nothing is off limits. Not even during what should be one of the most beautiful and celebrated times in one's life. Therefore I have to speak up as this not only directed towards me but it is related to people I have a great amount of respect and affection for. A source told TMZ that rumors of cheating were 100% false on both counts and one million percent not true. They're fine. You Might Also Like By Oleksandr Kozhukhar and Alessandra Prentice LVIV/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian soldiers resisted a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the pulverised port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had almost completely seized in what would be its biggest prize of the nearly two-month war. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said troops in Mariupol were still fighting despite a Russian demand to surrender by dawn. "The city still has not fallen," he told ABC's "This Week" programme, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continue to control some parts of the southeastern Ukrainian city. Russia said on Saturday it had control of urban areas, with some Ukrainian fighters remaining in the Azovstal steelworks overlooking the Sea of Azov. Capturing Mariupol, the main port in the Donbas region, would be a strategic prize for Russia, connecting territory held by pro-Russian separatists in the east with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian military has refocused its ground offensive on Donbas while launching long-distance strikes at targets elsewhere including the capital, Kyiv. About four million Ukrainians have fled the country, cities have been shattered and thousands have died since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. The economic damage is significant too - Shmyhal said Ukraine's budget deficit was around $5 billion a month and called for Western governments to provide more financial aid. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter he had discussed ensuring Ukraine's financial stability and preparations for post-war reconstruction with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. She replied that support was "essential to lay the foundations for rebuilding a modern competitive #Ukraine." Earlier, he posted on his Telegram account images of destruction he said were akin to World War Two. Story continues "The occupiers will be responsible for everything they did in Ukraine," Zelenskiy said. 'CRUEL AND SENSELESS WAR' Implicitly criticizing Russia, Pope Francis pleaded for an end to the bloodshed and lamented the "Easter of war" during his address in St. Peter's Square after Mass. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," he said. Zelenskiy accused Russia on Saturday of "deliberately trying to destroy everyone" in Mariupol. The Azovstal steelworks, one of Europe's biggest metallurgical plants with a maze of rail tracks, tunnels and blast furnaces, has become a last stand for the city's outnumbered defenders. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared," Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday. It was not known how many soldiers were in the steelworks. Satellite images have shown smoke and fire coming from the area. Zelenskiy has said killing his troops would put an end to peace efforts. Russia said Ukraine had lost more than 4,000 soldiers in Mariupol as of Saturday. Kyiv says its total troop losses nationwide so far in the war are less than that, between 2,500 and 3,000. Reuters has not been able to verify either side's figures. Russia calls its action a special military operation to demilitarise Ukraine and eradicate what it calls dangerous nationalists. The West and Kyiv accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of unprovoked aggression. A representative in Mariupol of the Azov forces a one-time far-right militia now part of Ukraine's National Guard whose destruction is among Moscow's war objectives said international intervention was needed to help civilians, including children, sheltering at the steelworks. "There are civilians at Azovstal who are afraid of Russia's guarantees for their exit," the Azov representative said in a message to Reuters. Reuters has not been able to verify whether there are significant numbers of civilians at the plant. There have been on-off negotiations between Ukraine and Russia since the start of the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a CBS News interview on Sunday that the situation in Mariupol was "dire" and could be a "red line" in the path of negotiations. NATIONWIDE ATTACKS Elsewhere in Ukraine, there were more reports on Sunday of Russian strikes around major population centres. Local media reported an explosion in Kyiv, though deputy mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said air defence systems had thwarted Russian attacks. The mayor of Brovary city, close to Kyiv, said a missile attack had damaged infrastructure. Russia said it had destroyed an ammunition factory near the capital, according to the RIA news agency. Shelling in Ukraine's second biggest city, Kharkiv, killed five people and injured 13, Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne reported. A Reuters correspondent in Kharkiv heard multiple explosions in quick succession and saw debris from missiles. "This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. As cleanup operations continued in areas where the Russians have retreated, Ukraine's human rights ombudswoman said almost all high-rise buildings in the town of Okhtyrka were unfit for occupation. The State Emergencies Service said 41 bodies had been recovered in the town of Borodyanka. Most Ukrainians celebrate Orthodox Easter next Sunday, but in Bucha, a town north of Kyiv where Ukraine accuses Russia of killing dozens of civilians, some 50 people attended a church service, carrying pussy willow and praying for the dead. Russia denies targeting civilians and has called images from Bucha fake. "I just prayed today to stop crying," said resident Evgeniya Lebedko after the service. "We have survived these horrors and we are constantly crying." Despite the desperate situation in Mariupol, Ukraine said it was holding off Russian forces in other parts of the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which before the invasion were already partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists. On Sunday, police in Donetsk region said that over the past 24 hours Russian forces opened fire on 13 settlements under Ukrainian control, killing two civilians. (Reporting by Reuters journalists in Kyiv and Lviv; and Reuters bureaus worldwide; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie, Frances Kerry, Helen Popper, Grant McCool and Daniel Wallis) Mike Shouhed; Paulina Ben-Cohen Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Mike Shouhed is spending time with his fiancee, Paulina Ben-Cohen, after his recent arrest and felony charge booking. Per photos posted by TMZ, the two Shahs of Sunset stars were photographed vacationing at a resort in Los Cabos, Mexico. Shouhed and Ben-Cohen were joined by her kids. Shouhed wore red swim trunks, while Ben-Cohen sported a patterned bikini. Shouhed, 43, was arrested on March 27. According to arrest records viewed by PEOPLE, officers from the West Valley division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) booked him at 1:05 a.m the next morning. He was released the same day on a $50,000 bond. The details surrounding his arrest and his alleged victim are still unclear. But Shouhed is set to appear at the Los Angeles Municipal Court, Van Nuys Division, on July 25. RELATED: 15 Real Housewives Stars Who've Been Arrested In the wake of the controversy, Shouhed's attorney, Alex Kessel, denied any wrongdoing on his client's part. "My own investigation reveals no acts of domestic violence was committed by my client," Kessel said in a statement issued to PEOPLE. "I have no doubt Mike will be exonerated. Please honor the presumption of innocence." Ben-Cohen also addressed the matter through her attorney, Joshua Ritter. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "We are working with the authorities to seek a just and fair outcome to this sad situation," a statement obtained by E! News read. "The family appreciates your space and respect for their privacy during this time." Last August, Shouhed and Ben-Cohen announced their engagement during Shahs of Sunset's season 9 reunion. "I actually asked her son his permission to marry his mommy, and I gave him the ring," he said at the time. "We were in Hawaii, and I planned with the concierge where the most beautiful part of the beach was gonna be." Story continues RELATED VIDEO: RHOSLC's Jen Shah Claims She Couldn't Read Miranda Rights Before Arrest Due to 'Dry' Contact Lenses Ben-Cohen, in turn, raved about the pair's "amazing" life together. "We took one long vacation this year, and I wanted it to be alone with just him. And he said, 'No, if it's the only long trip that we're taking this year, you better bet we're going to take the kids,'" she said. "While I was tanning and having my drinks, he's like, 'I got this.' Every single night, he bathes my kids, he brushes their teeth. He does stuff that no man, no man does for their kids, let alone step kids. And that's why I know, this time around is so different." She continued, "The love and the connection that we have with each other like, I would not be able to live a day without him in my life. Like, honestly, I have told him before, I wouldn't live without him." PEOPLE recently confirmed that Bravo canceled Shahs of Sunset after nine seasons. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Please consider subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY for a limited time offer of $1 for 6 months of unlimited digital access to local coverage on politics, crime, education, and other issues you care about. Critical race theory is not what you probably think it is. That was the message of J. Michael Butler, a professor of history at Flagler College in St. Augustine, at a community discussion on the controversial topic held Saturday at the LaCita Country Club in Titusville. A crowd of about 60, mixed race and mostly older, attended the two-hour event, which was sponsored by the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex board of directors and the Humanity Task Force for Social Justice, Inc. Spectrum News 13 anchor Tammie Fields moderated the event. Butler's presentation entitled "Critical Race Theory: What it is, What it is not" was followed by a robust Q&A with audience members. Brevard School Board: Training accused of critical race theory has nothing to do with race The version of "critical race theory" assailed by conservative politicians and media critics, often in defense of contentious legislation and executive actions, is an intentional distortion, argued Butler, who has authored two books on the civil rights movement in Florida. What those critics call critical race theory or "CRT" is a catch-all term, used to demonize what they view as "liberal" ideas about the history of race in the United States, Butler said. J. Michael Butler, history professor at Flagler College, explains what critical race theory is (and what it isn't) at a community discussion event in Titusville. "It is a weaponized word. You can distort it, and present it in a way that's frightening, dangerous, scary," Butler said during his presentation. The conflation only serves to obscure Black history and foil anything resembling constructive public debate, he said. Butler pointed to a January incident in which he was disinvited from a seminar on the civil rights movement for Osceola County teachers when school officials worried, without evidence, that his talk would include critical race theory. The incident drew national headlines. Story continues "It's so obviously used for political reasons that its interpretation at the local level leads citizens to argue with each other for reasons that have nothing to do with intellectual honesty. That's an example of this" he said. In reality, critical race theory is a niche academic school of thought that is mainly taught in law school classrooms, he said, as one way of making sense of the history of law and the courts in light of the nation's ugly (and deeply entrenched) racial past. Critical race theorists typically argue that laws in the U.S. have historically been structured to favor white people over other races, for instance. But even among those scholars who practice it, there is significant disagreement on what it means and what lessons should be drawn from it, Butler said. More: School board member recall dominates Brevard County Charter Review Commission talks "It's a prism through which one prism, and not the only prism through which we can understand how the past continues to have impacts on the present," Butler said. The pre-planned event happened a day after the Florida Department of Education said it had rejected 28 math textbooks submitted for consideration in the state's public school curriculum for "prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT," according to a press release. The announcement, which accused the books of attempting to "indoctrinate" students, mirrored language often used by Gov. Ron DeSantis in his recent efforts to rid Florida schools of what he has derided as "woke politics." Butler did not face significant pushback from the mostly friendly audience during the question and answer session. Spectrum News 13 anchor Tammie Fields moderated a community discussion on critical race theory at the LaCita Country Club in Titusville. Opponents have argued that CRT is an ideology derived from Marxism that defines people as "oppressors" and "oppressed" based on their race, and which teaches that white people are inherently racist. While CRT does make uncomfortable claims about racism in the U.S., Butler argued, the extent to which it does so is just the extent to which such claims are supported by historical facts and history is not supposed to be comfortable, he said. "If you've been through a history course that's honest, and you don't feel discomfort at times, then either it's not being done right or something's wrong," he said. "It's not to make you feel comfortable about yourself. It's to ask difficult questions about whether or not we are who we think we are." Organizers William Gary, who heads the Moore Complex board of directors, and Elizabeth Mikitarian, vice president of the Humanity Task Force for Social Justice, said the idea for the event was prompted by the recent political climate and public discussions around CRT, which they said often give people the wrong idea. Trayvon 10 years later: Can "The Media" do better with race issues? "My hope is that people will become a little more enlightened and educated on what critical race theory reveals and what it isn't," Gary said. "That they get a little bit better definition there, so when you hear rhetoric coming from politicians and some other folks, you can very clearly discern, is this factual? Or this is a misinformation campaign?" Eric Rogers is a watchdog reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Rogers at 321-242-3717 or esrogers@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricRogersFT. Please consider subscribing to FLORIDA TODAY for a limited time offer of $1 for 6 months of unlimited digital access to local coverage on politics, crime, education, and other issues you care about. History professor J. Michael Butler spoke to a crowd of about 60 about critical race theory at a community discussion in Titusville. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Critical race theory expert draws crowd at Titusville event People with hemophilia, a rare blood-clotting disorder, can bleed more than normal after they are injured. (Getty Images) Hemophilia is a rare and often misunderstood disease. Many people only know that its a blood disorder, and after that, myths and misinformation abound. So what exactly is hemophilia? Alisa Wolberg, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and member of the UNC Blood Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tells Yahoo Life that hemophilia is a disease in which blood does not clot properly. People with hemophilia can bleed more than normal after they are injured and have a higher risk of developing bleeding in their brain, an especially dangerous form of stroke. Wolberg, who is also vice chair of the American Society of Hematology Committee on Scientific Affairs, adds that people with hemophilia can also have bleeding into their joints, and this can cause damage and make it difficult to bend the joint. Hemophilia is caused by abnormalities in one of two blood-clotting proteins: factor VIII and factor IX, according to the Cleveland Clinic. When factor VIII is affected, the disease is called hemophilia A, which is the most common type. When factor IX is affected, the disease is called hemophilia B. People with hemophilia are either missing certain blood-clotting factors or they dont work properly, according to the Cleveland Clinic. There are many mutations that cause hemophilia 30% of which are spontaneous; that is, not inherited, Dr. Margaret Ragni, a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine and medical director of the Hemophilia Center in Western Pennsylvania, tells Yahoo Life. Here, experts clear up some common misconceptions about hemophilia: Misconception #1: Hemophilia only affects boys. Since the genes that code for the factor VIII and factor IX proteins are found on the X chromosome, hemophilia most often affects men and boys, Wolberg says. However, women and girls can also have hemophilia. Ragni explains that females are carriers of the disorder if they have an affected X chromosome either from their affected father or affected mother. However, in some cases, they can have symptoms of hemophilia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They may have significant bleeding, especially with gynecologic bleeding with periods and delivery, or with trauma or surgery, says Ragni. Story continues Misconception #2: People with hemophilia cannot have a normal life or play sports. Wolberg refutes this common myth. She points out that modern treatments are very good at helping blood clot normally. This means that with proper treatment, people with hemophilia can have a very normal life and can play sports. In fact, exercise is just as important for people with hemophilia as it is for people who do not have hemophilia. Misconception #3: Hemophilia mainly affects members of the royal family. Hemophilia may be best known because Queen Victoria had an abnormal copy of the factor IX gene and passed this on to her children, explains Wolberg. However, hemophilia has existed for approximately 2,000 years and can affect people in all countries and in all walks of life. Ragni explains that about two thirds of people with hemophilia inherited this from a family member. However, about a third of people with hemophilia have no known family history of hemophilia. Genetic testing can determine whether a woman is a carrier and the likelihood that she will have an affected son, according to Ragni. Cord blood testing is used at birth to detect males who have hemophilia and assist families very early on in learning about the disorder and its treatment options. Misconception #4: When gene therapy evolves, there will no longer be a need for hemophilia treatment centers. Although gene therapy is promising, Ragni explains that diagnosis and management of the disorder will still be needed, adding that, so far, individuals with inhibitors [which make it harder to stop bleeding with treatment] and those who are under age 18 are not eligible for gene therapy, so they still require care. The good news is that there are several treatment options available for people with hemophilia. The main treatment involves replacing the missing blood-clotting factor, which is typically given as an injection or infusion, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Its a costly condition to treat, but experts say that progress is being made. This is an exciting time in hemophilia, says Ragni, with novel non-factor therapies in development and clinical trials that can be given by simpler subcutaneous administration, reduce fewer bleeds and afford a more normal lifestyle. Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. BOSTON After exhausting seven extensions to stay out of prison from a lower federal court, convicted former Fall River mayor Jasiel Correia II is asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to grant him a permanent stay pending the appeal of his criminal corruption and fraud conviction. Defense attorneys Daniel Marx and William Fick filed the request late Monday, 10 days before Correia must self-surrender to the Federal Correctional Institution Berlin in New Hampshire to begin his six-year sentence. Correias lawyers in a 10-page motion noted that the 30-year-old former politician was found by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts not to be a flight risk. Marx and Fick also argued that his appeal on his May 2021 conviction raises multiple, substantial questions of law and fact, each of which is likely to result in reversal or a new trial, according to the defense's court filing. Judge offers opinion: What has Jasiel Correia's judge been thinking? Woodlock explains prison delays in detail The attorneys argue that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence at trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Correia defrauded investors in his app company, SnoOwl, founded before becoming an elected official, or that he shook down marijuana companies in exchange for the right to do business in Fall River. They also argue that federal court Judge Douglas Woodlock failed to give proper jury instructions and excluded key constitutional principles in his written instructions to the jury. As in the more than 200-page appeal, Correias lawyers were critical of federal prosecutors. 'A new trial is necessary': Jasiel Correia's attorneys have filed his appeal. Take a look inside Fick and Marx argue that in prosecutors' closing argument, former U.S. Assistant Attorney Zachary Hafer and U.S. Assistant Attorney David Tobin violated Correias right to a fair trial when they presented the jury with a campaign video clip that prosecutors claimed showed Correia lied to voters. Story continues All these issues raise substantial questions of law and fact, and if this Court rules in Mr. Correias favor on one or more of them, that decision would likely result in a reversal or new trial. Put another way, one cannot reasonably conclude, at this preliminary stage, that none of these issues raises any substantial question for this Court. Thus, for the foregoing reasons, this Court should order that Mr. Correia be permitted to remain on release pending disposition of this appeal, wrote the defense attorneys. A deeper look at his appeal: Were Jasiel Correia's claims of success just 'puffery'? Seven takeaways Former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II, exits John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse with his wife Jen Fernandes on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Vacated charges should trigger new trial Correia was voted as the citys youngest mayor at the age of 23 in 2015, beating out incumbent and former Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter. In May 2021, a jury found him guilty on 21 of 24 counts of lying on his income taxes, defrauding investors in his now-defunct company SnoOwl, and extorting potential marijuana vendors in exchange for coveted letters of non-opposition. During sentencing last September, Woodlock threw out 10 of the wire fraud and tax fraud convictions on grounds that prosecutors provided insufficient evidence for a conviction. Justice delayed or denied?: The public is eager to punish Jasiel Correia. Law experts and a victim have another view. In the appeal to keep Correia free pending his appeal, Marx and Fick argued there was spillover prejudice from the 10 vacated counts of wire and tax fraud that affected his conviction on government corruption charges, which requires that the former mayor be granted a new trial on the remaining fraud and extortion convictions. As of Tuesday afternoon, neither a response from federal prosecutors nor a ruling from the First Circuit Court of Appeals was filed. Correia is scheduled to report to prison by noon on April 22 after Woodlock denied the former mayors request last week for a permanent stay pending his appeal. He was originally ordered to report to the Berlin, New Hampshire, facility on Dec. 6, but Woodlock granted seven temporary stays due to COVID conditions at the prison, Correia's pending appeal and, initially, to allow Correia to work in his in-laws' restaurant over the holidays. He is no longer employed at The Towne House on Purchase Street. Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today! This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Jasiel Correia asks appeals court to stay free pending criminal appeal Russia remains committed to compelling Ukraine to give up its European-Atlantic orientation, according to British military intelligence, despite Moscow shifting its operational focus to eastern Ukraine. Though Russias operational focus has shifted to eastern Ukraine, Russias ultimate objective remains the same. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance, the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter on Sunday. The ministry also said that Russian forces continue to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine, adding that Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country where Russia plans to renew its offensive activity. The intelligence assessment comes in the seventh week of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine. The offensive has been ongoing since, but Moscow appeared to have shifted its focus in recent weeks. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in early April said the Biden administration believed Russia was repositioning its troops in Ukraine to focus its efforts on the Donbas region. The apparent move by Russia came after its invasion stalled in a number of areas because of staunch Ukrainian opposition. Sullivan said the U.S. believed that Russia was repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine rather than target most of the territory. The determination that Russia was repositioning its troops came after Moscow in late March said it would drastically reduce military activity near the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, which are located near the Belarusian border. The Pentagon, however, said the move was a repositioning and not a real withdrawal. Story continues Russian forces currently appear to be pressuring Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol to surrender, according to Reuters. Moscow, which has been targeting the Ukrainian city, said it is almost in control of the area. Ukrainians, however, do not appear to be complying with the Russians, the news service reported. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The White House on Saturday announced that President Biden will host the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next month for a special summit. The summit, which will be held on May 12 and May 13, aims to demonstrate the U.S.s continued commitment to ASEANs 10 members, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The White House wrote in a statement that it recognizes its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the regions most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of U.S.-ASEAN relations. The gathering will also build on Bidens participation in Octobers U.S.-ASEAN Summit, where he announced $102 million in new initiatives to support the nations recovery from COVID-19, address climate change, promote economic growth and develop human capital. It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia, the White House statement said. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient. The move comes amid tension between the nations over Myanmars Feb. 1 coup, in which the junta overthrew the civilian-led government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. ASEAN later denied a seat at the summit to Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmars junta chief, who led the coup in the country. The association also banned him from attending its annual summit meeting last year. The move was significant, as members have traditionally avoided public criticism of one another and have operated by consensus. The coup also led to the U.S., Britain and Canada imposing new sanctions on the military and calling for a stop in arms sales to Myanmar on the one-year anniversary of the event. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Image Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet with Putin since the invasion. Nehammer told NBC's "Meet the Press" the conversation was "frank and tough." He also said Putin is "in his own war logic" and thinks Russia is winning the war. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Russian President Vladimir Putin is fairly confident about his military campaign in Ukraine, even after Russian forces withdrew from part of the country after weeks of stagnation. Nehammer on Monday became the first European Union leader to meet with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Saturday, Nehammer said the conversation with Putin was not "friendly" but "frank and tough." "I think he is now in his own war logic. He thinks the war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian Federation. He doesn't trust the international community. He blames Ukrainians for genocide in the Donbas region." When asked by host Chuck Todd if Putin thought he was winning the war, Nehammer said he thinks "he believes he is winning the war." Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 16, 2022 Nehammer said earlier this week he was "not particularly optimistic after my talks with Putin." "I made it clear to Mr. Putin, his attitude, his view is not shared by anybody," Nehammer said during a press briefing in Moscow. "He sees it as a kind of self-defense operation of the Russian federation. He calls it special military operations. I call it the war." Russian forces withdrew from areas around Kyiv earlier this month after failing to capture Ukraine's capital city and were dealt another blow this week after the warship Moskva was struck by a Ukrainian missile and sunk. Russian troops have been regrouping for what is expected to be a new offensive in the eastern Donbas region. Read the original article on Business Insider The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is seen behind the abandoned town of Pripyat, Ukraine. Gleb Garanich/File Photo via Reuters Russian soldiers gave up control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant earlier this month. Troops stationed there will "feel the consequences" of radiation poisoning soon, a Ukrainian official said. Yevhen Kramarenko said Russians dug trenches and drove into the most contaminated areas of the site. Russian troops who seized Chernobyl will soon suffer the effects of radiation exposure after digging trenches in the nuclear zone, the head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management said Wednesday. Yevhen Kramarenko told reporters that Russian troops, who occupied the Chernobyl exclusion zone for five weeks, had dug trenches and shelters for their vehicles in an area known as Red Forest. The Red Forest is a 1.5-square-mile pine forest that died as a result of radiation exposure shortly after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. It remains the most contaminated part of the exclusion zone, according to Reuters. "We believe very soon [the Russians] will feel the consequences of radiation that they have received. Some of them will feel it in months, some of them in years," Kramarenko said at a press conference Wednesday. "But anyway, all of the servicemen who were there will feel it at some point." He also confirmed earlier reports of Russian soldiers driving around the Red Forest without any protective gear and inhaling clouds of radioactive dust. Radiation poisoning can cause different effects depending on the strength and length of exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In more extreme cases, radiation poisoning can lead to internal bleeding and skin burns, as well as thyroid cancer and cardiovascular disease, per the CDC. Russian troops left the exclusion zone at the beginning of the month after some of their soldiers "panicked" at the first sign of radiation illness, Ukraine's state power company, Energoatom, said, according to The Guardian. Story continues It is unclear exactly what their supposed symptoms were, although they "showed up very quickly," Energoatom added. The Russian troops have since gone to Belarus and Russia, Kramarenko said, adding that Ukrainian officials are now working on developing additional safety measures around the area to "avoid in the future any events similar to what we had to happen." The power plant was fully decommissioned after the 1986 nuclear accident and the remaining work at the site is mostly directed toward decontamination. Kramarenko said it is unclear how high radiation levels are around the site at the moment because there is currently no electricity. "Until then we won't understand the damage done," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Matthew Moran , CC BY-ND Driving north of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, an extraordinary landscape comes into view. Trees disappear and an immense landscape of grass emerges, undulating in the wind like a great, green ocean. This is the Flint Hills. For over a century it has been cattle country, a place where cows grow fat on nutritious grasses. More recently, a piece of this landscape was transformed in 1989 when the nonprofit Nature Conservancy bought the Barnard Ranch. It created a nature reserve there, the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, which now covers almost 40,000 acres. A central element of the groups conservation strategy was reintroducing the American bison (Bison bison), which had been eradicated from the land in the mid-1800s. Releasing the first bison in 1993 was a step toward restoring part of an ecosystem that once stretched from Texas to Minnesota. Today some 500,000 bison have been restored in over 6,000 locations, including public lands, private ranches and Native American lands. As they return, researchers like me are gaining insights into their substantial ecological and conservation value. Near extinction It was not always certain that bison could rebound. Once numbering in the tens of millions, they dominated the Great Plains landscape until the late 1800s, anchoring a remarkable ecosystem that contained perhaps the greatest concentration of mammals on Earth. That abundance was wiped out as settlers and the U.S. government engaged in a brutally effective campaign to eradicate the ecosystem and the native cultures that relied on it. Bison were shot by the millions, sometimes for sport, sometimes for profit, and ultimately to deprive Native Americans of vital resources. By 1890 fewer than 1,000 bison were left, and the outlook for them was bleak. Two small wild populations remained, in Yellowstone National Park and northern Alberta, Canada; and a few individuals survived in zoos and on private ranches. Recovery Remarkably, a movement developed to save the bison and ultimately became a conservation success story. Some former bison hunters, including prominent figures like William Buffalo Bill Cody and future President Theodore Roosevelt, gathered the few surviving animals, promoted captive breeding and eventually reintroduced them to the natural landscape. Story continues With the establishment of additional populations on public and private lands across the Great Plains, the species was saved from immediate extinction. By 1920 it numbered about 12,000. Bison remained out of sight and out of mind for most Americans over the next half-century, but in the 1960s diverse groups began to consider the species place on the landscape. Native Americans wanted bison back on their ancestral lands. Conservationists wanted to restore parts of the Plains ecosystems. And ranchers started to view bison as an alternative to cattle production. More ranches began raising bison, and Native American tribes started their own herds. Federal, state, tribal and private organizations established new conservation areas focusing in part on bison restoration, a process that continues today in locations such as the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas and the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. By the early 2000s, the total North American population had expanded to 500,000, with about 90 percent being raised as livestock but often in relatively natural conditions and the rest in public parks and preserves. For scientists, this process has been an opportunity to learn how bison interact with their habitat. Male bison grazing and bellowing in Yellowstone National Park. NPS/Shan Burson711 KB (download) Improving prairie landscapes Bison feed almost exclusively on grasses, which, because they grow rapidly, tend to out-compete other plants. Bisons selective grazing behavior produces higher biodiversity because it helps plants that normally are dominated by grasses to coexist. Because they tend to graze intensively on recently burned zones and leave other areas relatively untouched, bison create a diverse mosaic of habitats. They also like to move, spreading their impacts over large areas. The variety they produce is key to the survival of imperiled species such as the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) that prefer to use different patches for different behaviors, such as mating and nesting. Bison impacts dont stop there. They often kill woody vegetation by rubbing their bodies and horns on it. And by digesting vegetation and excreting their waste across large areas, they spread nutrients over the landscape. This can produce higher-quality vegetation that benefits other animals. Studies, including my own research, have shown that bison-induced changes in vegetation composition and quality grazing can increase the abundance and diversity of birds and insects in tallgrass prairies. Bison also affect their environment by wallowing rolling on the ground repeatedly to avoid biting insects and shed loose fur. This creates long-lasting depressions that further enhance plant and insect diversity, because they are good habitats for plant and animal species that are not found in open areas of the prairie. In contrast, cattle do not wallow, so they do not provide these benefits. It is hard to determine the ecological role that bison played before North America was settled by Europeans, but available evidence suggests they may have been the most impactful animal on the Plains potentially a keystone species whose presence played a unique and crucial role in the ecology of prairies. The growth of bison ranching The return of the bison has generated a new industry on the Plains. The National Bison Association promotes these animals as long-lived, hardy and high-quality livestock. The group hopes to double bison numbers through its Bison 1 Million commitment, a program designed to increase interest in bison ranching and consumption. Advocates cite health, ecological and ethical arguments in support of bison ranching. Bison meat is lean and has a high protein content. Many bison ranchers are committed to ethical and sustainable ranching practices, which sometimes are lacking in modern industrial livestock farming. I have a love of nature and want to protect it. It was one of my familys goals to restore the grasslands. Bison helped us regenerate the land, Mimi Hillenbrand, owner and operator of the 777 Bison Ranch near Rapid City, South Dakota told me. She adds, I love the animal. We are lucky that we brought them back. I learn every day from them. Thinking bigger Will bison live on in relatively small, isolated herds as they do now, or something greater? The American Prairie Reserve, a Montana-based nonprofit, has a big and controversial idea: creating an ecologically functioning 3 million acre preserve of private, public and tribal lands in northeast Montana, with a herd of over 10,000 bison the largest single population in the world. Although this would be small compared to the millions that once existed, it still would be something to see. Bison were saved through the combined efforts of conservationists, scientists, ranchers and ultimately the general public. As their comeback continues, I believe that they can teach us how to be better stewards of the land and provide a future for the Plains where ecosystems and human cultures thrive. Editors note: This article was updated on January 24, 2019 to correct the purchase date for the Barnard Ranch. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Matthew D. Moran, Hendrix College. Read more: Matthew Moran is Professor of Biology at Hendrix College in Conway, AR. He has received research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, as well his employer, Hendrix College. Funding from Hendrix College supports research performed on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy. He is also a volunteer fundraiser for the Children's Eternal Rainforest based in Costa Rica. US leaders and lawmakers should focus on improving China-US relations and building trust rather than listening to "narrow-minded" Americans keen to blame outsiders, senior Chinese diplomats said Saturday. Speaking at the Harvard College China Forum, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and New York Consul General Huang Ping said improved ties between the US and China transformed the world over the past half-century, adding that whether the countries choose destructive competition or beneficial cooperation will transform the next 50 years. "China-US cooperation is indispensable, and yet we're faced with dark clouds that involve misreading and misjudging," said Qin, citing the danger of a "new Cold War". "What does the future hold for the bilateral relationship and how do we find a new way to get along? These are questions that will garner the attention of the world." Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Following up a few minutes later, Huang called on the US to avoid stoking irritants. Citing the virtual meeting in November between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping, he called on the US to live up to its word by not supporting Taiwan independence, not using its alliances against China and not taking steps that lead to conflict. New York Consul General Huang Ping speaking Saturday at a conference at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo: SCMP/Mark Magnier alt=New York Consul General Huang Ping speaking Saturday at a conference at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo: SCMP/Mark Magnier> "The most important event in the next 50 years will be for China and the US to find a way to get along with each other," Huang said. "Do not learn from spiders who make their own webs but bees who make their own honey together." Story continues The senior Chinese diplomats said future ties between the world's largest developing country and the world's largest developed nation are inextricably linked, with more that binds than divides. This includes two-way trade of US$750 billion, investment of US$240 billion, extensive people-to-people ties and a shared interest in tackling global terrorism, financial instability and climate change. The officials said the US achieved its rise to wealth and power in two centuries and should not frustrate China's own development efforts built on a 5,000-year history. "We hope the US will respect the path independently chosen by the Chinese people and accommodate a peaceful and prosperous China," Huang said. "The two major countries have differences, inevitably, but what matters is how we manage and control them." Bilateral competition should be like a track and field meet in which the two teams learn from each other, Huang said, rather that the mutual suspicion and deception of Squid Game, referring to a popular dystopian Korean television series. "American society has always advocated spiritual diversity and inclusiveness," Huang said. "But they are also some narrow-minded people who find it difficult to accept those countries with different histories, cultures and systems from the US and always point fingers at those countries." The Harvard venue, however, underscored some of the difficulties and missteps Beijing has faced getting its message across in recent years as its wolf warrior rhetoric has ramped up and bilateral relations spiralled down. Largely absent from Saturday's two hundred or so attendees were the average Americans and lawmakers that Beijing seeks to convince. Instead, most in the Harvard hall were Chinese-born students at elite Boston-area US universities sympathetic to China's message that its rise is peaceful and its development non-threatening, even as tensions mount. Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang and National Zoo Director Brandie Smith placing bamboo on a fruitsicle cake for the zoo's pandas earlier on Saturday. The zoo celebrated 50 years of its iconic panda exchange agreement with the Chinese government. Photo: AP alt=Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang and National Zoo Director Brandie Smith placing bamboo on a fruitsicle cake for the zoo's pandas earlier on Saturday. The zoo celebrated 50 years of its iconic panda exchange agreement with the Chinese government. Photo: AP> "Communication between the two countries needs improving," said Audrey Mao, 24, a Boston University data science student from Shandong province. "We need more mutual understanding." In Congress, both parties support increasingly tough policies toward China, a view mirrored across US society as the two nations feud over everything from defence and trade to human rights and technology. Some 54 per cent of Americans view China as a competitor and 35 per cent see it as an enemy, according to recent Pew Research Center polling, compared with just 9 per cent who view Beijing as a partner. In China, likewise, distrust has grown as has the view that Washington is primarily motivated by holding China down. Qin urged the two countries to defy prevalent conventional wisdom and entreated the more than 1,000 Chinese students at Harvard to help turn the tide. "I hope every one of you present here will be an icebreaker," he said. Further complicating Beijing's soft power efforts, the US business community, its traditional ally in Washington, has become increasingly frustrated with Chinese trade barriers, market-access constraints and forced data- and technology-transfer policies. In a nod to that constituency, Huang argued Saturday that China's business environment and supply chains are improving and its global macroeconomic ties growing stronger, even as it promotes trade facilitation and works to shorten its list of economic sectors off limits to overseas investors. "China's reform and opening is always under way. And our goal will only open wider," Huang said, adding that the Asian giant continues to foster "common interest and shared opportunity with the world" through its signature global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. US business leaders and lawmakers counter that China needs to take more concrete steps in order to back up vaguely worded promises. "It's the same old playbook," said Jeffrey Moon, head of China Moon Strategies consultancy, formerly with the US Trade Representative Office. The senior diplomats also sought to tap US cultural references and historic milestones in their effort to bridge the bilateral divide, citing China's love of Hollywood, Disney and Starbucks and former President Richard Nixon's 1971 visit to China. Other speakers at the two-day conference voiced similar hopes and concerns. "As brothers in the family of man, we are not without jealousy, sibling rivalry, mutual suspicion and tendency to squabble and quarrel," said Larry Summers, president emeritus of Harvard University and former US Treasury secretary. "The extraordinary histories we have compiled compel us to find ways and means of cooperation." The US-China tension is also spilling into US society, others said. Henry Tang, co-founder of the Committee of 100 civic group, said even as the world has focused on Covid-19, another pandemic is prevalent in the United States, namely anti-Asian prejudice. "How many more decades must we Asians endure this pain, this hurt," Tang said. "The time has come to fight for our integrity." Added to the atmosphere of distrust and mutual suspicion, said Harvard political economy professor Dwight Perkins, are recent moves by US and Chinese leaders. "There's plenty of reason on both sides why we've gotten into this downward spiral in international relations," Perkins said citing China's expansion in the South China Sea and punitive tariff increases launched by former president Donald Trump. "We need to get off of this downward spiral ... We badly need a way out." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Chelseas Ji So-yun, centre, celebrates scoring the games second goal at Meadow Park (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire) Guro Reiten and Ji So-yun fired holders Chelsea into the Vitality Womens FA Cup final with superb second-half goals in a 2-0 win against Arsenal. Chelsea, who beat London rivals Arsenal 3-0 in last seasons final, were arguably second best in the first half before sealing a Wembley return to face Manchester City on May 15. Norway midfielder Reiten broke the deadlock early in the second half with a fine curling effort and South Koreas Ji smashed home an unstoppable second 11 minutes later. Just one point separates Chelsea and Arsenal at the top of the Womens Super League and there was little to choose between the two teams at Boreham Woods Meadow Park before Reitens opener. Arsenal striker Beth Mead had been inches away from giving her side the lead moments before Reiten struck, but it was one-way traffic thereafter. The Gunners began at a furious pace and dominated the early stages, but it was 20 minutes before their first serious effort on goal, when Vivianne Miedema fired a shot over the crossbar. Erin Cuthbert was first to threaten for Chelsea five minutes later, but her swerving long-range effort was comfortably held by goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger. Guro Reiten, second left, curls home Chelseas opening goal in their FA Cup semi-final triumph (Steven Paston/PA) (PA Wire) Free-flowing football gave way to tense, nervy exchanges in the first half and, while Chelsea grew into the game, both sides were restricted to half-chances. The tie came alive after the restart. Mead flashed an angled shot agonisingly wide for Arsenal after a superb turn in the box, but Chelsea snatched the lead moments later. Arsenal defenders backed off, allowing Reiten too much time and space to plant a brilliant finish from 25 yards beyond Zinsberger in the 50th minute. Story continues Beth England went close to scoring Chelseas second, but Zinsberger produced a fine low save to keep out the strikers shot under pressure. But Chelsea sensed a jittery Arsenal defence was there for the taking and they went 2-0 up in the 61st minute through Jis brilliant strike. Sam Kerr raced on to a diagonal pass into the area and when an attempted clearance broke to Ji on the edge of the box, the South Korean midfielder evaded a challenge and crashed an unstoppable drive into the top corner. Zinsberger rescued the Gunners again, saving from Sophie Ingle after defender Lotte Wubben-Moy had been dispossessed in the area. It was all Chelsea as Arsenal tired. England rifled another effort over, while Blues goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was forced into her first save of the match when denying Mead in a one-on-one in the closing stages. Serve tea in style with this ceramics collection (Alessandro Facchinetti for Editions Milano) It seems the sartorial eye finds a comfortable home in fashion and interior design alike, dressing and undressing, styling and refining rooms and wardrobes with ease. This year, fashion designers, both current and former, have been turning their hands to home design with the couture aplomb one might expect, creating homeware collections to bring a fashion-forward approach to interiors. One such example is the capsule collection of homeware from interior designer Matthew Williamson in collaboration with John Lewis, new for SS22. Cushions, bedding, throws, lamps, mirrors and towels comprise the line, bursting at the seams with leopard, ikat and peacock prints that have long been markers of the Matthew Williamson brand ever since his fashion days. His ways with colour and pattern were first demonstrated on global runways and are now available in smaller editions to take home and enjoy on your sofa or your bedside table, elevating the home in much the same way as his dresses brightened our wardrobes. The first-ever fabric collection from Buchanan Studio is debuting this month (Buchanan Studio Fabric Collection) Henry Hollands new ceramics collection for Liberty is also a nod to his fashion background with its zeitgeist-y, warped checkerboard patterns in blues, greens and chocolate browns. The designer-come-ceramicist has been creating garments and pieces for the home for the last 15 years, most notably with his label House Of Holland and recently launched Henry Holland Studio. In 2021, Henry started taking ceramics lessons, falling in love with the soothing making process and embracing the step away from fashion and its fast-paced allure. (Buchanan Studio Fabric Collection) Another tableware collection from the hands of a fashion designer is the product of a collaboration between Alessandra Facchinetti and Editions Milano, the Made in Italy brand known for celebrating the best of the country's historic culture of craft. Facchinetti has helmed design departments at Gucci, Valentino, Miu Miu and Tods and has recently expanded her practice to the theatre, where she has designed costumes for the St Gallen Opera Theatre in Switzerland. With Editions Milano, she has created an elevated breakfast set, Circle, inspired by the beauty of geometry, disrupting the way we interact with everyday objects and encouraging customers to savour everyday rituals. Story continues A tangle of checkerboards and stripes will make any bedding look great (Matthew Williamson for John Lewis) Next up is a fabric collection from the design behind the Instagram-famous Studio Chair. This month, Buchanan Studio is debuting its first-ever fabric collection, which is inspired by creative director Angus Buchanans background in fashion. A tangle of checkerboards, stripes, florals and velvets, the collection is good enough to wear or to reupholster your favourite armchair. Finally, a rug collection from Nordic Knots and US fashion and lifestyle company Arje explores the concept of the home as a place of belonging. The designs, Face and Family, bring together the warmth of the Mediterranean aesthetic as perfected by Arjes founders, Bessie Afnaim Corral and Oliver Corral, who hail from the UK and Spain respectively, and the spare minimalism of Nordic style, as interpreted by Fabian Berglund and Liza Laserow from Nordic Knots. (Reuters) - Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents" occurring in the region, TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov as saying on Sunday. In March, Finland and Sweden, which are both considering joining the U.S.-led military NATO alliance, conducted combined NATO military drills. The exercise was long planned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 added intensity to the war game. Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation". "The recent increase in NATO's activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern. Another large-scale military exercise of the alliance was recently held in northern Norway. In our view, this does not contribute to the security of the region," Korchunov said. According to Korchunov, such activity raises the risk of "unintended incidents", which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the Arctic ecosystem. He did not specify what type of incident he might be referring to. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined NATO then Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in a European exclave. (Reporting by Reuters) ERICKSDAHL COMMUNITY Easter is about blessing, and Bethel Lutheran Church has been blessed with the sound of keyboard music for much of its existence. The stone church that rises majestically from the cotton field east of Stamford in Jones County was built between 1932 and 1941. The church is about 40 miles north of Abilene. The morning sun, rising east of Bethel Lutheran Church, reflects off the church's steeple that dominates the rural skyline in Jones County. For 51 years, Addie Haterius was the organist. Today, her granddaughter, Suzanne Haterius Fusaro plays both for the early service in Stamford, at Bethel Christ Lutheran, and then at the 11 a.m. service at Bethel Lutheran, a drive of 11 or 12 miles, depending which of two routes you take. Time in between for a doughnut or cup of coffee. Fusaro sets up on the west side of the church, in an alcove that once was for choir. The organ is there, and the piano is opposite the podium at which pastor Richard Strait delivers his sermon. He also is the minister for the Stamford service. "Many years ago, we kind of combined efforts," Fusaro said of the necessity of double duty. Suzanne Haterius Fusaro at the organ, which she plays Sundays at Bethel Lutheran Church. She has played the organ at church services there and elsewhere for 48 years. After listening March 27 to Strait's sermon, which was based on the story of the prodigal son, Fusaro choose to play "Amazing Grace" on the piano during the offertory. "It's what I have done for years," said Fusaro, who did the same for 20 years at her church in Fort Worth, before she returned to Jones County. "There's usually something in a sermon that will trigger a line from a hymn." This day, the topic of being lost and found brought to mind "I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see." "You have people who will say, 'The whole service fit together so well,'" she said. "If I was so rigid that I had everything completely laid out, it doesn't give the Holy Spirit much room to work." Selecting "Amazing Grace" hardly was a stretch. She said a former pastor purposely would add an obscure hymn reference to his sermon just to see if she picked up on it for her musical selection. Story continues Whoever said pastors were all work and no play? It began with her grandmother The steeple of Bethel Lutheran Church rises into the blue sky above Jones County. It was built between 1932 and 1941 east of Stamford amid cotton fields. Haterius was Fusaro's grandmother. Like her, Fusaro has given decades to the organ. This is her 48th year. Between the two women, that's almost 100 years of faithful service to congregations. "Music so often touches parts of us ... we can hear a song that we haven't heard in years and it will remind us of a relative, a moment, a special time. It evokes emotion. It's so important for us to embrace the music in our lives." Last Christmas Eve, she was stepping into what she calls the "organ loft," which slightly raised from the sanctuary floor. "I saw the worn place on the wood floor and on the bench and I thought of how many times Mamma (her grandmother, pronounced "mam-maw") slid onto that organ bench and how Becky (Nauert, another longtime church organist) slid onto that bench and how honored I am to get to get to be one of those folks who served out here." The wooden step leading to the organ at Bethel Lutheran Church is worn from years of use, including 51 years by Addie Haterius, the grandmother of current organist Suzanne Haterius Fusaro. Addie was the wife of Dr. Hugo B. Haterius, Fusaro's grandfather, who accepted a call to minister at Bethel in 1919. She had a degree in music, attained in 1912 from Bethany College in Kansas, where they met. At the time, the church was a small, white, wooden building. "My grandmother was from the city, so I am sure this was quite a departure for her," Fusaro said. Addie Haterius had grown up in Grace Lutheran in Fort Worth. For example, she asked where the trees were. Her husband said what few mesquites there were represented her orchard. Pastor Haterius retired in 1968 after serving for 49 years. He died in 1970. Fusaro began taking piano lessons in 1971, after her grandmother had retired from playing but not from her. Two years later, her teacher told her, "Next week, we're going to start on the organ." The young student responded, "I don't really want to play the organ." Suzanne Fusaro said she didn't want to learn the play the organ as a teenager but has played for various churches for 48 years. The teacher responded to that, "Well, you're going to." "There was no discussion," Fusaro said, laughing. "I am so very, very thankful that happened." Except for a year, maybe two, there always has been a church that needed a musician, she said. There are not enough organists to go around these days, certainly not good ones. The ones with talent and desire go to the larger churches, she said.. "It's an honor for me to get to carry on that tradition," said Fusaro, who became the church's organist in October 2019. Becky Nauert succeeded Addie Haterius at Bethel Lutheran. She played for about 40 years. Between Nauert and Fusaro, the church had only a pianist, Sherry Dou, a blind music student from Hardin-Simmons University whose mother drove her to Bethel Lutheran for Sunday services. More: Country church's investment in blind pianist pays off Carrying on the family tradition A stained glass window at Bethel Lutheran Church depicts music. It was Nauert who suggested (prodded) Fusaro to play the organ for the evening service. She also encouraged Taimi Wendeborn, who still plays the piano at the church. The girls, who were junior high age at the time, agreed but played as a duet. "She would play the left hand and I would play the right," Fusaro said. "Or we would switch. Neither of us played the whole thing. " Birger Haterius, her uncle, was a vocalist at the church for years. Mamma accompanied him, but one day, both decided it was time for Fusaro to do that. "It was like having the torch passed. It was always so special to play for him," she said. "Under mamma's supervision." Every Easter, he would sing "Art Thou the Christ." "It's one of the most moving pieces of music, both to play and to hear him sing. I still to this day, if I play it, I get emotional," she said. Fusaro would move away and not return home for about 40 years, she said. She went to college at Midwestern in Wichita Falls, playing at Trinity Lutheran there. Then came a time at a Methodist church in Bowie, which is about halfway between Wichita Falls and Forth Worth. In 1990, she moved to the Fort Worth-Dallas area and began playing at Christ the King Lutheran in Haltom City. She was there for 28 years. She did not make these moves as an organist for hire. Her weekday jobs included corporate and nonprofit event planning. Suzanne Fusaro moves from the organ to the piano to play a hymn during the offertory. On this particular Sunday at Bethel Lutheran Church, it was "Amazing Grace." Returning home In summer 2019, Fusaro returned to the old home place to operate the Grand Theatre in Stamford. Her husband, Lou died in 2008 from leukemia. "I had always wanted to be back home," Fusaro said. Through the years, she had been back to play at Bethel. Mostly for special events - weddings, funerals and the 100th anniversary of the church, which was founded in 1906. Her job at the movie theater on the square didn't last long. That July, she broke her leg in two places during its showing of "The Lion King." She couldn't go up and down stairs. "Now what do I do?" she wondered. A friend asked her to teach her granddaughters the piano. "But," Fusaro said, "I don't teach piano. The friend said, 'Well, you have until September to figure it out.'" And that's what she does, along with flute (she was in the Stamford band, playing that instrument and the piccolo, and serving as drum major) and voice at her home studio. Most students are from Stamford but she has one from Rule and another from Haskell. "It's encouraging to see that kids are interested in playing the piano," she said. "I spent so much of my life playing the piano. You hate to think that, too, might be a dying art." The turning point Playing has followed the Haterius line. Fusaro's mother did not play but sang, she said. "She endured many, many hours of listening to me," Fusaro said, laughing. What separated hobby from vocation came, she said, the summer of 1972. The summer of Watergate. "I was too young to work and there was nothing on television after 'The Young and the Restless,'" she said. The break-in and aftermath dominated the news. "I would spend hours and hours playing playing some complex pieces," she said. One that she learned she had heard on her favorite daytime soap opera. Her teacher identified it as Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C Sharp Minor." "'It's in one of your books.' So I got it out and I worked and I worked and I worked all summer," Fusaro said. She played it for her teacher when lessons resumed that fall, and she told the teenager, "You're not the same pianist as the one who left here. What you have done this summer has changed you in many ways." She admitted that as a pianost, she lacked great appreciation for Bach but discovered his music has greater appeal on organ and harpsichord. Worshipful for her Suzanne Fusaro can be seen in her "rear-view mirror," which she uses to see around the corner from her "organ loft" at Bethel Lutheran Church. Fusaro said that despite paying attention to her role during services, she worships. If something in a sermon touches her and inspires her music selection, she believes worshipers are equally touched. Recently, she has played "Let There Be Peace on Earth" as the war situation in Ukraine escalated. She went to her sheet music source and found the Ukranian national anthem and has played that. It's less than 2 minutes in length and, unlike the rousing U.S. anthem, more hymn-like and fitting for a church service prelude or postlude. "People will say, 'That's so appropriate,'" she said. It's why she brings a stack of music with her to church, giving her a wide variety of music to choose from when the inspiration comes. "Pulling those things into the worship experience," Fusaro said. Strait chooses the hymns for the service, she said. He most often follows the Lutheran church season in his selections. In that way, the readings and hymns match. But there are times that she suggests a hymn based her take of the subject. The entrance to Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, illuminated in the morning sun. The church was constructed over about nine years, finished in 1941. Seeing is bee-lieving The pipes are in a loft above the organ. The grating emitting the sound can be seen, opening wider for crescendos and such. The notes began to stick, she said, likely because Dou was the pianist at the time. "It hadn't been used a whole lot," Fusaro said. "When they went up to check, they found we had Bethel bees. They had made hives and honey up there," she said. "Which is quite a mess." They were next door in the parsonage, too, using Santa's old trick to get inside - down through the chimney. Interestingly, the Bethel bees shaped their hives like the pipes - vertically, like formations in a cave. Bees built vertical hives that resembles organ pipes above the Bethel Lutheran Church alcove used by the church organist. It was discovered in 2018 and cleaned out. "They were influence by their surrounding," Fusaro said. "Who are you gonna call? Beebusters," she said, laughing. It did take expertise to remove the bees. Bees have been around. She recalled bees landing on her music when she played the organ during high school. "I'd try to blow them off because I didn't want them to sting me but I wanted them to move," she said. But maybe not leave. After all, occupying a church, they would seem to be bee-lievers. Her special place Fusaro's daughter - Addie, named for Addie Haterius - doesn't play. "We tried," she said. "I think a mother teaching a child piano is not always successful." She does play bass clarinet. Fusaro has a granddaughter, who just turned 1. It's still to be determined what musical course Amelia Goss will take. Steven and Addie and Amelia lived in North Richland Hills, near Fort Worth. All total, five generations of Hateriuses have been a part of Bethel Lutheran. The Richards family, Fusaro noted, boasts six generations. That history, in part, inspires her role as organist. Strait's wife, Renee, is a cousin (her mother was a Haterius). She lived in the parsonage, the same one that Fusaro's grandfather and grandmother once occupied. "It's just really special," Fusaro said. Easter celebration A stained glass window at Bethel Lutheran Church east of Stamford focuses on the crucifixion. Easter, too, will be special at the church. Some churches follow what is called the triddum the three holy days of Easter beginning with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Thus, some churches begin the Easter service in silence, others with sunrise services to accentuate the passage of darkness to light. That has been Fusaro's experience elsewhere. She was considering beginning with "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire." By Bach, of course. "My postlude is always the 'Hallelujah Chorus,'" she said. "We will sing "Jesus Christ Has Risen Today" or "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,' whichever version Richard chooses. "At some point I'll play 'Because He Lives,' whether we sing or I play during communion," she said. The Bethel congregation takes communion the first and third Sundays. "On a high Sunday celebration we would have it anyway," she said. She will look at "Alleluia" songs because those are not sung during Lent. Fusaro thus is greatly involved in Sunday's worship. She wouldn't have it any other way. "I used to read these tributes to organists that had been someplace 50 or 75 years, and I when I was a child I'd think, 'Oh my goodness, how does somebody do that that long? Now, when do you say, 'No, God, I'm through. Thank you for the talent ... so you just keep going. "I found I'm not so good at sitting in the pew because I have been so much a part of the service." Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. Bethel Lutheran Church is fortunate to have an organist, who occupies a darkened corner on the west side of the sanctuary. This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Women organists have blessed rural church for many Easters The 17-year-old who died Friday in a nearly head-on collision on the Lewes-Georgetown Highway has been identified as Dakhyi Floyd, according to Delaware State Police. The crash occurred around 2:10 p.m. when a Honda CR-V was traveling east on the highway, approaching Ebb Tide Drive, police said. At the same time, a 2009 Ram 1500 was driving west, crossing the intersection, according to police. A vehicle not involved in the crash that was heading east stopped to turn left onto Ebb Tide Drive and a second vehicle behind also slowed down, but the driver of the Honda failed to see the slowing traffic ahead and in an attempt to avoid a collision, swerved left into the westbound lane, police said. A Honda overturned after colliding nearly head-on with a Ram and struck a utility pole before coming to rest off the roadway on Friday, April 15, 2022, police said. To avoid crashing into the Honda, the Ram also swerved toward the shoulder, but the front of both vehicles struck nearly head-on, according to police. INITIAL STORY: 17-year-old dies in nearly head-on car crash on Lewes-Georgetown Highway on Friday As a result, the Honda overturned and struck a utility pole before coming to rest off the roadway, police said. The Ram came to a halt at the place of the crash. According to police, there were five people in the Honda, all teenagers. Floyd, 17, was one of them, police said. He was taken to Beebee Hospital where he died, police said. Three others, an 18-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl, were flown to Christiana Hospital, according to police. Both female victims were in critical condition, officials said. DEWEY BEACH FIRE: Early Saturday morning fire in Dewey Beach heavily damages 3 homes, loss exceeds $1M A 17-year-old girl was also transported to Beebe Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. The 77-year-old driver of the Ram was treated for minor injuries, police said. A serious two-vehicle crash on Lewes-Georgetown Highway west of Lewes, near Sussex East development, sent several people to hospitals, including three by helicopters to Christiana Hospital, on Friday, April 15, 2022. The crash closed the Lewes-Georgetown Highway for about three hours, according to police. Reporter Yusra Asif contributed to this report. Contact the reporter at jcastaneda1@delawareonline.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Teen identified after fatal crash on Lewes-Georgetown Highway Friday You are the owner of this article. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Yamaha has introduced a new 125cc scooter in Brazil, which they have dubbed Fluo. It is, in essence, the same scooter that is available on the Indonesian market under the name Yamaha FreeGo. Yamaha has set the price for its new scooter Fluo at 13,390 Brazilian Reals (Rs 2,16,587). What has changed and what has remained the same for the Brazilian market is outlined in detail below. To begin with, Fluo has the same look and feel as FreeGo. Like the Indonesian-spec model, the design is sleek and racy. In Fluo, the only notable visual alteration is the addition of distinct turn signals and brake lights, whereas FreeGo provides them as a single unit. There are three colour options for the 2023 Fluo: black, blue, and white. To further enhance the scooter's sporty appearance, the last two colour variants have blacked out planes on the side fairing, front apron and floorboard as well as alloy wheels and components. Read also: Renault Kwid E-TECH launched, gets 238 km battery range The new Fluo comes standard with ABS, unlike its Indonesian counterpart, which offers it as an option. In addition, Fluo has a 12-volt charging plug, complete LED illumination, auto start/stop, keyless access through a smart key and a fully digital instrument console with blue lighting background. In addition, there is a handy 25-litre storage compartment under the seat. Braking duties are carried out by a 200mm disc up front and a 1300mm drum at the rear which is aided by a single-channel ABS. Its seat height of 780mm, combined with the fact that the car rides on 12-inch alloy wheels, should make for a comfortable ride experience. A 200mm disc up front and a 1300mm drum at the back are supplemented by a single-channel ABS. Due to its low seat height of 780mm, the Fluo rides on 12-inch alloy wheels that should provide a pleasant riding experience. Powering 2023 Fluo is a 125cc air-cooled engine that generates 9.6 PS of power and 10.3 Nm of peak torque and the engine is mated to a CVT automatic gearbox. Its light for its class, weighing in at only 102 kg and its fuel tank holds just 4.2 litres of fuel. It's not likely that Yamaha Fluo will come to India because the Japanese manufacturer already sells scooters in the 125cc category like Fascino and RayZR in the Indian market. Live TV #mute New Delhi: The government has amended rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), paving the way for up to 20 per cent foreign direct investment in the insurance behemoth LIC. The government is planning to dilute its stake in LIC through the the Initial Public Offering (IPO). LIC in February had filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) before the markets regulator Sebi for the IPO. Last month, Sebi gave approval to the draft papers and the insurer is in the process of filing a request for proposal with changes. Following the Cabinet approval, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on March 14 had amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to facilitate overseas investment in LIC ahead of the mega public offer. FEMA notification was required to operationalise the provisions DPIIT issued through a press note, including FDI policy changes that will allow large foreign portfolio investors to subscribe to shares of LIC. "These rules may be called the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Amendment) Rules, 2022," said a gazette notification issued recently. The notification has inserted a paragraph in the existing policy, allowing up to 20 per cent FDI in LIC through the automatic route. Since the foreign inflows' ceiling for public sector banks is 20 per cent under government approval route as per the present FDI policy, it has been decided to allow foreign investment of up to 20 per cent in LIC and other such corporate bodies. "Foreign investment in LIC shall be subject to the provisions of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, (LIC Act) as amended from time to time and such provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, as amended from time to time, as are applicable to LIC," it said. Setting the stage for the country's biggest-ever public offering, Sebi has approved the draft prospectus for sale of a 5 per cent stake by the government for an estimated Rs 63,000 crore. According to the draft paper, LIC's embedded value, a measure of the consolidated shareholders' value in an insurance company, has been pegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021 by international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors. Although the DRHP does not disclose the market valuation of LIC, as per industry standards it would be about three times the embedded value or around Rs 16 lakh crore. The LIC public issue is expected to be the biggest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Once listed, LIC's market valuation will be comparable to top companies like RIL and TCS. Also Read: Aadhaar Card Update: Heres how to change number, address, photo, name on Aadhaar So far, the amount mobilised from IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at Rs 18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly Rs 15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at Rs 11,700 crore. Also Read: Earnings, global cues to dictate market trend this week: Analysts Live TV #mute New Delhi: Jewellery retailer Senco Gold Ltd has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 525 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 325 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of equity shares to the tune of Rs 200 crore by selling shareholder SAIF Partners India IV Limited. Besides, the company may consider a pre-IPO placement of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 65 crore. If such placement is undertaken, the fresh issue size will be reduced. The company proposes to utilise Rs 240 crore of net proceeds from the fresh issue towards funding working capital requirements and rest towards general corporate purposes. At present, Senco Gold has 127 showrooms 70 company-operated and 57 franchisee in 89 cities and towns across 13 states in India. Some of its franchisee showrooms are located in areas other than metros and tier-I, providing a greater reach in tier-2 and tier-3 locations. The company also sells products through various online platforms. It also undertakes wholesale exports of its jewellery primarily to Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore. Its revenue from operations grew at a CAGR of 9.92 per cent from Rs 2,420 crore as of March 31, 2020 to Rs 2,660 crore as of March 31 2021. The company has recently entered into a share subscription with Oman India Joint Investment Fund Trustee Company Private Limited, the trustee of Oman India Joint Investment Fund II for the issue and subscription of 26.63 lakh equity shares for an aggregate consideration of Rs 75 crore. IIFL Securities, Ambit and SBI Capital Markets are the book running lead managers to the IPO. The equity shares of the company are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Easter Sunday is a religious Christian holiday that is observed globally to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and while holidays like Christmas have fixed dates, the date for Easter changes from year to year. The reason for this variation is that Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Traditions like baking hot cross buns and filling empty eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. Thus, in order to celebrate this day, people across the world indulge in a feast ranging from Kozunak to Torrijas, so here's a list of traditional Easter food from around the globe. Spain Torrijas are enjoyed all over Spain, and are a typical example of Easter indulgence. A variation on French toast, torrijas are slices of slightly stale bread, soaked in milk, sugar and spices overnight, then dipped in egg and fried in olive oil until crispy and golden brown. Italy A popular Italian dessert is the Neapolitan grain pie, also called Pastiera Napoletana. This ricotta cake is flavoured with orange-flower water and sweet pastry cream, though recipes can vary on the amount used. Bulgaria One of the sweet cake-like breads common to holiday celebrations in many cultures is Kozunak, a staple of Easter Sunday breakfast in Bulgaria. Rum-soaked raisins, lemon zest, chopped nuts, Turkish delight, and other enhancements are typically added to the braided, brioche-style egg-enriched loaf before baking. Brazil Pacoca de amendoim, a crumbly confection made with roasted peanuts, sugar, and toasted manioc flour, is eaten year-round in Brazil, but it is a traditional Easter dessert in some parts of the country, notably the Vale do Paraiba region of Sao Paulo state. Russia Pashka is a Russian dessert full of symbolism as its pyramidal shape refers to the tomb of Christ. Made with cheese, butter, sugar, egg yolks and dried fruits, according to tradition, Pashka is consumed on Easter Sunday with Kulich, another traditional food. So embark on this journey through the flavours of Easter and discover the stories and customs behind each of these delights. New Delhi: The Oil Ministry has stopped making fresh allocation of natural gas from domestic fields to the city gas sector, threatening the viability of Rs 2 lakh crore investment planned in the sector besides leading to a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas prices to record levels, sources said. Despite a decision of the Union Cabinet to give 100 per cent gas supply under 'no cut' priority to the city gas distribution (CGD) sector, current supplies have been maintained at March 2021 demand level. Besides, the process of allocating gas on a six-monthly average drawl also is punishing the CGD entities driving growth. CGD operators have been requesting the ministry to maintain the gas supply to the sector under no cut category with the last two months' average to ensure the demand for both CNG and piped natural gas (PNG) for homes is fully met but the ministry has not made any fresh allocation for over a year now, three sources aware of the matter said. Besides the shortfall in the allocation, the prices of APM gas for CNG and PNG have been revised from USD 2.90 per million British thermal unit to USD 6.10, an increase of 110 per cent. While the demand has grown at a rapid pace in existing cities with CNG networks and supplies starting in newer areas, lack of allocation from domestic fields meant that operators bought imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) at prices that were at least six times the domestic rate. Result - CNG prices have risen by 60 per cent or by over Rs 28 per kg in one year and PNG by over a third. Sources said this has put a question mark on the economic viability of the entire CGD sector, putting at risk the planned Rs 2 lakh crore investment in expansion into newer cities as high prices bring the CNG at almost par with diesel and petrol, eroding the incentive for users to convert vehicles to the cleaner fuel. The Oil Ministry had on August 20, 2014, issued revised guidelines, promising allocation of gas from domestic fields to city gas operators every six months based on a demand assessment of CNG and PNG in a particular geographical area (GA). This was used as a selling point to bid out over 200 GAs since 2018, attracting over Rs 2 lakh crore of investment commitment in the rollout of city gas distribution infrastructure. But the gas allocation wasn't increased at the April 2021 review and the subsequent cycles, they said adding against the requirement of 22 million standard cubic meters per day of gas, the CGD sector is getting 17 mmscmd from domestic fields. The balance is met by buying imported LNG which in the current month costs USD 37 per million British thermal unit, they said. This compares with the USD 6.10 per mmBtu rate for domestic gas. "The domestic gas price saw a massive 110 per cent increase - from USD 2.9 per mmBtu to USD 6.1 mmBtu from April 1. This itself puts a huge burden and on top of this being forced to buy even higher-priced imported LNG will turn this sector economically unviable," a source said. New GAs that were bid out in CGD Rounds IX, X and XI are now coming up and no gas allocation being made would mean they will have to buy imported LNG for supplying as CNG to automobiles and PNG to household kitchens. "GAs with just imported LNG would mean a price of Rs 100-105 per kg," another source said. This compares to the price of Rs 71.61 per kg in Delhi and Rs 72 in Mumbai, where nearly 70 per cent of the requirement is met by domestic gas. "The CGD sector is in a bad shape. It is already facing an onslaught of EVs and now high prices of CNG will be a deterrent for diesel or petrol vehicles to convert to CNG. CNG is an environmentally-friendly fuel but ultimately what matters is cost economics and if the conversion and running cost comes to be higher than diesel or petrol, no one will convert," the first source said. Earlier this month, CGD operators met Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain over the issue but the ministry did not relent on allocation and instead asked the operators to pass on the increase in gas cost to consumers, sources said, adding the ministry asked CGD operators to buy imported LNG and pass on the cost to consumers. The ministry is not increasing the allocation for the CGD sector as it would mean cutting supplies to other sectors such as fertilizer. Also Read: Garena Free Fire Max redeem codes for today, April 17: Check steps to get free rewards "Domestic gas supplies are finite. If we have to increase supplies to one sector, it has to come at the cost of supplies to other sectors. Already the government is facing a higher fertiliser subsidy bill this fiscal and the subsidy outgo will increase further if the fertilizer plants are to use higher-priced imported LNG to make urea and other crop nutrients," a ministry official said. Also Read: Piyush Goyal asks plastics industry to cut imports, become self-reliant Live TV #mute New Delhi: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday exhorted the plastics industry to reduce import dependence and aspire to become a USD 100 billion industry in the next 4-5 years. The minister noted that there is a significant growth potential for the Indian plastic industry to become the world's premium supply hub. "The plastic industry needs to reduce the volume of imports and become self-reliant. The volume of imports of USD 17 billion shows that there is a clear market waiting for us to capture. "With an economy growing at 7-8 per cent for the next 25 years, I am sure making the plastics industry a USD 100 billion industry in the next 4-5 years is very much achievable. We must aspire to reach that level," Goyal said while speaking at the Exports Excellence Awards by the plastics exporters body PLEXCONCIL. "It can target to take its economic activity from the current Rs 3 lakh crore to Rs 10 lakh-crore industry. This could be achieved through more exports and import substitution, which in turn will create immense job opportunities," he added. This growth will also provide huge employment opportunities to the youth, especially in the MSME sector, with the potential to provide jobs to people from marginalised sections who have been left behind in the development cycle, the minister said. Currently, the plastic industry employs over 50 lakh people, according to PLEXCONCIL. India's plastics industry's economic activity is worth Rs 3 lakh crore annually, of which one-third is exported. The Union minister also urged the stakeholders of the Indian plastics industry to upgrade technology, equipment and capacities to manufacture world-class, quality products and grab to become the prime player. Pitching for sustainability in the sector, Goyal said "we need to demonstrate to the world that Indians are environmentally conscious." It is important to devise ways to collect and recycle and reuse plastic waste, so that it does not mess with our environmental story. We need to seriously consider segregating and reprocessing plastic waste, once we are able to do this, it will significantly reduce the negativity about using plastics, he added. Lauding the plastic industry for achieving exports of USD 13 billion in 2021-22, a growth of 30 per cent, the minister said the plastics industry has done well on the exports and domestic fronts and can easily reach its export target of USD 25 billion it has set for 2025. Free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia, which we have signed recently will open opportunities for you in contemporary sectors, but this will be possible when we embrace international standards," the minister said. Goyal emphasised the importance of upholding world-class quality standards and urged the industry to upgrade technology and enhance the scale of operations. Also Read: HDFC Bank to raise Rs 50,000 crore via bonds; re-appoints Renu Karnad as director All our products should be second to none in the world, it is time we embrace high-quality standards which will help sustain the industry in the long run. Sectors like construction and healthcare sectors offer a lot of potential for the plastic industry; plastics can help bring down energy usage in automobiles and aeroplanes, he added. Also Read: Elon Musk demands long form tweets as 280 characters not enough for him Live TV #mute New Delhi: Delhi Police arrested a 40-year-old man, who allegedly killed his wife and son in Delhi`s Geeta Colony, police said on Saturday (April 16, 2022). The accused is identified as Sachin, who worked as an accountant in a private company and ran a grocery shop alongside. According to the police, the accused ran away from the house after committing the crime. However, he confessed his crime through a message on a family WhatsApp group. "He confessed the crime committed by strangulation and smothering after a scuffle with his wife due to financial problems," said Deputy Commissioner of Police of Shahdara, R Sathiyasundaram said. At around 3.40 pm on Saturday, the police received a call from the woman who informed them about the crime. "At around 3.40 pm on Saturday, the police received a PCR call from a woman who informed about the crime. A team of police Forensic Science Laboratory reached the spot immediately and recovered the bodies of two victims. The body of a 35-year-old woman was found on the bed while another body of her 15-year-old son was lying on the floor," the police said. He further said, "The crime took place on the second floor of a house at Geeta Colony. The mother of the alleged accused informed us about the crime. The reasons behind the crime are yet to be ascertained. But the police are speculating that financial problem might be the reason behind the crime." Further investigation into the case is underway. Live TV Calling India an economic powerhouse, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of his visit to the country underlined the strategic partnership with New Delhi while stressing "as we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together". Johnson in the statement ahead of his visit next week emphasised India being the world`s largest democracy. "India, as a major economic power and the world`s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times," said Johnson. Trade and security partnerships will top the agenda in the PM Modi-Johnson bilateral talks.Listing out trade, business and defence cooperation as focus areas, Johnson stated that his visit to India will deliver on things that really matter to the people of both nations, including job creation, economic growth, energy security and defence. The British High Commission in a statement said that Johnson will visit India to deepen the long-term partnership for peace and prosperity with a fellow leading democracy, in the face of global economic challenges and threats from autocratic states. Notably, the visit will begin from Ahmedabad in Gujarat on April 21 (Thursday) to meet with leading businesses and discuss the UK and India`s thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time a UK Prime Minister will visit Gujarat, India`s fifth-largest state and the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. The UK Prime Minister will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Modi on April 22 (Friday) where the leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and India`s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific. Moreover, in Gujarat, Johnson is expected to announce a major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology. According to the statement, he will use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations launched earlier this year as a deal with India is predicted to boost UK`s total trade by up to 28 billion pounds annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion pounds. New Delhi: Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson will arrive in India on April 21, his office confirmed on Sunday (April 17, 2022). Boris will begin his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from Ahmedabad on April 21, where he is scheduled to meet leading businesses and discuss the UK and Indias thriving commercial, trade and people links. This will be the first time a British PM will visit Gujarat, the ancestral home of around half of the British-Indian population in the UK. Speaking ahead of the visit, Boris said, "As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the worlds largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the UK in these uncertain times." "My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence," he added. ALSO READ | Boris discusses Ukraine situation with Modi, terms Putin regime deeply 'disturbing' In Gujarat, Boris is expected to announce a major investment in key industries in both the UK and India, boosting jobs and growth at home, as well as new collaboration on cutting-edge science, health and technology. He is also likely to use the visit to drive progress in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations launched earlier this year a deal with India is predicted to boost UK's total trade by up to 28 billion annually by 2035 and increase incomes across the UK by up to 3 billion. According to Downing Street, the British PM will then travel to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 22. "The leaders will hold in-depth talks on the UK and Indias strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering our close partnership and stepping up security co-operation in the Indo-Pacific," the official statement said. Live TV Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the ruling BJP of "ruining" the health services in the state, alleging that poor are "dying" due to lack of treatment. "The BJP government has ruined the health services in the state. People were orphaned during the coronavirus pandemic. Even today, there is no sign of improvement and chaos is prevailing," he alleged. "The poor are dying due to lack of treatment. The situation is getting bad to worse," Yadav said in a statement issued here. He said patients are suffering due to lack of medicines in government hospitals while water cooler and the RO are not working in Kannauj Medical College. Citing an example of the Agra medical college, he alleged patients are not getting stretchers and wheelchairs. When there was a "Samajwadi" (socialist) government in Uttar Pradesh, a special campaign was launched to improve health services, Akhilesh said, adding that 108 Ambulance service was started to take patients to hospitals. "Ambulance Service 102 was started for transporting pregnant women and newborns from home to hospital. These services got ruined under the BJP rule. Neither tyres of these vehicles were changed nor the number of ambulance increased in the BJP government," he said. "The truth is that the BJP government is friendly to a few capitalists. There is a flaw in both the policy and intention of the BJP,? he said, claiming that the number of private nursing homes and hospitals is increasing. "The poor have been forced to live in miserable conditions and no heed is paid to them," he added. Live TV New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday (April 16, 2022) launched a fresh attack on Congress and called it a "dead horse" after poll strategist Prashant Kishor attended the grand old party's meeting presided over by Sonia Gandhi. Fresh from its landslide victory in Punjab, the AAP also projected its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the "only" challenger to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level. "There is no point in flogging a dead horse. The Congress is a dead horse," AAP's newly-elected Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson Raghav Chadha told the PTI news agency when asked for his comment on Kishor's participation in the Congress meeting. He said that Congress neither has a future nor can it give a future to Indians. "Anything multiplied to zero is zero," Chadha said. The AAP MP said that his party's victory in the Punjab assembly polls has shown that Kejriwal's model of governance and politics of work is "scalable". "There is only one person who can take on the might of the BJP's election machine, and that person is Arvind Kejriwal," Chadha said and added that "Kejriwal has got what it takes to challenge the BJP at the national level". Earlier on Saturday, poll strategist Kishor gave a detailed presentation to its top brass at a meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi on the way forward for the 2024 general elections, while expressing readiness to join the party. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said that a decision on Kishor's suggestions, including on whether he will join the party, will be known in a week. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior party leaders were said to be present at the four-hour meeting at the Congress president's 10, Janpath residence in Delhi. According to reports, Kishor told the select gathering that he is ready to join the Congress "without any expectations" and does not want anything but his plan should be implemented to help strengthen the party at the grassroots level. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Delhi Police have arrested 14 people pertaining to the Hanuman Jayanti procession clashes in Delhis Jahangirpuri area, just a day after the violence broke out between two groups, police said on Sunday. 5 more accused persons arrested in connection with Jahangirpuri violence; further investigation is in progress, said DCP North-West Usha Rangnani 14 persons have been arrested till now. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Usha Rangnani told PTI that an FIR was registered on Saturday under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act. In Pics: Delhi's Hanuman Jayanti violence, developments caught on camera "A total of nine persons (8 police personnel and 1 civilians) were injured. All were removed to BJRM hospital. One Sub-inspector sustained a bullet injury. His condition is stable," said the police official. Sections 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 323, 427, 436, 307, 120B IPC read with 27 Arms Act aev also been charged. Security ramped up in Meerut, Lucknow and Noida After communal violence in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh has been put on high alert. Security arrangements have been ramped up in Meerut, Lucknow and Noida. Delhi Hanuman Jayanti violence Violent clashes broke out between two groups during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Delhis Jahangirpuri area. Also Read: Stone pelting incident reported in Karnataka's Hubli, Section 144 imposed The violence left nine people, including eight policemen injured. Earlier, Delhi Police registered an FIR. "We have lodged an FIR into the incident and an investigation has been initiated," Special Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, New Delhi, Dependra Pathak told IANS. The area where the clashes took place continues to be under heavy police security cover. Amit Shah directs tougher actions Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday spoke with Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Depender Pathak over Jahangirpuri violence and asked them to maintain law and order. Shah, in a telephonic conversation with both the officers, also took stock of the situation after stone-pelting in Delhi`s Jahangirpuri following clashes between members of two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession this evening. Live TV Delhi Jahangirpuri violence: Fourteen people, including the "main conspirators" Ansar and Aslam, were arrested over the violence in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri, where an uneasy calm prevailed on Sunday as companies of anti-riot police patrolled the streets and people mostly stayed indoors. To cool tensions, the Delhi Police held a meeting with members of Aman (peace) Committees, and asked them to counter any rumours and appeal to people in their areas to maintain peace. Adarsh Nagar BJP Councillor Garima Gupta blamed illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for the violence and tried to raise the issue during the meeting. But, the police officer in the meeting told her she was digressing from the issue, she said. Eight police personnel and a local were injured in stone-pelting and arson after clashes broke out between two communities in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday evening. Some vehicles were also torched. Security has been beefed up in and around C and D blocks. Barricades have been put up and police personnel deployed at every 200 metres, police said. While some members of the two communities alleged that actions of the other side triggered the violence, a few locals said the two communities have been living in the area peacefully for decades and blamed "outsiders" for the violence. BJP demanded a probe into the role of "illegal immigrants" in the incident and blamed the "ideology of appeasement" pursued by previous governments over the last 70 years for communal riots across the country. On the other hand, the Congress accused those in power of lacking empathy and called on Delhiites to stay united. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Usha Rangnani said an FIR was registered on Saturday under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Arms Act. Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the FIR, she said. One of the arrested accused, Md. Aslam, fired a bullet that hit a Delhi Police sub-inspector. The pistol used by him has been recovered from his possession, the DCP said, adding that he has also been found to be involved in a previous case. The injured are being treated at Babu Jagjeevan Ram Memorial Hospital. The condition of the sub-inspector who received the bullet injury is stated to be stable, Rangnani said. One of the "main conspirators" behind the violence, Ansar (35), a resident of Jahangirpuri, was also found to be involved in two cases of assault and arrested a few times under preventive sections, she said. Deependra Pathak, Special Commissioner (Law and Order-Zone 1) said efforts are being made to identify other accused through CCTV and other video footage. "Right now, the situation is totally under control. We have our additional force deployed here. We have done peace committee meetings and are also in touch with the prominent residents of the areas. They gave assurances that they would maintain peace in their respective areas," he said. "Drones and facial recognition software are being used to identify those involved in creating the ruckus. All mobile footage and CCTV cameras installed in and around the vicinity are being scanned to identify the culprits and trace them," he added. There was a heavy police deployment in C Block, the epicentre of the communal clash. Shops near the mosque in C Block remained shut. Mukesh, a shopkeeper who stays near the mosque, said those who tried to disrupt peace in the area must have been "outsiders". "I have been staying here for the last 35 years but have never seen such violence in this area. Hindus and Muslims live here peacefully. People who were part of the procession must have been outsiders and not locals," he said. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said the clashes in Jahangirpuri are under investigation and all should wait for the outcome. He also hit out at opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, over their joint statement expressing deep concern over the recent incidents of hate speech and communal violence, saying this "selective politics" is "harmful" for the country. Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala urged the people of Delhi to take it upon themselves to stay united and alert. "Delhi be alert..Delhi be safe?Delhi stay united. "Violence, riots and frenzy will not make religion 'safe', neither will anyone be strong, yes, our India will definitely become weak," Surjewala said. He accused those in power of lacking empathy. A delegation of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) met Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and submitted a memorandum demanding that culprits be identified and strict action be taken against them. According to a memorandum handed over to Asthana by the VHP delegation, the right-wing group said if the Delhi Police was not capable of providing adequate security, then Bajrang Dal members, who were part of Saturday's procession, would have to make their own security arrangements. Saturday's clash was the first communal flare-up in the national capital since the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi which had left over 50 dead and scores injured. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condoled the death of Bilquis Edhi, a Pakistani philanthropist and said that her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. "My sincere condolences on the passing of Bilquis Edhi. Her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. People in India to remember her fondly. May her soul rest in peace," PM Modi tweeted on Saturday. My sincere condolences on the passing of Bilquis Edhi. Her life long dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. People in India too remember her fondly. May her soul rest in peace. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 16, 2022 Earlier, the Indian embassy in Pakistan also expressed condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Bano Edhi. High Commission of India expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Edhi. Hers and Edhi foundation's humanitarian assistance is well appreciated across borders. RIP @Edhiorg#Edhi India in Pakistan (@IndiainPakistan) April 16, 2022 "High Commission of India expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Edhi. Hers and Edhi foundation`s humanitarian assistance is well appreciated across borders. RIP" tweeted the Indian embassy. Who was Bilquis Edhi? A notable social activist, Bilquis Edhi was the founder of the Edhi Foundation, a social welfare organization in Pakistan. Bilquis Bano was professionally a nurse and has come to be known as the Mother of Pakistan due to her notable work in the field of philanthropy. Bilquis adopted a specially-abled Indian girl Geeta, who was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers at the Lahore railway station when she was just seven or eight years old. However, Geeta was later brought to India from Pakistan back in 2015. Banos charity runs many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. Together with her husband, their charity has saved over 16,000 unwanted babies by placing jhoolas (cradles) at Edhi Homes and centres across the country. Bilquis, whose death was confirmed by her son Faisal Edhi, passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 74 on Friday, reported the Dawn newspaper. According to a spokesperson of the Edhi Foundation, Bilquis was suffering from "multiple ailments". "She had heart problems in addition to lung issues," the media outlet quoted him as saying. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi, and former premier Imran Khan, among others, also expressed grief on the demise of Bilquis Bano Edhi. Live TV New Delhi: At least 14 persons were killed in lightning strikes and severe storms accompanied by heavy showers that lashed several districts of Assam, officials said on Sunday (April 17, 2022). The incessant thunderstorms and rains have lashed several parts of Assam since Thursday. The death toll in storms, lightning and heavy rainfall in Assam rises to 14: State Disaster Management Authority ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022 The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said storms, rains and lightning lashed 12 districts during the last 48 hours affecting around 20,300 people in 592 villages. The storm uprooted scores of trees, many electric poles, damaged 7,400 houses in Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup (Rural), Nalbari, Chirang, Darrang, Cachar, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, Udalguri and Goalpara districts. Four people were killed in Dibrugarhs Kherni village on Friday evening due to the massive storm. At least four people were killed in a thunderstorm in Tingkong revenue village in Dibrugarh district on Friday evening after a strong storm lashed out and uprooted trees in the area, said Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Dibrugarh district project officer, Deepjyoti Hatikakoti. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has predicted that heavy rainfall and thundershowers are likely to continue at a few places over Assam and Meghalaya. Live TV Chandigarh: A major fire broke out on Sunday at a chemical factory in the Kundli industrial area of Haryana's Sonipat district, a police official said. He said about 50 fire tenders, many of them from neighbouring Delhi, were pressed into the service to douse the flames. Methanol and some other chemicals were kept in the factory, the police official from Sonipat told PTI over the phone. He, however, said no one is stated to be trapped inside the factory complex. "About 50 fire tenders, many among them summoned from Sonipat and neighbouring Haryana districts as well as from Delhi are trying to bring the flames under control," he said. A fire has broken out in a chemical factory in the Kundli area of Sonipat, Haryana. On the special request of Haryana, the Delhi fire service also sent its firefighters for the operation. The cause of the fire is not yet known: Delhi Fire Service pic.twitter.com/ml5PRPqpEu ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022 The cause of the fire is not immediately known, though a short-circuit may be the reason, he said. Live TV New Delhi: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth will arrive in India on Sunday (April 17, 2022) for an eight-day visit aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas. Mauritius PM will be accompanied by his spouse Kobita Jugnauth and a high-level delegation. The Mauritius Premier is arriving in India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mauritius PM is scheduled to participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar on April 19 along with PM Modi and the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on April 20. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, Mauritius PM will also pay a visit to Varanasi apart from his official engagements in Gujarat and New Delhi. "India and Mauritius enjoy uniquely close ties, bound by shared history, culture, and heritage. The upcoming visit will further strengthen the vibrant bilateral ties," MEA said. Mauritius has been among the beneficiaries of Indias Neighbourhood First policy and has benefited from several India-backed infrastructure projects. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary to the Cabinet of Mauritius NK Ballah in New Delhi and said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries was "progressing from strength to strength". Earlier in January, PM Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth had jointly inaugurated the India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually. They also launched the Civil Service College and 8 MW Solar PV Farm project in Mauritius that is being undertaken under India`s development support. (With ANI inputs) Live TV Hubballi: A large number of people allegedly went on a rampage damaging many police vehicles, a nearby hospital and a Hanuman temple in the old town of Hubballi in Karnataka and injured some police officers on duty over a social media post in the early hours of Sunday, police said. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been clamped in Hubballi city, police added. "Around 40 people have been arrested and some FIRs have been registered. Twelve of our officers on duty were injured and some police vehicles were damaged. We have taken all precautionary measures so that such incidents do not occur again. We will not spare those who have taken the law into their hands," Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram told reporters. According to him, someone had posted a social media post, which others took objection to and lodged a police complaint. Subsequently, the person was arrested and a case was registered. Not satisfied with the action, some people started gathering around the police station. They were persuaded and later dispersed from the spot. Around midnight, a large number of people once again started gathering around the police station, the officer said, adding that their leaders were summoned to the station and apprised about the action taken so far. However, the mob outside the station was not ready to listen to them and they went on a rampage, Labhu Ram said, adding that the mob damaged some police vehicles as they resorted to stone-pelting. In this incident, about a dozen police officers have sustained injuries, the police commissioner said. "We will not spare those who took law into their hands. We have taken all preventive measures to stop repetition of such incident," Labhu Ram said. The use of a huge number of stones made police suspect that a truckload of stones and bricks were used in the crime. Speaking to reporters in Hosapete, the district headquarters town of the newly carved Vijayanagara district, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai termed it as an organised attack and said those organisations behind it should know that the state will not tolerate such incidents. "I want to tell very clearly that whoever takes law into their hands, our police will not hesitate from taking stringent action against them (rioters). Whoever they may be... Hence, whoever is behind it and instigated the mob will be punished. I want to tell the organisations behind such incidents, not to break the law. Karnataka state will not tolerate it," Bommai said. He also appealed to the people not to give different political colour to this incident as it should be looked at from the law and order point of view. Replying to a query, "If a large number of people gather outside the police station, certainly it means that it was an organised crime." State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said some police officers have sustained injuries, including the inspector of Old Town police station. "A police officer is in a serious condition. Some people involved in the attack have been arrested. It was a pre-planned attack. The miscreants wanted to create Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondahalli like incident in Hubballi," Jnanendra said. The Home Minister was referring to the 2020 riot in Bengaluru where about 4,000 Muslims set on fire the residence of Congress MLA from Pulakeshi Nagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy and his sister over a social media post by his relative. The mob then torched many vehicles and set the DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations afire. In that incident, four people were killed including three in police firing. Reacting to the Hubballi rampage, senior BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal demanded that the government should act tough against the miscreants in a way that they should never think of repeating the incident. Denouncing the incident, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said it was not proper for vested interests to create rift between communities for their personal gain. In a series of tweets, the JD(S) second-in-command said those who took law into their hands should have reposed faith in the system. "For the past few days communal cauldron is boiling. It hurts everyone. It should not continue. The Hubballi incident shows that we have not learnt any lessons from the past," Kumaraswamy said. Bhopal: Some members of the Muslim community on Saturday (April 16, 2022) said they have decided to approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court against the "selective" demolition drive launched by the BJP government in the state, under which it has started razing the houses of those who were allegedly involved in the recent violence in Khargone city and a few other places. Stating that the demolition drive has rendered several people homeless, a Muslim cleric asked why the government was punishing the family members of those who were allegedly involved in the riots. The state government has launched the drive against "illegal" properties allegedly belonging to those involved in the stone-pelting and other forms of violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession on April 10. Several Muslim religious leaders in the state have earlier alleged that members of the community were being unfairly targeted by the authorities following the violence, and houses were demolished in some cases without due process. "I have asked the advocates from our community to move the high court against the selective demolition drive going on in the state. We are certainly going to move the high court against this unilateral drive," Bhopal Shahar Qazi Syed Mushtaque Ali Nadwi told PTI over phone on Saturday. ALSO READ | Noida police on high alert, conducts flag march after communal clashes in Delhi When asked how many houses belonging to Muslims have been demolished in Khargone so far, he said that it will be known once the curfew was lifted. "The society is run by law. A person who commits a crime should be punished, not his family. Why are houses being demolished if one member of a family commits some mistake," the cleric said, adding that many families were rendered homeless as a result of the government's drive. He also said that CCTV cameras are being installed in mosques across the state, especially in Bhopal, having a large population of Muslims after a stone was allegedly thrown at a Ram Navami procession sparked off violence and communal tension in Khargone. Earlier, Nadwi had told PTI that CCTV footage will show from where stones were thrown during such incidents. He had also said that the demolition of 'illegal structures' of those allegedly involved in violence in Khargone was totally wrong. Earlier this week, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had warned that his government will not spare anyone found indulging in riots and also justified the demolition of 'illegal structures' belonging to those allegedly involved in Khargone. Taking a cue from the MP government, the BJP dispensation in Gujarat also used bulldozers on Friday to remove "illegal" structures as well as some vegetation in Khambhat town where a Ram Navami procession had allegedly come under attack last Sunday. Live TV New Delhi: Amid the ongoing loudspeaker row, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday (April 17, 2022), while addressing a press conference, clarified that his demand to remove loudspeakers from mosques has not stemmed from his opposition to the offering of the prayers by Muslims. Thackeray also said that his party doesnt want any riots in Maharashtra. We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. But if you (Muslims) do it on loudspeaker, then we'll also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law. After May 3, I'll see what to do, said Raj Thackeray. We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. But if you (Muslims) do it on loudspeaker, then we'll also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law.After May 3,I'll see what to do: Raj Thackeray,MNS pic.twitter.com/SwtsJIPiq5 ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022 Raj Thackeray on Delhi Jahangirpuri violence While talking about the attack on a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday, Raj Thackeray said, "I think that such things should be answered in a similar manner, otherwise, those people will not understand..." "If our processions are attacked then we won't stay calm. Our hands are not tied. Don't force us to pick up weapons," he added. Raj Thackeray to visit Ayodhya in June Raising the pitch for Hindutva, MNS president Raj Thackeray on Sunday said he will visit Ayodhya on June 5 to take darshan of Lord Ram and appealed to "Hindu brothers" to "be prepared" if loudspeakers are not removed from mosques by May 3. Stating that loudspeakers relaying the 'azan' call is more a social issue than a religious one, Raj Thackeray said they don't want peace in the society disturbed, "but if the use of loudspeakers continues then they (Muslims) will also have to listen to our prayers on loudspeakers". "On May 1, I will address a public gathering at Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). On June 5, I will visit Ayodhya for darshan along with MNS volunteers. I also appeal to others to come to Ayodhya," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president told a press conference in Pune. Earlier, during the Gudi Padwa rally, Raj Thackeray had issued an ultimatum to shut down loudspeakers in mosques by May 3, as the Azaan row escalated in the state. Following his statement, the Maharashtra government had taken a strong stand against Thackeray. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut even compared Raj Thackeray's role in Maharashtra with that of Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh. "There were attempts to jeopardise peace in Maharashtra but people and police here are peaceful. Some people had mission to provoke riots in name of Ram and Hanuman through 'new Owaisi'...'Hindu Owaisi' of the state...We won't let that happen," Raut said on Sunday. Even Lord Ram will be restless over developments: Sanjay Raut Meanwhile, in a veiled barb at BJP, Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that stoking communal fires in the name of Shriram is an insult to the very "idea of Lord Ram". Lord Ram will be restless over the developments in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, where communal clashes on Ram Navami led to the imposition of curfew, Raut added. In his weekly column "Rokhthok", Raut wrote, "if someone wants to stoke the fire of fundamentalism and disturb the peace to win elections, they are sowing seeds of a second Partition". Referring to communal clashes in various parts of the country on Ram Navami on April 10, Raut stated it was not a good sign. "Earlier, Ram Navami processions were all about culture and religion. But now swords are brandished and communal discord is created. Ruckus was created outside mosques resulting in violence," he alleged. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Noida police have been put on high alert and carried out a flag march to ensure peace in the city after violent and presumably communal clashes broke out in the neighbouring Delhi on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. "After Delhi`s sensitive incident, a flag march is underway by police with the goal to create an atmosphere of faith and security for the public. I appeal to the public to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours," Love Kumar, Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order) told ANI. Noida, UP | After Delhi's sensitive incident (on April 16 in Jahangirpuri), a flag march is underway by police with the goal to create an atmosphere of faith &security for the public; appeal to public to maintain peace & not pay heed to rumours: Love Kumar, Joint CP (Law & Order) pic.twitter.com/viXizQbNlN ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 16, 2022 On Saturday, clashes broke out and turned violent after stone-pelting incidents were reported from the Jahangirpuri area in the national capital during a Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra. Some people, including two policemen, have been injured and Delhi police have deployed heavy security in the area. As per the police, a case has been registered and the probe is underway. "Case registered and investigation started... the police team present on the spot immediately contained the situation in the clash during Shobha Yatra in Jahangirpuri and maintained peace and order. A few policemen got injured in the process," said Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Depender Pathak. Pathak added that the situation is under total control and the atmosphere is peaceful. What happened so far Meanwhile, heavy security forces were deployed in the Jahangirpuri area to maintain a law and order situation. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also condemned the violence and appealed for maintaining peace. Central govt has the responsibility to maintain peace in the national capital; appeal to people to maintain peace," the Chief Minister said. Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke with Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Depender Pathak over Jahangirpuri violence and asked them to maintain law and order, said official sources. Shah, in a telephonic conversation with both the officers, also took stock of the situation after stone-pelting in Delhi`s Jahangirpuri. According to the officials, the home minister has also directed the officers to take strict action against the miscreants. Live TV New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 17) shared a magazine based on the last episode of Mann ki Baat. The Prime Minister also asked people to join the next episode of his monthly radio address on April 24. "Here is an interesting magazine on last month`s #MannKiBaat in which we discussed diverse topics like India`s exports jump, Ayurveda start-ups, water conservation and traditional fairs. Do join the next episode on the 24th", tweeted PM Modi. (sic) Here is an interesting magazine on last months #MannKiBaat in which we discussed diverse topics like Indias exports jump, Ayurveda start-ups, water conservation and traditional fairs. Do join the next episode on the 24th. https://t.co/zXUYIrR3bk Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 17, 2022 `Mann ki Baat` is a radio programme, aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month, through which Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his last edition of `Mann ki Baat` had called upon start-ups in the health sector especially those in the Ayush sector to put their content online in all languages recognized by the United Nations and not just remain restricted to English. The Prime Minister underlined that the Ayush manufacturing industry is reaching around Rs 1.40 lakh crore rupees and expressed confidence that Ayush Start-Ups from India with better quality products will reign all over the world. He also urged the listeners to save every drop of water and also recycle and reuse water whenever possible and urged the children to be at the forefront of water conservation efforts. The Prime Minister also shared several examples from across the country of the people who have made water conservation their life mission. PM Modi also talked about the week-long `Madhavpur Mela` held in the village of Madhavpur near the sea at Porbandar in Gujarat during his last episode of `Mann ki Baat`. Live TV New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his two-day Gujarat visit on Monday (April 18, 2022) to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects. During the visit to his home state, PM Modi will also visit the Command and Control Centre for Schools in Gandhinagar. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Modi will visit the command and control centre for schools in Gandhinagar on April 18 and the next day, he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects at Banas Dairy Sankul in Diyodar in Banaskantha. On the same day, he will lay the foundation stone of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar. On April 20, the prime minister will inaugurate the Global AYUSH Investment & Innovation Summit at Gandhinagar and will later attend the Adijati Maha Sammelan in Dahod and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects. PM Modi at Command and Control Centre for Schools Giving details, the PMO said that Prime Minister Modi will visit the Command and Control Centre for Schools in Gandhinagar at around 6 PM. It added that the Centre collects over 500 crore data sets annually and analyzes them meaningfully using big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, in order to enhance overall learning outcomes for students. The Centre helps track daily online attendance of teachers and students, undertake centralised summative and periodic assessments of the learning outcome of students. It has been deemed a global best practice by the World Bank, which has also invited other countries to visit and learn about it, the PMO noted. PM Modi at Banas Dairy Sankul in Diyodar, Banaskantha As per his office, Prime Minister Modi will dedicate to the nation a new dairy complex and potato processing plant at Diyodar, Banaskantha district, built at a cost of over Rs 600 crores at around 9:40 AM on April 19. The new dairy complex is a greenfield project and will enable the processing of about 30 lakh litres of milk, produce about 80 tonnes of butter, one lakh litres of ice cream, 20 tonnes of condensed milk (Khoya) and 6 tonnes of chocolate daily. The potato processing plant will produce different types of processed potato products like french fries, potato chips, aloo tikki, patties etc, many of which will be exported to other countries. These plants will empower the local farmers and give a boost to the rural economy in the region, the PMO stated. Prime Minister Modi will also dedicate the Banas Community Radio Station to the nation. This Community Radio Station has been established to provide farmers with key scientific information related to agriculture and animal husbandry. It is expected that the radio station will connect with over 5 lakh farmers of about 1700 villages. Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the expanded facilities for the production of cheese products and whey powder at the Banas dairy plant in Palanpur. Also, the Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation, Organic Manure and Biogas plant established at Dama, Gujarat. Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of four gobar gas plants of 100 tonnes capacity to be established at Khimana, Ratanpura Bhildi, Radhanpur and Thawar. WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine Prime Minister Modi will also lay the foundation stone of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar on April 19 at around 3:30 PM, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus. GCTM will be the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world. Global AYUSH Investment & Innovation Summit Prime Minister Modi will then inaugurate the Global AYUSH Investment & Innovation Summit, to be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, on April 20 at around 10:30 AM. The Summit will help uncover investment potential and give a fillip to innovation, research & development, start-up ecosystem, and the wellness industry. PM Modi at Adijati Maha Sammelan in Dahod Prime Minister Modi will also attend the Adijati Maha Sammelan in Dahod on April 20 at around 3:30 PM, where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects worth around Rs 22,000 crore. The Sammelan is expected to witness the participation of over 2 lakh people. Live TV Wallace Community College-Dothan (WCCD) and SpectraCare Health Systems have expanded their partnership to include an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on both the Wallace campus in Dothan and the Sparks campus in Eufaula. The initial partnership, launched in the fall of 2021, was designed to meet the mental health needs of Wallace students. This expansion will allow Wallace faculty and staff access to the SpectraCare mental health care as well. I am delighted that the college can expand these services to our staff and faculty, said Mickey Baker, WCCD dean of Student Affairs & Sparks Campus. Since some are part of the Sandwich Generation, the challenges of caring for both children and aging parents have become mentally exhausting during this pandemic. With the assistance of SpectraCare, our staff and faculty will have access to mental health support 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Wallace Community College genuinely cares about the well-being of our faculty, staff and students, and this expanded partnership with SpectraCare to provide mental health services to our employees affirms this commitment, said Dr. Ryan Spry, WCCD director of Student and Campus Services. We are appreciative of all those involved who have made this vision a reality! Melissa Kirkland, SpectraCare chief executive officer, reports as employees are experiencing increased stress, anxiety, worries and fears, employers like WCCD are concerned about how to help provide support to their employees. Taking care of our mental health needs has never been so important, says Kirkland. SpectraCare is pleased to partner with WCCD once gain to insure everyone has access to the care they need. Kirkland states it is important for individuals in need to access mental health care quickly and easily, and Wallace faculty and staff will have access to a toll-free telephone number to be connected to care. Virtual counseling sessions are available if needed, and the sessions are available at no cost. If necessary, family counseling can also be offered. New Delhi: Amid rising incidents of violent clashes in various parts of the country, a stone-pelting incident has been reported in Karnataka`s Hubli city. The mob pelted stones at the old Hubli police station in which four policemen were injured on Saturday night, reported ANI. Section 144 has been imposed in Hubli city amid fear of violence and disharmony. What happened in Karnataka According to ANI, the mob which gathered outside the police station suddenly turned violent and started pelting stones at the police station and police vehicles. There are reports that the mob demanded action against a person who kept objectionable WhatsApp status. In an effort to disperse the mob, the police resorted to lathi-charge but the mob went berserk then police used tear gas shells and dispersed them. There are also reports of protesters pelting stones from nearby Hanuman temple and a hospital."A stone-pelting incident took place at Old Hubli Police Station. Section 144 imposed in Hubli Four policemen including one inspector were injured in the incident. Section 144 was imposed in the entire city and the situation is under control," said Police Commissioner Labhu Ram. A case has been registered and an investigation is underway in the matter. Communal clashes in Delhi On Saturday, clashes broke out and turned violent after stone-pelting incidents were reported from the Jahangirpuri area in the national capital during a Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra. Some people, including two policemen, have been injured and Delhi police have deployed heavy security in the area. As per the police, a case has been registered and the probe is underway. (With ANI inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Ranbir Kapoor who recently tied the knot with Alia Bhatt in a private ceremony on April 14 has reportedly returned back to work the day after his post-wedding party. The actor was spotted making his first casual appearance after the wedding on Sunday (April 17). Paps caught a glimpse of the actor as he headed out for work in a blue shirt and biege pants. He waved at paps and gestured at them with a thumbs up sign. Celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani shared a glimpse of the actor as he was out and about. Fans were impressed by his decision to return to work so soon after his wedding. One fan even asked the actor why he didn't take a holiday for his honeymoon. Take a look: For the unversed, Newlywed couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt had hosted their post wedding bash on Saturday (April 16) at RK's home Vastu which was attended by several celebrities such as Karisma Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, etc. It was certainly a star-studded affair and marked the end of Ranbir and Alia's flamboyant wedding festivities. Many celebs such as Karisma Kapoor and Riddhima Kapoor had shared pictures from the party on their Instagram. Coming to Ranbir and Alia's love story, the two fell in love with each other five years ago, when they started filming for Ayan Mukerjis Brahamastra. The movie is expected to hit the theatres on September 9, 2022. New Delhi: The Central government is expected to roll out the 11th installment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) in the coming weeks. The monetary benefit will be provided to all the eligible beneficiaries. So, if your name isnt added to the PM Kisan beneficiary list, you should do it right away. For the unversed, PM Kisan Yojana is a centre sponsored scheme that aims to provide financial benefits to poor farmers in the country. The government transfers Rs 6000 annually directly into the bank accounts of eligible farmers. The financial benefit is transferred into the bank accounts of eligible farmers in three installments each of Rs 2000 in a year. PM Kisan Yojana 11th Installment Date Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 10th PM Kisan installment in the month of January 2022 via video conferencing. However, As of now, the government hasnt announced the final date for the release of the PM Kisan 11th installment. However, it is expected that the fund will be transferred to the accounts of beneficiaries in the coming weeks. PM Kisan Yojana: How to Add Name Step 1: Farmers can add their names to PM Kisan Yojana by visiting the official PM Kisan Yojana portal at www.pmkisan.gov.in. Step 3: You will need to visit the Farmers Corner which is located on the right side of the homepage of the official PM Kisan Yojana. Step 4: You will now need to select the New farmer registration option. Step 5: A registration form will appear on the screen. Step 6: Enter the details on the form. Also Read: Twitter board must be concerned about other bidders not me: Elon Musk Step 7: You will need to click the Submit button. Also Read: GST Council may do away with 5% rate; move items to 3% & 8% slabs Live TV #mute New Delhi: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has proposed to acquire Twitter for $43 billion, claiming that he wants to tap into the company's enormous potential. According to Musk, Twitter has the potential to be a global platform for free speech. Musk's revelation earlier this week sparked a rush of comments. Former Reddit Chief Executive Officer Yishan Wong was among those who reacted to the news, taking to Twitter to explain how protecting free expression differs in today's environment from the "old-internet days" of the late 1990s. In his Twitter thread, Wong wrote, "There was an old internet culture, roughly Web 1.0 (late 1990s) and early Web 2.0, pre-Facebook (pre-2005), that had a really strong free speech culture." Wong claimed that "free expression" meant "freedom from religious conservatives seeking to shut down porn" in the "old internet" days. "It's not that the theory isn't legitimate (it is), it's just that the practical challenges surrounding upholding that principle have changed as the world has evolved," Wong explained. For older industry titans like Elon Musk, the internet offered a new frontier, according to the former Reddit CEO. "The internet is not a "border" where individuals can go "to be free," he said, "it's where the entire globe is now, and every culture war is being fought on it." "It's the most important battleground in our culture wars." "Every side is seeking to take away the other side's speech rights," Wong argues. He went on to say that people of all ideological shades believe social media is biassed against them. "All of my left-wing woke pals believe that social media sites support white racist misogynistic patriarchy," Wong stated. "All of my alt/center-right/libertarian pals are certain that social media platforms promote the woke BLM/Marxist/LGBTQ agenda." Musk and other Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1980) tech pioneers, according to Wong, were "vaguely left-wing but also center-right." "(They're) witnessing their version of "censorship" and drawing all the wrong assumptions about what's going on with social platform management," Wong wrote. Musk, according to Wong, does not grasp what happened to culture after 2004. "I know he doesn't," Wong added, "since he was late to Bitcoin and would've been on Bitcoin a lot sooner if he'd been tuned in to internet culture." Wong issued a warning to Musk if he decides to make Twitter private: "He is in for a world of pain. He is completely unaware." Live TV #mute New Delhi: Television star Anita Hassanandani set fire on Instagram with her latest clicks in a stunning monokini, bathtub photoshoot. On Saturday, she took to Instagram to share a couple of photos of her dressed in a black and red monokini and a sheer, white shrug. The actress mentioned that she had lost a bit of weight and joked that she felt like a Victoria Secret model because of that. Anita seemed to be posing her spacious bathroom before heading to the swimming pool while her son was sleeping and her husband was getting a massage. She revealed that the pictures were taken by her nanny who played the photographer. Along with picture, she wrote in the caption, "Little weight loss and Im posing like a Victoria secret model. Some raw unedited pre pool pics while Aaravv was asleep hubby was getting a massage had our Nanny play the photographer." Take a look at her post: Anita Hassanandani and businessman husband Rohit Reddy were blessed with their son Aaravv on February 9, 2021. The good news was shared by Rohit on social media. Aaravv also has a separate Instagram account that is handled by his parents. Anita Hassanandani was first seen in 1999 release Taal in a small appearance. Later, she featured in a couple of Telugu and Tamil movies as well. However, it was in Balaji Telefilms' Kabhii Sautan Kabhii Sahelii, Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat, Kohi Apna Sa, Lavanya etc that she set her mark. She earned massive recognition in Ekta Kapoor's yet another TV production Kkavyanjali'. New Delhi: At least 36 civilians, including children, were killed after Pakistani aircraft launched airstrikes in different parts of Afghanistan on Friday, media reports claimed. Following this, Taliban authorities on Saturday summoned Pakistan`s ambassador in Kabul to protest against military strikes in Afghanistan's Khost and Kunar provinces by Pakistani forces. Pakistan, however, denied it carried out the strikes and claimed that militants carry out attacks inside Pakistan by crossing its lawless western border with Afghanistan. Taliban authorities say they have controlled the attacks since taking over the country in August last year. A statement from Afghanistan`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistan`s Ambassador in Kabul had been summoned over the recent attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces and given a diplomatic demarche to deliver to Islamabad. "Military violations including those in Khost and Kunar must be prevented as such acts deteriorate relations ... allowing antagonists to misuse the situation leading to undesired consequences," the statement quoted acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as saying. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the strikes, but a local Taliban leader in Khost, Mawlawi Mohammad Raes Helal, said two districts were bombed by Pakistani helicopters and that 36 people had been killed. There, however, was no official confirmation of the death toll. Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, there have been numerous standoffs along the 2,600 km border with Pakistan - drawn by British colonial rulers and disputed by Kabul. Increasingly frustrated by continuing militant attacks, Pakistan`s military has stepped up operations along the Afghan border in recent months. (With agency inputs) Live TV Kyiv: The continuing siege of the port city of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his country's journalists in an interview. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol, what they are doing now, can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said on Saturday. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelensky said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Earlier, he estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had died in the war, and about 10,000 had been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Meanwhile, Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old son's body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital, Klitschko said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. As the U.S. And Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraine's defenses ahead of what's expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant Friday. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military has intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Friday's attack killed civilians and wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian president's office reported. On Saturday an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday's toll was three dead and 34 wounded. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Kyiv: Russia`s defence ministry has told the Ukrainian forces still fighting in the besieged southern port of Mariupol to lay down their arms starting 6 a.m. Moscow time (0300 GMT) on Sunday to save their lives. Russia`s earlier claim that its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol, scene of the war`s heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to have fallen to Russian forces since the Feb. 24 invasion. Moscow said the remaining fighters in Mariupol - who it says are both Ukrainian and foreign - are blockaded in the Azovstal steelworks plant. "Taking into account the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, as well as being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries from 06:00 (Moscow time) on April 17, 2022, to stop any hostilities and lay down their arms," the defence ministry said in a statement. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared." Under the terms of deal proposed by Russia on Saturday, the remaining defenders in the Azovstal plant would leave between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. Moscow time, without weapons or ammunition. The start of the surrender would be indicated by raising flags, the ministry said: "From the Russian side - red; from the Ukrainian side - white, around the whole perimeter of Azovstal." There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the offer. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Saturday of "deliberately trying to destroy everyone" in Mariupol and said his government was in touch with the defenders. But he did not address Moscow`s claim that Ukrainian forces were no longer in urban districts. "I want to be heard correctly right now: there has not been a single day since the beginning of the blockade of Mariupol that we have not been seeking a solution - military or diplomatic," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. "But finding this solution is extremely difficult. Until now, there has not been a 100% realistic option." Mariupol, with its strategic location on the coast of the Azov Sea, has been a target since the start of the war. It lies on the route between the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea to the west, and the Donetsk region to the east, which has been partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. The Russian defence ministry said also that it has "evacuated" 168,000 people out of Mariupol so far. Ukraine has said that thousands have been forcefully departed. Efforts to evacuate civilians from Mariupol - some with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross - have repeatedly broken down, with both sides blaming each other. The total capture of Mariupol would give Russia an option to build a land bridge to Crimea and control the entire north shore of the Sea of Azov. Live TV The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following Russia's failure to storm the capital and the loss of its Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave a deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were guaranteed to keep their lives, but the Ukrainians did not submit. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldn't be independently verified. Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after a botched attempt to take Kyiv. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for a full-scale offensive in Donbas, the country's eastern industrial heartland where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. In a reminder that no part of Ukraine was immune until the war ends, Russian forces carried out new missile strikes Sunday near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraine's military capacity before the anticipated assault in the east. After the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command vowed Friday to step up missile strikes on the capital. The Russian military said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Russia renewed attacks on Kyiv after accusing Ukrainian forces of airstrikes on Russian territory that wounded seven people and damaged about 100 residential buildings in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a Saturday strike on what Russia's Defense Ministry identified as an armored vehicle plant killed one person and wounded several. He advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. The Russian military also claimed Sunday to have destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars in the east, near Sievierodonetsk, as well as several ammunition depots elsewhere. Explosions were reported overnight in Kramatorsk, an eastern city where rockets killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate before the expected Russian offensive. The ongoing siege and relentless bombardment of Mariupol has come at a terrible cost, with officials estimating Russians had killed at least 21,000 people. Just 120,000 people remain in the city, out of a prewar population of 450,000. Malyar, the deputy defense minister, said the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to beef up their ground forces. Capturing the city with a land area about half the size of Hong Kong's would mark Russia's first palpable success after two months of fighting and help reassure the Russian public amid the worsening economic situation from Western sanctions. It would allow Russia to secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and prized industrial assets. Mariupol's seizure also would make more troops available for a new offensive in the east, which if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a position of strength from which to pressure Ukraine into making concessions. So far, tunnels at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill, which covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles), have allowed the defenders to hide and resist until they run out of ammunition. With Russia apparently poised to declare victory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the city's fall could scuttle any attempt at a negotiated peace. Live TV Kyiv: Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the world to be prepared for the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, reported CNN. Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN, said, "Not only me -- all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried because it can be not real information, but it can be truth." "Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That`s why. We should think not be afraid, not be afraid but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world, I think," the media outlet quoted him as saying. This comes as the US officials have warned about the possibility of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if backed into a corner. "Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they`ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low yield nuclear weapons," the media outlet quoted Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns as saying. Meanwhile, comparing the losses of troops incurred by Ukraine to that of Russia, Zelenskyy claimed that as per Ukrainian officials, about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, however, Russia`s casualty numbers are 19,000 to 20,000. He added that about 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been injured in the war and it`s "hard to say how many will survive. "Speaking on civilian casualties, he said, "It is very difficult to talk about civilians, since south of our country, where the towns and cities are blocked -- Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol further east, and the area to the east where Volnovakha is -- we just don`t know how many people have died in that area that is blocked", according to the media outlet. On February 24, Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. Live TV Workers at a pangasius processing factory in Can Tho City. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long Two major seafood firms have reported a surge in revenue in the first quarter thanks to surging prices and recovering demand. Vinh Hoan Corporation, the largest listed seafood company, posted revenues of VND3.2 trillion ($139.4 million) in the first three months of this year, up 80 percent year-on-year. Pangasius has become its main export earner, with sales of this fish surging 160 percent year-on-year in February. Sao Ta Foods JSC, another seafood firm, saw its revenue surge by 39 percent year on year in the first quarter to $58.7 million. The shares of these two seafood companies have witnessed strong gains over the past time. Ticker VHC of Vinh Hoan traded at around VND102,600 on Thursday, up 53 percent since January while FMC of Sao Ta climbed to a record VND72,500, up 37 percent A recent report by the Rong Viet Securities Corporation said that pangasius exports will record a strong recovery this year due to increased global demand and supply shortage from Russia. The high selling price will last until the end of the second quarter due to increase in raw material prices. Another report by Mirae Asset Securities said Vietnamese pangasius will directly benefit from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It said Russian pollock always competes directly with Vietnamese pangasius in the world market and economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Western countries against Russia are expected to create opportunities for the Vietnamese fish. Vietnams seafood exports grew by 40 percent year-on-year to US$2.4 billion in Q1 despite direct impacts of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. The growth was led by Pangasius catfish, whose exports increased by 88 percent to $646 million and accounted for 27 percent of overall exports, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Shrimp remained the top seafood export item, accounting for 37.5 percent of the total at over $900 million, up 37 percent. Mans best friend no longer as unattended dogs cause concern in Hanoi Dogs are let free at a park in Hanoi's Tay Ho District in April 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Duc Chung has not forgotten the time when he was almost a victim of an accident but was deemed a culprit for injuring someone's dog. One late night at the end of last year, the 30-year-old from Hanois Bac Tu Liem District was driving his motorbike down a street when a dog suddenly ran out of a house and into the middle of the street and he accidentally ran over it. Chung fell with his vehicle and the owner of the dog and a few others rushed out hearing its howls of pain, grabbed him and demanded VND5 million ($218.38) for providing treatment for the animal. He explained to them that it was not his fault since the dog suddenly ran out into the street and he could not avoid it, but they refused to listen and even threatened to beat him up. Knowing he was dealing with a group of unreasonable individuals, Chung pleaded for a reduction and paid them VND2 million. He says: "I had to pay compensation because the dog was injured, but who would be responsible if I was injured? Seeing dogs roaming freely on the streets makes me angry since then." Mai Lan, 37, of Cau Giay District expresses similar frustration since she has also faced many issues because of unattended pet dogs. "The area where I live is now a public toilet for dogs raised in the area," she complains to friends, referring to many families allowing their pets to urinate and defecate wherever they wanted. Lan has to clean up piles of dog manure in front of her house every morning and wash her yard with soap water to get rid of the stench. She has no choice since she cannot identify the dogs owners and tell them to stop this. "The alley is 500m long, and there are mines (slang for dog feces) every few meters, which is very annoying". Both Lan and Chung wholeheartedly support Hanoi authorities announcement earlier this week about setting up 579 squads to capture stray dogs and cats to prevent rabies and requiring people to make pet ownership declarations. "I will definitely file a complaint and ask them to catch all the loose dogs that frequently poop around my house," Lan says. In the past she used to patiently knock on every dog owners door and offer suggestions about maintaining public cleanliness, but everyone would claim they always cleaned up after their dogs. She would get up early in the hope of catching the dogs red-handed, but no matter how early she got up it would be in vain and all she could find would be piles of feces. Arguments between people who have dogs and those who do not is so common that some in the alley once thought about pooling money and installing surveillance cameras. But, Lan says, others refused to contribute claiming cameras "should only be for preventing burglaries and not monitoring dogs". Finally the entire alley agreed that each family would clean up their own places until the culprit was found. Lan has instructed her children to watch out for poop when walking in the alley and says she has to wash her motorbikes tires before taking it into the house. Letting cats and dogs run loose also creates traffic hazards, a big threat for road users and another source of anger for people. Ha My of Hoang Mai District was a victim once. "The owner always said 'the dog is very gentle, does not bite anyone,' but it caused me to break my bones," the 28-year-old says about an accident she had in 2020. Her house is in a small alley off Ngoc Hoi Street, where many families let their dogs roam freely without muzzles and so she has to drive past this area quickly to avoid being chased by the animals. But one day she was suddenly attacked by a dog more than a year ago. She and her vehicle took a tumble, and she broke bones in her left arm and leg. The pet owner then promised to "keep a closer eye on his dog" but a few days later she again saw it roaming freely on the street. "I am upset about the owner more than the dog. People like him blame the animal but are unaware that they are responsible for the accident". Four-year-old Trung Quan, son of Hoang Van Thang of Hoang Mai district, was once attacked by a dog. When Quan and his parents went to Yen So Park in Hoang Mai District in March 2021, he was attacked by a dog weighing around 25 kg and without a leash or muzzle. A doctor at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases said the 15 cm wide wound was deep enough to damage muscle tissues and the boy needed to be monitored for infections. Thang immediately filed a complaint with the ward police and demanded an investigation but the owner was never identified. According to the Department of Animal Health, it is estimated that 400,000-500,000 people in Vietnam are bitten by dogs each year and require treatment. Rabies transmitted by cats and dogs kills 80-100 people a year. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, pet dogs that have not been vaccinated are the leading cause of rabies in humans (accounting for more than 96 percent), with cats accounting for the remaining 3.6 percent. The majority of the cases involve children under the age of 15. In the first six months of 2018 more than 6,900 people in Hanoi were treated at health facilities after being bitten by dogs. Since 2019 there has one rabies death. When pressed, many dog owners claim their pets are very obedient and are trained not to defecate or urinate in front of people's houses. Others say a dog is similar to a person and ask how they can bear being confined by a muzzle all day. But this provokes ire, including among dog owners. Minh Hoang, 30, of Thanh Xuan District who has raised dogs for many years, believes that authorities should severely punish owners instead of capturing pets. "Animals do not deserve to be condemned by society as a whole. They are unable to open the gate to go outside or remove the muzzle. Capturing the pet does not scare it or make it promise not to do it again. That is the owner's responsibility". Despite his support for Hanoi's decision to form dog catching squads, Chung does not believe it will bring about any major change. He points to similar campaigns in the past that changed nothing. Nguyen Ngoc Son, head of the city Department of Animal Health, says four inner districts, Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Ba Dinh, and Thanh Xuan, have already set up dog squads, and the department is cooperating with the other eight inner districts to set them up by 2023. In outer districts and towns, dog squads are currently "not feasible" since locals often let their dogs loose to protect their homes and other properties, and it would take time to convince them, he says. While the city has yet to decide on the composition of the proposed dog catching squads, Son says there will be six to eight people in each, including militia members, veterinarians and police officers. They will operate once or twice a week on a random schedule, and look for dogs without muzzles, urinating or defecating in public and attacking people, he adds. Sinh believes that if the city's new plan is implemented in a timely manner, it will result in changes in awareness and actions. Lan, on the other hand, is counting down the days for new regulations that prohibit owners from letting their dogs and cats out unattended to take effect. "Then I won't have to ... pick up dog poop up in sadness every morning". By 2030, Hanoi aims to manage over 90 percent of families with pets and to ensure rabies vaccination rates are at over 90 percent. There should be no more casualties due to rabies by 2030, it added. The capital currently has around 421,000-493,000 dogs and cats. Many pet owners still let their pets go outside unmuzzled and unattended. Owners of stray dogs could be fined up to VND800,000 ($35). LAS VEGAS (AP) Christy McCormick, vice chair of U.S. Election Assistance Commission, is hearing a similar message from officials who run elections nationwide: Supply shortages could bring delays as they order the paper and envelopes needed for upcoming primary and midterm elections. The dilemma is the result of global supply chain issues coupled with an increase in demand for paper brought on by the pandemic, leaving ballot vendors worried about not getting their supply in time for the elections, the Las Vegas Sun reported. We are very concerned about this issue, McCormick said in March during a U.S. House Administration Committee roundtable discussion with paper companies and election clerks to discuss how the paper shortage could affect elections. Lawmakers in Nevada, which has almost 1.8 million active registered voters, passed a law last year directing election officials to send every registered voter a mail-in ballot, unless they choose to opt out. Some counties, such as Nye, are also pushing for 100% paper ballot elections. Both processes will require election officials to increase their paper supply to print ballots. The Nevada Secretary of States office has known about the shortage for months and has reached out to county officials to recommend that they confirm with their ballot suppliers that they will get their supply in time. Joe Gloria, registrar of voters in the Las Vegas area, said he confirmed with the countys vendors that the paper shortage would not affect Clark County in printing ballots or sample ballots for the 2022 election. The county, with more than 1.2 million active registered voters, has two different vendors: One is a local vendor that does sample ballots; the other provides mail-in ballots and the envelopes those ballots require, he said. The mail ballot vendor has a proactive policy of ordering in August for regular years, Gloria said. The local vendor already ordered their paper, and as far as we know there will be no drastic price increase. Clark County notwithstanding, with primary elections already started nationally and the November midterms quickly approaching, the potential hiccup has caught the attention of federal lawmakers. U.S. Rep Rodney Davis, R-Ill., of the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over voting issues, brought together election officials and paper vendors to address the issue. Elections are a really paper-driven process, and I think that is an incredibly important thing to keep in mind, said Amy Cohen, executive director of National Association of State Election Directors, during the roundtable. We are already seeing the impacts of these supply chain challenges not just on ballots but on other kinds of paper. Shelly Jackson, deputy director of elections in Utah, told the group she wasnt as worried about her states larger counties and jurisdictions. Rather, her concerns are with smaller offices that rely on small vendors. I think some of the counties are blissfully unaware, Jackson said. I just dont think theres a lot of awareness on this. Some Nevada counties report they also arent facing a shortage. The Sun reported that clerks in Washoe, Humboldt, Nye, Lincoln and Lyon counties, said they have been proactive in ordering. Right now all of our vendors are on it, and we have what we need, said Sandra Merlino, the Nye County clerk. Bethany Drysdale, a communications manager for Washoe County, with more than 309,000 voters including Reno, wrote in an email that weve communicated with our vendors and they are stocked and prepared for both the primary and general elections. COST MAY BE ISSUE TOO Inland Press in Detroit has been producing election ballots for 30 years, company president Bradley Thompson said during the roundtable. Normally, Inland buys the paper for that years election around March, but the company ordered its paper last August instead, to be sure it would arrive in time, he said. We think we have the commitments we need for the midterm elections, Thompson said, noting he did not know how much the paper would cost. Its not on my floor yet, so I still lose a little bit of sleep over that. Thompson said he has talked with envelope manufacturers, who are also facing election-related challenges. Were worried about them having enough envelopes to mail the ballots that we will produce for them, Thompson said. Jeff Ellington, chief executive officer of Runbeck Election Services based in Phoenix, said that until the paper arrived at his company, theres a concern that it wont show up. He has also had concerns about the labor shortage and finding enough truck drivers to deliver the ballots once theyre ready. While the paper shortage is a global problem, with newspapers in Sri Lanka, for instance, deciding to halt printing, many U.S. paper mills have closed over the last several years, exacerbating the supply problem for U.S. vendors. Ford Bowers, president and CEO of PRINTING United Alliance, said during the roundtable that demand for paper products has increased in the country. For example, people ordered more items from Amazon, requiring more packaging material. Additionally, book production went up 13% last year, Bowers said. Its constrained the amount of paper thats available, Bowers said. Because many state legislatures have made changes to election forms recently, county clerks have no back stock or extra supply of forms available, Cohen said. She also had heard from states that have to delay sending their registration confirmation cards out to voters because they cannot get paper or as much paper as they would want. This is something that the states are paying very close attention to, working closely with their paper vendors, Cohen said. The ripple effects of the paper shortage are expected to be long lasting, going into multiple election cycles. Some election officials and ballot suppliers arent quite sure how things will look in the next couple of years. We dont think the demand is going to shift back now that were getting out of COVID, Bowers said at the roundtable. We have somewhat of a long-term problem that we have to face. Roundtable participants emphasized the importance of election officials planning ahead and discussing their funding sources because of the increase in costs. They suggested solutions such as incentivizing paper manufacturers to prioritize election materials and to ensure that available supply will go toward the most necessary use. I dont know if theres a way that those of us who are doing this business can get some sort of certification and designation, Thompson said, and then can the government give us some sort of priority basis of getting the material we need to get us through? Davis plans to reconvene the group before the general election to continue its collaborative efforts. The Election Assistance Commission sent out communication to its Standards Board recently, encouraging members to spread the word about the shortage. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Baku will evacuate two Azerbaijani citizens, who have been rescued after a shipwreck in Tunisia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has said. The ministry made the remarks in response to the April 16 crash of a ship sailing under the flag of Equatorial Guinea in the direction of Malta near the Tunisian city of Gabes due to bad weather "The crew of the vessel, including citizens of Azerbaijan, was not injured in the accident. Appropriate measures are currently being taken to evacuate our citizens," the ministry said. The ship's crew members were rescued by a Tunisian border vessel and hospitalized. The crew consisted of seven people, all of whom were Turkish or Azerbaijani citizens, according to the Tunisian civil defence department. The crew members were taken to the hospital, and the injured are in stable condition. The ship sank after leaving Equatorial Guinea. According to the report, the crew sent out a distress signal that was picked up by the Coast Guard. China's Shenzhou-13 mission "spent a national-record six months in orbit," with Wang Yaping becoming "the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk," U.S. space and astronomy news website Space.com reported. The success of the Shenzhou-13 mission represents a major victory of China's plan to explore space, experts from different countries have said, calling for closer international cooperation on science and technology. Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency. China's Shenzhou-13 mission "spent a national-record six months in orbit," with Wang Yaping becoming "the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk," U.S. space and astronomy news website Space.com reported. The astronauts, or taikonauts, performed two spacewalks, conducted more than 20 different science experiments and delivered two live educational lectures in space, the report said. Calling the success of the astronauts a major win for China's space exploration program, Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, pointed out that as a major developing country, China's stride in space science is an inspiration to the larger global south. By building its own space station, China will expand its scientific reach, Adhere said, adding that China's space exploration program is also open to other developing countries. For example, Beijing is working with African countries across a range of space exploration themes, the scholar noted. "Such exchange programs have significantly boosted capacity for space development programs on the continent." Lameck Odada, an economist at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, noted that China's achievements in space station construction and space exploration are extraordinary, and contribute to human efforts in space exploration. Odada expressed the expectation that China would share its breakthroughs in scientific research and technology and continue to strengthen cooperation with other countries. Saying the mission is "definitely a success," Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist and cosmologist at the Australian National University, told Xinhua that it is "important to move forward with a long-term space station and full operation." This mission has shown that China's astronauts "are capable of long-term space flight, which makes Earth's future goals and plans for the Moon and beyond exciting," Tucker said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits Maona, a village in the city of Wuzhishan, to learn about the alignment of rural vitalization with the achievements in poverty alleviation during his inspection tour in Hainan province, April 11, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING - "As long as the people from all ethnic groups across the country, under the Party's leadership, unite together with one heart and one mind and bravely and readily stand out for ourselves, we will definitely be able to overcome all the difficulties and challenges on our road ahead, and continue to create new impressive miracles." These were President Xi Jinping's words on March 5, when he joined national lawmakers from Inner Mongolia for deliberation. He used a Chinese idiom, which roughly translates to "people, if united, are as strong as a fortress," to urge Chinese people of all ethnic groups to work hard in unity. The idiom could be traced back to the Discourses of the States, a book believed to be from the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC). It signifies that when people band together, they can overcome any difficulties. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that working hard in unity is the path the Chinese people must take to make historic achievements. Chairing a symposium with experts and scholars in June 2020, Xi noted that in the face of the sudden strike of COVID-19, all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have fought as one, made all-out efforts and put in place the most rigorous, comprehensive and thorough response measures. The nation's major strategic achievements in the battle against COVID-19, Xi said, speak to the enormous power of unity when all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups pull together to tide over the difficulties. The Health Ministry issues new guidance on medical measures for F0, F1 cases. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) The new guidance gives new definitions of COVID-19 patients (or F0), and F1 cases, along with medical measures for them, which takes into account the high vaccination coverage and a strong decline in both serious cases and fatalities due to COVID-19, reported VNA. Accordingly, F0 patients are those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR method, or those who either show clinical symptoms or have epidemiological factors, and have positive antigen test result. People who have been in close contact with COVID-19 patients, or F1 cases, are now no longer required to self-quarantine (covid-19.gov.vn) Meanwhile, F1 cases are those who have direct body contact with F0(s) during the transmission period, or stay together with F0(s) within 1m in distance or in closed space for at least 15 minutes wearing masks or not, or personally care for, give checking and treatment to F0 during the transmission period without wearing personal protective equipment. The new rules require both F0 and F1 cases to follow prescribed epidemic prevention measures. Even though no longer required to self-quarantine, F1 cases are required to wear facemasks, regularly wash or disinfect hands, and avoid close contact with others. They should self-monitor their health and quickly contact medical establishments when having suspicious symptoms in order to receive testing, consultation, medical checks and treatment. The new guidance replaces the previous ones on the definition of F0 and F1 cases and relevant medical quarantine measures. Chinese Taiwan increases tea imports from Vietnamese market According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the first two months of this year, Taiwan (China) imported the highest volume of tea from Vietnam, with 2,000 tonnes, worth US$3 million, up 3.5% in volume and 0.9% in value over the same period from last year. Taiwan's tea imports from Vietnam accounts for 47.7% of its total tea imports, an increase of 5 percentage points on-year, reported VOV. The Import-Export Department under the MoIT cited data from the Taiwan Customs Administration as saying that tea imports into the Taiwanese market throughout the reviewed period reached 419,000 tons, worth US$12.56 million. The average price of imported tea from Vietnam stood at roughly US$1,519 per ton. Tea imports from Vietnam accounted for 47.7% of total tea imports of the Taiwanese market, a rise of 5 percentage points on-year. The opening two months of 2022 saw the Taiwanese market increase black tea imports from Vietnam, and reduce imports from Sri Lanka and India. The Taiwanese market imports green tea primarily from Vietnam and Japan. In which, the average import price of green tea from Vietnam is low priced at around US$1,639 per tonne, while that from Japan is high at US$11,719.4 per tonne. Algeria remains potential market for Vietnamese farm produce A consultation session on export to the Algerian market will be held on April 19 in Ho Chi Minh City as part of activities in the national programme on trade promotion in 2022, VNA quoted the sayings of Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Le Hoang Tai. There is large room for Vietnam to increase its export of coffee to Algeria. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) This will be the 7th among 30 consulting sessions on export to foreign markets hosted by the agency in coordination with trade offices of Vietnam abroad with the aim of helping Vietnamese businesses expand export market for their products. During the event, enterprises will be updated on regulations, standards, import and export conditions of the Algerian market for a number of processed farm produce and foodstuffs, Tai said. According to Tai, Algeria is one of the leading partners of Vietnam in Africa, and the two counties are striving to expand their relations across fields, including, economic, trade and investment cooperation. Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Algeria Hoang Duc Nhuan said Algeria is a potential market for Vietnamese goods. There is large room for Vietnam to increase its export of coffee to Algeria, which at present accounts for 65 percent of the country's total export value to this African market, he noted. In addition, the country also has a high demand for other commodities from Vietnam such as rice, pepper and cinnamon, cashew nuts and freshwater aquatic products, which it cannot produce. Nhuan said Vietnamese exporters should carefully study the market, particularly its policies related to tariffs, labour laws, payment methods, disputes, and debt recovery. Statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that the bilateral trade between Vietnam and Algeria is still modest, with Vietnams export turnover to Algeria reached only 153 million USD last year and 30.6 million USD in the first quarter of 2022. Wood industry fosters chief information officers to speed up digital transformation According to VNA, the National Private Economic Development Research Board and the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City have launched an initiative to develop a chief information officer network for the wood and wood processing industry to foster its digital transformation. At the ceremony to launch an initiative to develop a chief information officer network for the wood and wood processing industry. (Photo: VNA) Meant to provide professional training, help improve leadership and management capacity to create quality IT solutions and create breakthroughs for enterprises, the initiative has attracted much attention. It will seek applications from CIOs to attend a two-day training camp designed specifically for the wood industry, to be held between April and July. The training content will provide the necessary information, skills and tools for CIOs to master digitisation and digital transformation at their business. Then there will be three workshops on digital transformation, technology management and leaders' vision with industry executives taking part. The launch of the initiative also marked a tie-up between the board, which is managed by the Governments Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform, HAWA, CIO Vietnam, and the Asia Foundation in Vietnam (TAF). According to experts, digital transformation will help companies improve their capacity and corporate governance. However, since each business has different qualities, there is no common path for it and so there are also a number of different solutions, and businesses need to determine where they are in the digital transformation process to make the most accurate investment decisions, they added. The launching ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Vietnam Furniture Matching Week from April 13 to 20./. There is large room for Vietnam to increase its export of coffee to Algeria. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) This will be the 7th among 30 consulting sessions on export to foreign markets hosted by the agency in coordination with trade offices of Vietnam abroad with the aim of helping Vietnamese businesses expand export market for their products. During the event, enterprises will be updated on regulations, standards, import and export conditions of the Algerian market for a number of processed farm produce and foodstuffs, Tai said. According to Tai, Algeria is one of the leading partners of Vietnam in Africa, and the two counties are striving to expand their relations across fields, including, economic, trade and investment cooperation. Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Algeria Hoang Duc Nhuan said Algeria is a potential market for Vietnamese goods. There is large room for Vietnam to increase its export of coffee to Algeria, which at present accounts for 65 percent of the country's total export value to this African market, he noted. In addition, the country also has a high demand for other commodities from Vietnam such as rice, pepper and cinnamon, cashew nuts and freshwater aquatic products, which it cannot produce. Nhuan said Vietnamese exporters should carefully study the market, particularly its policies related to tariffs, labour laws, payment methods, disputes, and debt recovery. Statistics of the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that the bilateral trade between Vietnam and Algeria is still modest, with Vietnams export turnover to Algeria reached only 153 million USD last year and 30.6 million USD in the first quarter of 2022./. Ms. Bridget Collier, Acting Deputy Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam spoke at the event This next phase of support, valued up to AUD13.8 million (roughly equivalent to VND246 billion), commenced in 2021 and will see this successful model extended over four years (2021-2025). The program is designed to help Vietnam upskill its workforce, a crucial ingredient for Vietnam, to meet its ambitious 2045 target of being a high-income country. This work will focus on the logistics sector. Logistics is a priority for Vietnam, as it is expected to contribute 8-10 per cent of GDP by 2025. It is also a sector Australia has considerable experience in. Australias assistance, provided by the Aus4Skills program, will focus on continued cooperation with MOLISAs Directorate for Vocational Education and Training, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, colleges and industry partners. The project activities, with continued linkages and inputs from industry, will offer professional development for Vietnamese vocational teachers, managers and leaders, frameworks to ensure quality training and curriculum that matches the needs of industry. Mr. Le Tan Dung, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs spoke at the event In Vietnam, logistics is identified as an important service industry of the national economy that supports connectivity and economic development. A skilled workforce is key to developing the logistics industry. With the onset of Aus4Skills VET Phase 2, I strongly believe this is another step to realise a shared vision of Australia and Vietnam to upskill the workforce in Vietnam, said MOLISA Deputy Minister Le Tan Dung. H.E. Ms Robyn Mudie, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, said, Australia remains committed to supporting Vietnams next stage of development, including through strengthening the skills of Vietnams workforce. A skilled workforce will help ensure that domestic industries can remain competitive, which is critical to advancing Vietnams economic growth and post-pandemic recovery. Australia is pleased to share with Vietnam, through the Aus4Skills program, its own experience in building a dynamic, industry-led VET system. Over the past four years, Aus4Skills strengthened the engagement of Vietnams logistics industry in VET to help ensure that students graduate with the skills required by logistics employers. Since 2017, more than 5,300 Vietnamese vocational students have benefitted from improved teaching quality in colleges supported by Aus4Skills. Enrolment in logistics courses in these colleges have increased eight-fold. Graduates from these colleges are in higher demand due to their job readiness./. The Ukrmetalurgprom association of enterprises ceases participation in all bodies of the World Steel Association, Worldsteel, while Russian associations and companies continue to participate in the activities of the organization. An appeal by the head of Ukrmetalurgprom, Oleksandr Kalenkov, to the chairman of the executive board of directors of Worldsteel, Sajjan Jindal, and the general director of the association, Edwin Basson, states that the war against Ukraine, which the Russians cynically call a special operation, has been going on for more than a month and a half. During this time, the Russians have demonstrated the worst aspects of their behavior, destroying residential areas, hospitals, schools and kindergartens, killing thousands of innocent people - the whole world is amazed by their atrocities in Bucha, Borodianka, Kramatorsk and other Ukrainian cities. Many countries support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, not only with military supplies, but also with sanctions against the Russian regime, and many international organizations have decided to immediately suspend Russia's participation in the activities of their bodies. "We hoped that Worldsteel, as the largest and most respectable global steel community, would follow the example of the above-mentioned international organizations and suspend the membership of Russian associations and companies, but, unfortunately, we see that representatives of the aggressor country continue to participate in all Worldsteel events," the letter says. With this in mind, Ukrmetalurgprom, as an authorized representative of the Ukrainian steel community, is not going to participate in any event in which representatives of Russia take part. Ukrmetalurgprom ceases participation in all Worldsteel bodies while Russian associations and companies continue to participate in Worldsteel activities. "Of course, each member of Ukrmetalurgprom must make an independent decision on the continuation or suspension of its participation in Worldsteel while the Russian side is present at Worldsteel meetings and other events, but, as mentioned above, the association itself terminates its membership in Worlsteel. We hope that Worldsteel will reconsider its position on the situation and make the right decisions to enable Ukrainian and other civilized associations and companies in the metallurgical industry to return to active participation in the activities of Worldsteel," Ukrmetalurgprom's statement sums up. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereschuk has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on housing, humanitarian and financial assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine. "Today I have held two important meetings with our UN partners. With the delegation of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, headed by Karolina Lindholm Billing, we agreed on assistance to our internally displaced persons: housing, humanitarian and financial. We signed a memorandum of cooperation," she wrote on her Telegram channel. In addition, Vereschuk, together with Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna, also met with a delegation from UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), headed by Mr. Murat Sahin, at which the parties discussed the return to Ukraine of children forcibly deported to Russia. <<< back British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to deliver a new batch of military aid to Kyiv in the near future. "I updated my friend Zelensky this afternoon on further military aid we will provide to Ukraine in the coming days. The UK will stop at nothing to ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to defend their country from the ongoing Russian onslaught," he stressed on Twitter. We are in daily contact with defenders of Mariupol, but no 100% solution yet - Zelensky President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that either he or the leadership of the Armed Forces is in touch with the defenders of Mariupol every day, but a 100% solution to the problem has not been found. "Every day, either me, or Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny, or other military personnel, or the head of our negotiating group, David Arakhamia, is in touch with our defenders of Mariupol. Daily," he said in a traditional video message on Saturday evening. According to the president, "the situation in Mariupol remains tough, inhuman, the way the Russian Federation made it. Consciously did and deliberately continues to destroy our cities. Consciously trying to destroy everyone who is there, in Mariupol." "There are only two ways to influence this - either partners will give Ukraine the necessary heavy weapons, aircraft, and without exaggeration immediately, so that we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and unblock it. Or a negotiation process in which the role of partners should be decisive," he said. "I want to be heard correctly - there has not been a single day since the beginning of the blockade that we have not been looking for a solution - military or diplomatic. But finding this solution is very difficult. Until now, there has not been a single 100% option," Zelensky said. U.S. arms, munitions and military equipment donated to Kyiv as part of latest security aid package 'arriving' in Ukraine - CNN Supplies of arms, ammunition and other security assistance sent by the United States to Ukraine as part of the latest $800 million aid package have already begun arriving in Ukraine, CNN reported, citing its own U.S. government sources. "Shipments from the Biden administration's latest security assistance package to Ukraine 'have begun arriving', a White House official told CNN Saturday," the report says. "President Biden this week approved an additional package of $800 million worth of weapons, ammunition, and security assistance to Ukraine," it says. "The U.S. has, for the first time, agreed to provide Kyiv with the types of high-power capabilities some Biden administration officials a few short weeks ago viewed as too great of an escalation risk, including 11 Mi-17 helicopters; 18 155 mm Howitzer cannons and 300 more Switchblade drones," it reads. "On Friday, a senior defense official told CNN the first flight of weapons and equipment was expected to arrive in the region in the following 24 hours and would be picked up at the border by Ukrainians and taken into the country," it says. The Interfax-Ukraine agency has no confirmation of this information from official sources in Ukraine. By Trend The delegation of Georgian cultural figures, ecologists, Turkologists and bloggers honored memory of Azerbaijani citizens who died as a result of the shelling from prohibited weapons by the Armenian army of Azerbaijans Ganja city on October 11 and October 17, 2020, Trend reports. Guests laid flowers at the place where the bloody terrorist act took place. Terrorist act committed in the second largest city of Azerbaijan, Ganja, is another terrible tragedy committed against the Azerbaijani people after the Khojaly genocide. Bloody terrorist acts are still being committed due to the fact that the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide remain unpunished. Missile attacks on civilian objects and residential buildings by Armenia violate the rules of Geneva Conventions and other international documents. United Nations (UN) World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley said that blocking Ukraine's southern ports in the Black Sea could trigger a global food disaster that would lead to famine, mass migration and political instability, the New York Times reported. Beasley said Ukrainian farmers can still reap the harvest that will help feed the world's hungry if the war ends now, but not if southern ports and Black Sea shipping lanes remain closed. Beasley urged G7 leaders and other governments to return unused farmland to production to make up for possible loss of Ukrainian and Russian food supplies, but warned that global food shortages and a further spike in food prices could spell disaster for the poor countries. "You will have acute shortages, death and starvation. You will have destabilization of several nations and you will have mass migration," he said. The UN emphasizes that storage facilities in Ukraine are overflowing with grain, which in a normal year can feed 400 million people around the world, but the supply chain has been disrupted by the war, and the ports cannot operate normally near the center of the war zone. Beasley noted that the challenge for global food supplies is to keep southern ports open: Odesa, Chornomorsk, Pivdenny and Mykolaiv on the Black Sea coast, which are in Ukraine, but are threatened by the expected Russian offensive. "This is where the international community should intervene and make very serious decisions about protecting ports for humanitarian purposes and opening ports to the whole world, because the whole world will pay a price if we do not open ports," the official said. According to him, operating expenses for the UN food program increased by $71 million per month. That means we'll be feeding four to five million fewer people a year just because of the cost increase, Beasley said. The short-term problem, he says, is financial: rich countries and the world's billionaires need to step up to fill a financing gap of about $8 billion. A more worrisome threat is a long-term challenge to global food markets. EU allocates additional EUR50 mln in humanitarian aid to support Ukrainians in need The European Union is allocating an additional EUR50 million in humanitarian aid to support Ukrainians in need, according to the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid office. "The EU is allocating a further EUR50 million in humanitarian aid to support Ukrainians in need. This new funding will provide: emergency medical services, safe drinking water, shelter, cash assistance, support against gender-based violence," it said on Twitter. "This new EU funding of EUR50 million will address the most pressing humanitarian needs," Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas said. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak recalled the need to impose sanctions against Gazprombank. "In the sixth package of EU sanctions, an oil embargo is planned. A few insides from the German Zeit, referring to head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The EU is considering mechanisms for including oil in the next sanctions package, and is also considering restrictions on the banking sector, especially Sberbank, and Russian energy," he wrote on the Telegram channel on Sunday. "I will remind you once again that in the case of the banking sector, sanctions against Gazprombank, which has been designated as authorized to pay for Russian gas, will also be effective," Yermak emphasized. As of April 17, due to armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Kharkiv region, 26 children were killed, another 81 children were injured, the press service of the regional prosecutor's office reports. Due to regular bombing and shelling by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, 182 educational institutions were damaged in Kharkiv, including 91 schools, 78 kindergartens, ten institutions of out-of-school education, three buildings of education departments, one school and three kindergartens were completely destroyed. On the territory of the region, as a result of shelling, 37 educational institutions were damaged, including 21 schools, 16 preschool institutions. At least three schools and one kindergarten were completely destroyed. Law enforcement officers continue to collect and record evidence of war crimes committed by Russian invaders. Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova called on Ukrainians who were forcibly taken to the Russian Federation from the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine, to use the checkpoint in the city of Narva (Estonia) in order to travel to Europe. According to her, almost every day, the Russian media, citing information from officials, report on the removal of Ukrainian citizens. As of April 16, according to them, 808,000 people were displaced, of which 153,000 are children. "Last week I was approached by volunteers from Russia who discovered three camps for deported Ukrainians in Penza region. They visited one of these camps, where at that time there were more than 400 people - mostly women and 147 children of all ages, including babies. Our citizens were in an extremely difficult and depressing situation, they did not have clothes, food, hygiene items, because they were taken from Mariupol directly from the bomb shelter," Denisova wrote on Facebook on Sunday. She said that as a result of joint work with Russian volunteers, the consular service in Estonia and the Estonian side, on Saturday the first seven Ukrainians from the camp in Penza region, including a family with three children, were taken to Narva in Estonia, where they receive the necessary help. According to the Commissioner, at the moment the transfer of the next group of Ukrainians forcibly taken to the Russian Federation, is being prepared. "I appeal to the citizens of Ukraine who are now in Russia and do not know how to get to Ukraine or European countries - you can use the checkpoint across the Russian border to the city of Narva, where you will be assisted by the consular service of Ukraine and local communities," Denisova said. She said that all the information and useful telephone numbers needed to cross the border and stay in Estonia can be found at https://www.estonia-for-ukraine.com/. "You can also get additional information on the hotline of the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, which works free of charge and around the clock: 0 800 50 17 20. Contact us, we will definitely help! Ukraine does not abandon its people!", the Ombudsman said. Head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen told Bild that Russia will not be able to avoid a state default. "According to the latest forecasts, Russia's GDP will shrink by 11%. State default in Russia is only a matter of time," she said. The head of the EC believes that the sanctions against the Russian Federation every week have a stronger effect on the Russian economy. When asked about the details of the upcoming sixth round of sanctions, she mentioned the Russian banking sector, including Sberbank. She also stated the need to take measures against Russia's oil exports. However, according to her, Russia cannot be allowed to sell oil, which is now going to the EU, in other markets at higher prices, so the EU is "developing smart mechanisms" to overcome this situation. Policemen of Kurakhove deliver humanitarian aid to residents of Novomykhailivka and Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region. "They continue to help people who still live on the fire line, under daily shelling by the Russians, in inhuman conditions! There are mothers with small children, pensioners who find it difficult to move away," the telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reports. Donetsk police officers brought a new batch of humanitarian aid. Thanks to these products, the inhabitants survive. The law enforcement officers offered Novomykhailivka residents to evacuate them, but people do not dare to leave their homes, where their whole life is concentrated. "We will return tomorrow and we will offer evacuation again. As long as there is a slightest opportunity to take people to safe places, help them with food, we will do it," the police say. Russian troops continue shelling peaceful settlements of Zaporizhia region, a 12-year-old child was injured as a result of enemy shelling in the city of Polohy, one person was killed in Vasylivka, five more were injured, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for human rights Liudmyla Denisova said. "The invaders attacked residential areas in the city of Polohy. As a result of the shelling, a 12-year-old child was injured, who was urgently operated on. In the city of Vasylivka, one person was killed as a result of artillery shelling by the Russian invaders, five more were injured. Several residential buildings and a depot at the train station were damaged," she wrote on her Facebook. Also, in the city of Hulyaipole, residential houses of civilians were damaged due to shelling from various-caliber weapons, in particular from Grads. "I appeal to the UN Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Violations during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine to take into account these facts of war crimes and Russia's violations of human rights in Ukraine. I call on international partners to close the sky over Ukraine and provide weapons to fight the aggressor country of the Russian Federation," the Ombudsman said. On Sunday afternoon, Russian Armed Forces shelled the center of Kharkiv (Kyivsky and Shevchenkivsky districts), as a result, civilians were killed and wounded. "As a result of the shelling, five people were killed. At least 13 civilians were injured. A number of residential buildings, institutions and infrastructure facilities of the city were damaged," the press service of Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reports. On this fact, the investigators of the SBU in Kharkiv region, under the procedural leadership of the regional prosecutor's office, began a pretrial investigation under Part 2 of Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine does not want to give up its territories in the eastern part of the country in order to end the war with Russia. In an interview with CNN published on Sunday, he said that the army would fight for the Donbas. And this battle will determine the fate of the war. According to him, Russia may try to attack Kyiv again if it could capture Donbas. "This is why it is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle... it can influence the course of the whole war," Zelensky said. According to the President of Ukraine, he does not trust the world. "We don't believe the world. We don't believe the words. After the escalation of Russia, we don't believe our neighbors. We don't believe all of this." "The only belief there is belief in ourselves, in our people, belief in our Armed Forces, and the belief that countries are going to support us not just with their words but with their actions," the head of state said. Speaking about negotiations with Russia, Zelensky said that he is ready to speak with Russian authorities, if there is an opportunity to speak, but not under a Russian ultimatum. According to him, the sooner such a conversation begins, the fewer people will die, but so far the chances for negotiations are only falling, the president believes. He said that the chances are decreasing every day. "Think about Bucha, Volnovakha, Borodianka, Mariupol. There comes a time when no one wants to talk. Our society does not want us to continue negotiations," Zelensky said. By Trend The Uzbek Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange announced its weekly quotes from April 4 through April 8, 2022, for commodities listed on the exchange trading for export, Trend reports via the exchange. During this period, the quotation for gasoline pyrolysis amounted to $341, which is a decrease of 16.6 percent or $67.8 compared to the previous week. The quotation for industrial oil I-20A amounted to $819.3, which is an increase of 0.5 percent or $4.3, compared to the previous week. From April 4 through April 8, the quotation for wheat flour amounted to $410, which is an increase of 5.1 percent or $20. The Uzbek Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (UzEx) was established as an open joint-stock company, registered by the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan in 1994. Nowadays the UzEx is the biggest trading platform in Central Asia and a dynamically developing commodity exchange among the CIS countries. In a phone call with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday, Jordanian King Abdullah II expressed his countrys solidarity with Egypt in face of terrorism. The World Bank on Monday urged donors to boost support for the Palestinian Authority, which it said was facing a destabilising budget crisis linked partly to "record low" foreign aid contributions. Norway has slammed the latest Afghan Taliban edict demanding women cover up head to toe in public and warned that Afghanistan's new rulers are ``steering the country toward a humanitarian, economic and human rights catastrophe.'' Egypts Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the non-oil private sector rose slightly in April to 46.9, up from 46.5 in March, however, the sector is still suffering from the second quickest deterioration in its activity in two years, Standard and Poors (S&P) announced on Sunday. Russian forces pushed forward Monday in their assault on Ukraine, seeking to capture the crucial southern port city of Mariupol as Moscow prepared to celebrate its national Victory Day holiday. Rites and referendums. Ahram Online visits a number of Cairo districts with significant Coptic populations at the beginning of the Easter Holy week It is late afternoon Sunday and Magdy Shafik is gathering the few palm fronds he had not sold during the past couple of days. For the few hours leading to the beginning of the evening mass at Virgin Mary Church in Zeytoun, eastern Cairo, Shafik decided to sell his fronds for much less. As of Friday evening, a frond would cost LE3 each. By the time of the beginning of the Holy week, when church tunes turn into sad tones of prayer that mark the suffering and eventual crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Shafik was making an offer of LE5 for three fronds. Amir Tawdros, who sells flowers on another pavement close by this early 20th century church that is associated with a rare apparition of Virgin Mary in the wake of the 1967 defeat, was also making a special offer for the remaining buds he has. Mariam Boulos, having exited Palm Sunday afternoon mass, was buying flowers to take home for the last sayyami lunch where sugar is permitted on the table. According to the traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the faithful start a totally vegan fast 55 days ahead of Easter Sunday. For the last week, devout Copts refrain from eating desserts and fruits. Some also observe a dawn to dusk fast that is followed by a vegan meal. Boulos said she was happy that the fast was coming to an end, but that she was worried about the expense of the traditionally lavish post-midnight dinner that is usually an elaborate feast of meat, poultry, cheese and desserts. We still try to keep the tradition. We also try to keep the tradition of buying new clothes for our children and baking cookies and buying chocolate to offer to friends and family when they come to visit, Boulos said. But things have become really expensive, so in a way the fast was sort of helping with our economisation, added the early 30s lady who was walking in the company of her two young daughters with palm crosses in their hands. Badria Wassif, another devout Copt who was exiting the Mar Morcos Church at the heart of the more economically privildged zone of Heliopolis, also in east Cairo, was complaining about cost of festivities. But what could we say? We pray for safety and peace. These are the most important things. We could compromise on some things, but not on peace and safety. Maybe things would improve, said the late sixies lady. Boulos came to the afternoon prayer after having went to vote on amendments of the constitution. The amendment under consideration in the referendum allow the sitting head of state an extension of two years on his second term of presidency and expanded executive prerogatives and an increase in the quota of parliamentary representation for women and Copts. Boulos said that she decided to vote in favour of the amendments. I would have preferred a transfer of power, after the second term but I understand that things might need a bit more time. So I thought it about and I decided that I would support the amendments. Boulos denies that her decision was based on a statement made by the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawdros II, in favour of the amendments. The Coptic patriarch said that the amendments were in the interest of the nation and encouraged people to vote. The Pope expressed his views. My decision was my own and it was not that I was fully for the amendments, but that I thought that the current status quo was better than jumping into the unknown, she said. According to Boulos, her husband, an architect, who is in his early seventies, decided not to vote in favour of the amendments. So, each of us made a decision upon our will away from the views of the Pope, Boulos said. Bishoi Karim, a university student who was buying palm fronds as he was stepping out of Mar Girgis Church in Heliopolis Sunday afternoon, said he was hoping that the referendum would have been over before the beginning of the Holy week. It would have been better if it was done before the Holy week, because it is rather odd to be at the church for prayers while we are all the time hearing loud music played by polling stations to encourage people to go vote, Karim said. I understand that not so many people are aware of the significance of the Holy week, especially for the Coptic Orthodox who are the majority of Egypts Christians, he added. Karim, however, said he appreciated the fact that the referendum would be done before Easter Sunday that comes in a week. Unlike Christmas, that was announced an official holiday in Egypt by former President Hosni Mubarak in 2008, Easter is not an official holiday. The day that marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ contradicts with the Muslim creed that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God who was crucified and who came back from the dead. However, given that it comes in the wake of the Friday-Saturday weekend and only one day before Egypts most celebrated national holiday (Sham ElNessim), the spring holiday, Easter Sunday for followers of the Coptic Church ends up being a de facto national holiday. We end up celebrating together, in fact. I know that this might be particularly the case for us because in Shubra we have always lived together for one generation after the other. But this is the way it is, I think, for the country as a whole, said Fatema ElSayyed, a late fifties lady. Like Zaytoun and Heliopolis, Shubra is a Cairo neighbourhood with a significant Coptic community. On Sunday, Copts were giving palm fronds to their Muslim neighbours. For Good Friday, ElSayyed said, almost the entire neighbourhood join in eating the traditional lunch of falafel and bissara (a baked paste of grounded fava beans, cilantro and parsley with fried onions on top). For Sham ElNassim, the entire nation observes the tradition of eating salted fish and green onions. Search Keywords: Short link: The head of Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II led the Palm Sunday mass at Church in Wadi El-Natroun without general audience due to restrictions over the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Transferring the religious event online in a live stream on the churchs official Facebook page and on Christian TV channels, the Palm Sunday mass was held at Saint Pishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Behaira. A small number of churchmen took part in the mass in the early hours of Sunday. The closure of the Churches is for a temporary time due to the coronavirus outbreak in the world and in Egypt," Pope Tawadros II said in his speech during the mass. Egypt on 21 March ordered churches and mosques to shut their doors to mass rituals and prayers as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church had already announced that Pope Tawadros II was to hold the masses of the Holy Week at Saint Pishoy Monastry without general audience. Egypt has so far recorded 1,939 Coronavirus cases nationwide including 146 fatalities. Search Keywords: Short link: Ezzat was named the groups acting leader in August 2013 and has been in hiding ever since; he is also the head of the Brotherhood's international organization Egyptian authorities have arrested Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting supreme guide of the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood, at a hideout in eastern Cairo, in the most significant Brotherhood arrest in recent years. In a statement on Friday, Egypts interior ministry said the fugitive group leader, who is also the head of the Brotherhood's International Organization, was arrested following intelligence that he was hiding at a flat in New Cairos Fifth Settlement neighbourhood. They said Ezzat had used the apartment as his latest hideout, despite rumours promoted by the Brotherhoods leaders about him being abroad, to mislead authorities. The leader was arrested after a raid carried out per a warrant by the Supreme State Security Prosecution, the statement said, adding that several laptops and mobile phones with open-source software to secure communication with leaders and members of the banned group inside the country and abroad were found. According to the statement, Ezzat was in charge of forming the Brotherhoods armed wing and the supervisor of major terrorist operations since 30 June 2013 until his arrest. Operations supervised by Ezzat include the assassination of former general prosecutor Hisham Barakat in 2015, policeman Wael Tahoun in 2015, top-ranked army officer Adel Ragei in 2016, and the attempted assassination of the general prosecutors former aide Zakaria Abdel-Azim in 2016, the statement said. It also charged him with supervising a deadly car blast outside the capitals main cancer hospital in August 2019 which killed 20 people. Ezzat was also responsible for cyber-attacks which manage [spreading] rumours and fake news to stir confusion and divide public opinion, the statement said, adding that he managed the movement of the groups funds and funds to activities through the groups members abroad from suspicious international organisations. Ezzat, 76, has been in the Brotherhood ranks since the 1960s and was named a member of the group's Guidance Bureau, or its executive board, in 1981. He has previously been detained for several years for his activism and affiliation with the group. He was named the groups acting leader in August 2013, after the arrest of Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, who received a fourth final life sentence in July on violence-related charges, totalling 100 years. Ezzats whereabouts had previously been unclear since that date. He has been given several sentences in absentia, including life imprisonment terms and the death penalty, during mass trials of the Brotherhoods leading members on charges of espionage with Palestinian group Hamas and other violence-related crimes. Under Egyptian law, in absentia convictions must be re-tried once the defendant is apprehended. Search Keywords: Short link: Ezzat now faces two death sentences and two life imprisonment sentences in different cases Cairos Criminal Court sentenced in a retrial on Thursday Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting supreme guide of the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood, to life over murder and terrorism charges in the case known in the media as the guidance bureau case. A life sentence in Egypt carries 25 years in jail. The Cairo Criminal Court had sentenced Ezzat in 2015 in absentia to life in the case that dates back to 2013. Defendants in the case were charged with inciting violence in the Mokattam district when anti-brotherhood protesters stormed the groups headquarters in 2013. They also faced charges of inciting murder, attempted murder, possessing and acquiring unlicensed weapons and ammunition, and joining an armed group that aims to intimidate people. The incidents, according to the prosecution, caused the death of 9 people and the injury of 91 others. The case was retried per Egyptian penal code after Ezzat was arrested in 2020. Today's ruling against Ezzat can be appealed. The court in 2015 handed the death sentence to four defendants and life imprisonment sentences to 14 in the same case, including the groups supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, and his deputy, Khairat El-Shater. Last year, the Court of Cassation, whose rulings are final and unappealable, upheld life imprisonment sentences against Badie, El-Shater, and five others in the case. Ezzat now faces two death sentences and two life imprisonment sentences in different cases. Search Keywords: Short link: The majority of dioceses will adopt a set of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic, including holding masses at a capacity of 25 percent of the congregation Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Sea of Saint Mark, led the Palm Sunday mass at the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, the martyr Abi Sven and Saint Anba Karas in Alexandria amid tight coronavirus precautionary measures. The attendees of the mass wore facemasks and kept physical distance at only 25 percent capacity of the church. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels, when he was received by the people of Jerusalem with palm leaves. The Palm Sunday which is featured by vendors selling palm fronds on streets witnesses the Copts' last sayyami lunch where sugar is permitted on the table. According to the traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the faithful start a totally vegan fast 55 days ahead of the Easter Sunday. For the last week, devout Copts refrain from eating desserts and fruits. Some also observe a dawn to dusk fast that is followed by a vegan meal. The Palm Sunday marks the first day of the Holy Week that also has Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which is Easters eve when Copts usually go to church before gathering at night to celebrate and break their 55-day fast. All precautionary measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the religious festival. The majority of dioceses will adopt a set of precautionary measures against the pandemic, including holding masses at a capacity of 25 percent of the congregation and giving access to people who reserve a place in the church in advance. However, according to a statement, congregants are not allowed to attend masses during Palm Sunday and the whole Holy Week at more than 18 dioceses in 13 Egyptian governorates over coronavirus concerns. This is the second year in a row for Copts to celebrate Palm Sunday amid coronavirus restrictions. Last year's Pam Sunday mass was held at Saint Pishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Behaira, without audience due to restrictions over the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Egypt which exceeded the 900-mark daily coronavirus cases on Saturday for the first time in months has so far reported 221,570 infections, including 166,457 recoveries and 12,998 deaths. Search Keywords: Short link: RTHK: Myanmar junta: 1,600 to be freed in holiday amnesty Relatives of hundreds of prisoners gathered outside Myanmar's Insein Prison on Sunday after the military government announced the release of 1,600 detainees in an amnesty to mark the Southeast Asian nation's new year. The number of prisoners released in the annual amnesty was a fraction of last year's 23,000 and it was unclear whether the number would include jailed members of the civilian government overthrown in a coup last year. A local reporter on the scene said no political prisoners had been released so far. Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe, a state secretary of the junta, signed a statement announcing "1,619 prisoners, including 42 detained foreigners, will be released under the Amnesty as part of the celebration of Myanmar's new year, to bring joy for the people and address humanitarian concerns." The military has arrested at least 13,282 people and killed 1,756 opponents since the coup, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group. Among those detained are the ousted government's leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being held in the capital Naypyidaw, and her Australian economic adviser, Sean Turnell, who is housed in the Insein facility on the outskirts of Yangon. "The junta uses the political prisoners as hostages," an AAPP spokesman said on Sunday. A spokesman for the junta, which has disputed AAPP's figures, did not respond to a request for comment. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-04-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Turkey is continuing efforts for reaching a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia despite all the difficulties and intensifying clashes, especially in the eastern parts of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu has said, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News. Despite all the difficulties, we continue to work for truce. We should do it. On the other hand, we have to keep the negative impacts of this war on us at a minimum level, Cavushoglu said. Turkey is exerting efforts for the resolution of the problems between the two warring sides in line with its principled and genuine foreign policy as well as in parallel to its growing importance in the region, Cavushoglu said. All the world knows the steps we have been taking for ending this war. If there could be an improvement [on the talks between Ukraine and Russia], it has happened at Istanbul Summit as a result of our contribution, he added. The minister referred to Istanbul Summit, which convened Ukrainian and Russian delegations for a direct negotiation to find a solution to the problem and end the war accordingly. Turkey has facilitated and hosted the meeting. Turkey implements convention strictly Turkey is implementing the Montreux Convention in the strictest way and without thinking about which party it will serve, Cavushoglu said. Law is law, and convention is convention. We say we should implement it, and we do it. This war has brought Turkey to a very different status. Everyone has seen our principled policy and the role we play. The minister said the world has now understood the importance of Turkey but that it should not be temporary, stressing: Turkey is a country that contributes to the world and Europe in a significant way. We may be as powerful as possible outside to the extent we may be powerful inside. Turkey is trying to minimize the negative impacts of the war while not ignoring the humanitarian aspect of it, Cavushoglu said. While we were bringing our citizens, their relatives, Crimean Tatars and Meskhetian Turks home, we have also tried to evacuate other countries citizens from Ukraine. We have evacuated some 7,000 brothers from the Turkic states. We have to extend our hand to our brothers. We also continue to deliver humanitarian aid. We wish to end this war through a permanent truce soon. It is not easy but we should continue to work for it, he said. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt and Spain have 'huge' potentials to achieve a comprehensive development partnership Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country is keen to foster cooperation with Egypt, particularly at the investment level, in a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday evening. Sanchez expressed Spains urge to enhance the success of Spanish projects in several sectors in Egypt, such as transport, renewable energy, and other developmental domains. The phone call dealt with a number of regional and international issues of common interest along with increasing cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement released by Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. President El-Sisi heaped praise on Egypts friendship with Spain, asserting Cairos keenness on achieving a quantum leap in the levels of cooperation in various domains. El-Sisi also pointed out that the two countries have huge potentials to achieve a comprehensive development partnership, Rady added. Search Keywords: Short link: A Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mahmoud Ezzat the acting supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in a retrial on Sunday to life in prison for collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas and other foreign organisations and disclosing information pertaining to Egypts national security. According to the prosecutions investigation on the case that dates back to 2013, Ezzat, along with others, is charged with committing acts that undermine the independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the country. A life sentence in Egypt carries 25 years in jail. The official charges levelled against the defendants are communicating with foreign organisations with the aim of committing terrorist acts inside the country and financing terrorism to achieve the purposes of the international organisation formally known as the Muslim Brotherhood. Investigations showed that the defendants cooperated with elements affiliated with a terrorist group in Sinai and qualified others to spread rumors to influence public opinion. Ezzat, who was arrested in 2020, was first handed a death sentence in absentia in 2015. Under Egyptian law, in absentia convictions must be re-tried once the defendant is apprehended. Todays ruling against Ezzat, who is currently standing trial in other cases, can be appealed. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt and Djibouti officially inaugurated on Tuesday a direct flight route between the two countries for the first time, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced. Egypts Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Ambassador Sherif Issa marked the inauguration by landing at DjiboutiAmbouli International Airport in the first direct air flight from Cairo. Djibouti's Minister of Islamic Affairs and Awqaf Moamen Hassan Berri and Minister of Trade and Tourism Mohamed Warsama Dirieh received the Egyptian diplomat upon his arrival. Berri stated the launch of the new direct flight route between the two countries is evidence of the ongoing momentum in bilateral relations following President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Djibouti in May 2021, and the Djiboutian president's visit to Cairo in February. From his side, Ambassador Sherif Issa said that the launch of the new direct flight route will help advance bilateral cooperation. He also pointed to recent cooperation projects between Egypt and Djibouti, including a project to establish a logistics zone at the Free Zone of Djibouti (DFZ), opening a new branch of Egypt's Banque Misr and building an Egyptian pediatric and gynecologic hospital. Search Keywords: Short link: In a statement on Friday afternoon, Ahmed Hafez, the spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also called for "exercising self-restraint and providing full protection for Muslim worshipers and allowing them to perform their Islamic rituals in Al-Aqsa Mosque as an exclusive Islamic endowment for Muslims." The foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated Egypt's rejection of violence and incitement in all its forms, including the calls to storm the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque during the great month of Ramadan," warning of "the consequences of this on stability and security in the Palestinian territories and the region." Some 60,000 people attended the main Friday prayers midday in Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the Islamic endowment that administers the site. Thousands of Palestinians clashed with Israeli police after the Israeli storming of the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam that stands in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem. More than 160 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli police, according to the Associated Press. At least 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and 14 people inside Israel by Palestinian attackers in the last two weeks, also according to an AP count. Russia has formally complained to the United States over its military aid to Ukraine, warning of "unpredictable consequences" if shipments of advanced weaponry go forward, US media reported. In a diplomatic note this week, Moscow warned the United States and NATO against sending the "most sensitive" weapons for Kyiv to use in the conflict with Russia, saying such shipments were "adding fuel" to the situation and could come with "unpredictable consequences," the Washington Post reported. The warning came the same week that US President Joe Biden pledged a new $800 million military aid package for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armored personnel carriers. "What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we've been telling the world publicly -- that the massive amount of assistance that we've been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective," the Post quoted a senior administration official -- who spoke on condition of anonymity about the note -- as saying. The State Department declined to comment on reports of the formal note. "We won't confirm any private diplomatic correspondence," a State Department spokesperson said. "What we can confirm is that, along with allies and partners, we are providing Ukraine with billions of dollars' worth of security assistance, which our Ukrainian partners are using to extraordinary effect to defend their country against Russia's unprovoked aggression and horrific acts of violence." According to the New York Times citing US officials, the note was sent through normal channels, and was not signed by any senior Russian officials. The formal correspondence indicates Russia is concerned about the United States' ongoing material support for Ukraine, an anonymous US official told CNN. CNN also reported that one source familiar with the document said the complaint could mean Moscow is getting ready to adopt a more aggressive stance against the United States and NATO as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky of the new weapons aid package over the phone Wednesday, as Russia refocused its efforts eastward, the new frontline of the seven-week-old war. "As Russia prepares to intensify its attack in the Donbas region, the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself," Biden said. "This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine." Zelensky for his part tweeted that he and Biden had discussed the "additional package of defensive and possible macro-financial aid." The new assistance included some of the heavier equipment that Washington had previously refused to provide to Kyiv for fear of escalating the conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, and comes after previous weapons aid already supplied to the Ukrainian army. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Russia's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated - and refuted by witnesses - throughout 52 days of war. But the toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old son's body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in the northeast. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the Kyiv region, Ukrainian authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. ``We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital,'' Klitschko said. ``If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it.'' It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in Saturday's strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling district on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the plant is located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with ``air-launched high-precision long-range weapons.'' As the U.S. and Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraine's defenses ahead of what's expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant on Friday as residents emerged for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life began to resurface following the failiure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal to concentrate on the east. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions stretching across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine - far from the volatile east and an area long seen as a safe zone - reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Along with killing civilians, Friday's assault wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian president's office reported. On Saturday, an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. ``All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too,`` recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. In southeastern Ukraine, the pummeled southern port city of Mariupol is holding out, but the situation is critical, the Ukrainian president's office said. Russian forces have maintained a blockade there since the early days of the invasion, and dwindling numbers of Ukrainian defenders have held out against the siege. Mariupol's capture would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. The battle for control of Mariupol has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians. Locals reported seeing Russian troops digging up bodies from residential courtyards and prohibiting new burials. It was unclear why. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for more Western arms and a global embargo on Russian oil, and accused Russian troops occupying Ukrainian cities of terrorizing civilians. ``The occupiers think this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are fooling themselves,'' Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. ``Russia's problem is that it is not accepted, and never will be accepted, by the entire Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.'' He also warned in an interview with CNN that ``all of the countries of the world'' should be prepared for the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use tactical nuclear weapons, an underlying fear ever since the invasion of Ukraine started on Feb. 24. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been injured. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed since the start of the war, and more than 360 wounded. The Russians also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilian, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap with Moscow, but is demanding the release of civilians ``without any conditions,'' Vereshchuk said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after Russian authorities accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed striking targets in Russia. However, they claimed responsiblity for destroying a key Russian warship with missiles earlier this week, in an important victory for Ukraine and symbolic defeat for Russia. The Moskva sank Thursday after taking heavy damage. Moscow did not acknowledge any attack, saying only that a fire had detonated ammunition on board. The sinking reduces Russia's firepower in the Black Sea and seemed to symbolize Moscow's fortunes in an eight-week invasion widely seen as a historic blunder following the Russian retreat from the Kyiv region and much of northern Ukraine. After the withdrawal, bodies were abandoned in the streets of towns around Kyiv or given temporary burials. Andriy Nebytov, who heads the region's police force, cited police data indicating 95% died from gunshot wounds, saying they were ``simply executed in the streets.'' More bodies are being found every day under rubble and in mass graves, he added, with the largest number found in Bucha, more than 350. The diplomatic chasm between Russia and the West deepened further Saturday, as Moscow barred British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a dozen other top U.K. officials from entering the country in response to British sanctions. Search Keywords: Short link: The foreign ministries of Egypt and Germany launched a joint logo on Saturday to commemorate 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Egyptian Ambassador to Germany Khaled Galal noted that the logo was designed by the Egyptian Embassy in Germany and the German foreign Ministry, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a press release. He added that the upcoming period would witness holding a number of Egyptian cultural activities in Berlin and other German cities, noting that these activities will promote Egyptian tourism in the German market. The two countries had established diplomatic relations on October 16, 1952. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts Pope Tawadros II head of the Coptic Orthodox Church led the Palm Sunday mass in Alexandria earlier on Sunday at the Cathedral of St. Mark, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced. This is the first time Pope Tawadros II has led a Palm Sunday mass at the Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria since the two deadly attacks that targeted it and the Mar Girgis Cathedral in Tanta in 2017, which led to the death of 47 people and the injury of 100 others. It is also the first Palm Sunday mass to be held in the Cathedral at full capacity after two years of following coronavirus safety guidelines. Last year, the pope led the Palm Sunday mass at the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, the Martyr Abi Sven, and Saint Anba Karas in Alexandria with limited attendance. In 2020, the Palm Sunday mass was held at Saint Pishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Behaira, to an empty hall due to restrictions over the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. The average daily coronavirus infection and deaths tolls in Egypt have continued to decline this past week, with the country reporting an average of 124 infections and six deaths per day, according to the latest weekly update issued by the ministry on Saturday. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels, when he was received by the people of Jerusalem with palm leaves. According to the traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the faithful start a totally vegan fast 55 days ahead of Easter Sunday. For the last week of the fast, devout Copts refrain from eating desserts and fruits. Some also observe a dawn to dusk fast that is followed by a vegan meal. Palm Sunday marks the first day of the Holy Week that also has Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, which is Easters eve when Copts usually go to church before gathering at night to celebrate and break their 55-day fast. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian Youth Council launched on Saturday an economic forum to promote investment and trade exchange between Egypt and Indonesia at the Grand Nile Towers Hotel, celebrating 75 years of trade relations between the two countries. The forum was held under the title Promoting Investment and Trade Opportunities between Egypt and Indonesia. The launch ceremony was led by Head of The Egyptian Youth Council Mohamed Mamdouh, also the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Youth Council and a member of the National Council for Human Rights. Also present were Ambassador of Indonesia to Egypt Lutfi Raouf, together with a number of diplomatic delegations and elite businessmen from Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh, the Emirates, Palestine, Syria and Bahrain. This is in addition to a group of members of the House of Representatives and Senate and executive leaders from both sides. During his speech, Mamdouh said Indonesia has strong relations with Egypt at all levels, especially with regard to trade and the economy. He also said Egypt is one of Indonesias most important trading partners, serving as the main gateway for its products to enter the African continent. Mamdouh noted that trade exchange between Egypt and Indonesia over the past five years ranged between $1.2-1.5 billion annually. For his part, the Indonesian ambassador explained that the relations between Egypt and Indonesia span many years. He also emphasised the importance of deepening relations and continuously communicating in all fields, especially in economic and commercial fields in order to open up new horizons for cooperation. He added that there is an urgent need in the future to advance economic and investment cooperation on a number of basic industries in the Egyptian and Indonesian economy, especially since Indonesia ranks 55th on the list of countries investing in the Egyptian market. At the conclusion of the meeting, a number of businessmen on the Egyptian and Indonesian sides reviewed some of their common experiences in order to develop aspects of bilateral cooperation in the trade and investment fields and open opportunities for trade exchange between the two countries. Search Keywords: Short link: The Arab-Israeli Raam party on Sunday "suspended" its participation in the coalition government of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, over violence centred on Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa compound. Bennett took office last June after painstaking efforts to cobble together a coalition able to topple Israel's longest-serving premier Benjamin Netanyahu, creating a razor-thin majority of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. But the government lost that majority earlier this month when a hard-right Knesset member quit over a government decision to authorise the distribution of leavened bread in hospitals during Passover, in line with a recent supreme court ruling reversing years of prohibition. The coalition, a mix of left-wing, hardline Jewish nationalist and religious parties as well as Raam, has both deep ideological divides. It now has 60 seats -- the same as the opposition. On Sunday evening, Raam -- which has four seats in Bennett's coalition -- said it was "suspending" its support, two days after clashes between police and Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound left 150 people wounded. "If the government continues its steps against the people of Jerusalem... we will resign as a bloc," it said in a statement. The party's withdrawal from Bennett's administration will not immediately impact the government, as the Knesset is in recess until May 5. Sources told AFP that Bennett would seek to calm the situation. Bennett's coalition can rule with 60 seats, although with difficulty in passing new legislation. But if another member leaves the coalition, the Knesset could hold a vote of no confidence and lead Israel back to the polls for a fifth parliamentary election in four years. Search Keywords: Short link: By Trend Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Bakyt Torobaev held a meeting with representatives of Masdar company from the United Arab Emirates, Trend reports citing Kabar. Torobaev spoke about hydropower potential of the country, emphasizing the priority of renewable energy projects development, and urged the company to cooperate in the implementation of joint projects in the field of energy. Representatives of Masdar, a world leader in the field of renewable energy and sustainable urban development, expressed their willingness to cooperate in the implementation of projects to build a solar plant with a capacity of 200 megawatts in the first phase. During the meeting, issues of further cooperation were discussed. A Cairo Criminal court sentenced on Sunday Mahmoud Ezzat, the acting Supreme Guide of the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood, to life in prison in the "Storming of the Eastern Borders", case, which dates back to 2011. Sundays verdict is a first degree ruling that can be appealed. A life sentence in Egypt carries 25 years in jail. The Public Prosecution had charged Ezzat and other defendants in the case with storming Egyptian prisons and collaborating with Palestinian Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhoods international leadership, and the Lebanese Hezbollah to create chaos and topple the Egyptian state as well as its institutions. The defendants were also charged with receiving military training from Irans Revolutionary Guard to launch military attacks in Egypt in the trial that goes back to 2011. In June 2015, Ezzat was handed a death sentence in absentia and 20 other defendants received life sentences in the case. Under Egyptian law, defendants who receive in-absentia convictions must be re-tried once they are apprehended. Ezzat was arrested in 2020 at a hideout in eastern Cairo. He was sentenced in April 2021 to life over charges of murder and terrorism in a case known in the media as the Guidance Bureau Case. He was also sentenced in December of last year to life for collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas and other foreign organisations and disclosing information pertaining to Egypts national security. The Muslim Brotherhood was designated by the government as a terrorist organisation in 2013. Search Keywords: Short link: The first direct flight between the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv and Egypts Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh took off on Sunday, Israeli national airline El-Al announced in a statement. Flight 5193 operated by El-Al subsidiary Sun dOr departed Ben Gurion International Airport at 07:15 GMT on Sunday, the carrier said. In Mid-March, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts office announced that Egypt and Israel agreed to expand direct flights between the two countries, and that a direct flight route between Tel Aviv and Sharm El-Sheikh would begin operating in April during the Jewish holiday of Passover. Previously, Egyptian flag carrier EgyptAir had no direct flights between Sharm El-Sheikh and the Israeli capital except for transit flights. However, in early October, a plane branded with the logo of Egypts national carrier landed in Israel for the first time. The flight was described as historic by the Israel Airport Authority. Egyptian flights to Israel have been operated by an EgyptAir subsidiary Air Sinai that was set up exclusively for the Israeli route and did not display the Egyptian flag on the exterior of its planes since 1979, when the two countries signed the Camp David Peace Accords. Bennett has visited Egypt twice so far since he took office in June, meeting with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in September, and with El-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in March. Meanwhile, the Egyptian branch of the Palestinian-led movement Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) which aims to press Israel to change its policies toward the Palestinians by promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel has called for a boycott of two Israeli-organised dance festivals due to take place in Sinai over the coming days. BDS Egypt announced on Saturday that through public pressure, it managed to make the hotel hosting the dance festivals ask their Israeli organisers to search for another venue. Until 2020, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab governments to have normalised relations with Israel. That year, they were joined by Bahrain, Morocco, and the UAW, which all now operate direct flights to Israel. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's parliament the House of Representatives gave a final approval Sunday for a new government-drafted law establishing the National Centre for Airfield Management and for two agreements with the US and African countries on boosting trade and combating terrorism. Nora Ali, chairwoman of the House's Tourism and Civil Aviation Committee, said the National Centre for Airfield Management will be mainly tasked with improving Egypt's airfield services, safety procedures and air transportation. "The Centre also aims to achieve an optimal use of Egypt's airfields in a way that can fulfill the country's strategic development objectives and protect national security at the same time," said Ali. Ali also indicated that the Centre will take charge of restructuring Egypt's air routes and terminals, designing the maps of airplane landing and taking off in Egyptian airports in coordination with the National Company for Air Transport Services. "The centre will be also tasked with tightening control on airplane movement in Egypt's airfields in terms of improving communication services and safety measures," said Ali, adding that "the centre will provide assistance to neighbouring African countries in the area of airfield management." The centre will also be involved in preparing technical studies and providing consultation in the areas of air safety and air surveillance. Speaker of the Parliament Hanafy El-Gebaly said the law does not impose any new taxes. "The law in Article 13 will only impose fees in return for services and that these fees cannot be considered taxes," said El-Gebaly. Meanwhile, the House gave the thumbs up to two foreign agreements, the first of which is one between Egypt and African Sahel and sub-Saharan countries on fighting terrorism. A report by the House's Defence and National Security Committee said the agreement is related to setting up the headquarters of an anti-terrorism centre between Egypt and partner African countries. Ibrahim El-Masry, deputy chairman of the House's Defence and National Security Committee, revealed that the Cairo-based Anti-Terrorism Coordination Centre will mainly target such terrorist organizations such as Daesh (the Islamic State), Boko Haram and Al-Qaida, which have infiltrated a number of African countries in recent years and caused havoc. The House also gave the final okay to the amendment to a grant assistance agreement between Egypt and the United States (71/2022). Fakhri El-Fiqi, head of the House's Budget Committee, said the amendment will increase the US Trade and Investment grant to Egypt to $28 million, with the objective of boosting Egyptian exports to the United States. A report by the House's Economic Affairs Committee indicated that the agreement aims to help Egyptian small and medium-scale companies to boost their exports to the US by improving the investment climate in Egypt, reinforcing commercial relations with the United States and simplifying custom procedures. "The agreement also aims to expand mutual cooperation between Egypt and the US in the area of the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) in order to help more Egyptian companies make use of the preferential advantages granted by the QIZ to help boost Egyptian textile and ready-made garment exports to the US market," said the report. Search Keywords: Short link: Pakistan on Sunday called on the Taliban government in Kabul to take "stern actions" against militants launching attacks against the country from inside Afghanistan, a day after alleged rocket attacks by the Pakistani military killed six Afghans. Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen since the Taliban seized power last year, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carrying out regular attacks from Afghan soil. The Taliban deny harbouring Pakistani militants, but are also infuriated by a fence Islamabad is erecting along their 2,700-kilometre (1,600-mile) border. Fresh tension erupted after five children and a woman were killed in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar on Saturday in alleged rocket attacks that Afghan officials blamed on the Pakistani military. While the Pakistani military has not confirmed whether it carried out the assault, Islamabad insisted it was facing continuous "terrorist" attacks from across the border. "Pakistan, once again, strongly condemns terrorists operating with impunity from Afghan soil to carry out activities in Pakistan," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. "Pakistan requests the sovereign Government of Afghanistan to secure Pak-Afghan Border region and take stern actions against the individuals involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan." Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in North Waziristan district on Thursday by "terrorists operating from Afghanistan", the ministry said. "Unfortunately, elements of banned terrorist groups in the border region, including TTP, have continued to attack Pakistan's border security posts, resulting in the martyrdom of several Pakistani troops." Areas along the border have long been a stronghold for militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates across the porous frontier with Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban and the TTP are separate groups in both countries, but share a common ideology and draw from people who live on either side of the border. Thousands of people usually cross the border daily, including traders, Afghans seeking medical treatment in Pakistan, and people visiting relatives. Afghanistan's Taliban government meanwhile warned Pakistan after the rocket attack. "This is a cruelty and it is paving the way for enmity between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said late on Saturday. "The Pakistani side should know that if a war starts it will not be in the interest of any side. Search Keywords: Short link: On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the ``senseless'' war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and cited the ``troubling'' risk of nuclear warfare. ``May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,'' Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the 50,000 people in the square and on a nearby avenue when he mentioned Ukraine. ``Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing ''the flexing of muscles while people are suffering.`` Yet again, the pontiff decried the war in Ukraine without citing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attack against Ukraine on Feb. 24. ``Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. ''May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace.`` In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a declaration by scientists in 1955: ``'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'`` Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name ``Urbi et Orbi'' _ to the city and to the world. ``May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Among the conflicts cited by the pope were those in the Middle East. He exhorted peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He also cited Libya as well as Yemen, ``which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all.'' Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peter's Basilica. The altar was shaded by a canopy against brilliant sunshine. Right after the end of Mass, Francis shook hands with prelates, then got aboard the white popemobile for a whirl through the square to greet cheering well-wishers among the rank-and-file faithful. He waved and patted the head of a baby who was handed to him. His smiles while greeting the crowd were a rare departure of late for the pope, who has used many of his appearances in recent weeks to issue somber denunciations of the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, in London, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not ``blood and iron.'' Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week _ with Easter coming on April 24 _ Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. In an unusually blunt political remark, Welby also condemned the British government's recent plan to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda as going against God. Warm weather and the easing of many pandemic restrictions including what had been for most of the pandemic in Italy a mandatory outdoor mask requirement _ have seen tourism boom in Rome, with many visitors flooding the city for Holy Week ceremonies that culminated on Easter. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. Search Keywords: Short link: About 73 percent of all of the governments contracts were signed with micro- and small-sized businesses over the past 41 months, which reflects the support the state attaches to them in terms of maximising their production capacities, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said on Saturday. Maait explained that such efforts to support micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) come under law no.188 for 2020, which governs the contracts the government concludes that offers tax and non-tax incentives besides other facilitations for these key businesses. The law also targets creating a proper environment for the sector to compete on opportunities public bodies offer. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)s total capital recorded EGP 77.1 billion in 2020 across about 1.7 million institutions, according to the latest data published by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Furthermore, the country has registered 3.653 million MSMEs so far, with 9.7 million employees receiving salaries estimated at EGP 119.2 billion. Amid the ongoing global challenges posed by the pandemic, the Central Bank of Egypt directed all banks in 2021 to raise financing directed to MSMEs to reach 25 percent of banks credit facilities portfolios up from 20 percent which will avail an extra EGP 117 billion of finance injections into the sector by the end of December 2022. Search Keywords: Short link: Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine: Inhuman' situation in Mariupol Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the situation in the eastern city of Mariupol is "inhuman", warning the "elimination" of the last Ukrainian troops defending would end peace talks with Russia. "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there," he says in a video address. Russian ultimatum Russia's defence ministry says it has cleared the whole of Mariupol's "urban area" of Ukrainian forces. They say the only remaining Ukrainian soldiers are in the Azovstal metalworks -- and that their only chance to live is to "lay down their arms and surrender". Russia renews attacks on Kyiv Russia steps up air strikes on military facilities in Kyiv, a day after warning it will renew its assault on the capital in response to what it says are Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil. Moscow says it used sea-based, long-range missiles to hit a tank factory. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko says at least one person was killed and several wounded. Zelensky repeats warning over nuclear weapons The world should prepare for the possible use by Russia of nuclear weapons, Ukrainian President Zelensky tells journalists Saturday, repeating an earlier warning. Sanctions and reprisals Amid escalating tit-for-tat sanctions, Russia bans entry to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several of his senior ministers. The Kremlin also steps up a crackdown on dissent at home, adding nine prominent Kremlin critics and journalists to its growing list of "foreign agents". A Russian court orders the pre-trial jailing of a Siberian news editor for alleging that 11 riot police refused to join the military campaign in Ukraine. Three killed in demining operation Three sappers have been killed and four wounded while trying to clear mines near the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's interior minister Denys Monastyrsky says. Russia says shot down arms shipment Russia's defence ministry claims to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane carrying weapons supplied by western countries in the Odessa region. Many have no homes to return to: UN Many of the nearly five million people who have fled Ukraine will not have homes to return to, the United Nations warns. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, says 4,836,445 million Ukrainians have left the country since the Russian invasion on February 24 -- up 40,200 on Friday's total. Search Keywords: Short link: A Russian ultimatum for the last remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender expired on Sunday, with Moscow poised for a major strategic victory in the southeastern port city. In Kyiv, renewed Russian air strikes hit an armaments factory, despite Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. "During the night, high-precision, air-launched missiles destroyed an ammunitions factory near the settlement of Brovary, Kyiv region," Russia's defence ministry said, the third such air strike near the capital in as many days. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol, which Moscow's forces claim to have brought under their control, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks. Moscow on Saturday issued an ultimatum to the fighters, urging them to lay down their arms by 6:00 am Moscow time (0300 GMT) and to evacuate before 13:00 pm. "Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol," Vereshchuk wrote. Russia's defence ministry said that there were up to 400 mercenaries inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant, calling on Ukrainian forces inside to "lay down their arms and surrender in order to save their lives." Moscow claims Kyiv has ordered fighters of the nationalist Azov battalion to "shoot on the spot" anyone wanting to surrender. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Russian forces kill Kyiv's troops remaining to defend the city, then a fledgling negotiation process to end nearly two months of fighting would be ended. Inhuman Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol is "inhuman" and called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine's unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24. "The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman," Zelensky said in a video address. "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there." The UN World Food Programme has said that over 100,000 civilians in Mariupol are on the verge of famine, and lacking water and heating. Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the city was on "the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the country was compiling evidence of alleged Russian atrocities there. "We will hand everything over to The Hague. There will be no impunity," he said. With fighting raging in the east, Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk said that humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to flee would not open on Sunday after failing to agree terms with Russian forces. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the eastern Donbas area to move west to escape a large-scale Russian offensive to capture its composite regions, Donetsk and Lugansk. Easter of war Celebrating Easter Sunday in Rome, Pope Francis called for peace in Ukraine during this "Easter of war". "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," the pontiff said in his traditional Urbi et Orbi address on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. "Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Francis said he held "in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. "I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war." A week ahead of Orthodox Easter, men, women and children of all ages streamed into the Bernardine Monastery in the western city of Lviv to bless sprigs of pussy willow on Orthodox Palm Sunday. Under an ornate gilded ceiling, worshippers huddled on pews or found standing space near the door to engage in private prayer. On the square outside, Natalia Borysiuk, a 29-year-old who works in the IT sector, held a posy of pussy willow and wheat bound in blue and yellow ribbon, the colours of the Ukrainian flag. She said she had come to pray for "peace and victory". "I can't even talk about how in these eastern cities of Ukraine and Kyiv they suffer now. It's terrible. But here we can just go to church and pray, and believe in our beautiful and peaceful future," she said. Unpredictable consequences Russia warned the United States this week of "unpredictable consequences" if it sends its "most sensitive" weapons systems to Ukraine, as Zelensky has requested. Its defence ministry claimed Saturday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukraine on Sunday vowed to fight to the end in Mariupol after a Russian ultimatum expired for remaining forces to surrender in the southeastern port city where Moscow is pushing for a major strategic victory. "The city still has not fallen," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said hours after Moscow's deadline for fighters holed up and surrounded in a sprawling fortress-like steelworks to surrender passed. "There's still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end," he told ABC's "This Week", with Moscow shifting its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea. Russia's defence ministry said that there were up to 400 mercenaries inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant, calling on Ukrainian forces inside to "lay down their arms and surrender in order to save their lives." Moscow claims Kyiv has ordered fighters of the nationalist Azov battalion to "shoot on the spot" anyone wanting to surrender. 'Dead end' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if Russian forces kill Kyiv's troops remaining to defend the city, then a fledgling negotiation process to end nearly two months of fighting would be ended. Russian President Vladimir Putin had already said the talks were at a "dead end." Shmyhal said that Ukraine wanted a diplomatic solution "if possible," but added: "If the Russians wouldn't like negotiations, we'll fight to the end, absolutely. We will not surrender. While several cities are under siege, he said, not one -- with the exception of Kherson in the south -- had fallen. He said more than 900 towns and cities had been liberated. As Russia scales up attacks on Ukraine's eastern flank, at least five people were killed and 13 wounded in a series of strikes in second city Kharkiv, just 21 kilometres (13 miles) from the Russian border and an air strike hit an armaments factory in Kyiv. Maksym Khaustov, the head of the Kharkiv region's health department, confirmed the deaths following a series of strikes that AFP journalists on the scene said had ignited fires throughout the city and torn roofs from buildings. At one site, AFP saw a blood-stained coat next to a pool of fresh blood on the ground. A local reported hearing between six and eight missiles hit in the kind of strike that has become a daily occurrence. On Friday, shelling of residential areas of the city killed 10 people. On Saturday, a strike claimed two more lives. 'Inhuman' Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol. "Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol," Vereshchuk wrote. Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol is "inhuman" and called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine's unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24. The UN World Food Programme says that over 100,000 civilians in Mariupol are on the verge of famine, and lacking water and heating. Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the city was on "the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the country was compiling evidence of alleged Russian atrocities there. "We will hand everything over to The Hague. There will be no impunity," he said. With fighting raging in the east, Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk said that humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to flee would not open on Sunday after failing to agree terms with Russian forces. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the eastern Donbas area to move west to escape a large-scale Russian offensive to capture its composite regions, Donetsk and Lugansk. 'Easter of war' Celebrating Easter Sunday in Rome, Pope Francis called for peace in Ukraine during this "Easter of war". "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," the pontiff said in his traditional Urbi et Orbi address on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. "Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering." Francis said he held "in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. "I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war." A week ahead of Orthodox Easter, men, women and children of all ages streamed into the Bernardine Monastery in the western city of Lviv to bless sprigs of pussy willow on Orthodox Palm Sunday. - 'Unpredictable consequences' - Under an ornate gilded ceiling, worshippers huddled on pews or found standing space near the door to engage in private prayer. On the square outside, Natalia Borysiuk, a 29-year-old who works in the IT sector, held a posy of pussy willow and wheat bound in blue and yellow ribbon, the colours of the Ukrainian flag. She said she had come to pray for "peace and victory". "I can't even talk about how in these eastern cities of Ukraine and Kyiv they suffer now. It's terrible. But here we can just go to church and pray, and believe in our beautiful and peaceful future," she said. Russia warned the United States this week of "unpredictable consequences" if it sends its "most sensitive" weapons systems to Ukraine, as Zelensky has requested. Its defence ministry claimed Saturday to have shot down a Ukrainian transport plane in the Odessa region, carrying weapons supplied by Western nations. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukraine's foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russia's continued attacks there could be a ``red line'' that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS' ``Face the Nation'' that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians ``continue their struggle'' but that the city effectively doesn't exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up ``expert level'' talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a ``red line'' that stops peace efforts. Search Keywords: Short link: By Trend Three Chinese astronauts returned to earth on Saturday after 183 days in space, state television reported, completing the country's longest crewed space mission to date, Trend reports citing Reuters. The astronauts landed nine hours after they left a key module of China's first space station. While in orbit, the Shenzhou-13 mission astronauts took manual control in the Tianhe living quarters module for what state media called a "docking experiment" with the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft. Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the country's Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. ``All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports,'' the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. Search Keywords: Short link: On what is supposed to be Christianity's most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the ``senseless'' war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. ``May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,'' Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square. The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. ``Please, please, let us not get used to war,'' Francis pleaded, after denouncing ''the flexing of muscles while people are suffering.`` Yet again, the pontiff didn't cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. People's hearts are filled with ``fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,`` the pontiff said. ``Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets,'' Francis said. ''May the leaders of nations hear people's plea for peace.`` In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: ``'Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?'`` He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifesto's text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week _ with Easter coming on April 24 _ Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name ``Urbi et Orbi'' _ to the city and to the world. ``May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget,'' Francis said. Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that ``Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places'' in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, ``which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims.`` He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that country's people. He also prayed that God grant ``reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists,'' and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and ``terrorist attacks _ particularly in the Sahel region,'' as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. But Francis found hope in the ``open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe,'' referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. ``They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country,'' said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them ``forget for a moment about all the terrible things'' that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: ``I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter.'' Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end ``as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe'' Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peter's Basilica. After Easter morning Mass, Francis boarded the white popemobile for a whirl through the square among the cheering ranks of the crowd. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. Search Keywords: Short link: Shanghai reported a record number of symptomatic COVID-19 cases Saturday, and other areas across China tightened controls as the country kept up its "dynamic clearance" approach that aims to stamp out the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone, a central Chinese manufacturing area that includes Apple Inc supplier Foxconn, announced a 14-day lockdown on Friday "to be adjusted according to the epidemic situation." In northwestern China, the city of Xian on Friday urged residents to avoid unnecessary trips outside their residential compounds and encouraged companies to have employees work from home or live at their workplace, following dozens of COVID-19 infections this month. A Xian government official, responding to residents' concerns over potential food shortages, said on Saturday that the announcement did not constitute a lockdown and that the city would not impose one. The city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, said on Saturday that all employees capable of working from home must do so, and residential compounds and company campuses should avoid unnecessary entry of people and vehicles. It has reported more than 500 infections in its latest outbreak. Shanghai itself, which is at the center of China's recent COVID surge starting in early March, on Saturday reported a record 3,590 symptomatic cases for April 15, as well as 19,923 asymptomatic cases. The asymptomatic case number was up slightly from 19,872 cases a day earlier. The city's case tally makes up the vast majority of cases nationwide even as most of its 25 million residents remain under lockdown. KYODO NEWS - Apr 16, 2022 - 22:32 | All, Japan Japan's nuclear power plants have over 57,000 tons of large equipment that have, or will in time, become radioactive industrial waste and may be destined to be disposed of overseas, a tally of electric power company data showed Saturday. The scale of the would-be hazardous waste underscores the ongoing move within the government to reexamine a rule banning the exports of radioactive waste at a time when few municipalities are willing to accept such waste. Creating an exception to the rule under the foreign exchange law would allow power companies to commission contractors overseas to dispose of certain types of large equipment on the condition they are recycled in the destination countries. But critics say radioactive waste created in Japan should not be forced on other countries and that such waste should be recycled domestically by improving related disposal technology. The tally showed nuclear power plants in the country had 57,230 tons of the large equipment, including those still in use, at the end of March. The equipment in question comes in three types. Steam generators create steam used to generate electricity, while feedwater heaters heat the water that goes back into a reactor and casings are used to store or transport spent nuclear fuel. For example, there are 37 used steam generators, weighing a total of 12,000 tons, according to the tally. Twenty-two generators, or 7,500 tons, remain at reactors to be decommissioned, while another 51 units, or 15,300 tons, are still in use. The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has 3,360 tons of spent nuclear fuel casings. But the industry ministry says it sees no scenario in which waste emerging from the plant's decommissioning process would be disposed of overseas. The tally did not include data on the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant. Tohoku Electric Power Co. declined to provide data. Decommissioning of nuclear reactors is expected to speed up from the mid-2020s in Japan, with an attendant increase in radioactive waste. Already, 24 commercial reactors are due to be decommissioned. Radioactive waste is expected to be buried underground, depending on its pollution levels. But few disposal sites have been picked, leaving the handling of large reactor equipment, in particular, in limbo. A steam generator is a large cylindrical metal object that is 20 meters long and weighs 300 tons. Because of its size, it cannot be easily cut up, encased in drums and buried. Kansai Electric Power Co. has 21 generators stored away on its premises. "We are concerned about having little room left on our premises (at power plants) going forward as it would impact decommissioning work," a company source said. "It is virtually impossible to dispose of the waste domestically. The regulatory reconsideration is a gleam of hope for the waste issue that is at a dead-end," the source added, expressing hope for overseas disposal. One company the Japanese side is talking with about possible waste export is EnergySolutions Inc., a U.S. nuclear service company and a major player in the reactor decommissioning business. The Utah-based company has processed over 60,000 tons of waste produced in reactor decommissioning in and outside of the United States. A company official expressed confidence that it can process not just the three types of large reactor equipment under consideration for export, but other waste, such as metals from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Tatsujiro Suzuki, a Nagasaki University professor, who served as an acting head of the government's Atomic Energy Commission, is critical of the envisioned disposal of radioactive waste overseas. "This is what you get when the state has failed to seriously discuss what to do with waste," Suzuki said, warning that it is a slippery slope and could lead to an export of waste from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. "It is sheer irresponsibility when looked at from the principle that disposal must be done in one's own country." KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2022 - 08:54 | All, Japan Forty-two percent of major Japanese firms are planning to increase hires of new graduates in fiscal 2023, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, reflecting more companies projecting a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The ratio of such optimistic firms jumped by 25 points from a survey held a year ago. It topped that of companies planning to curb new graduate hiring, 9 percent, for the first time in three years. Of the 117 companies polled, 49 said they will hire more in the year starting next April compared with levels in the previous year. The survey also found that the fallout on their recruitment plan from the Russian war on Ukraine is seen as relatively limited. Among other respondents, 30 percent said they will maintain the same levels as fiscal 2022 while 14 percent were undecided. The survey was conducted between mid-March and early April. Businesses that had been hard hit by the pandemic, such as airlines and the tourism sector, stood out in their resolve to increase recruitment as they explore new ways for growth. ANA Holdings Inc. and Imperial Hotel Ltd. are among them. In contrast, some companies in the finance and energy sectors said they will curb hires of new graduates. They instead plan to expand mid-career recruitment and improve business efficiency through digitization. Most of Japanese companies recruit new graduates at the start of each fiscal year, beginning the hiring process roughly a year in advance. In the survey, the most common reason given to raising recruitment was "expanding business" at 33 percent, followed by 18 percent noting the need to balance the age distribution of employees. On Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 57 percent see its impact on their recruitment plan as "not significant." While 1 percent said the war in Europe could lead to less recruitment, 33 percent said they cannot assess its impact now. The Ukraine crisis has prompted a climb in commodity and crude oil prices, raising concerns that it may squeeze corporate earnings amid hesitancy to pass on additional costs to consumers. As for recruiting amid the pandemic, 19 percent said they will carry out all the process online, up 3 points from the previous survey. KYODO NEWS - Apr 17, 2022 - 12:33 | All, Japan South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol will send a delegation to Japan this month for policy consultations on bilateral issues and cooperation in responding to threats by North Korea, his transition team said Sunday. The delegation, led by Chung Jin Suk, a member of Yoon's People Power Party, and also involving diplomatic experts, will arrive in Japan on April 24 and meet with lawmakers, diplomats and business leaders. Yoon, whose inauguration is scheduled for May 10, sent a similar delegation to the United States earlier this month. The delegation is expected to help build "foundations for cooperation in policy toward North Korea and resolving issues of concern between South Korea and Japan," the transition team's press secretary said. Yoon is widely seen as willing to improve relations with Japan, which have soured under the current administration of President Moon Jae In due to clashes over issues stemming from Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Those issues include compensation for women coerced into working in military brothels and wartime laborers. Yoon's delegation is also expected to discuss who should be sent as Japanese representative to the inauguration ceremony. Seoul is said to be expecting a senior official of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government to attend the event. Related coverage: Japan seriously considering high-level dialogue with South Korea DAR ES SALAAM, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday joined fellow citizens in commemorating 100 years of the birth of founding leader Julius Nyerere. Speaking in a debate to mark the occasion, President Hassan urged Tanzanians to continue honoring what Nyerere stood for during his lifetime. "In order to honor him, we should continue nurturing peace, unity and solidarity that the founding leader stood for," she told her audience at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha district in Coast region. President Hassan also urged Tanzanians to continue nurturing Nyerere's philosophy which entailed self-dependence. "We have to work hard in using our resources in order to become economically independent," said the head of state. On February 3, the government of Tanzania launched a program dedicated to marking 100 years of Nyerere. The program called "Mwalimu Nyerere@100" is being coordinated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and will climax on April 13, the birthday of Nyerere, in his native village of Butiama in Mara region. The program is aimed at identifying new strategies to commemorate the work, life and philosophies of Julius Nyerere in the next ten years. Nyerere, who ruled Tanzania from 1964 to 1985, was one of Africa's leading independence heroes. He was born on April 13, 1922, in Butiama on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria in northwest Tanzania. Du Shun (R), deputy manager of a Hema Fresh store in Wuhan, helps Liu Zengyu, a delivery man from Jiangxi Province, start his electric bicycle to deliver goods in Shanghai, east China, April 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli) SHANGHAI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai is working hard to overcome bottlenecks in logistics and help e-commerce platforms increase production and transport capacity amid strong COVID-19 flare-ups. The megacity of 25 million people reported 3,590 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 19,923 local asymptomatic carriers on Friday, the municipal health commission said on Saturday. "The epidemic rebound in Shanghai has caused severe pressure on online shopping, bearing in mind that many delivery persons are under closed-off management and some large warehouses have been temporarily closed," said Liu Min, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, at a press conference on Saturday. "Shanghai is going all out to restore transport capacity," Liu said. A total of 42 non-epidemic-hit warehouses of Shanghai's e-commerce platforms have resumed operations so far, with more than 18,000 delivery drivers completing about 1.8 million orders per day. Also, supermarkets and other offline stores of key suppliers are gradually resuming business. As of Friday, 1,011 non-epidemic-hit stores of major supermarkets had opened. The number of employees had increased by 37 percent compared with the previous period. An employee prepares online orders for delivery at a Burger King store in east China's Shanghai, April 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli) To further improve the efficiency of distribution, some supermarkets in the economic hub have launched a variety of supply packages involving necessities such as rice, noodles, vegetables, fruits and toiletries, which will be delivered to local communities through third-party logistics companies after residents report their needs to neighborhood communities or place orders on the supermarkets' apps, Liu said. The city has strengthened health testing for anti-epidemic workers including delivery people, providing convenient testing services. Shanghai adopts a "2+2" testing mode for logistics workers, requiring them to take two antigen tests every other day, and one antigen test and one nucleic acid test the following day. Aerial photo taken on Dec. 16, 2021 shows the construction site of the Longmen Bridge in Qinzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Located in the city of Qinzhou, the Longmen Bridge, a cross-sea bridge serving as a part of an expressway connecting coastal cities along the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi, stretches 7.6 km, with the main bridge span measuring 1,098 meters in length. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) NANNING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provinces and ASEAN countries, launched a new transport route on Saturday creating a link to central China's Henan Province. A northbound train loaded with Thai starch departed from the city of Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday, while a southbound train carrying aluminum wheels and other goods left the city of Luohe, central China's Henan Province, at the same time. The two trains will arrive in their respective destinations of Luohe and Qinzhou in four days. "The expansion of the land-sea freight service from western China to central China's Henan is of great significance in promoting connectivity between central and western parts of the country, which can ensure that the opportunities brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are shared by more people," said Shu Zixun, deputy general manager of the Guangxi branch of China United International Rail Containers Co., Ltd. "In the future, goods and raw materials from the central province will be continuously transported to the markets of RCEP member countries through this channel," Shu added. ASEAN countries have become the second-largest trading partner of Henan Province. Thanks to the land-sea freight service, goods exported from Henan are transported by rail to Qinzhou Port in Guangxi and then shipped by sea to ASEAN countries, slashing the transportation time by about seven days. JERUSALEM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police stormed the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Sunday, with at least 10 people injured during the ensuing clashes. Early on Sunday, Israeli police forces dispersed Palestinians from the large plaza outside the mosque, while dozens remained inside and chanted "God is great," according to a statement issued by the police. The police said they entered the compound to clear rocks and other barriers stockpiled by Palestinians overnight on the sidewalk used by Jews to visit the site. The police are "committed to facilitating freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims," the statement read. Shortly later, Palestinians reported clashes outside the mosque, in which at least ten people were injured by Israeli security forces, according to a statement issued by the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israeli police said the clashes began after Palestinians inside the mosque tossed fireworks at the plaza. Furthermore on Sunday in East Jerusalem, Palestinians hurled stones at buses en route to the Old City, where the al-Aqsa mosque compound is located. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency health service said in a statement that at least five Jews were lightly injured, including a 14-year-old boy and the bus driver. Two Palestinian suspects were arrested for hurling the stones, the police said. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint site holy to both Muslims and Jews. It is located in East Jerusalem, a territory captured by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel annexed it shortly later in a move not recognized by most of the international community. On Friday, at least 152 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the Israeli police at the compound. Escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians over the past three weeks -- including four deadly attacks in Israel, some of them carried out by Palestinian citizens of Israel -- raised fears of a slide back into a broader conflict. By Trend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong held discussions on Friday on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the situation in South China Sea. Modi made a phone call to Trong and held deliberations over a wide range of issues, said an official news release, Trend reports citing The Tribune. The two leaders agreed to enhance the defence partnership between the two countries and PM Modi also requested for greater facilitation of market access for Indias pharma and agricultural products in Vietnam. The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the rapid pace of wide-ranging cooperation under the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was established during Modis visit to Vietnam in 2016. PM Modi reiterated Vietnams importance as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy (AEP) and Indo-Pacific vision, and sought to enhance the scope of the bilateral ties, besides working on the expeditious progress of the existing initiatives. The two leaders complimented each other on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam, which is being celebrated this year. Highlighting the historical and civilisational links between the two countries, Modi expressed happiness over Indias involvement in the restoration of Cham monuments in Vietnam. BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Foreign media and space experts have paid particular attention to China's successful Shenzhou-13 manned mission after three Chinese astronauts completed their six-month space station stay and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The experts highlighted the astronauts' work in space, including two spacewalks, more than 20 science experiments and two live educational lectures. They also expressed expectations for future cooperation with China. Philippe Coue, a French specialist in Chinese astronautics, described the mission as "faultless" in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday. Noting several "world firsts" were completed and numerous experiments conducted during their half-year flight, he extended his "congratulations to the crew for advancing astronautics in China." As for the educational lectures delivered from the Tiangong space station, Molly Silk, a doctoral researcher of Chinese space policy at the University of Manchester in England, told the Space.com news website that the real-time interactive event "highlights the reality of the country's technological achievements and displays the competencies and utility of its space program." "Such an event serves to enhance national pride and to encourage young citizens to pursue science-based careers," she said. The Shenzhou-13 crew has completed the longest-ever spaceflight in Chinese history, marking the last flight mission to verify critical technologies of the Chinese space station and an important milestone in China's space industry, said Pui Jeng Leong, a media veteran in Brunei, adding it lays a solid technology foundation for further building the Tiangong station. "China has made such incredible advances, and I just enjoy watching their developments and hope to see us all working together more in the future," Don Thomas, a retired NASA astronaut, recently told Xinhua. Despite the political divergence between countries, Thomas believes that astronauts from different countries share the same identity -- space travelers from Earth. "It would be my goal that definitely all the space-exploring countries of the world can work together on some projects in the future, maybe building a joint base on the moon or a base on planet Mars," Thomas said. CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed Senator Anne Ruston will take over as the minister for health if the government is re-elected. Morrison on Sunday announced that Ruston, currently the Minister for Families and Social Services and Minister for Women's Safety, will replace the retiring Greg Hunt should the Coalition win a fourth consecutive term in government on May 21. He said that Ruston's role in social services made her the right candidate to lead Australia's ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic. "Anne's experience as a senior minister managing a complex portfolio touching millions of lives makes her the right pick to help guide Australia's health system out of the pandemic," Morrison said in a media release. "I know she'll bring that ability to understand complex issues, and her compassion to the health portfolio." Ruston said she was honored to be appointed to the portfolio. "Healthcare has been a part of my life ever since I was born as my mum was a nurse in our regional town, which also gave me great insight into the vital role country hospitals play in the lives of their communities," Ruston said. According to the latest Department of Health data, there had been approximately 5.17 million confirmed cases and 6,762 deaths in Australia as of Saturday afternoon. The number of new cases reported in the previous 24 hours was 41,660. There were about 3,002 coronavirus cases being treated in Australian hospitals including 134 in intensive care units. So far about 69 percent of the eligible population have received booster vaccines in the country. On Sunday morning, Australia reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases. Six new deaths were reported in New South Wales, the country's most populous state. JERUSALEM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Islamic party of Ra'am said Sunday that it considered quitting the coalition government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to protest against the police actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Mansour Abbas, chairman of the Ra'am party, told the Israeli-Arab A-Shams Radio that his party, which has four seats in the 60-seat coalition, was mulling resigning in protest of the police actions at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, injuring and arresting hundreds of Palestinians over the past three days during the clashes. "Al-Aqsa mosque is a red line for us, including at the cost of the stability of the coalition," Abbas said, adding that "there is no political consideration in the matter of the Al-Aqsa Mosque." Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported that Ra'am was calling a special meeting scheduled for later the day on a proposal to leave the coalition. In a letter to Bennett, Mazen Ghnaim, a Ra'am party member, said "if the security forces' activity in the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque is not halted immediately, I consider myself not to be part of the coalition." The remarks sparked further tensions within the coalition that ended the rule of Israel's longest-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021. Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai told Kan Bet Radio that "the security forces should not compromise the security of Jewish visitors at the holy site just in order to maintain the coalition at all costs." Bennett's coalition lost its majority a week and a half ago after a lawmaker with Bennett's right-wing Yamina party left the party and joined Netanyahu's Likud, Bennett's predecessor and main political rival. The move, less than a year after the inauguration of the new government, threw the coalition into disarray. The coalition is now governing with only 60 seats in the 120-seat parliament. If Ra'am will quit the coalition, it may trigger a new round of elections. KABUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition displaying women-made handicrafts has been held in the Afghan capital Kabul. It is the first of its kind after the Taliban took over the Central Asian country last August. With the support from the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Taliban-led caretaker government, the exhibition opened at the National Gallery. Of the 81 stalls, 40 are owned by women. Ferishta Hashimi, 40, wants to find more customers and boost her business at the exhibition. Like many economic activities in Afghanistan, Hashimi's business has felt the impact of the U.S. sanctions against Afghanistan. She hopes that through the exhibition, she could find new customers from overseas markets. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy an ice cake at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "We are celebrating 50 years of giant pandas at the National Zoo and the incredible partnership and conservation success story that we have made over the years," said Brandie Smith, director of Smithsonian's National Zoo. "The best part about working with giant pandas is that we do work so closely with our colleagues in China." by Xinhua writers Sun Ding, Hu Yousong WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Male giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji went to great lengths to climb onto the back of his mother, Mei Xiang, only to fall down cutely before both of them were drawn to an ice cake made of their favorite treats, including sugar cane, carrots, apples and bamboo. The "eating shows" on Saturday morning, part of the Smithsonian's National Zoo's "Pandaversary" party, were quite enjoyed by visitors of all age groups. At least 18,000 people were said to have registered to visit the zoo in northwest Washington, D.C. during the day. "We are celebrating 50 years of giant pandas at the National Zoo and the incredible partnership and conservation success story that we have made over the years," Director of the zoo Brandie Smith told Xinhua at the scene. "The best part about working with giant pandas is that we do work so closely with our colleagues in China." While watching the giant pandas having fun in their outdoor yards, "Pandaversary" partygoers also had the opportunity to taste giant panda-shaped "Baozi" buns, try Chinese calligraphy, and watch lion dance performances and the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary "The Miracle Panda" at the zoo. Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji"(R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) With a giant panda ears headband, Kirsten of Washington, D.C. told Xinhua that she got up very early to make sure she could see the adorable animals eat the fruitsicles on "a very important day for me and for the pandas in the zoo" and that she was "having a great time." Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and members of the embassy also attended the event. Speaking to reporters, Qin said that over the past 50 years, China and the United States have achieved a lot in giant panda conservation, and that giant pandas are not an "endangered" species any more. In February 1972, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949. During the groundbreaking trip, his wife, Patricia Nixon, mentioned her fondness for giant pandas to then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who later gifted two of the Chinese "national treasures" to the American people as a gesture of goodwill. The U.S. government reciprocated by sending a pair of Alaskan musk oxen to China. The Nixons selected the Smithsonian's National Zoo as female Ling-Ling and male Hsing-Hsing's home in the United States. The giant panda couple arrived in Washington, D.C. on April 16, 1972. The undated photo shows Ling Ling (R) and Hsing Hsing, a pair of giant pandas as a gift from the Chinese government, at the Washington National Zoo, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Yu) Days later, Patricia Nixon, wearing a giant panda pin, formally welcomed the precious gift from China and declared that "I think 'panda-monium' is going to break out at the zoo." "This became quite an event, not because of Mrs. Nixon's presence but because of the pandas which were a great novelty," Chas Freeman, the U.S. State Department escort officer for the Chinese delegation that brought the giant pandas to the U.S. capital and the interpreter at Mrs. Nixon's acceptance of them at the zoo, told Xinhua during a virtual interview. "Everyone who sees pandas reacts the same way. They are cute. They are lovable. They don't seem at all dangerous," Freeman, also an interpreter for the Nixon delegation during the 1972 China visit, said of giant pandas. "You probably want to hug them and they were very exotic and this was a symbol of a new start in U.S.-China relations." Mrs. Nixon's prediction turned out to be right. The public debut of Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing alone drew 20,000 visitors. The following Sunday, 75,000 people thronged the zoo and waited in a line to catch a glimpse of them. The pair of giant pandas were the top attractions at the zoo until they passed away separately in the 1990s. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to Washington in December 2000 and went on to become new "rock stars" of the renowned zoo, bringing great happiness and joy alongside their cubs to not only in-person visitors but also fans from around the world via the Giant Panda Cams, which are said to have been viewed more than 100 million times. Photo taken on March 16, 2022 shows giant panda Mei Xiang at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Ever since giant pandas came to the zoo, the icon species has symbolized cross-cultural collaboration between the United States and China. With giant pandas, the zoo has been given an unparalleled opportunity to study the animal's behavior, health, reproduction and ecology. The decades-old partnership has also allowed American animal care staff and scientists to learn about and study giant panda breeding and cub development, as well as their native habitat. In return, the zoo's breeding, veterinary and ecological research has provided critical data and valuable insights for the conservation of wild populations. Smithsonian scientists also created a framework on how giant pandas are bred to improve breeding success and genetic diversity, which has also been used by zoos across the globe for other animals. Smith also revealed the zoo has been speaking with colleagues in China about a further extension of their giant panda cooperative research and breeding agreement, which has been renewed three times since 2000. The current research agreement extension was signed in December 2020 and stipulates giant pandas may live at the zoo into December 2023. "Very positive talks. Our interactions are very positive," she added. "I believe we all are very interested in making sure this program continues for another 50 years." When working together, China and the United States can get things done, Ambassador Qin said. "We have the wisdom and courage to maintain cooperation and deliver results, not only in giant panda conservation, but in many other areas, to the benefit of the people of both countries and the world." Enditem (Xiao Xiao in Washington, D.C. contributed to the story.) Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy an ice cake at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Smithsonian's National Zoo marked on Saturday an important milestone in its giant panda program and partnership with China to conserve the unique species. Visitors enjoyed watching male cub Xiao Qi Ji and his mother Mei Xiang devouring frozen treats from an outdoor yard at the zoo's famed giant panda habitat in the morning, as well as male adult Tian Tian receiving his ice cake with lunch at noon. The "eating shows" were part of the zoo's "Pandaversary Party" in celebration of the giant panda program's 50th anniversary and decades of China-U.S. collaboration in saving the bears from extinction. Partygoers also had the opportunity to taste giant panda-shaped "Baozi" buns, try Chinese calligraphy, and watch lion dance performances and the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary "The Miracle Panda." Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and members of the embassy toured the giant panda habitat on Saturday morning, accompanied by Director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo Brandie Smith. Qin made a brief remark, saying that over the past 50 years, China and the United States have worked together and achieved a lot in the conservation of giant pandas, which are no longer an endangered species. In a tweet later, the Chinese ambassador wrote that it was "a heart-melting experience" visiting the zoo in northwest Washington, D.C. and seeing up close the three charismatic bears living there. "Look forward to greater success in China-US cooperation on giant #panda conservation," he added. Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and historian, tweeted that he remembers standing in line at the National Zoo to "see the famous pandas, whose presence in Washington marked a significant moment in science, culture, and diplomacy." In 1972, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking trip to China. The Nixons selected the Smithsonian's National Zoo as female Ling-Ling and male Hsing-Hsing's home in the United States. The chubby bears from China with distinctive black-and-white markings arrived in Washington D.C. on April 16, 1972. Several days later, then first lady Patricia Nixon formally welcomed the giant panda pair to the zoo, who were the top attractions there until they passed away separately in the 1990s. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to the U.S. capital in December 2000. Xiao Qi Ji -- which means "Little Miracle" in Chinese -- was born to Mei Xiang during the summer of 2020, who was artificially inseminated earlier that year using frozen semen from Tian Tian. Senior curator of mammals Bryan Amaral told Xinhua on Saturday that all the three giant pandas are in good health. Native to southwest China, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world and has come to symbolize vulnerable species. About 1,864 giant pandas live in their native habitat, while another 600 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world. Tourists take photos of giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, on April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy an ice cake at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy an ice cake at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Tourists take photos of giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, on April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (L) and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" enjoy an ice cake at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji" (R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows giant panda cub "Xiao Qi Ji"(R) and its mother "Mei Xiang" at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Visitors practice Chinese calligraphy during an event at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 16, 2022. Various events were held to mark the 50th anniversary of the giant panda program of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Saturday. In 1972, then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then-U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking visit. Then-Zoo Director Theodore Reed personally escorted the bears from China, and they arrived in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1972. (Xinhua) Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang (2nd L, front) attends a Ramadan charity event in Cairo, Egypt, April 16, 2022. More than 30 Chinese companies in Egypt have taken the chance of a Ramadan charity event in Cairo to donate 1 million Egyptian pounds (about 54,245 U.S. dollars) to help local families in need, said the organizers on Saturday. This year's event is the eighth of its kind since it was launched by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in 2015. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) CAIRO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 Chinese companies in Egypt have taken the chance of a Ramadan charity event in Cairo to donate 1 million Egyptian pounds (about 54,245 U.S. dollars) to help local families in need, said the organizers on Saturday. This year's event is the eighth of its kind since it was launched by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in 2015. Throughout the years, the donation of more than 10,000 Ramadan gift boxes has benefited over 40,000 impoverished families, according to the Chinese business network. Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang told the event on Saturday that the Chinese people bear the traditional virtue of showing and reciprocating kindness, and the Chinese companies by taking initiative to extend help reflect a profound friendship of weal and woe between the two peoples. Hanaa Ismail, head of the Egyptian Society for Integrated Development, thanked the Chinese side for organizing the event, noting that the donations will be distributed to the needy people in a timely manner. Children display backpacks during a Ramadan charity event in Cairo, Egypt, April 16, 2022. More than 30 Chinese companies in Egypt have taken the chance of a Ramadan charity event in Cairo to donate 1 million Egyptian pounds (about 54,245 U.S. dollars) to help local families in need, said the organizers on Saturday. This year's event is the eighth of its kind since it was launched by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in 2015. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) Staff members unload Ramadan gift boxes from a vehicle during a Ramadan charity event in Cairo, Egypt, April 16, 2022. More than 30 Chinese companies in Egypt have taken the chance of a Ramadan charity event in Cairo to donate 1 million Egyptian pounds (about 54,245 U.S. dollars) to help local families in need, said the organizers on Saturday. This year's event is the eighth of its kind since it was launched by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in 2015. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai) VIENNA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- While Austria is widely dubbed "the land of music" in China, its unique wine culture has remained little-known in the Asian country. But that is bound to change as more Austrian wine producers try to tap the Chinese market with an increasingly sophisticated wine-consuming base. Austrian wine is a cold climate wine known for its fruitiness and many varieties, including the famous local variety Gruner Veltliner. According to the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, the revenue of Austria's wine exports to China reached 2.19 million euros (about 2.37 million U.S. dollars) in 2021, surging 77.9 percent from the previous year. Although China accounted for only 1 percent of Austria's total wine exports last year, it was the largest export market for Austrian wines outside Europe and North America and is "a promising market for the future," the board's report said. Johannes Schmuckenschlager, president of the Austrian Winegrowers' Association and a member of Austria's National Council, told Xinhua he is optimistic about Austrian wines further expanding their footprint in the highly competitive Chinese market. Schmuckenschlager said many Chinese customers have discovered Austrian wines, which have been exceptionally well received by China's niche markets, such as the gastronomy industry. He added that Austrian wine producers had attended trade fairs in China to expand their influence in the Chinese market. "Austrian wines have a great potential in China," he said. "I hope we will have more presence in the Chinese market in the coming years and increase our exports there." Produced by Xinhua Global Service HONG KONG, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Patrick Nip, secretary for the civil service of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, Sunday urged the public to take their third and fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines timely. Nip said on social media that the first and second dose vaccination rates of people aged three or above in Hong Kong have reached more than 90 percent and 80 percent respectively. Nip reminded people that the protective efficacy of vaccines will reduce with time. Except for children who took BioNTech vaccines, all age groups should take three doses of the vaccines. He said experts recommended people aged 60 or above to receive an additional dose, the fourth dose, of the vaccine three months after their last dose to increase protection. On Sunday, Hong Kong registered 446 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 301 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed. GUIYANG, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Huang Zhuan, a special-education teacher, finds nothing more pleasing than positive behavioral changes in her students. Huang, 28, graduated with a major in special education from Anshun University, southwest China's Guizhou Province, and has worked for over five years at the Caring Home Special Education Rehabilitation Training Center, which is non-profit, in the provincial capital of Guiyang. Huang still remembers a pair of autistic twins among the first batch of students she taught. Even accompanied by their mother, the brothers still spat and took off their shoes during class, she recalled. After two years of training, the elder brother recovered and received a standard education in the kindergarten, while the younger one is receiving training in the development of life skills. The two children still keep in touch with Huang via telephone. "I'm proud and pleased to see that what I learnt has helped people in need," said Huang. Autism in China has an incidence rate of 0.7 percent, and more than 2 million children under the age of 12 are autistic. The figure is rising by about 200,000 each year, according to a report released in 2019. "As a result of intellectual disabilities, it's difficult for severely autistic children to find a proper school to attend. To avail them of schooling, we decided to recruit professional teachers and administrative staff," said Zhao Xinling, 62, who worked in the municipal finance bureau before establishing the training center in 2003. "It's just like planting a tree. Even if we are absent, it will protect the children from the wind and rain," said Zhao, who is the mother of an autistic patient. According to the Guizhou Disabled Persons' Federation, the number of rehabilitation agencies for autistic patients increased to 70 in 2021, compared to 28 in 2014. The number of autistic children undergoing rehabilitation treatment amounted to 2,400 in 2021, while it was just 280 in 2014. Huang Xi is also the mother of an autistic patient. When her daughter was aged four, it became clear that the little girl did not know how to have fun with her peers and showed no love for family members. Huang Xi took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with autism. Huang Xi explained that, although some autistic patients had grown into adults following training, they still lack social skills and some cannot pronounce words clearly. Thus, their family members prefer to call them "kids." In 2016, seeing that some kids had grown up and had no place to go, Huang Xi and Zhao decided to organize an autism rehabilitation center for them. Named Guiyang Huiling, it provides rehabilitation and round-the-clock care for autistic patients aged between 16 and 59. The rehabilitation center is equipped with an employment assistance station, a day-care center and a rehabilitation exercise room. There are a total of 56 autistic "children" there, with the eldest aged 45. All autistic patients sent to the center receive evaluations of their condition before training begins. They are taught to buy ingredients and cook meals, make handicrafts, play musical instruments and so on. To take care of this special group, Huang Xi and other teaching staff often gather together and discuss the emotional and behavioral changes of certain children after class. "If marks appear on their body, we need to find out whether they are allergic to something or had a fight with another person," said Huang Xi, adding that, since autistic children cannot express themselves clearly, any changes deserve attention. Huang Xi is pleased that about 25 percent of autistic children sent to the center go on to live normal lives and join mainstream society after recovery. Her autistic daughter has mastered the skills required to cook and do the laundry. Since 2020, volunteers from a handicrafts workshop in Guiyang have been visiting the rehabilitation center and teaching the "kids" manual skills such as batik and flower-making. "The workshop is responsible for selling their hand-made products online and offline, and in the process, informing more people about the special group," said Huang Xi, adding that the "kids" can also receive payment from their handicraft practice. "These days, the center mainly accommodates grown-up autistic patients. We hope to provide life-long company for these 'children,'" said Huang Xi. "We also hope that, after long-term social training, our children can earn a decent living and gain some respect." Mubadala Investment Company has appointed Mohamed Ali Al Dhaheri as the next CEO of its portfolio company, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) replacing Eissa Al Suwaidi, who retires in June. Al Dhaheri is currently the Deputy CEO of the council. Al Suwaidi retires after 40 years of service to Abu Dhabis major financial institutions. He joined the ADIC at its creation in 2007 after serving as an executive at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for 25 years. He became the council's managing director in 2015 and when in 2018, the council became part of Mubadala, Al Suwaidi was appointed its CEO. Managing Director and Group CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: "On behalf of the Mubadala board of directors, I would like to thank Al Suwaidi for his tenure as CEO of the council. He has served ADIC and the Mubadala Group, with great distinction." "He has had a long and successful career over four decades as one of Abu Dhabis most respected investment professionals, and I wish him the best in his retirement," he stated. Al Dhaheri has served for over two decades as a highly regarded investment executive, first at ADIA and then working with the founding members of the council in 2007. As Deputy CEO of the Council, he has worked closely with Al Suwaidi as well as leading the Councils Accounting and Financial Services Group.-TradeArabia News Service * In defiance of economic bullying and vehement defamation by the United States against Xinjiang cotton, farmers there continue cultivating this crop and sowing the seeds for better lives across the region. * There will be 37.57 million mu of cotton plantation areas in Xinjiang in 2022, increasing 2 percent compared to 2021. * Cotton sowing is nearly 100 percent mechanized in Xinjiang. In terms of harvesting, machines accounted for over 80 percent of all the work in the region in 2021. Aerial photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows a tractor working in a cotton field in Daquan of Shawan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) by Xinhua writers Sun Zhennan, Gao Han, Zhao Ge URUMQI, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The rumbling of tractors busy in the field on both sides of the Tianshan Mountains signals that cotton sowing is in full swing in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China. Jumay Hasan, of Uygur ethnicity, has planted cotton in Shaya County, Aksu Prefecture, for eight years. This year he plans to expand his plantation by 10 mu, meaning he will plant 130 mu (about 8.7 hectares) of cotton. "I earned 2,000 yuan (about 314 U.S. dollars) in profit from each mu last year," he said. "If things go well, I can get at least 20,000 yuan more this year." Jumay Hasan is just one of the countless farmers in the region who, in defiance of economic bullying and vehement defamation by the United States against Xinjiang cotton, continue cultivating this crop and sowing the seeds for better lives across the region. Tractors plow in a cotton field in Shiqiao Township of Usu City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge) UNFAZED AND CONFIDENT Despite U.S. sanctions on Xinjiang's cotton, Jumay Hasan is confident, and for a good reason. Shaya's high-quality cotton has an excellent reputation, earning it the accolade of the "hometown of cotton in China's Tarim Basin." Jumay Hasan's buoyancy on the crop is not isolated. Another Uygur farmer, Imin Anayet, who is also from Shaya, makes 2.5 million yuan a year from planting cotton. He also runs a farmers' cooperative, with 10,000 mu of contracted land, providing jobs for over 230 local farmers. According to estimates from the China Cotton Association, there will be 37.57 million mu of cotton plantation areas in Xinjiang in 2022, increasing 2 percent compared to 2021. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that cotton output in Xinjiang topped 5.1 million tonnes last year, accounting for 89.5 percent of the country's total cotton output. Moreover, the region has ranked first in China for more than 20 years in total cotton output, per-unit yield, planting area, and commodity allocation. "Xinjiang has unique natural conditions, abundant sunshine, and a long cotton growth cycle. It is not only the largest high-quality cotton production base in China but also globally significant," said Peng Changming, vice president of Xinjiang Cotton Association. An autopilot tractor works in a cotton field in Sangongdian Village of Ulan Usu Township in Shawan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) ALL MACHINES, NO FORCED LABOR Regarding the groundless accusations from the United States, such as "forced labor," Jumay Hasan said, "How could it be possible? From plowing to harrowing, sowing to harvesting, it is nearly all done by machines." This year, he completed all his field work of sowing within five days, an impossible achievement had these tasks been completed manually. Abdugani Abdukeyum, a Uygur farmer in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, said, "We use a seeding machine guided by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to sow, which works precisely and efficiently." According to a report released by the Institute for Communication and Borderland Governance of Jinan University last year, cotton sowing is nearly 100 percent mechanized in Xinjiang. Moreover, in terms of harvesting, machines accounted for over 80 percent of all the work in the region in 2021, said the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang. Muhtar Rohman, a Uygur agricultural machinery operator in Shaya, has witnessed the cotton industry's transformation from manual to mechanical firsthand. "I watched my parents toil on the field when I was young, and I remember wishing 'if only I had a machine to help them'," he said. In April 2021, he finally made his dream come true. Using the new cotton-picking machine, he helps farmers with their harvesting and now earns more than 100,000 yuan a year. Photo taken on April 16, 2022 shows a navigational autopilot equipment in a cotton field in Daquan of Shawan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu) COTTON BRINGS HAPPINESS The high mechanization rate has been propelled by the acceleration of large-scale cotton production regionally, which in turn has been driven by the expansion of farmers' cooperatives. By the end of 2019, Xinjiang was home to 26,424 farmers' cooperatives. According to the region's department of agriculture and rural affairs, on average, 2,000 new cooperatives were established every year from 2010 to 2019. Yelikat Kalimukan, a Kazak cotton farmer in Shiqiao Township, Usu City, said that the cooperative in his town helped him cut costs. "Our cooperative provides free high-quality seeds and affordable agricultural materials, helping us save around 80 to 100 yuan on each mu. This helps increase earnings for us small households," Yelikat Kalimukan said. Since joining a cooperative in 2020, Jumay Hasan says the technical expertise and mechanical services have paid off in dividends. "Last year, the yield per mu of our cooperative was 410 kilograms, and I earned 240,000 yuan totally," Jumay Hasan said. "Cotton brings us fortune and happiness!" (Video reporters: Aman, Gao Han, Sun Zhennan, Zhao Ge; video editors: Jia Xiaotong, Mu Xuyao) "My mom was killed in the invasion ... The wounds of war are still open when I recall that moment," said Nemesia Rodriguez, survivor of Bay of Pigs invasion. 61 years on, Cubans continue to condemn the U.S. culture of war ahead of the anniversary of the victory over the U.S.-backed invasion on April 19. Produced by Xinhua Global Service COLOMBO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Sunday sent a delegation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for discussions over ways to get the lender's loans. The delegation, led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry, also includes Governor of the Central Bank Nandalal Weerasinghe. The delegation is to visit the IMF headquarters and hold discussions in the next few days. Sabry told media they expect to receive around 4 billion U.S. dollars from the IMF in five tranches if the discussions are successful. Sri Lanka has been undergoing a serious economic crisis and foreign reserves stand below 2 billion dollars. Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that the government had decided to suspend normal debt servicing of all affected debts for an interim period till it puts together an orderly and consensual restructuring program supported by the IMF. RAMALLAH, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to establish a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told reporters on Saturday. "Any proposal, whether it is a state with temporary borders, or an entity or a state lacking sovereignty, will not end the conflict, will lead to confrontations and wars," he said in response to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's remarks that the political solution with the Palestinians "is to establish an entity for them while maintaining the Israeli security hegemony." Peace is achieved only by respecting the United Nations resolutions, the spokesman noted. In the June 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, and has controlled them ever since. The Palestinians have been seeking to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the creation of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said his spokesman. Guterres congratulated IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and the Executive Board for approving the new RST effective May 1, said spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement. "The RST builds in a long-term perspective and will support developing countries and vulnerable middle-income countries in addressing issues such as climate change and the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, while also improving resilience to future shocks," the statement said. "A long-term perspective is needed if we are to address not only the current three-dimensional crises but retain hope of rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals," it added. YANGON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar reopened the Yangon International Airport on Sunday, more than two years after the country suspended all commercial flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An airport official told Xinhua that a flight of Singapore Airlines that arrived at around 9 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Sunday was the first flight touching down at the airport after reopening. The Southeast Asian country suspended the operation of commercial flights in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to contain the virus. The inbound passengers need to present proof of vaccination with a Ministry of Health-approved vaccine and a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report, as part of the health protocol against COVID-19. Meanwhile, all foreign travelers shall submit the COVID-19 medical insurance purchased from Myanmar Insurance. All incoming travelers shall also wait at designated hotels for the RT-PCR test result that is to be sent by the Health Ministry in about 24 hours. Myanmar confirmed 18 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 612,545. The total death toll from COVID-19 in the country was 19,434. Over 22.23 million people in Myanmar have been fully vaccinated as of April 9, official data showed. Children receive sweets during Gargee'an festival at a street in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, April 16, 2022. During the traditional festival of Gargee'an in the holy month Ramadan, Kuwaiti children dress traditional attire and go door-to-door to receive sweets and nuts from neighbours, while also singing traditional songs. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) A child celebrates Gargee'an festival at a street in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, April 16, 2022. During the traditional festival of Gargee'an in the holy month Ramadan, Kuwaiti children dress traditional attire and go door-to-door to receive sweets and nuts from neighbours, while also singing traditional songs. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) MOGADISHU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its partners on Sunday launched a four-year project to provide durable solutions for people displaced by conflict and climate change in Somalia. The multi-million project named "Saameynta (impact in Somali)" will achieve durable solutions for more than 75,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable host communities in Somalia, the UN said in a joint statement issued here in the capital of Somalia. Adam Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said finding durable solutions to protracted displacement in Somalia is desperately needed to enhance the livelihood situation of IDPs and their host communities. "These IDPs are unlikely to return to their place of origin in the near future since their lands are now arid and unsuitable for farming or pastoralism," Abdelmoula said. Under the intervention, the UN and its partners will work together with the government to implement the National Durable Solutions Strategy. According to the UN, the project also seeks to decrease dependency on humanitarian aid, reduce poverty for thousands of impoverished individuals and promote IDPs integration in cities. "Humanitarian assistance alone cannot address chronic issues such as mass displacement and recurrent droughts and floods. That is why durable solutions are a priority for the UN," said Abdelmoula. He said Saameynta's sole approach aims to leverage the values generated by planned urbanization and investment in order to provide affordable housing, employment opportunities and community assets such as infrastructure, irrigation facilities, markets and other locally identified priorities for communities affected by displacement. Saameynta will also increase the self-reliance and access to sustainable basic services, including water, shelter, and health services for IDPs residing in the cities of Baidoa, Bossaso and Beletweyne. According to the UN, there are an estimated 2.9 million IDPs in Somalia due to decades of conflict and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Of these, 2.2 million require urgent humanitarian assistance. The project will also ensure the full participation of displaced women and girls living in overcrowded sites who continue to face a heightened risk of violence and harassment. Saameynta comes at a crucial time as the displacement situation in the country has been further exacerbated by drought, closure of refugee camps in neighbouring countries and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. KHARTOUM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Sunday condemned Israeli forces' raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound that left more than 100 Palestinians wounded. Sudan called on the international community to play its role in holding Israel fully responsible for the repercussions of such crimes and violations against the defenseless Palestinian people, their land and the holy sites, according to a statement by the country's foreign ministry. The ministry also demanded the Israeli government immediately stop the violations and its continued attempt to Judaize Jerusalem by imposing what it called a fait accompli policy. Sudan reaffirmed its stance toward the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem witnessed clashes between the Israeli forces and the Palestinians on Friday, when the Jews began to celebrate their Passover holiday that coincided with the second Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. TASHKENT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan is tightening pandemic restrictions as the first case of Omicron variant of COVID-19 virus was confirmed in the country, the Uzbek Health Ministry said on Sunday. A foreign citizen who arrived in Uzbekistan on Friday was confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant, the ministry said, noting that pandemic restrictions, such as wearing masks, keeping social distance and checking body temperatures, will be tightened. The Uzbek Republican Special Commission announced that starting from Jan. 15, foreign visitors will have to submit a negative PCR test for coronavirus infection taken within 48 hours before arrival. "In the absence of PCR test results, it is necessary to take an express test for coronavirus infection at airports, railway stations and border checkpoints," it said. Uzbekistan has so far registered 200,341 COVID-19 cases and 1,494 related deaths. Despite the prospects of rapid expansion over the next 12 to 24 months risks to the stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) banking system will remain contained, S&P Global Ratings has said. We expect Saudi Arabia's improving GDP growth and fiscal trajectory will continue, tied to the country's emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic, ongoing structural reforms, and improving oil sector dynamics. Domestic credit growth will likely stay strong in 2022-2023 following the sharp 15% increase in 2021. We expect government's efforts to meet its Vision 2030 targets and strong demand for housing from Saudi nationals will support loan growth, S&P said in a release. Over the next few years, S&P forecasts total credit growth at 10%-12%. Under its base-case scenario, S&P expects domestic private-sector credit to reach 90%-95% of GDP in 2022-2023 versus 68.8% in 2019. Cost of risk The cost of risk will stabilise close to pre-Covid-19 levels after declining in 2021. Higher write offs and buoyant lending growth helped to reduce the nonperforming loan ratio. It will remain stable because anticipated growth will remain strong and banks will continue writing off loans when appropriate, the ratings agency said. The Saudi banking sector is subject to adequate regulation under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). Sama has consistently encouraged banks to proactively build strong loan loss provision buffers and has been instrumental in helping banks manage volatility in less favourable liquidity conditions over the past two years. Saudi banks benefit from a low-cost and stable core deposit base, with limited reliance on external debt. Low cost of funds and better-than-average cost of risk have supported the banking sector's profitability. Profitability intact We don't expect the sector's profitability to be challenged by recent competitive developments, such as the licensing of three online banks, approval for a telecommunications company to convert its payments business into a digital bank, or the opening of branches of foreign banks in Saudi Arabia, S&P said. This is because Vision 2030 has created sufficient room for the sector's growth; bank customers, particularly corporate entities, continue to show a preference for traditional banking; and the telecom's focus is on a market niche. What's more, banks' healthy funding and liquidity profiles as a key differentiator compared with most other banking systems in the region and globally. It remains to be seen whether challenger banks will stoke competition on the funding side and accelerate the migration of deposits to remunerated instruments. The trend for economic risk is stable. Although the banking sector is expanding rapidly, the buildup of imbalances will remain contained, since the increase in real estate prices remains low in real terms, real estate demand is mostly local, and the majority of mortgage loans are backed by salary assignments. The increase in debt will also be alleviated by accelerating economic growth, it added. -- TradeArabia News Service NEW DELHI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Violent clashes broke out between two groups in the Indian capital on Saturday, in which several policemen were injured, the local police said. Vehicles were burnt as the mobs indulged in throwing stones and glass-bottles at each other. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spoke to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to take stock of the situation. The clashes erupted in the Jahangirpuri area of northwest Delhi when a religious procession of the Hindu community was being carried out on the occasion of a festival. The Delhi Police have set up teams to investigate into the clashes. The situation continues to be tense but under control, as contingents of police and para-military forces have been deployed to control subsequent fallouts of the clashes. The Delhi Police have been kept on a high alert in other parts of the capital. Chief Minister Kejriwal appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony. by Hayati Nupus, Wang Aona JAKARTA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- When the sun is about to set, Tri Ratnasari starts to make compotes, locally known as Kolak, and iced fruit drinks for the family's first meal at her home in East Jakarta. "We are used to breaking our fast with sweet foods, to replenish energy after fasting all day, as taught by our prophets," Ratnasari told Xinhua. Kolak is made of pieces of pumpkins, sugar palm fruit, and bananas, boiled with coconut milk, pandanus leaves, and brown sugar. Fasting is practiced by Muslims all over the world in the holy month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset for 30 days when they can't eat or drink, with a lot of thoughts naturally given to what to eat and who to eat with for the first meal after fasting. Indonesian Muslims, with the archipelago's diverse ethnic cultures, enjoy various types of food including Kolak and other sweet dishes such as Ketan Bintul rice, Kicak, and Barongko. Ketan Bintul with sticky rice topped with roasted grated coconut and spices tastes more favorable with the aromatic beef soup. Kicak is a combination of steamed glutinous rice flour with coconut milk, jackfruit, and grated coconut, while Barongko is made from bananas, eggs, coconut milk, sugar, and salt wrapped in banana leaves. Take a glimpse of the menu during Ramadan, it is not hard to figure out why the sales of sugar are well up on other months. During the month of fasting, food stands alongside the roads are surrounded by anxious people every afternoon. For office workers, appetizers including pudding, juice, and local snacks are a must-have before they could arrive home and enjoy the big meal. Samsuddin and his colleague Kartika Utami were anxiously waiting in rain for the vegetable salads and rice cakes to be packed at a marketplace near their office in South Jakarta. With an umbrella in one hand and bags of food in the other, they did not stop hunting for more despite the rainfall. Some people use the time for "iftar" to reunite with their old friends. Vinna Rizki, 35, gathered with her friends on Thursday at a restaurant in Jakarta, when they pictured their college days together and shared news about themselves. "This is the happiest iftar for me after the pandemic kept us apart for almost two years," Rizki said, "a face-to-face meeting with friends after a long hard day is even more soothing than a nice 'iftar'." KIEV, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has tightened security measures on the borders with Belarus and Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, the Ukrinform news agency reported Tuesday. "The security measures have been strengthened to prevent escalation in these areas," Andriy Demchenko, the spokesman of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, was quoted as saying. There is a possibility of a military invasion from Belarus to Ukraine, Demchenko said. The Ukrainian forces stand ready to repel all possible attacks, he added. MADRID, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Police sources confirmed on Sunday an anti-drug operation which led to the seizure of a fishing boat that had 2,900 kilos of cocaine hidden inside one of its fuel tanks. The joint operation between Spanish National Police, Civil Guards and Tax Agency officers saw the 20-meter-long fishing boat AKT 1 seized on Wednesday some 550 kilometers south of the Spain's Canary Islands. The five crew members of the boat were detained. The AKT 1 was the first boat to be apprehended by the patrol vessel Condor that was assigned to the Canary Islands Customs Surveillance Operational Area on March 15 to reinforce the surveillance of what is a strategic point for the fight against drug trafficking in the Atlantic. WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Twelve people were injured during a shopping mall shooting in the southeastern U.S. state of South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, local authorities said. Police said three people have been detained in connection with the shooting at the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, adding that they do not believe this is a random incident. Police Chief Skip Holbrook told reporters that among the injured, 10 people were hit by gunfire, while two others were trampled in the crowd as people tried to escape. by Xinhua writers Sun Ding, Hu Yousong WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Male giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji went to great lengths to climb onto the back of his mother, Mei Xiang, only to fall down cutely before both of them were drawn to an ice cake made of their favorite treats, including sugar cane, carrots, apples and bamboo. The "eating shows" on Saturday morning, part of the Smithsonian's National Zoo's "Pandaversary" party, were quite enjoyed by visitors of all age groups. At least 18,000 people were said to have registered to visit the zoo in northwest Washington, D.C. during the day. "We are celebrating 50 years of giant pandas at the National Zoo and the incredible partnership and conservation success story that we have made over the years," Director of the zoo Brandie Smith told Xinhua at the scene. "The best part about working with giant pandas is that we do work so closely with our colleagues in China." While watching the giant pandas having fun in their outdoor yards, "Pandaversary" partygoers also had the opportunity to taste giant panda-shaped "Baozi" buns, try Chinese calligraphy, and watch lion dance performances and the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary "The Miracle Panda" at the zoo. With a giant panda ears headband, Kirsten of Washington, D.C. told Xinhua that she got up very early to make sure she could see the adorable animals eat the fruitsicles on "a very important day for me and for the pandas in the zoo" and that she was "having a great time." Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and members of the embassy also attended the event. Speaking to reporters, Qin said that over the past 50 years, China and the United States have achieved a lot in giant panda conservation, and that giant pandas are not an "endangered" species any more. In February 1972, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949. During the groundbreaking trip, his wife, Patricia Nixon, mentioned her fondness for giant pandas to then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who later gifted two of the Chinese "national treasures" to the American people as a gesture of goodwill. The U.S. government reciprocated by sending a pair of Alaskan musk oxen to China. The Nixons selected the Smithsonian's National Zoo as female Ling-Ling and male Hsing-Hsing's home in the United States. The giant panda couple arrived in Washington, D.C. on April 16, 1972. Days later, Patricia Nixon, wearing a giant panda pin, formally welcomed the precious gift from China and declared that "I think 'panda-monium' is going to break out at the zoo." "This became quite an event, not because of Mrs. Nixon's presence but because of the pandas which were a great novelty," Chas Freeman, the U.S. State Department escort officer for the Chinese delegation that brought the giant pandas to the U.S. capital and the interpreter at Mrs. Nixon's acceptance of them at the zoo, told Xinhua during a virtual interview. "Everyone who sees pandas reacts the same way. They are cute. They are lovable. They don't seem at all dangerous," Freeman, also an interpreter for the Nixon delegation during the 1972 China visit, said of giant pandas. "You probably want to hug them and they were very exotic and this was a symbol of a new start in U.S.-China relations." Mrs. Nixon's prediction turned out to be right. The public debut of Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing alone drew 20,000 visitors. The following Sunday, 75,000 people thronged the zoo and waited in a line to catch a glimpse of them. The pair of giant pandas were the top attractions at the zoo until they passed away separately in the 1990s. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to Washington in December 2000 and went on to become new "rock stars" of the renowned zoo, bringing great happiness and joy alongside their cubs to not only in-person visitors but also fans from around the world via the Giant Panda Cams, which are said to have been viewed more than 100 million times. Ever since giant pandas came to the zoo, the icon species has symbolized cross-cultural collaboration between the United States and China. With giant pandas, the zoo has been given an unparalleled opportunity to study the animal's behavior, health, reproduction and ecology. The decades-old partnership has also allowed American animal care staff and scientists to learn about and study giant panda breeding and cub development, as well as their native habitat. In return, the zoo's breeding, veterinary and ecological research has provided critical data and valuable insights for the conservation of wild populations. Smithsonian scientists also created a framework on how giant pandas are bred to improve breeding success and genetic diversity, which has also been used by zoos across the globe for other animals. Smith also revealed the zoo has been speaking with colleagues in China about a further extension of their giant panda cooperative research and breeding agreement, which has been renewed three times since 2000. The current research agreement extension was signed in December 2020 and stipulates giant pandas may live at the zoo into December 2023. "Very positive talks. Our interactions are very positive," she added. "I believe we all are very interested in making sure this program continues for another 50 years." When working together, China and the United States can get things done, Ambassador Qin said. "We have the wisdom and courage to maintain cooperation and deliver results, not only in giant panda conservation, but in many other areas, to the benefit of the people of both countries and the world." Enditem (Xiao Xiao in Washington, D.C. contributed to the story.) Smartphone maker Poco is going to introduce a new smartphone, the Poco F4 GT, in the coming days. While the company has not given the full information about this officially so far, a lot has already been known about this smartphone through rummers and leaks. Let's know what features you can get in the Poco F4 GT and how long and where it is going to be offered. Poco F4 GT launch: Media reports say that the Poco F4 GT is scheduled to be launched in China on April 26. Not only this, at the moment this smartphone is going to be introduced only in China, but it is expected that it will soon be introduced in India and other countries as well. Poco F4 GT display, battery: There is no information from the company about the features of the Poco F4 GT so far, but information about this smartphone has been received through leaks. According to reports, this Poco smartphone is available with a 6.67-inch OLED screen, FHD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The Poco F4 GT is being given to you with a 4,500mAh battery and 120W of powerful fast charging support. Poco F4 GT Camera: Talking about the camera, in the Poco F4 GT you are also going to get a triple rear camera setup in which a 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and 2MP macro camera are also being given. Also, this smartphone is being given a 20MP front camera. According to reports, there is no information about this smartphone from the company, so these features have not been confirmed yet. This new smartphone is coming soon to win the hearts of users Answer these questions on Amazon today and win a reward of thousands Now you can also join the meeting without Google Meet Home Just In Without any quality testing, cooking gas cylinders are killing people across Nepal On April 3, Krishna Kumari Tamang, from Bahrabise municipality in Sindupalchok, entered the kitchen to cook dinner for her family. In the next room were three children including her son Ishak and her neighbours children Sargam and Diva. The children, after a long day, were watching TV. But, little did they know they were watching TV for the last time. As soon as she went into the kitchen, there was a loud explosion. The cooking gas cylinder in her kitchen caught fire and exploded. Krishna Kumari escaped but the three kids died on the spot. Krishna Kumaris husband, Nim Bahadur, tried to get in and save them, but to his horror, all he could do was carry out the remains of the children. This was the second cooking gas cylinder explosion in the municipality in the past two years. The last was an incident where a meat shop caught fire in Naya Basti in ward number two of the municipality. In both incidents, the police found one thing in common the poor quality of cooking gas cylinders. But, these two are not the only cases. Police records show almost all parts of the country have recorded cooking gas cylinder explosions in the past few years. Safety compromises File: A cooking gas cylinder In the recent case in Sindhupalchok, police found out that the cooking gas cylinder was leaking below the regulator which resulted in a fire and then the explosion, says a police official. Suraj Lama, the chairperson of ward 8 of Bahrabise municipality says that incidents like this are common in the area as more and more people have started using liquified petroleum gas cylinders to cook food. These cooking gas cylinders are filled in Kathmandu or Banepa and transported in an unsafe manner. Elected representatives from Sindupalchok say that the blame for these incidents should go on the heads of the gas companies and their distributors. But, gas operators do not want to take the blame. The gas that goes to the villages of Sindupalchok comes from the capital, after which small SUVs, trucks and local busses take them to remote areas. The manner in which these cooking gas cylinders are transported is scary. No wonder there have been these incidents because the cylinders arent the same when they were prepared by the company, says Lama. Whose responsibility? File image: Nepal Oil Corporation office Bahrabise Police Offices inspector Devendra Bahadur Shah says what happened in the area is a serious incident. He says that a cylinder had disintegrated into pieces and that was a serious cause for concern. We spoke to the gas company, but they told us that this is something that shouldnt have happened and added that their cylinders are safe, says Shah. The companys operator Krishna Bhakta Shrestha says that the explosion was not their fault. He says the company has sent people to investigate the case and added that the survivors will receive insurance money. When a car gets in an accident, we never say it was the companys fault, do we? So, how can we be blamed for this, says Shrestha, adding his company undergoes all quality checks before releasing the product into the market. Cooking gas cylinders that were only available in major cities are now found in most villages. According to stakeholders, Nepal sees a rise of 20 per cent in LPG use every year. But, with a rise in usage, accidents have also increased due to gas companies, distributors and users being careless. Take what happened at Chaku Hydropower Project in Sindupalchok for example. Three years ago, a gas cylinder in the projects storeroom exploded, killing four people. A cooking gas cylinder explosion on November 5, 2021, in Mangal Bazar, of Patan gutted a house killing four people who were celebrating Mha Puja. There are also examples of fires breaking out at cooking gas companies themselves. On January 8, 2021, a fire broke out at Gaurishankar Gas Industry, injuring three staffers. Around 150,000 cylinders are used in Nepal on a daily basis. But, the government does not have data on the number of accidents caused by these cylinders. Since accident data are not available, the regulators do not question gas cylinder distributors who always claim their innocence and put them on users. Nepal LP Gas Industry Association says around five dozen companies supply LPG cylinders across the country. The association says that the country consumes around 4 million cooking gas cylinders on average. Even though it has data like these, it does not have data related to the accidents it caused. Even Nepal Oil Corporation does not have this data. We know that the quality of gas cylinders is bad, but weve not been able to monitor them due to Covid, says Karuna Chhetri, the department head of the Quality and Monitoring Department of the NOC. Gauging the gravity The remains of a cooking gas cylinder after an explosion. According to reports, around 265,000 people die due to fire-related incidents in the world. More than half of them are from South and Southeast Asia. According to an estimated data in 2008, around 55,000 people are affected by fire-related incidents every year. Out of these, around 2,100 people die every year in Nepal. Most of these incidents have happened in the kitchen. People have been injured while cooking in open fires where womens and mens clothes have caught fire. As mentioned above, cooking gas cylinders has also caused a lot of incidents in Nepal. Despite this, government bodies do not have data regarding these incidents. Because there are no archives of these cases, the same incident keeps on happening over and over again. This has also made it hard for the government to draft a strong policy because it does not have a clear idea of how these incidents happen. Cooking gas cylinder explosions have happened all over Nepal. It has taken place in rural areas to bustling cities. While these LPG cylinders have been a boon, their careless use has caused major incidents across the country. This story was translated from the original Nepali version and edited for clarity and length. Kathmandu, April 17 Singapore Airlines (SIA) says it has brought new cabin products to Kathmandu on its Boeing 737-8 fleet. This elevates the customer experience onboard, offering a consistent and premium travel journey across the entire Singapore Airlines network. The company says all of SIA s 737-8 aircraft offer new cabin products featuring bespoke elements that have been designed especially for the SIA customers. Melvin Tan, the companys general manager for Nepal says, There are exciting times ahead for our customers in Nepal. With the Boeing 737-8 fleet serving the Kathmandu route, we look forward to welcoming our customers for a pampering experience whenever they travel with us. Likewise, RR Pandey, the chairman of the airlines Nepal general sales agency Everest Express International, says, Since 1987, Singapore Airlines has been a leading player providing world-class services in the Nepali aviation and tourism industry. We are very pleased it has enhanced its services to attract discerning travellers to and from Nepal. Singapore Airlines currently operates nine flights between Kathmandu and Singapore every week. Earnings of GCC-listed companies jumped to a record high of $196.5 billion in 2021 as compared to $93.1 billion during 2020, according to Kamco Invest, a premier investment company based in Kuwait. The $103.5 billion growth came mainly on the back of jump in profits for Saudi Aramco (by $56.1 billion or 113.8% y-o-y) followed by Banking, Materials and Utilities companies. The four sectors accounted for 85% of the total full-year net profit in 2021. The recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the relaxation of the restrictions globally significantly impacted economies in the GCC region supporting the robust performance in earnings for FY-2021. Sectoral gains Most of the sectors showed solid increase in net profits during the year. especially, the Utilities and Transportation Sector witnessed remarkable jump in net profits 2021 after suffering subpar performance during the pandemic. Out of the 21 sectors, 4 sectors witnessed y-o-y decline in profits whereas the rest reported growth. At the exchange level, Oman was the only market which reported a decline in aggregate net profits for listed companies during FY-2021 with a fall of 3.7%. In terms of sectors, profitability for the GCC banking sector reached one of the highest yearly levels during 2021, increasing by 52.9% to reach $35.4 billion. Banking sector profits reached the highest mark since 2018. The y-o-y increase in 2021 was broad-based across the GCC with profits for Kuwaiti banks almost doubled to $2.9 billion. Saudi and UAE-listed banks also reported healthy profit growth of 59.5% and 67.2% during the year. Higher profits also pushed the aggregate return on equity for the sector to a 7-quarter high level of 10.4% at the end of 2021 as compared to 9.6% in Q3-2021 and 8.1% at the end of 2020. The banking sector represented 18% of the total aggregate profits during 2021. Bahrain-listed companies Total net profits for Bahrain-listed companies increased by 225.9% in FY-2021 to $2.8 billion as compared to $870.2 million in FY-2020. All the largest five sectors by market cap registered a growth in earnings during the 2021 financial year. The Banking sector led the way in terms of aggregate FY-2021 net profits. FY-2021 net profits in the Banking Sector jumped 102.9% to reach $1.23 billion up from $609 million in FY-2020. Ahli United Bank posted the largest FY-2021 net profits among the banks with $607 million up from $452.2 million in FY-2020. AUB reported its growth was mainly supported by effective balance sheet management and overall economic improvement in Bahrain and the GCC region. Arab Banking Corp was another major contributor to the overall increase in aggregate FY-2021 net profits. ABC reported $100 million in FY-2021 net profit returning from a net loss of $89 million during FY-2020. The bank attributed its turnaround to an increase in operating income as well moving on from the impact of ECL charges and regional fraud cases which contributed to its FY-2020 net loss. The Materials Sector, which has Aluminium Bahrain as a sole constituent reported the second largest FY-2021 net profits in the Bahrain Bourse. Alba, the worlds biggest aluminium smelter outside China, posted a record FY-2021 net profit of $1.2 billion on the back of increasing aluminium prices and higher production. In terms of quarterly performance, Q4-2021 total net profits for Bahraini listed companies soared by 584% to $906.4 million up from $132.5 million in Q4-2020 reflecting the steep full-year performance. Only one out of the 13 sectors in the bourse registered a loss in the Q4-2021. Aluminium Bahrain, the Materials Sector, contributed the largest Q4-2021 net profits posting $480.5 million up from $84.9 million in Q4-2020. The Banking and Telecom Sectors followed reporting aggregate Q4-2021 profits of $316.8 million and $36.8 million respectively. Overall GCC quarterly performance In terms of quarterly performance, net profits during Q4-2021 increased by 102.5% y-o-y to $50.6 billion as compared to $25 billion during Q4-2020. In terms of sequential performance, profits were down by 9% as compared to Q3-2021. Earnings performance when compared to last year was broadly positive with an increase of 102.5% in Q4-2021 with steep growth is some of the key large-cap sectors on the GCC exchanges. Saudi Arabian companies reported the biggest absolute increase in earnings that rose by $19.9 billion or 102.9 % y-o-y to reach $39.1 billion during Q4-2021. Excluding the quarterly net profit of Saudi Aramco that increased by 125.5% y-o-y, aggregate profits for Saudi Arabia declined at a much smaller pace of 46.3% y-o-y. Absolute net profits Kuwaiti listed companies reported the second largest yearly absolute net profit increases after Saudi Arabian companies registering $7.8 billion increase in FY-21 net profits followed by Abu Dhabi which reported $7.6 billion growth in absolute net profits during the same period. The Energy sector reported the biggest absolute profits in the GCC that reached $31.6 billion, more than double y-o-y and 125.4% q-o-q. Profits for Saudi Aramco was up 125.5% y-o-y during Q4-2021 at $31.1 billion, whereas the rest of the companies in the sector reported profits of $539.2 million in Q4 -2021 as compared to a loss of $246.9 million in Q4-2020. Profits for Aramco were supported by higher crude oil prices led by recovery in oil demand globally coupled uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In terms of segments, results also got a boost from improved refining and chemicals margins during the quarter. Sectors peers like Dana Gas and Al Rabigh Refining disclosed soaring profits which reached $38 million and $119.7 million respectively during the quarter. The banking sector The Banking sector also reported higher profits during Q4-2021 that reached $8.7 billion, an increase of 76.6% y-o-y but witnessed a decline of 10.1% q-o-q. The y-o-y growth in profits was seen across the region after a steep decline in profits reported last year. Dubai-listed banks reported aggregate profits during Q4-21 after recording a total loss of $135.4 million during Q4-2. Kuwait and Saudi listed banks reported y-o-y profits increases of 181.9% and 39.8 during Q4-21. Saudi-listed banks accounted for 38% of the sector profits during the quarter. Profits for the Materials sector stood at $3.9 billion.-- TradeArabia News Service Jenna and Barbara Bush Nathan R. Congleton Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush When Jenna Bush Hager got a late-night text that her twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush had gone into labor almost six weeks early, she called Barbara's husband Craig Coyne and burst into tears. "I started bawling. I was like, 'Wait, wait, wait. This is not helpful. I'm supposed to stay calm,' " Jenna tells PEOPLE during a joint interview with Barbara about their upcoming children's book, The Superpower Sisterhood. "Of course, I was nervous for her and knew that she was unprepared physically meaning she didn't have the diapers or the nursery set up," the Today with Hoda and Jenna co-host, 40, continues. "But she was, of course, prepared because I think she has all the love to give." On Sept. 27, 2021, Barbara welcomed her first baby, Cora Georgia, with Coyne in Portland, Maine instead of New York as they'd planned. Barbara says that the experience was "incredible." What made Cora's birth even more special was that she stayed at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a hospital in Portland named after Barbara's late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who passed away in 2018. "I went there to go visit her and looked over on the wall, and it said Barbara Bush Children's Hospital," Barbara, 40, remembers. "So, in many ways, it felt divine that she was born in Maine near where we were married and where we have so many memories as a family. Then I felt how poignant and meaningful it was in a place that meant something to my grandmother." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Barbara Bush with daughter Cora Georgia Coyne Laura Foote Barbara Pierce Bush with her daughter Cora RELATED: Barbara Bush Reveals Daughter Spent Time in NICU Named After Her Grandmother: 'It Felt Divine' Story continues While Barbara and Coyne got acquainted with their new baby, Jenna was quick to hop on a flight and help get all the baby gear they'd need. "The next day after Cora was born, Jenna flew to Maine and helped us, she went to Target and did a big run," remembers Barbara, the CEO and co-founder of Global Health Corps. "We didn't have a thing. We just weren't expecting it. We didn't have a car seat to bring her home from the hospital in or any of the necessities one needs with a baby." Since baby Cora was born premature, she ended up staying in the NICU for about four weeks, her mom says. "She was premature and very healthy," says Barbara. "She just needed some help figuring out the basics like breathing and getting stronger to be able to do those things on her own." That didn't stop Cora's Aunt Jenna from showering her with love. After her visit to Target, Jenna says she got to cuddle with her baby niece. "I got to hold [and] meet the baby and see Barbara through totally different eyes," says Jenna. "She hasn't needed any advice. But I think watching her fall in love and now I get to have a baby niece is so much fun." Bush Family John Unrue From left: Henry Hager, Mila, Hal, Jenna, George W., Poppy, Laura, Barbara, baby Cora and Craig Coyne in a recent family photo. The twin daughters of former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush have always been a team. They celebrated their strong bond in their bestseller, Sisters First. It was while on that book tour that Jenna and Barbara came up with the idea for their latest book, The Superpower Sisterhood, which will be released by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on April 19. "There were so many people that said, 'Gosh, I wish I had a sister, like you and Barbara [have],' " Jenna says. "It reminded us a lot of our mom, who was an only child, and that sisterhood comes in so many different ways." The Superpower Sisterhood follows a young girl named Emma, who makes friends with two sets of sisters who move to her neighborhood. They quickly realize the power they have when they bring their unique set of talents together. Barbara and Jenna hope their own girls will have equally powerful friendships and dedicated the book to them. (Jenna shares daughters Mila, 8, and Poppy, 6, and son Hal, 2, with husband Henry Hager.) superpower sisterhood "To our daughters may you use your powers to empower others," they wrote. Even though their children are all different ages, the authors are already seeing a special connection form between them one they've always hoped for. "My kids are totally obsessed [with Cora]," says Jenna. "To watch them fall in love with this baby has been the most beautiful gift. Hal's only 2, but he prays for baby Cora every single night." She adds, "I think that's what Barbara and I envisioned as little girls in some ways. To watch it come true is so special." The Superpower Sisterhood goes on sale April 19. Danny Warrens family is celebrating life over death this Easter Sunday, but their triumphant story goes beyond whats typically told from the pulpit. Warrens wife, Alma Zepeda, gave birth before Christmas, got COVID-19, went downhill quickly and spent 2 months on a ventilator. Those involved with her case, from doctors and nurses to a chaplain, told Warren it was time to let her go, that her lungs were so badly damaged, shed never breathe on her own again. Warren wouldnthe couldntaccept it. He saw his 40-year-old wife and Army veteran as a strong and independent woman, a police officer in Alexandria who investigates crimes against children. The couple have two little ones, a toddler named Jacob who loves everything about Wreck-It Ralph, and a newborn, Olivia, who barely had the chance to be snuggled by her mother. He was convinced his wife had a full life ahead of her. I kept saying, no, her storys not done yet, he said. Her storys not done. As Warren prayedhis mother, Tammy, said he got on his knees a lothe asked others to join him, from neighbors in North Stafford to co-workers, friends and even those with Joel Osteens television network. He believes those prayers and conversationsand being at his wifes bedside almost every day, asking questions and pleading for more timeled him to the manufacturers of an experimental drug, which officials at Mary Washington Hospital agreed to administer. With the treatment, the mother went from being on deaths door to waking up from her medically induced coma. She started to talk again, despite months of inactivity and sedation. She was transferred to Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Fredericksburg in mid-March to relearn how to use her hands and feet, which were severely impacted by being bedbound for so long. In less than a month, she was able to come homethrilled to meet her goal of being back in time for Jacobs third birthday on April 10. When she got up from her wheelchair at Encompass and rang a bell signifying that portion of her treatment was over, health officials around her applaudedand wiped away a few tears. Emotional, remarkable, miraculous, upliftingtheres no shortage of positive adjectives to describe the whole story, said Dr. Ali Hafiz, who works with Pulmonary Associates of Fredericksburg and treated Zepeda in MWHs intensive care unit. He developed a particular connection with Warren as both men welcomed home babies in late December. When Hafiz saw Zepeda spiraling downwardand heard Warrens pleas for helpthe doctor thought about his own wife and child. It immediately appealed to my emotions, Hafiz said. That wasnt the only time Warren made a personal connection with those around him. Im telling you, all I did was pray and just follow where God led me, the father said. The medicine is probably what cured her, OK? But God put every person in my path so that this could get done. LET HER GO While Warren describes the long battle, his wife sits on the couch, listening as if hes describing a stranger. She has little memory of what happened. Olivia was delivered by emergency C-section on Dec. 17, then Zepeda went back to Stafford Hospital four days later. She had been in the shower, raising her hands to wash her hair when she sensed something was wrong. I felt a tightness in my chest like someone was squeezing my lungs and I was out of breath, just from shampooing, and I was like, this is not normal, she said. At the hospital, Zepeda tested positive for COVID-19. She had not been vaccinated, but planned to get the shot after the baby was born. Everyone else in the family later tested positive as well, and Warren wasnt allowed in the hospital for a while. He kept track of things by phone, and by New Years Eve, Zepeda was put on a ventilator and sent to Mary Washington Hospital. The COVID-caused pneumonia had progressed to the more severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is often fatal. They told me that after seeing her CT scans that her lungs are completely gone and that she will never come off the ventilator, Warren said. It was explained to me that youre like holding her back from going up, and you gotta let her go. Warren said he understands their perspective. The omicron variant of COVID-19 was raging and Fredericksburg-area hospitals were treating more than 150 patientson their way to setting all-time COVID records. Plus, the ongoing labor shortage was heightened, making January and February the worst two months of the pandemic, Mary Washington Healthcare officials said recently. POWER OF STEM CELLS As friends and co-workers of Warren and Zepeda extended the request for prayer, the chain reached someone who works for Direct Biologics, a Texas company that manufactures regenerative biologic products. Soon, Warren was talking with Anastasiya Shulman, director of medical affairs. Warren explained his situation and she explained ExoFlo, an investigational drug in clinical trials for treating COVID patients with acute respiratory distress. It hasnt been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. Derived from bone marrow, the drug harnesses the power of stem cells without using the cells themselves, said Dr. Vikram Sengupta, chief medical officer at Direct Biologics. The treatment uses the proteins and other information found in genes to create a mechanism that turns down the inflammation present in COVID patients and turns up the bodys ability to regenerate tissue, Sengupta said. Its not just one molecule hitting one target, it is a whole population of active molecules hitting the inflammation network at different points and a whole suite of other molecules helping cells regrow, he explained. After numerous phone calls and discussions, Warren wanted to try ExoFlo and Direct Biologics agreed to provide it, for free, through its compassionate care clause. The hospital had to agree to administer it and apply to the FDA for permission to use it. A lot of conversations followed and Warren credits all the doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists who listened, and talked with him, about the situation. It was kind of a last-ditch effort, said Shulman at Direct Biologics, and she sensed doctors agreed, both because of Warrens persistence and the notion that it couldnt do any harm. Dr. Mohammed Choudhry filled out the piles of paperwork and Zepeda was comatose when she got the first treatment, an hourlong infusion. Warren had been warned it might take up to two weeks to see results, and near the end of the 14th day, she showed slight improvement. Dr. Erik Osborn asked Warren about a second treatment, and the father, and Choudhry, went through the process again of seeking federal approval. Theyd do it a third time as well. By that time, Zepeda had awakened and a respiratory therapist suggested putting a device over the tube going down her throat, to see if she could talk. When word spread that she could, Hafiz had to see it for himself. He asked a few questions, and in the clearest voice, without the slightest raspwhich he said is unheard of for someone in her conditionshe told him her stomach hurt. I was almost trembling when I came out of that room, my expectations were shattered, Hafiz said. I would never in a million years have predicted that moment would have happened. I was completely mind blown by then. WHAT YOU CAN DO Images showed Zepedas lungs had repaired themselves. Because she suffered other damage from being ventilated that long, she headed to Encompass for intense rehab. She was determined from the beginning, said Michele Burke, her case manager at Encompass. Were all just very happy and pleased with all the progress she made, and especially as one mom to another, to see her go home to her children. However, her recovery is far from over. Her right hand hangs heavily at her side, like it weighs a thousand pounds, she said, and her left wrist is curled from being in the same position for so long. Her feet are pointed downward as well, but exercises and braces are designed to correct the issues. Warrens parents, Tammy and W.O. Warren, have cared for Olivia, day and night, and Zepedas goal is to phase in the babys eventual return home. Jacob has been in child care by day and with his father in the evening. Zepeda says she feels like a third child, as she cant do anything without assistance. Getting up off the couch, standing in front of her walker and taking a dozen steps wears her out, but she does it hourly. The movement leaves her gasping for breath. Ill be honest, depression sets in, she said. I have to tell him when I have to go to the bathroom, when Im ready for bed, when Im hungry, when Im thirsty. Everything. There is no independence. In her mind, it was like a three-day span from the time she entered the hospital again, after Olivias birth, to when she came home on April 7, but apparently not. While she struggles to deal with what shes lostand tries not to get too anxious about how much she may recoverher husband is on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. Hes jubilant. He keeps telling her about all the progress shes made because he saw for himself her swollen body and deteriorating condition, as machines did everything for her. Even after she woke up, she couldnt sit or stand without assistanceand he still wants to be close by when she does either, in case she needs help. But the couple, along with his parents and family, feel grateful and blessed in so many ways, Tammy Warren said. His co-workers at Fresenius Kidney Care, where hes a biomedical technician, have donated paid time off. Zepedas income has continued through a COVID relief program, but the couple is certain theyll have piles of medical bills. A friend set up a GoFundMe account for the two, named Life After Covid. Neighbors have bought groceries or offered help with Jacob. One came over to brush and braid Zepedas hair before an interview. Her police captain at work has checked in regularly with Warren and co-workers have said how much theyre looking forward to her return. She tries to digest all that, reconnect with Jacob and get to know her baby daughter, whos already sitting up and teething. Her husband is just glad to have her home, after watching Zepeda teeter on the edge of death and come back from it. You realize how much you miss and love people when theyre not here, he said. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Islamabad has urged the Taliban-led government in Kabul to take stern actions against militants launching cross-border attacks on Pakistan, a day after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out deadly air strikes inside Afghanistan. Pakistans Foreign Ministry said in a statement on April 17 that its security forces are being increasingly targeted by terrorist attacks launched from Afghanistan. "Pakistan, once again, strongly condemns terrorists operating with impunity from Afghan soil to carry out activities in Pakistan," the statement said. On April 16, Taliban officials summoned Pakistans ambassador to Kabul to protest over air strikes purportedly carried out by Pakistan in Afghanistans southeastern Khost and eastern Kunar provinces. Tribal elders and eyewitnesses said more than 30 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the air strikes. On April 17, Shabir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture in Khost, told AFP that "41 civilians, mainly women and children, were killed and 22 others were wounded in air strikes by Pakistani forces near the Durand line in Khost Province." The death toll cannot be independently verified. The Afghan news channel TOLOnews showed images of children's bodies it said were killed in the air strikes. TOLOnews also showed protests by hundreds of Khost residents condemning Pakistan and shouting anti-Pakistan slogans. Islamabad has so far refused to comment on the Afghan allegations. Earlier, the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul denied Pakistan was behind the attack. On April 14, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in the border area of North Waziristan, the Foreign Ministry statement said. North Waziristan borders Khost, where the air strikes are said to have taken place the following day. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed concern over the incident. "UNAMA is deeply concerned by reports of civilian casualties, including women and children, as a result of airstrikes in Khost & Kunar provinces," it said, adding that it was working to establish the facts and verify losses. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Islamabad of bad consequences if there was a repeat. But he did not elaborate on the consequences, or the numbers of people killed. "The Pakistani side should know that if a war starts it will not be in the interest of any side," Mujahid said. The Taliban denies harboring Pakistani militant groups such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, which operates across the porous border with Afghanistan. Militant attacks in Pakistan have been on the rise since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The attacks have been claimed either by the Pakistani Taliban or by an Islamic State group affiliate, which has strongholds in Afghanistan, but against whom the Taliban has been fighting. In the first three months of this year, Pakistan saw 52 attacks by militants, compared with 35 in the same period last year, said Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, an independent think tank that monitors militant activity in Pakistan. So far this year, 155 people have been killed in such attacks in Pakistan, compared with 68 last year. With reporting by AFP and Reuters The mighty Colorado River just got a blow to its reputation: The nations sixth longest waterway, which winds through seven Southwest states and provides drinking water for 40 million people, is the most endangered river in the country. General Automotive Company (GAC), the official distributor for Mitsubishi Vehicles in Oman, was recently presented the 2021 Best Performance Award in accessories sales by Mitsubishi Motors Middle East and Africa (MMMEA). GAC was presented with this coveted award, which it received for the outstanding accessory sales it achieved, at the recently held MMMEA 2022 Middle East Regional After Sales Marketing Conference in Dubai, UAE. Receiving the award at the conference on behalf of GAC, were Mohammad Al Farei, Chief Operating Officer Zubair Automotive Group, Manoj Ranade General Manager, GAC, Ashraf Mustafa Osman National Service Manager, GAC, and Srinu Tirunari Head of Parts, GAC. Leading position Al Farei said: It is an honour to be recognised by MMMEA with a Best Performance Award for Accessories Sales for the year 2021, despite the challenging business environment we have faced since the pandemic. As a result of the award, we have further validated our leading position in the industry, our strong expertise, the exceptional value we offer our customers and our commitment to customer satisfaction across Oman. We would like to thank MMMEA and all our customers for their continuous support. The Mitsubishi brand enjoys one of the largest and most loyal customer bases in the sultanate, and for good reason. As its official distributor, GAC is committed to excellence and continues to invest heavily in its employees and infrastructure. As a result, GAC boasts a highly motivated and qualified workforce, dedicated to maximising customer satisfaction, right from the moment they walk into the Showroom for the first time all the way through every stage of the ownership experience. "The entire GAC team has demonstrated exceptional ability in promoting our products while also maintaining the highest levels of customer satisfaction. This award is no doubt a result of their hard work, exceptional performance, and steadfast commitment to the brand. This is why winning this award is such a great source of pride for us, as well as an incentive to do even better this year, commented Ranade.-- TradeArabia News Service Tim Reichert, an economist from Golden, is president and CEO of Denver-based consulting firm Economics Partners. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. Reichert is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Colorados 7th Congressional District. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) won 59 prestigious local, regional, and international awards, and set two world records in the Guinness World Records. With this, Dewa has accrued 383 awards (67 local, 67 regional, 249 global) since 2015 to the end of 2021, reported Emirates News Agency WAM. One of Dewas most notable successes was achieving the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) in the Elite Category in 2021. Dewa scored 850 in the evaluation, the highest score in the Awards history since its launch in 1999, with 200 local and regional organisations taking part in this round. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured Dewa with five awards at the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) Awards in 2021. The most prominent award is the Elite Award, which is awarded to government entities that score 600 points or more. Other awards include the Best Entity in the Emiratisation Field, Dubai Medal for Specialised Employee, Dubai Medal for Young Employee, and special recognition for the Unknown Soldier. Dewa won the 2020 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Government Services Flag for its Smart Living initiative. During 2021, Guinness World Records recorded two world records by Dewa. Guinness World Records confirmed Dewas Jebel Ali Power Generation & Water Production Complex is the largest single-site natural gas power generation facility in the world. The Complex has an electricity generation capacity of 9,547 MW. The second record was for the first 3D-printed laboratory in the world. The record was awarded for Dewas Robotics & Drone laboratory, housed within the Research & Development (R&D) Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Dewa seeks to set two new records for the tallest solar tower in the world at 262.44 metres and the largest 700-megawatt Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant in the fourth phase of the Solar Park. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, noted that the Dewas record of prestigious awards is a translation of its relentless efforts that aspire to reach the top rank in all fields, and support Dubai's efforts to become the city of the future. He added that Dewas successes confirm its global position in various fields of excellence and it has become a global reference in the development and application of the highest standards and practices of excellence in all its activities and operations. A wildfire prompted the Larimer County Sheriff's Office to issue mandatory evacuations late Monday afternoon for people who live near Estes Park. Any Mason City residents looking for a New York slice of pizza won't have to hop on a flight to satisfy that craving in the near future. Later this year, Mason City residents Adam and Shannon Gold are planning on opening a new New York style pizza restaurant in downtown Mason City. "We want to be a part of revitalizing the area," Shannon said. "We're pretty excited about it." The restaurant will be called "The Corner Pizza and Ale House," and will be located at 30 E State St., a location the couple has been eyeing up for some time, right next to Mason City Brewing. "We've looked at this building for at least a couple of years," Adam said. "I think this is one of the best spots in downtown, it's almost like an entrance to the downtown." The Gold family, who moved to Mason City in 2002, paid approximately $175,000 for the State Street property. Adam and Shannon Gold have already proved to be successful entrepreneurs in the Mason City area, owning and operating The Dimensional Group, and Walsh's Shebeen. Moving into the restaurant space wasn't a life long dream according to the couple, but an exciting opportunity to give Mason City a slice of a different part of the county. "For us, we're just focused on bringing things to town that a lot of us like to experience when we travel," Adam said. "Really, it was just 'let's bring things we love to Mason City so everyone else can enjoy them too.'" "I also think it's important for people in the area to experience something new and interesting, for those who aren't used to traveling outside of the area," Shannon said. The choice to go with a New York style pizzeria though was an easy one, as Adam is a native of New Jersey, and holds a particular fondness to the jumbo, thin sliced pizza on offer in the New York, New Jersey area. "I'm a New Jersey kid," Adam said. "New York style pizza is just something that's near and dear. It's fun, and it's different." "Hard to hate big slices that you get to fold," Shannon added on. The Gold family have set an ambitious timeline for the opening of The Corner, with a goal to be open before the start of RAGBRAI, which begins later this summer on July 23. RAGBRAI will stop in Mason City on Friday, July 28. Regardless of when the restaurant opens its doors, the Gold family is looking forward to serving up pizza to North Iowa. "Be sure to come by and have a beer and a slice," Adam said. Zachary Dupont covers local government and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Out of the total 108 minority-run schools in Bihar, 91 have been reportedly shut, while others are without required teachers. Sami Ahmad | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles BIHAR Elementary schools in Bihar, managed by religious and linguistic minorities and philanthropic organizations, are on the verge of extinction as only 17 of the total 108 such schools are functional with 91 reported to be shut due to lack of teachers, the information sought from a right to information (RTI) request has revealed. The information was provided by the primary education directorate of Bihars education department to RTI activist Shiv Prakash Rai of Buxar. Shiv Prakash told TwoCircles.net that he received a copy of the information on March 25, signed by Shashwanand Jha, joint director of primary education. According to the information provided by the education department, six years ago Patna had fourteen functional elementary schools but today there are only three. These elementary schools are non-government aided schools. The teachers are appointed by the school management committee and are paid by the government. The elementary schools are government primary and middle schools (including aided by the state government and aided by minority schools) in which education is imparted up to the 5th or 8th standard. The elementary schools which are closed include Sri Guru Govind Singh Sing Boys School and Sri Guru Govind Singh Girls School in Patna run by Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee. Trilok Singh, joint secretary of Gurunanak Mission Centre, told TwoCirles.net that though the said schools are functional due to lack of teachers, the teachers study gets hampered as the committee is forced to hire private teachers who are not paid by the education department. In Patna, this reporter found out that some of the schools shown not operational in government data are functioning. One such school is Millat Urdu Middle School, Phulwari Sharif. Its secretary Abul Fazal Mohammad Bahzad said that he was surprised to not see his school on the list of functional schools. Similarly, Islamia Urdu Middle School is also running while government data maintains the school is shut. According to Bahzad, aided minority schools have found it difficult to appoint teachers since 2007 after a departmental letter instructed that Since the qualification, the process of appointment and approval is under consideration, any appointment shall be made only after a decision has been made. After a long wait of nine years, the government issued the fresh guidelines making it mandatory to appoint only TET (Teachers Eligibility Test) qualified teachers. . Earlier only a B.Ed. degree was required. Vina Shah is the headmistress of Baptist Mission School, Gaya which receives aid from the state government. For 200 students enrolled in the school, there are only two teachers against the sanctioned posts of seven. Shah said that, Changes in rules by the department have made it difficult to appoint teachers. The school is being run with the help of some private teachers and volunteers. We have to arrange joint classes to keep the students engaged, Shah lamented. Sanjiv Kumar Singh is the acting secretary of Middle School Akauna, Punpun in Patna district which was closed due to the lack of teachers. His village has a primary school (up to class 5), a high school (after class 8) and a middle school (up to class 8) where he teaches. Since there is no arrangement for the students of class six, seven and eight they are forced to go to a school which is seven kilometres away. State President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Akhtarul Iman expressed his shock over the closure of so many minority schools. He told TwoCircles.net that the closure of such schools violates the constitutional rights of the minorities. As these schools are being shut on one or the other pretext, it is hurting the minority students and they are not able to learn their language and religious teachings, Imam said. Imam blamed the minority welfare department for the failure to upkeep the school. Being part of a welfare state, minority welfare department officials should have taken an interest to resolve the issue to ensure the appointment of teachers, he said. One senior official of the education department told TwoCirles.net that while it is said that a few officers in the education department targeted these schools on flimsy grounds the community needs to fight for the restoration of these schools, he remarked and added, The management committee should also be made functional and transparent. AIMIMs Imam said that his party will file a writ petition in the High Court if the government does not restore those schools and allow the appointment of fresh teachers. Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb American humorist Will Rogers once wrote, The minute you read something that you cant understand, you can almost be sure that it was drawn up by a lawyer. Such are so many of the words recently written, recorded and legalized, by the shell game and bunko this City Hall calls "River City Renaissance". All Mason Cityans deserve an Iowa-style English translation. I'll see what I can do. First off, if you are a true believer in the bodiless and soulless holograms sold to you by this local government, and already drank the Kool-Aid, then you are not going to like this at all. Bear with me because there may be an antidote for you somewhere within. There are a couple things that I do know about the combat tactics used by the City Council, mayor and administrator, to keep citizens out of the development, project, funding and legal processes decisions made by Mason City on your behalf. This comes straight from the horse's mouth; one of their own whom on infrequent occasions likes to sit down with an infidel such as myself, just to vent his conscience and to take advantage of my picking up the tab. If you follow along, you will begin to see a pattern develop. That pattern and strategy is to exclude you from development decisions, while you are handcuffed and shackled to pay all the bills for increasingly reckless, insufferably arrogant, and opaque actions, made in the name of those representing you, while being dressed in the clown suit of City Governance. It was just 72 words. Agenda item 22-"City Administrator-Recommending approval of a resolution That resolution, supported by 26 pages of legal mumbo jumbo, buried at page 283 of a novella sized City Council Meeting Packet of 334 total pages, sold out the citizens of Mason City once again. This time the benefactor of our egocentric City Government, City Administrator and staff again is David-Elias Rachie. You remember Rachie, right? He is our non-developer of non-Gatehouse Dallas, TX, non-Middletown, Ohio, non-Hollywoodland, non-Racine Wisconsin, non-Decorah Riverfront and even non-Forest Lake, MN, his own home town. Each of these communities paid Rachie, enamored by his savior-based promises, varying sizeable amounts for alleged "pre-development costs" only to never see a shovel of dirt turned or ground breaking of any type for the projects pitched to them. This is how this man makes his "living". Yet on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, City Administrator Aaron Burnett, via item 22 on the agenda, recommended that the City Council approve a Resolution that handed David-Elias Rachie near countless dollars from your pockets and property rights to Southbridge Mall, including Mason City Arena. And true to form, there were no citizen comments or questions, by design of the Council, Mayor and Administrator, nor "NO" votes from the city council. A unanimous sell-out once again, in conjunction with a truncated and forced short council meeting that is now the rule rather than the exception. The retort by the City will be that agreements were signed that hold Rachie must transfer back to the City for $1, Mason City Arena by December 31, 2022, unless an extension of said time is agreed to. That extension provision can only set the table for some alleged beneficial reason, and a subsequent "Resolution" from City Hall to the tune that Rachie gets to keep the Ice Arena and its true value of around $17M dollars. (of your money) And the citizens will still be on the hook for tens of millions of General Obligation Bonds voted in by less than 5% of the electorate in November 2019. I don't care what the "company line" circumstances are, the entirety of the Southbridge Mall property, to include our wonderful new $2 million dollar Music Pavilion, are owned by David-Elias Rachie and is recorded as such in the Office of the County Recorder. If I am totally full of it and Rachie delivers for Mason City, it will be his first success in his life and at age 55. I have been called a naysayer and never-Mason City voice by the mayor and the entire tribe of the inner circle. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love this city and want it to lift up and thrive again. However, The End Does NOT Justify the Means. Oh, and as to the title of this column, the word "Indefeasible", it is a legalese word meaning absolutely, positively guaranteeing that the title to property in a given real estate transaction is clear, pure, and perfect. Guess who is holding that bag. JW Sayles is a Mason City resident. Opinions are his own. Psychologist, author and professor Russell Barkley, widely regarded as one of Americas leading ADHD experts, used to be (and may, for all I know, still be) fond of ridiculing me in his public presentations, claiming that I believe television causes ADHD. Of course, I never said any such thing. I maintained, and still do, that spending three to five hours a day the average for American children watching television negatively affects brain development. That doesnt fit the official narrative concerning ADHD; therefore, Russell Barkley mocks me. (It is significant to note that Barkley reportedly is or was on the payroll of several pharmaceutical companies.) Around 1980, I proposed that the constant flicker of a television screen can disable a childs ability to sustain focus on an unchanging visual field (e.g., a book), which is why, pre-television, ADHD symptoms were rare. Since, as research verifies, a short attention span is associated with impulsivity, a child who spends a disproportionate amount of time in front of a flicker-box is at increased risk of behavior problems. Apparently, Barkley would get lots of laughs from his audiences with his mockery, which included disingenuously using my name and the word scientology in the same sentence. Never mind that solid research has found that consuming television at the rate typical of the average American child is highly associated with certain diagnostic features of ADHD (precisely what I proposed around 1980). Screen-based media have proliferated over the past 20 years or so and their ubiquity in the lives of children is looking more and more problematic. In recent weeks, for example, the media has been abuzz with stories of so-called Tik-Tok brain, which researchers are saying is a verifiable neurological condition induced in teenagers girls, primarily who are obsessive consumers of the popular social media site. So, screen-based media can instill measurable changes to the still-developing (i.e., vulnerable) brains of children and teens, changes that lead to problematic behaviors. When I first proposed my hilarious theory, televisions were the only screens in childrens lives (if one doesnt count Etch A Sketch). Now, and even from early ages, children have smartphones, personal computers, tablets and video games. And they still sit, mesmerized, in front of the flicker-box for around 25 hours per week, 1,300 hours per year, which amounts to more than 5,000 hours before they come to first grade. Women who taught grades one through three in the early-to-mid-1950s, before television became a fixture in the American home, have unanimously told me that we didnt have this problem, meaning ADHD, which is why one teacher could successfully control a first grade class of as many as 95 children back then. No, Im not kidding. Allentown, Pennsylvania, mid-1950s. One doesnt have to be a rocket scientist to put the facts together. First, researchers have discovered that screen-based devices can induce measurable changes to the vulnerable brains of children and teens. Second, prior to the near-universal appearance of television in the home, ADHD symptoms were a rarity in the American classroom. Third, as screen-based devices become increasingly common in the lives of children, so do mental health problems. Conclusion: As much as possible, keep kids away from screen-based devices. Brilliant! Learn more about family psychologist Rosemond at parentguru.com. Arriving crews found smoke coming from a first-floor unit, but firefighters quickly put out the fire. Although the occupants contents were burned and the apartment had smoke damage, the building did not suffer any destruction. Virginia Health Commissioner Colin M. Greene visited Chatham last week as health leaders from two districts gathered to review the response to COVID-19 and cast an eye toward emerging from the pandemic. Staff members from the Pittsylvania-Danville and Southside health districts met Friday to go over the coronavirus response over the last two years and put in place goals for the future. Since the virus started infiltrating daily life in March 2020, 25,091 infections and 476 deaths have been logged in the record books for the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District. The case count likely underestimates the true number of people infected since not everyone sought out an official test when they became ill. The reoccurring message of the event was teamwork. During the last two years our team of a few has done so much for so many with so little, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of both health districts, said as he kicked off the meeting. Greene also spoke and answered questions from staff members. Spillmann discussed how the health team transformed and grew from the COVID-19 response, a news release stated. Workers had many stories about how the two districts pitched in over the last two years, including things like filling in at vaccination clinics and testing events and assisting with paperwork to distributing COVID-19 information and social distancing signage. The discussion then moved to whats next for both districts as workers shift back to pre-pandemic duties. For a while now we have been concentrating on treating people, Spillmann said. Now its time for us to return to focusing on caring for their health. Spillmann hopes they can now get back to caring for the whole health of the community. Both districts offer a variety of community health services to prevent disease, promote healthy lifestyles and protect our community from environmental and other hazards, the release stated. RICHMOND Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, knows shes one of the top targets in the country for Republicans who want to seize control of Congress in the midterm elections, but shes well-financed for the challenge. Spanberger, seeking her third term in Congress but her first in a newly configured district that no longer includes the Richmond suburbs, has raised more than $4.2 million, including more than $1.1 million in the last quarter, ending March 31. She ended the quarter with almost $3.9 million in the bank, as a group of Republican challengers narrows with a primary scheduled in June. The thousands of doors weve knocked and millions of dollars weve raised demonstrate the tremendous amount of enthusiasm for Abigails people-powered campaign and it reflects the high level of engagement that we are seeing on the ground, said Sam Signori, campaign manager for Spanberer. Virginians know that Abigail is working hard in Congress, responding to the economic concerns of the communities she represents, and delivering results, Signori said. Two other incumbent Democratic congresswomen targeted by Republicans Rep. Elaine Luria, D-2nd, and Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-10th also reported big campaign war chests to prepare for the midterm challenges. Luria ended the last quarter with more than $3.1 million after raising $1.2 million for a total of $4 million in the cycle that began last year. Wexton had more than $3 million on hand at the end of March, after raising $548,481 during the quarter and almost $1.7 million during the two-year cycle. In the race for the 5th District which after redrawing is set to include Amherst County as well as Powhatan and Goochland counties and a portion of Hanover County Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Good raised $152,092 during the quarter and $670,370 overall. He ended March with about $376,000 in hand. Dan Moy, a retired military officer and adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, is challenging Good for the Republican nomination. He has raised $114,046, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Josh Throneburg, a Charlottesville minister who just clinched the Democratic nomination in the 5th, has raised $307,678, including $37,524 in the last quarter, which he ended with $149,037. In the Richmond area, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, reported raising almost $345,000 for the quarter and more than $1.1 million for the cycle. Wittman ended March with $673,459 on hand. His Democratic opponent, Herb Jones, announced his candidacy last month and had not reported his initial campaign fund raising by Friday. Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, also had not reported by Friday evening, but held a commanding fund-raising lead at the end of last year over Republican challenger Leon Benjamin, whom he defeated by more than 90,000 votes two years ago. McEachin raised $449,383 last year, compared to $85,061 for Benjamin, who also had not reported quarterly totals. The opposition to Spanberger, Luria and Wexton in the battleground districts is still taking shape, with some campaigns filing their quarterly reports late on Friday under a midnight deadline. In the 7th, the GOP field has winnowed from eight to six candidates, but only two Prince William Supervisor Yesli Vega and Spotsylvania Supervisor David Ross had reports filed in time for the initial release by the Virginia Public Access Project early Friday evening. Vega, who recently attracted attention with a highly public endorsement by Ginni Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had raised $356,810 through the end of March and had almost $294,000 in hand. Ross raised $142,672 and finished the quarter with $121,271 on hand. Derrick Anderson, a Green Beret combat veteran from Spotsylvania County, reported raising $231,834 during the quarter and more than $521,000 overall. Anderson, who moved from Goochland back to Spotsylvania after giving up a position at a Richmond law firm to run for Congress, had $371,281 on hand at the end of March, according to his report to the Federal Elections Commission. Our campaign for Congress is picking up steam at just the right time, he said in a pre-deadline announcement on Thursday. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Crystal Vanuch reported to the FEC that she had raised $483,589 including $400,000 in debt and had $468,091 in hand. Im incredibly grateful to all of our supporters who have rallied behind us in the first weeks of our campaign, she said in her news release on April 4. Two other contenders state Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, and Prince William teacher Gina Ciarcia had not filed their quarterly fund-raising results by Friday evening. However, Reeves later reported to the Federal Elections Commission that he had raised $268,925 during the quarter and $519,238 overall. He reported $390,407 in hand at the end of March. Reeves had raised $250,000 through the end of December. Ciarcia didnt launch her campaign until after the previous quarter ended. Two others Stafford resident Gary Adkins and Spotsylvania resident Michael Monteforte have dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. Adkins withdrew on Friday, according to a statement filed with the Federal Elections Commission, and the Virginia Public Access Project no longer lists Monteforte as a qualified candidate. In the 2nd District, state Sen. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, has a widening fund-raising lead in the four-way race for the GOP nomination. Kiggans raised $434,532 in the quarter and $1.1 million during the cycle, ending March with $592,553 in hand. Jarome Bell has raised $96,542 in the quarter and more than $424,000 overall, but ended March with just $9,437 in the bank, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Tommy Altman had raised a total of $188,651, including $43,270 during the quarter, and had $19,337 on hand. No report was on file for Andy Baan. Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson appears to lead the 12-candidate GOP pack in the 10th District. Lawson has raised more than $843,000, including about $305,000 in the last quarter. She had $545,734 in the bank. Hung Cao has raised $314,316 and had $223,711 in hand at the end of March. Caleb Max, grandson of former 10th District Rep. Frank Wolf, raised $201,076 most of it in loans that he made or guaranteed, according to the filing at the Federal Elections Commission and held $149,104 at the end of March. Among the other Republican candidates who had reported by Friday evening: Dave Beckwith had raised $49,142, with $34,060 on hand; Theresa Ellis had raised a total of $78,227, including $18,075 in the quarter, and had $16,078 on hand; John Henley had raised $47,973 and had $4,498 on hand; and Brooke Taylor had raised $58,300 and had $50,605 on hand. DANVILLE, Va. When Taylor Herndon glanced in her rearview mirror at her husband riding his motorcycle behind her vehicle on Franklin Turnpike on April 2, he looked so peaceful. She was about 50 feet ahead of him. But just 15 seconds later when she looked back at him again, tragedy struck, shattering that tranquility. Something told me to look up, and we saw him on the ground, Taylor recalled Friday morning. A car making a left turn into the parking lot at Shadowwood Mart pulled out in front of Taylors husband, 26-year-old Tyler Herndon. To avoid hitting the car, Tyler tilted his bike and laid it down to the right, rolling underneath the car. The vehicle drove over Tyler, but did not hit him, Taylor said. Tyler went underneath the front of the car and somehow, the car did not run over him, she said. It did not touch him. They and their three daughters had just left their 4-year-old daughters T-ball practice at Twin Springs Elementary School. They were heading to Old Dutch Supermarket at West Main Street to pick up some steaks. The last thing we said to each other, we said, Goodbye, I love you, Taylor said. He said, See you there, and I said, Ill see you there. The driver of the vehicle, a black, four-door 2012-16 Buick Verano with tinted windows, has not been found or identified, but authorities have located the vehicle. The vehicle entered the Shadowwood parking lot, left, and headed toward Piney Forest Road after the wreck, she said. Since the incident, the Danville Police Department has been inundated with calls and tips about the wreck, said department spokesman Capt. Steve Richardson. More than 100 calls and tips regarding the wreck and the vehicle have poured into the department, he said. Were still working on determining how the accident happened, Richardson said, adding that the department is looking for witnesses. So far, the department is viewing the case as a potential hit-and-run and traffic accident, he said. The incident happened at 3:42 p.m. April 2, and Tyler Herndon was declared dead by doctors at 12:31 p.m. Tuesday, Taylor Herndon said, adding that she believes he died at the scene of the wreck. Tyler, who Taylor described as selfless, was an organ donor, she said. In fact, the boyfriend of a woman who helped out at the wreck scene has already received one of Herndons kidneys, his wife said. Tyler also was able to donate his heart, liver, pancreas and his other kidney, according to his family. Taylors father, who also rode motorcycles, was in a bad motorcycle wreck before she was born, she recalled. He would warn him [Tyler], Its the other person you have to look out for, Taylor said. Immediately following the wreck, Taylor drove up next to her husband, dashed out of her car to him and started hitting his chest. I just kept yelling at him, I just kept yelling, Tyler! Tyler!, she said. The couple, who had been married since Feb. 1, 2019, met through mutual friends in October 2013, when she was 17 and Tyler was 18. I was just starting my senior year of high school, she recalled. Some friends of mine and I needed a ride to a party. Tyler came to pick them up in his Ford Ranger pick-up truck and he picked Taylor to ride in front with him, she said. I clicked with him, Taylor said. We talked every day from then on. They began dating the following November and would have three daughters together, Addyson, 5; Makenzie, 4; and Layla, 2. Tyler dreamed of growing and dispensing medical and recreational cannabis, Taylor said. He wanted to have his own medical marijuana dispensary, warehouse, brand, she said. He wanted to go big. Taylor and her late husbands younger brother plan to make that dream happen. I have to keep that going for him, she said. If you want justice, go get it. Thats the advice of Taylorsville resident Lisa Hollifield. She lost her mother and two sisters in a 1997 DWI vehicle crash. Her work helped bring the case to a close 25 years after their deaths. A couple days after New Years (Day), I decided it was time for a resolution, Hollifield, 51, said. So, I called up Hickory (police) and I told them, This is the year. This is going to be the 25-year mark. Its got to end. Maria Self, 50, Kathy Styles, 31, and Ruth Self, 23, died on Feb. 17, 1997. Javier Uresti was a suspect in the wreck that killed the three women. Self and her two daughters were crossing Tate Boulevard on Ninth Street Lane SE, in a Geo Metro when they were hit by a 1995 Chevrolet pickup driven by Uresti, a Hickory police said in a news release. In news stories from that time, police said the results from a blood alcohol test administered on Uresti came back at 0.16, which was twice the legal limit. Police told the paper at the time that Uresti reportedly ran a red light around 10 p.m., hitting Selfs car. There were three passengers in Urestis truck, including his 2-year-old daughter, who also were injured, police said at the time. At the time of the accident, police said they received conflicting reports about who was driving the truck. The police department investigated further before charging Uresti on Feb. 20, 1997, with three counts of second-degree murder. Hickory Police Chief Thurman Whisnant said earlier this month that Uresti fled before enough evidence was obtained to arrest him. In February of this year, Hollifield searched the name of Urestis daughter on Facebook to see if she could find her. Seven names popped up in the search. One was linked to the Hickory area. Hollifield sent a message, she said. At first she didnt say whether she knew him or not, Hollifield said. But then, the next day, she said she didnt know anything about the accident because it was kept from her and she told me how he had died. Urestis daughter informed Hollifield that Uresti died on July 1, 2020, after a car accident in Mexico. Urestis daughter also sent Hollifield a copy of his death certificate through Facebook Messenger. Hollifield said she took this information to the Hickory Police Department, which confirmed Urestis death on March 30. Police could not confirm how Uresti died, Whisnant said. Hollifield said she was glad the search was over. Her efforts to find Uresti were motivated by her desire to find closure for her niece and nephew, whose mother was Kathy Styles. They were 9 and 4 at the time of their mothers death. Kathy Styles daughter, Felicia Styles, 34, said she feels Uresti got off too easy and justice should have been served a long time ago. He got to live freely being down there. He got to have his (family) and his life, said Styles, a Hickory resident. My mom didnt get to have that choice. She missed out on four grandkids and she didnt get to finish watching me or my brother grow up. Hollifield said after the accident she was full of hate and wanted revenge. She said she has since let go of that hatred for her own peace of mind. Hollifield offered advice to people who are still looking for justice in old cases. I always made sure Hickory police knew exactly who I was, Hollifield said. Every time someone new would come in, I would make sure they knew. Same thing for the district attorney, I always made sure they knew who I was. If you want justice, you get it. You go fight for it. You keep fighting for it and dont give up ever. RALEIGH Most states have still failed to recover the jobs lost during the depths of the COVID crisis in 2020. North Carolina is not, however, one of those states. From February 2020 to February 2022, we experienced an employment increase of 1.5%, representing a net gain of 67,600 jobs. That ranks us sixth in job growth since the onset of COVID. Only 10 other states are in positive territory over the past two years: Utah (5.1%), Idaho (5.1%), Montana (3.1%), Texas (1.7%), Florida (1.7%), Arizona (1.3%), Georgia (1.2%), Tennessee (1.2%), Arkansas (0.9%) and Colorado (0.3%). If we measure the recovery not by employment but by overall output, our state still fares well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Carolinas real GDP has grown by an annualized average of 1.7% since the start of 2020, faster than the Southeast (1.1%) and the nation as a whole (0.8%). Theres no question our state suffered mightily during the COVID crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people lost jobs or incomes. Millions suffered unprecedented restrictions on their personal liberty. And more than 23,000 of our fellow North Carolinians lost their lives. Whatever you think of the public-health benefits of the stringent executive orders Gov. Roy Cooper imposed during the first few months of the COVID crisis, they certainly had a substantial dampening effect on the states economy. I assume the governor would grant the existence of such a downside, arguing that achieving North Carolinas lower-than-average death rates was worth the cost. Others might question whether the states mandates were really the main cause of those lower death rates. As an economic matter, though, North Carolina clearly bounced back more strongly from the COVID recession than most states did. Why? Ill offer three possible (and not mutually exclusive) explanations. First, our state and local governments were comparatively well-prepared. During much of the past decade, lawmakers had prudently increased state savings while making North Carolina a more attractive place to work, invest and create jobs by reforming our tax code, regulatory process and infrastructure programs. These policy decisions served as the equivalent of a giant neon sign with the words Do Business Here! and a giant arrow pointing to North Carolina. So even as some industries were swooning and some businesses such as downtown restaurants were closing their doors for good other industries were in a position to expand once the worst of the crisis was over. They were already in place in North Carolina, or looking closely at the state for their next major investments. A second explanation might be that our economys exposure to a pandemic-induced downturn was somewhat lower than those of our peers because of differences in structure. A smaller share of our population lives in urban centers, for example. And tourism, while an important part of North Carolinas service sector, doesnt make up as large a share of GDP as it does in, say, our neighbor South Carolina. Finally, our state has what many households and businesses are looking for in COVIDs aftermath. Remote work has finally come into its own, freeing some workers to choose homes and communities based on quality of life rather than proximity to downtown employment districts. While cross-state relocations dont yet constitute a flood by historical standards, North Carolina is one of the most popular destinations for those looking to reinvent themselves and their businesses in more a more congenial clime. To say North Carolina is bouncing back is not to say everyone is coming along for the ride. Too many displaced workers remain on the sidelines of the labor market. Beyond a couple dozen urban and suburban counties, many other parts of the state continue to face major economic-development challenges. Furthermore, increased reliance on remote work brings costs as well as benefits. Some restaurants and service businesses catering to office workers may turn out to be unsustainable in their current form. Nevertheless, things could be worse. In most of the country, in fact, they are. John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member and author of the novel Mountain Folk, a historical fantasy set during the American Revolution (MountainFolkBook.com). BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) --Three astronauts of China's Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship arrived in Beijing on Saturday after their safe return from a six-month space station mission. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Muhammad Saleem was a 55-year-old vegetable seller who was killed after a mob allegedly attacked him in Beawar, Rajasthan. The police has ruled out the mob lynching angle and maintained that it was a case of assault. Muhammad Raafi | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles NEW DELHI Nearly two weeks after a 55-year-old Muslim vegetable vendor died after a mob allegedly attacked him in Beawar, Rajasthan over a wrongly parked motorbike, his family has been left in distress and are demanding justice. The slain Muhammad Saleem was a resident of Beawar, a city in the Ajmer district, and owned a wholesale vegetable shop at the main vegetable market of Mewari Gate in Beawar. What was his fault? We want justice and punishment for the culprits, Muhammad Abbas, 30-year-old son of the slain told TwoCircles.net. Earlier on April 2, at least 40 shops and two-wheelers belonging to Muslims were attacked and burnt to ashes in Karauli Colony Rajasthan during communal clashes. It was the first day of the Hindu new year. The clashes began when several Hindus were part of a motorcycle rally celebrating Nav Samvatsar vandalized shops and automobiles. The vandalization took place after a youth allegedly pelted stones on the motorcycle rally while passing through a Muslim-majority neighbourhood, police said. In Beawar, a day later, Muhammad Abbas filed a complaint at Beawar City Police Station detailing that on the morning of April 3, at 6:30 AM Saleem and his son Ibrahim went to the vegetable market and parked their bike in front of the shop. A person named Suraj Marothia stopped his van behind and then started hitting their bike. According to the familys neighbour, Marothia hurled abuses at Saleem and Ibrahim and threatened them. Referring to Muslims with the derogatory term Mullahs, Marothia told the father-son duo that they have no work in the market. Well stop the entry of Mullahs in the market. Muhammad Altaf, brother of Saleem told TwoCircles.net that Suraj Marothia was accompanied by at least six others who attacked Saleem with iron rods pipes. They kept hitting him till one of them smashed his head with iron weights. Although Abbas and Ibrahim, sons of Saleem tried to intervene, they were overpowered and sustained injuries. Saleem felt unconscious. The attackers dragged Saleems body, stopped a van and directed the driver to throw his body away. But, by the time Saleems neighbours had reached the spot. A neighbour of Saleem said that they snatched the body from the van and took Saleem to Amrit Kaur Hospital in Beawar City. He was declared brought dead, he said. He was murdered, said Altaf, Saleems brother. However, Police officials in Beawar City alleged that Saleem was killed during a scuffle with a vegetable vendor. Two vendors had a fight resulting in the death of one person, SHO of Beawar City said. He said the police have registered a case in the matter and three persons have been arrested. The investigation is on. The SHO also brushed aside the communal statements made by the accused while lynching Saleem. We havent come across such statements, he said. On April 3, newsgathering agency PTI quoted Police saying that a pick-up jeep which had come to deliver vegetables to the other seller hit the motorcycle of Salims son, leading to a heated exchange between the two. The argument took an ugly turn when 6-7 people from the other group attacked Salim and his two sons with sticks, they said. The local residents of Beawar said, it was after the Muslim community leaders reached the police station and demanded the registration of an FIR, that the police acted. An FIR has been registered under sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 153-A (deals with the offence of promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, etc) and 302 (Punishment for murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against seven accused identified as Suraj Marothia, Shankar Bhati, Dharma Bhati, Jai Bhati, Sunil Bhati, Shankar Pawar and Rakesh. Hate crimes directed at Muslims have spiked in Rajasthan, the Congress-ruled state, lately. Kavita Srivastava, National Secretary of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties told Two Circles that there is a lot of impunity to kill a Muslim. The entire episode between Saleem and the criminals happened because he was a Muslim. She said that it is worrying that people think they can threaten and kill a Muslim and then get away with it. She said that although she is glad that the state government has arrested the culprits but demanded that the government should immediately implement the Supreme Court guidelines and the President of India should sign the Lynching Law that is pending with him since 2019. Muhammad Raafi is a journalist based in New Delhi. He tweets at @MohammadRaafi The push to create electric vehicles is stronger than ever, particularly in North Carolina. Major car manufacturers, start-up companies and battery suppliers are all looking to our state to not only grow their business but accelerate toward cleaner energy. In December 2021, North Carolina celebrated Toyotas announcement to invest $1.3 billion to build an electric battery plant at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. Just last month, Vietnamese carmaker VinFast selected Chatham County for its new electric car production facility. Those economic wins, combined with Gov. Roy Coopers declaration in January to move the state toward clean energy and electric vehicles, have quickened the pace of electric vehicle adoption. There is no question this is exciting technology. To a Toyota dealer who has been selling hybrid electric vehicles since the late 1990s, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing public interest in electrified vehicles at an all-time high. The transition to electric vehicles has been in the works for decades, primarily through the development and sale of hybrids that combine gas and electric power. In 2021, about 5% of vehicles sold in the U.S. were electric or hybrids, with that number expected to climb to 30% by 2030. For Toyota Motors, about 25% of vehicles currently sold are EV\hybrid, with an aggressive goal to reach 70% of sales by the end of this decade. How can we ensure the entire auto industry succeeds in reaching those targets? First, electric battery technology must continue to improve. EV cars are currently not an option for people with long commutes or limited access to charging stations. There is an entire infrastructure that must support EV adoption. As more established and emerging players enter the EV space with billion-dollar budgets allocated to battery efficiency, research and development, the pace of technology advancements will quicken. Second, improvements in battery technology and charging stations availability will make owning an EV more accessible but right now EV automobiles are too expensive for many consumers. There are also too few used car options to meet all budgets. A mass and immediate shift to EV adoption has the potential to alienate and leave behind many in our communities. Third, local car dealers must be an integral part of the process. People are enamored with an order online, have it delivered to my home sales model, but the distribution, financing and DMV registration of millions of vehicles annually is not something vehicle manufacturers are equipped to handle without boots on the ground to facilitate the process. Local dealers provide maintenance and repair of EV autos. The skill level to safely repair and maintain EV vehicles requires knowledge of the calibrations and hundreds of computers in the vehicle. But North Carolina consumers who buy online will find themselves dozens, if not hundreds, of miles away from experts who can service these vehicles. Dealerships provide a local, direct line to the manufacturer and cut down on a car owners time without their vehicle. Just as importantly, auto dealerships are an integral part of local communities. They sponsor little league teams and charity causes. They create employment and invest in important initiatives. They even support public safety. For example, our Rice Toyota dealership works with first responders to provide training on responding to fires and accidents involving electric vehicles, which are very different from traditional vehicle fires. There is a long-term charge ahead for North Carolina. Its not going to happen overnight, but if we focus on improving technology, lowering costs and supporting local auto dealers, we can be assured of a brighter, cleaner future. Mary Rice is general manager for Rice Toyota in Greensboro. As hundreds, or even thousands of Ukrainian refugees begin arriving in the United States from their war-wracked nation, Montanans have a prime viewpoint to see how crises have shattered the immigration debate. This country needs to rethink different ways of approaching growing problems with immigration, attorney Susan Cohen said ahead of last weeks International Conference on Central and Southwest Asia at the University of Montana. Being a world leader, thats morally required. Cohen has specialized in immigration law and refugee policy since the 1980s. She now leads the Mintz law firm's immigration practice in Boston, and helped found the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She gave a keynote address at the University of Montanas 19th annual Asia conference on Why They Flee: Viewing Asian Regimes Through an American Immigration Lens. People escaping war zones and collapsing societies may qualify for Temporary Protected Status to stay in the United States while their more long-term paperwork gets processed. Ukrainians qualified for that status about a week after Afghanistan refugees did. But the Afghans had been waiting almost eight months to reach that point, Cohen said, while the Ukrainians were cleared shortly after Russian troops started pouring over their border on Feb. 20. Missoula has been a frequent landing spot for refugees, from Tibetans fleeing Chinese occupation in the 1960s to Hmong and Vietnamese after the end of the Vietnam War to Belarus, African and Afghani displaced persons in recent years. I dont think well ever be united on immigration policy, Cohen said. But it seems so selfish and short-sighted to say we cant fit another several hundred thousand people into a country with 350 million. When the economic impact of immigration is understood properly, theres no basis to reject them on claims theyre taking peoples jobs. Economic analyses gathered by the Council on Foreign Relations show major segments of the U.S. economy depend on immigrant labor for work that otherwise isnt getting done. For example, when the COVID pandemic lockdowns severely limited border crossings, no East Coast crab fishermen lost jobs, but the price of crab meat jumped from $24.95 a pound to $42. Immigrants dont compete for U.S. native jobs," said Chad Sparber, an international economics expert from Colgate University. Their impact is not on wages, but the prices of products. Cohen said how people feel about immigration policy gets tangled when refugees get thrown in the mix. While a migrant worker may pursue personal job goals when deciding to cross a border, someone fleeing an advancing army has little decision-making power. That gets even more complicated when the refugee is abandoning cropland thats failed due to drought or a countryside overrun by criminal gangs. International asylum law largely grew out of Europe at the end of World War II and the subsequent Cold War, when millions of people were homeless and their states were essentially wrecked or transformed to a hostile government. Cohen said the result has been remarkably quick acceptance of Ukrainians running away from Russian conflict, but entrenched resistance to African and Middle Eastern people leaving their failing states. Poland, for example, absorbed a huge share of the estimated 4 million Ukrainian refugees, but built a wall to prevent Afghani refugees from entering after they had made it to neighboring Belarus. We need to reclaim our global leadership, Cohen said. We need to show we believe not just in the rule of law, but the principle of welcoming the stranger. It helps our country, helps our economy, and it reunites families. I think we can be more generous than we have been. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 For years now we have heard Jon Tester and Steve Daines declare themselves coal state senators whenever they so willingly vote against measures to reduce or tax the use of coal and its planet-killing pollution. But as recently released data show, the state and local tax revenue and number of jobs created by Montanas legalization of recreational and medical marijuana now outpace coal a trend that is expected to continue. While medicinal marijuana has been legal in Montana since the voter approved passage of I-148 in 2004, adult recreational use only became legal in January of 2022. In a 2020 study titled An Assessment of the Market and Tax Revenue Potential of Recreational Cannabis in Montana, the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research predicted total sales of recreational pot would be a whopping $217 million this year, producing $43.4 million in state and local tax revenues. That number was predicted to rise to $259.8 million in sales and $52 million in tax revenues by 2026. As reported in a recent article, the Montana Department of Revenue posted sales data showing total medicinal and recreational cannabis sales hit $72.9 million in the first three months of this year. Recreational sales outpace medicinal and with the tourist season upon us and an expected 10 million or more visitors to the Big Sky State those numbers are only expected to increase. Its fair to say the sun is shining on the marijuana industry in Montana while coal continues its precipitous decline. According to a report from the Governors Office of Budget and Program Planning, coal tax revenues last year came in at $45 million and are predicted to fall to $36 million by 2025 due to continued decline in domestic demand. Indeed, if one could say the future of the coal industry in Montana is black, very black. When The Marijuana Opportunity and Expungement Act passed the House earlier this month, Montanas Congressman Matt Rosendale voted against it even though 37 states, including Montana, now have legal medicinal and/or recreational marijuana. Despite his title, apparently Rosendale doesnt think he has to actually represent Montanas voters. So now the measure goes to the Senate and Republican Daines has already told Politico: I oppose it. Really Senator Daines? And why would you do that given that more Montanans voted to legalize pot than voted for you in the last election? Democrat Jon Tester should answer the same question since, as also reported by Politico: Sen. Jon Tester of Montana was similarly unenthusiastic about ending federal marijuana penalties. Legalization would cause more problems than it solves, Tester said. Disgusting, isnt it, how these politicians can laud themselves as representing a coal state and sweep the known and disastrous problems caused by coal under the rug but are willing to happily vote against the overwhelming wishes of Montanans based solely on their personal opinions. Montana is nowhere near a coal state and never was. Given Montanas indisputable vote to support legal pot, its clearly time for Daines, Tester and Rosendale to leave their phony anti-environment coal state excuses behind, admit Montana is now a legal pot state, and start representing their constituents priorities in Congress. George Ochenski is a long time Helena resident, an environmental activist and Montana's longest running weekly columnist. Love 10 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 5 It is April. Hummingbirds are humming. The sun is warming Mother Earth as she shakes off her winter chill. Tender buds are sprouting on trees and in the grow house behind Cousin Juniors shed. That means its time for Nudity and Stupidity in the News a semi-regular feature putting a spotlight on things that should stay covered up spring 2022 edition. NO, VIRGINIA, THERE ISNT A PANTY CLAUSE A new law in the commonwealth of Virginia makes it a civil infraction to send a nude or sexually explicit photo of yourself to someone without their consent. Violators could face a $500 fine as well as being saddled with the nickname Tiny for all eternity. Lawmakers worked on the legislation with a dating site called Bumble, which may not be the greatest name for a dating site. (Jerry was kind of bumbling like the rest of them, but at least he didnt send me an unsolicited nude photo of himself.) Despite its name, Bumble is serious about stopping unsolicited nude photos, which, according to their research, is a real problem. Bumble said they found one in three women received a nude image, and 96% of those said it was unwanted, according to an April 13 news report. Bumble released the following statement: Were proud to have played a part in bringing standards of conduct on the internet closer in line with our standards of behavior in the real world. If it wouldnt fly walking down the street or at the office, or in the classroom it shouldnt be tolerated in your inbox! Let me just say this. If a new law and threat of a $500 fine is all that is keeping you from sending an unsolicited nude photo to the nice lady at the bank, please seek professional help. DISORDER IN THE COURT According to various news reports, a 24-year-old Upshur County, West Virginia, woman was accused of physically assaulting a male victim. Police say they witnessed the incident, and the woman was upset over alleged cheating. I was unable to obtain an official court transcript, so I just made one up. JUDGE: Young lady, have you ever been up before me? WOMAN: I dont know, your honor. What time do you usually get up? JUDGE: Why are you naked in the courtroom today? WOMAN: My lawyer wouldnt let me borrow his legal briefs. And that is about all the courtroom jokes I can remember from old Three Stooges episodes. THE SCRAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH According a website devoted to Disney park news, two sisters ages 29 and 31 were vacationing with their family in Orlando in February, taking in all the Disney amenities, as well as few drinks. The website wdnt.com said problems began when they tried to go back to their hotel off Disney property. Their phone died. Disney Security helped them call an Uber. The Uber driver refused to take them, as he worried they were too drunk. The women argued while waiting for a taxi, and their night unraveled. The older sister called the younger sister a bad mom and slapped her. The younger sister threatened to punch her in return. More words were said, a few clothes were shed, and additional hands were thrown. Deputies assisted [one sister] with putting on a blue jean jacket since she was not wearing any clothing, the sheriffs report said. They were very intoxicated, the report noted. And endangered the safety of other guests and Cast Members at Disney Springs by physically fighting in a public area. Though presumably no longer welcome at Disney, both sisters have been invited to spend their next vacation at Cousin Juniors place. Hell contact them on Bumble. Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion, North Carolina, and a humor columnist. Contact him at rhollifield@mcdowellnews.com. It's getting warmer, and we're getting braver. We're venturing out to explore and find connection. Kids are craving activity, and we're craving it too. Something fresh, opportunity, and new starts go great with spring. Childrens and parenting events that have been canceled and postponed over the past two years are popping up again, and some new events and services have developed during that time too. My social media feed is beginning to explode with activities for children and families. For busy parents, kids expos and baby fairs are a convenient way to connect to what the community has to offer to support you as a parent. You can comparison shop sports, music, art, drama, dance, classes, clubs, scouts and more opportunities that may interest your children without lots of calls and commitment. You can learn about health services and even get a screening on the spot, sign up to learn more about a prenatal, breastfeeding or parenting class, or have your car seat-checked for safety. There are often giveaways, special discounts and prize drawings. That car window shade giveaway from the hospital booth might be the best thing you didnt know you needed. Best of all, there are fun activities for the kids. Heres a boost to help connect parents and caregivers to just an example of some of the upcoming free and low-cost resources and opportunities where children can also have a blast. Mark your calendar, and for links to all of the opportunities mentioned, visit ParentingSweet.org. A free Community Baby Shower at the Bristol Public Library welcomes new parents and caregivers Monday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to noon. RSVP to participate in this Central Appalachian Mission Project of speakers and prizes, featuring Ballad Health, Bristols Promise Parenting, MOMS R US teen parenting program and Virginia WIC Breastfeeding. The nearly two-decades-old Kid Power events 2022 theme is Once upon a time and invites us to show up dressed as our favorite storybook character or any character. The free and open-to-all event features more than 30 vendors, activities, door prizes, music, online activities and more for children of all ages at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton, Tennessee, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. PLAYtime in the ARTspace begins May 7 and continues weekly on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Theatre Bristols ARTspace in Bristol, Tennessee. For the very youngest theatergoers, from infants to 5 years old, and their caregivers, PLAYtime in the ARTspace, entertains and educates with favorite songs and rhymes and more. Parents connect to coffee, bagels and great parenting resources from around the region. The Baby Ready drive-thru event for new and expecting parents under the age of 24 features vendors and giveaways in the Sullivan County Regional Health Department parking lot in Blountville, Tennessee, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Preregister, and then in the comfort of your car, find resources that help with pregnancy, birth, parenting, health care, child care, teen pregnancy and more. A community arts information and sign-up event on May 21 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the childrens section of the Bristol Public Library provides an opportunity to register or just learn more about childrens music, art, dance and theater classes, workshops, intensives, summer camps, auditions and more from arts organizations around the area, as well as available scholarship opportunities. An exciting program born during the pandemic is Ballad Healths STRONG Pregnancies and STRONG Starts program, where information on available resources is brought to parents around the region, along with support and encouragement. Also new during the pandemic, the Parenting Sweet in downtown Bristol, is a one-stop resource for parents, with parenting education resources and classes provided by the regionwide Parenting Education Network, as well as information on babywearing, breastfeeding, a parenting library and store, a monthly e-newsletter and much more. For anytime one-stop parenting info, check out the local library, such as the Bristol Public Library parenting section in the childrens library, with books and flyers on events and activities. Dont forget Facebook pages and groups like Tri-Cities Tennessee Kids Activities and Johnson City Parents' Club and new groups like Kidz Connect and Bristol VA/TN and Surrounding Areas Moms Group that connect parents to helpful resources along with support and encouragement. Share your parenting and childrens groups, events and resources at ParentingSweet.org and help parents and children get out and connect to our community. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:13. I visited a wonderful family/very close friends over the weekend. They live in the northeastern United States, and they were laying to rest their beautiful mother and wife of almost 84 years. I have never seen a greater display of love and affection between friends and family members. It was simply beautiful. The family lived many years in Warner Robins, and each of these siblings attended high school locally. Their father is a 90-year-old Air Force retiree and saint (my words), who is the embodiment of love and warmth. I was so glad to see him, and so privileged to be given the opportunity to mourn with them. Their mother/wife loved me and our other friends as much as the unlimited boundaries of Gods love would permit. The honor is totally ours, Mrs. Anderson. I know you will not only rest in peace but will eternally flourish in Gods presence. The following passage is from an earlier part of 1 Cor Chapter 13: "Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. This brings us back into the reality of this world. A reminder that one day there will be perfect peace, but now the struggle for the truth continues in our fallen world. Another facet of this truth I observed this weekend: Seeing a group of wonderful Christian conservatives thrive, while living geographically in the middle of some of the most virulent voices and attitudes in our countrys history. This is the battle for the soul of our country: The battle for our children and grandchildren. We fix it now or we fix it never. Kudos to those who take the principled stand in this world! As for me, I fully intend to continue pointing out the maliciousness of people who are charged to legally represent us but do nothing but represent themselves, their career, their families, and their wealth. It is my passion to forever call out those who pervert and destroy the magnificent foundations of our Judeo-Christian society. I read a piece the other day from the Jerusalem Post, incredibly written by a former Saudi Arabian editor, Mohammed Alyahya, who chastised the current American policy of attempting to restart and restore the JCPOA (the Iran nuclear treaty). Mr. Alyahya termed it as "an assault on the regional order that the Untied States established in the aftermath of World War II. The deal is openly hostile to Israel and Saudi Arabia. Lets be honest: the deal is covered in fingerprints from the man who keeps an 8500 sq ft home only a few blocks from the White House, Barack Obama. The first Iran deal that Obama pushed, which was dumped in the trash can by President Trump, gave Irans mullahs $150B in funds and at Irans request air dropped $1.7B in cash via several pallets in Iran of OUR taxpayer dollars. Iran claimed it was their money from old claims and Obama said yea, ok-----just have anything you want. Recall that Obamas top advisor is Valerie Jarrett, who was born in Iran. This money should have never been authorized because a treaty Constitutionally requires two-thirds of US Senate approval, and the Senate never approved. Its extremely doubtful that they would be able to approve the new "deal that Biden is attempting to revive. But it wont stop the Biden cheat machine from doing whatever they desire, the media fundamentally changes, and "we the people tell them: NO, we will no longer allow you to destroy our country. The Left lies and say this was Irans money in the first place, but these claims were a reach to begin with. There is another development implicating Stacey Abrams/Mark Zuckerberg directly in ballot trafficking operations in the state of Georgia. These ballot traffickers were using the offices of several Democratic lawmakers as stopping points while they were making ballot drop runs. They have the goods on them, with 24 Terabytes cell phone geo-tracking data, and videos of ballot drop box surveillance footage of 2000 people or "mules visiting drop boxes every night in October and November 2020. All of this remains under investigation, but the pieces are beginning to fall into place. It always amazes me that every time anyone has proof of voter fraud occurring, someone from the media or Deep State stands and says, "No, no, this has been disproven many times. It has not been disproven at all, in any way, shape, or form. The ones saying so are the worlds greatest liars over at the Democratic party. We know they cheated. They know they cheated. The evidence is overwhelming. The truth will be found and revealed. Anything contrary to these facts is pure delusion. Selah! WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Two men have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at an arcade in North Carolina, police said. Winston-Salem police said Friday that Reginald Anthony Williams, 25, is charged with murder, and Nautica Shanice Baldwin, 26, is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, news outlets reported. According to an arrest warrant, Williams is accused of killing Arthur Little, 52, who was shot inside the arcade on Wednesday. When officers arrived, they found Little unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Baldwin is accused of stealing $420 from Little that same day after she threatened the victim with a handgun, her arrest warrant said. Another man was taken to a local hospital with a leg injury, but police haven't identified him. Williams was jailed without bond. Police said bond for Baldwin was set at $25,000. Both are scheduled to appear in a Forsyth County court on Monday. It was not immediately known if they have attorneys. Police didnt describe the relationship between Williams and Baldwin. Littles death is the citys 13th homicide in Winston-Salem this year, compared to eight homicides at the same time in 2021, police said. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Winston-Salem Journal. HICKORY Catawba Valley Community College recently celebrated its first graduation class for the Toyota Technical Education College Support (TECS) Elite program. This first Toyota TECS Elite program class at CVCC was completed on March 14 with six students earning the certification, which is the first step in helping to build a career as a Toyota technician. The program is a great opportunity for these students to experience Toyota manufacturer training through the combination of the web-based courses and instructor-led class, said Bryan Blackwelder, CVCC Automotive Systems Technology instructor. Catawba Valley Community College students completing this certification included Jonathan Aubin, Anthony Cortez, David Huffman, Miguel Lopez, Jonathon Wallace and Emma Wilson. The inaugural graduates in the Toyota TECS Elite program are eager and excited to use the knowledge gained from the classroom in their future career endeavors, said Aden Cranford, CVCCs dean of Career and Technical Education. This partnership is forwarding our mission of creating highly-skilled workers who will make a positive impact in our community. The Toyota TECS Elite program is a maintenance and light repair course utilizing Toyota specific resources for service information, parts and procedures to be performed specifically on Toyota vehicles. TECS Elite is an excellent opportunity for our students but it also provides a valuable technician resource for the Toyota dealers who hire them, and it is also beneficial to the customers whose vehicles they service, said Shawn Mull, department head for CVCC Automotive Systems Technology. Students have access to the same Toyota information as technicians employed at a Toyota or Lexus dealer. The course is designed specifically to familiarize students with the Toyota way of doing things to jump start their career. We are so excited for the recent CVCC graduates and wish them the best of luck as the begin their careers in the automotive industry, said Mike Newsome, director of Technical Operations, Southeast Toyota Distributors. As a longtime partner of both Toyota and the Catawba Valley Community College, we are thrilled to see the new Toyota TECS Elite program come to fruition. We look forward to growing this relationship which will create wonderful opportunities for the students, while also supporting our local Toyota dealers who are always looking for skilled talent. Following completion of the Toyota TECS Elite program, these new factory-certified technicians are ready to enter the automotive industry workforce, including Toyota and Lexus dealerships nationwide. Our college is proud to partner with Toyota to provide high quality graduates for the regions workforce, said Catawba Valley Community College President Garrett Hinshaw. By being a TECS Elite partner, Toyota is supplying Catawba Valley Community College with Toyota vehicles that will be used by CVCC Automotive Systems Technology students and instructors. We are very proud of the partnership we have built with Toyota, said Gary Muller, executive dean of Economic Development and Corporate Education. The TECS Elite program is the first of many others we hope to add to our automotive program to supplement our excellent existing programs. For more information on the Automotive Systems program at Catawba Valley Community College, visit https://bit.ly/3uzaUkP. It was a frigid, windy morning when the cameras began rolling for the movie, A Knight to Remember. The title was fitting, since getting to participate in a real movie is an experience I will never forget. Even in the cold, I had a fun and interesting experience. I have never acted, nor planned to be part of any theater production, let alone a movie. Playing a part in the movie was a spontaneous decision I made after my friend Kristen Hart, Hickory Police Departments media coordinator, said she was asked to be an extra while the crew was filming at the police station. We decided we would do it together, which was another reason the experience was enjoyable. The day got colder by the hour as the clouds began rolling in, but the scenes were meant to take place in the blazing heat of Texas. The script said the temperature of the set was 110 degrees in reality it was below 50 with wind speeds between eight and 12 miles per hour. We werent able to wear our jackets while cameras were rolling, so I left mine in the dressing rooms. I didnt want to fool with trying to hide it between takes. The winds were so strong at one point a large protest sign my character held was nearly ripped from my hands. Hart and I were playing hippies protesting while Vietnam veterans returned from the war, along with 10 to 15 other extras. We were all dressed in thin, lacy, flowy garments that provided little protection from the bitter winds. Between takes, we would huddle closely together for warmth and joke about how we were embracing the free love mindset. By the end of the day, my lips were completely chapped and any exposed skin was as white as paper splotched with pink and purple. We arrived at the Statesville Municipal Airport to film at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. I came already dressed in costume. I wore my favorite pair of brown bell bottom jeans, a layered mauve-colored lace shirt, a suede vest with long fringe tassels and a wooden peace sign necklace with matching beaded bracelets. Around 10 a.m., the entire cast met for prayer and a production meeting before filming began. During the meeting, the director, Scott McClannahan, explained what the movie was about and informed us there would be some tense emotional scenes. He said the movie would follow a Vietnam veteran and his struggle with post traumatic stress disorder after returning from the war. Country music artist Ryan Weaver played the lead character, David Shepherd Knight. I got to play a hippie in two scenes. In the first, Shepherd and three other veterans exited a plane after returning home from Vietnam. During the scene, the extras were behind a fence shouting and protesting. I held a large poster board that read, Peace not war, in rainbow lettering written around flowers and a peace sign in the middle. I screamed, Make love not war, until my throat was on fire. The scene took over an hour to film, with multiple takes. I stopped counting after five. As much as I loved being part of the movie, I didnt enjoy shouting things like, baby killer, though I know that is accurate to what many Vietnam veterans experienced when returning home. It made me think about how awful Vietnam veterans must have felt returning home to angry protesters after witnessing so many horrors overseas. In the second scene, Shepherd was confronted by protesters as he left the airport. This scene was interesting to me because the extras pantomimed our roles, our voices would be dubbed over later. Only the characters with lines spoke while the scene was filmed. As Shepherd left the airport, he was confronted by two hippies, a Black Panther and a veteran who served in a different war. In this scene I held a handful of pink and white daisies and a smaller sign that read, Peace, with a drawing of a dove. I mouthed, Love not war, as I waved my sign and tried to look as mean as possible. It was hard to look angry since I kept fighting off yawns while pretending to yell. I was not tired, just a natural reaction from opening my mouth widely without saying anything. McClannahan placed me right behind the action; so many times I would be fighting off a yawn with the camera pointed almost directly at me. I worried about messing up the shot every time. McClannahan also had protesters, including my character, walking around in different directions throughout the scene while still pretending to shout at Shepherd. Filming was finally over around 3 p.m. Weaver came up after filming ended to introduce himself and take a photo with everyone. He then took the time to take individual pictures with any cast member who approached him. During filming, he was so into his character he seemed rough and unapproachable, but after filming he was extremely friendly and easy to talk to. I am thankful I decided to tag along with Hart. The day was long, but it is an experience I never thought I would get. I have a new respect for actors and everyone involved in film production. I figured it was a complicated process, but I never knew how much time and effort goes into a movie until now. If you ever have the chance to be part of a movie, I highly suggest you take it. The film, A Knight to Remember, is slated for release in 2023. Sarah Johnson is a reporter with the Hickory Daily Record. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. TERRELL The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley announces a meet the candidates event on Monday, April 25, from 6-8 p.m. at Rehobeth United Methodist Church in Terrell. All local, state, and U.S. Congressional District candidates who are in the primary election on May 17 have been invited. It is an informal event. The candidates will be located throughout the fellowship hall and attendees may circulate throughout and speak to them. This event will be open to candidates from all parties who have competitive races this spring. The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy. The League works to inform and engage the community and to encourage citizens to participate in government. More information about the League is available at lwvcv.org. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 HICKORY The City of Hickory invites the public to attend the naming dedication of the community room at the newly renovated Ridgeview Branch Library in honor of former Hickory City Councilwoman Zilly Ann Z. Ann Hoyle. The ceremony will take place at the library on Saturday, April 23, at 2 p.m. The program will include comments from Hickory Mayor Hank Guess, Ward 4 Hickory City Councilman David Williams, Hickory Public Library Director Sarah Greene, and several family members and friends of Hoyle. In memory of Hoyle and in recognition of her many contributions to the Ridgeview community, the City of Hickory, Catawba County, and local government service, the new community room is being dedicated and named in her honor. The Z. Ann Hoyle Community Room provides an open space to host a variety of library programs and community events. Last year, the Ridgeview Branch Library was renovated and expanded. In addition to updating the interior of the building, the project added a group study room and a large community room with an exterior courtyard area and a separate entrance. Hoyle committed her life to mentoring, leading, helping, and advocating for others. She was a dedicated public servant who believed in lifelong learning and listening, as it helped her make sound decisions on issues that affect the lives of other people today and for generations to come. She received an abundance of accolades throughout her life and received them with humility because she worked tirelessly for the greater good of the country. Hoyle was born in Cleveland County and moved to Hickory in 1965. She graduated from Catawba Valley Community College with a degree in early childhood development. Throughout her career, she worked in the community to preserve, promote, and inspire the youth. She retired with 20 years of service from Catawba County in 2005, where she worked with Catawba County Mental Health and Catawba County Social Services during her tenure. She was the architect and initiator of cultural, political, and economic activity in Ridgeview and the City of Hickory as it relates to African Americans for four decades. In 1991, Hoyle was elected to the Hickory City Council as the first African American female elected to a council position in Catawba County. She represented Ward 4 and the Ridgeview community of Hickory on the City Council from December 1991 to December 2009. Hoyle devoted many years of service to the community through her involvement with various organizations, including the local Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors and Smart Start Catawba County Committee. Prior to being on City Council, she served on the City of Hickorys Community Relations Council for six years, and the Hickory Public Housing Board for more than nine years. She was an active member of the NAACP and served as president of the NAACP Hickory Branch for six years. After taking public office, Hoyle was active in the NC Black Elected Municipal Officials (NCBEMO) and served as president of the organization. She served as the North Carolina District Director on the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials and held several committee positions within the National League of Cities and the North Carolina League of Municipalities. Her commitment to learn and become more educated on government leadership and issues facing Americans was recognized with the Diamond Leadership Award from the National League of Cities. She was a top five finalist for the National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government Award in 2008. Hoyle has been recognized locally with numerous awards for her service to the community. She was the first recipient of the local African American Cultural Centers Ukama Legacy Award in 2004, and the award is now named and presented in her honor. She received the Women of Distinction Award by the Catawba Valley Girl Scouts and was named Woman of the Year by Morning Star Baptist Church. In 2017, Catawba Valley Community Colleges Office of Multicultural Affairs honored Hoyle with the Outstanding Contribution to the African American Community Award. Ridgeview Branch Library is located at 706 First St. SW in Hickory and can be reached directly at 828-345-6037. For more information about Hickory Public Library, call 828-304-0500 or visit www.hickorync.gov/library. " " The microwave oven has become as common as the dishwasher or the toaster in kitchens worldwide, but some folks are still suspicious of them. Fernando Camino/Getty Images Do you have a friend who doesn't own a microwave oven? Are you that friend? Here in the 21st century, more than 90 percent of U.S. households have microwaves, but though they offer speedy cook times and a lot of convenience and energy efficiency, some people eschew them with a firm hand. But why? Here are five reasons some myth-based and some based in reality for persistent, 21st-century microwave dissing: Advertisement 1. Takes Up Precious Counter Space Some microwave ovens are big. Not as big as the first commercial microwave ever, the Raytheon Radarange, which was 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weighed over 700 pounds (320 kilograms). But today's microwaves can still be big enough to seriously throw off the feng shui in your kitchen. 2. Concern It Emits Harmful Radiation When a product becomes pervasive enough to spawn other consumer product industries (microwave popcorn and burritos, anyone?) you know it's going to have its detractors especially when you have to use the word "radiation" to describe how it works. But "radiation" is just a term used to describe waves of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes radio waves, visible light and X-rays. Microwave ovens work by emitting microwave radiation, the wavelengths of which are just a little shorter than the radio waves used in radar technology. These waves are used to jiggle water molecules inside food millions of times per second, while rubbing them together in the same way we rub our hands together for warmth. This can create a whole lot of heat very quickly. Even though certain wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum are very dangerous, microwaves are pretty benign. 3. Fear It Zaps Food's Nutrients In the film "American Hustle," Jennifer Lawrence's character Rosalyn Rosenfeld receives a microwave oven as a gift. She calls it a "science oven" and promptly tries to use it to heat a foil-covered casserole in an aluminum pan. After the resulting fire is extinguished, her exasperated husband asks her how she could be so stupid. She turns the tables on him: "You know, I read it takes all the nutrition right out of our food!" Although the idea that microwaves destroy the nutrients in our food is about as old as the appliance itself, turns out the opposite is actually true. Food loses its nutritional value when it's cooked in a lot of liquid at high heat for a long time. The good stuff in the food you eat is best preserved by cooking it quickly and using very little water, which is just what microwaves do. In fact, studies suggest that microwaves preserve nutrients like folic acid and antioxidants at a much higher rate than stovetop cooking. 4. It Heats Food Unevenly While conventional ovens heat food from the outside in, microwave ovens cook all areas of the food at once. But since microwaves are calibrated to focus on heating water, and the water in your food isn't always distributed evenly, the cooking method can heat unevenly. Protein, fat and starch molecules heat more slowly than water, and the presence of a bunch of salt prolongs cooking times as well. So, it might take only a couple of minutes to take that microwave meal from ice cube to fragrant, bubbly lunch, but expect pockets of ice crystals and molten cheese. Or just, you know, stir it a few times while you're cooking it. Advertisement 5. It Doesn't Kill Bacteria That Might Be Present Although you probably shouldn't be chowing down on contaminated food anyway, reheating can definitely kill some of the bad bacteria if you're just hell-bent on eating those two-week-old Thai leftovers. In this case, the problem with the microwave is it heats pretty unevenly, as previously discussed. Eating contaminated food is a terrible idea to begin with, but know the microwave won't be doing you any favors on the bacteria-killing front because it doesn't heat all your food to the same high, bacteria-killing temperature. Now That's Interesting A microwave oven uses something called magnetron to microwave radiation. American physicist Percy Spencer discovered it could heat food while he was using a magnetron in radar research during WWII and it melted a chocolate bar in his pocket. Advertisement Originally Published: May 10, 2018 Thanks for visiting ! The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Thank you for your support! Twelve people were injured during a shooting at Columbia Centre mall in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday and three people have been detained, according to police. None have died from the shooting. Of those 12 injured, 10 were hit by gunfire and two others were hurt as people fled to exits, Columbia Police Department Chief Skip Holbrook said at a 5 p.m. news conference in Harbison, where Columbiana mall is located. Eight of the people hit by gunfire were transported to area hospitals, with two in critical but stable condition. Two other gunshot victims took themselves to a hospital, Holbrook said. The oldest victim was 73 years old and the youngest 15, Holbrook said. The first 911 call came in at 2:03 p.m. Saturday after shots were fired near the Gap store, Holbrook said. At least three people were seen with firearms inside the mall, and at least one person fired a gun, Holbrook said. Holbrook said it appears from a preliminary investigation that the shooter or shooters knew each other. Police "don't believe this is random," Holbrook said. The shooting was "not a situation of a random person that showed up the mall" to shoot people. Holbrook asked the public to stay out of the area as the investigation continues, and law enforcement officers could be at the mall for several more hours Saturday night. A reunification site has been set up at the Fairfield Inn near the mall, and anyone looking to connect with family or friends who were at the mall can meet them at the hotel or call 803-732-4436. Holbrook asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the criminal investigations bureau at 803-545-3525. Columbia Mayor Rickenman was at the news conference and said this was a disappointing thing to happen in the community on one of the holiest days of the year. "My heart and thoughts go out to the victims and their families and those inside the mall when this happened," the mayor said. "We've got a great group of investigators, and we're going to get to the bottom of this." CHICAGO A fire that roared through a prominent church on Chicago's South Side was sparked by a propane torch on the building's roof, the Chicago Fire Department said Saturday. "The CFD Office of Fire Investigation has determined the fire at Antioch Church to be accidental and caused by work being done on the building roof using a propane torch," the department said on Twitter. The multiple-alarm fire blaze at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church began after 2 p.m., Friday an hour after services ended, and wasn't brought under control for 90 minutes. "This church is an anchor in this community," the pastor, Rev. Gerald Dew, told reporters at the scene. "If we've got to lose something, losing it on Good Friday is the best time to lose it because, after Good Friday comes Resurrection Sunday." No one appeared to be inside at the time of the fire, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. Around 150 firefighters and 50 engines, trucks and ambulances went to the scene, Langford said. The only reported injury was a firefighter who slipped on the street and injured his ankle, he said. He was taken away in an ambulance. The South Side church is well-known for its political clout and community involvement, investing in several housing projects starting in the 1960s. The church provides more than 1,500 units of affordable housing for seniors, the physically handicapped and for families, Dew said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RiverRun International Film Festival will return April 21-30 with indoor screenings for the first time since early 2020. Were getting back to a more normal schedule this year with the number of indoor theaters, said Rob Davis, RiverRuns executive director. Last year, we were on an abbreviated schedule because we were having to do everything outdoors for safety considerations. During a launch event at SECCA on April 5 to announce the festivals film lineup, Davis noticed two common reactions from a group of 140 people who viewed some film clips and looked through the festivals program guide. The general consensus from the audience was that this is one of our strongest lineups ever, and I agree with that, he said. Now, in its 24th consecutive year, RiverRun will offer both traditional in-person and virtual screenings. The festival will feature 174 films representing 33 countries, culled from a pool of nearly 1,700 submitted films. We had an extraordinary number of outstanding films submitted to us this year, so it was very difficult to narrow it down from 1,670 films to the 174 that are in the festival, Davis said. There were just so many terrific films sent to us. He said a lot of good films were not chosen this year because there was simply no room for them. But the films that will have screenings include a variety of genres, including international, French comedies, Mexican narratives, documentary offerings and more. A wide selection of films from the United States and North Carolina are also included. Our documentaries range from the recording of an album in Nashvilles famed RCA Studio B to the challenges of preserving and protecting New Jerseys Passaic River, Davis has said. On the narrative front, our films include a tense thriller set in a Georgia bank, an estranged family coming together on their Montana ranch, and a Muslim American rom-com about a group of sisters in Queens. A third category of North Carolina short films called Winston Stories with Winston-Salem connections and filmmakers was added this year. These were very important films that we wanted to include in the festival, Davis said. Start to finish Opening night will feature the narrative The Rose Maker, a French film directed by Pierre Pinaud and the documentary We Feed People directed by Ron Howard. The Rose Maker tells the story of Eve (Catherine Frot), an artisanal rose grower struggling to stay afloat until her assistant comes up with a solution. We Feed People spotlights chef Jose Andres and his nonprofit World Central Kitchens evolution from being a scrappy group of volunteers to becoming one of the most highly regarded humanitarian aid organizations in the disaster-relief sector. The closing night film will be A Love Song. Max Walker-Silverman is the director. Davis said this is a fun film with a lot of unique humor. This is a tale of two childhood sweethearts (Dale Dickey and Wes Studi), now both widowed, who share a night by a lake in the mountains. Reuniting after 40 years, the pair share childhood memories, make small talk and shelter together from loneliness, RiverRun stated. RiverRuns Centerpiece Screening will be Fiddlers Journey to the Big Screen directed by Daniel Raim. Its a terrific documentary about the making of the film version of Fiddler on the Roof, Davis said. Anyone who has an interest in Broadway or in musical theater will absolutely love this film because its just an incredible story and back story surrounding that film. Davis expects a lot of people will enjoy seeing Steven Spielbergs Raiders of the Lost Ark on the big screen. Karen Allen, who stars in it, will be here to get a Master of Cinema award, Davis said. Thats going to be a special night with Karen Allen here to introduce the film. Another French film to be screened at RiverRun will be Lost Illusions directed by Xavier Giannoli. The only way to describe it is that it is truly filmmaking on a grand scale, Davis said. This is like the epics of old Hollywood. Its a huge costume drama, and its an exceptionally good film. Two directors Filmmakers Samantha Knowles and Lucas Estevan Soares have films screening at the 2022 RiverRun International Film Festival. Knowles, 31, a documentary filmmaker who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., is the director of the documentary short Generation Impact: The Coder that will be part of The Films With Class Middle School Shorts Program at the festival. According to the films synopsis, Jay Jay Patton was only 13 when she designed and built Photo Patch, a mobile app to help kids send photos and letters to parents who are incarcerated. The app was inspired by Jay Jays own experience; her dad was in prison for five years, and it was difficult to communicate with him as much as she wanted. Jay Jay and her dad then founded Unlock Academy, a school that teaches coding and provides mentoring to enable young people of color to have careers in STEM fields. This is a true story of drive, hope and ingenuity. My past work very often has been around social justice issues, issues dealing with race, Knowles said. She said the first thing that jumped out at her as she learned of Jay Jays story was this amazing father and daughter relationship. Despite a lot of challenges and maintaining that relationship, they had this incredible bond, Knowles said. Im really close to my dad, and I feel like Black people dont always get to be depicted in that way these father-daughter relationships. I was really drawn to that. Knowles said a lot of her work in the past has centered on empowered Black women and telling their stories with authenticity. I was so excited at the idea of chronicling their story, she said. Her documentaries include a four-part series called Black and Missing on HBO and the short film Tangled Roots. Soares, a 31-year-old filmmaker and screenwriter from Florianopolis, Brazil, is the director of the Portuguese narrative Neon Heart in the Focus category at RiverRun. Neon Heart is his first feature film from his production company International House of Cinema, or IHC, based in Brazil and Miami, Fla. In the film, Fernando, played by Soares, works with his father in their singing telegram service car, called Neon Heart. The men drive a customized car to perform live messages that they are hired to do. After a performance that ends tragically, Fernandos life changes completely, and he starts a mind-blowing journey in the name of love. Soares, 31, said he has always been intrigued by singing telegram cars that he called a Brazilian thing. Its a service you can hire to pay homage to people you love, basically you can sing romantic serenades, happy birthday messages and some other things. A person shows up by surprise in front of your house or work and he starts to shout out your name out loud. They have a microphone and a tacky customized car with speakers, balloons and lights. For his film, Soares said he mixes elements of the singing telegram cars with the neighborhood where he was born in Curitiba, Brazil. In the narrative, I use situations that I have lived in the neighborhood, he said. Honorees and venues This year, the festival will highlight women spanning the history of film. Honorees are Master of Cinema Award recipients Karen Allen, Gigi Perreau, Hayley Mills, Kristi Zea and Karmic Release Ltd. Spark Awards for 2022 will go to Natalie Bullock Brown and Iman Zawahry. The Master of Cinema Awards are RiverRuns version of a lifetime achievement award, and the Spark Awards are given to someone just starting out or near the beginning of their film career. We are honoring seven women with these awards, Davis said. That ranges from the golden age of Hollywood up to the new-age digital filmmaking technology. Im especially proud of the strong roster of women being honored this year. Free events The 2022 festival will have free offerings various panels, Family Night screenings at Bailey Park and Crossnore Communities for Children, Saturday Morning Cartoons, as well as Riverruns 11th annual Pitch Fest competition for college documentary filmmakers. Seven colleges will participate in Pitch Fest on April 23: Elon University, High Point University, Spelman College, St. Augustines College, UNC Wilmington, University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Wake Forest University. This will be St. Augustines College and Spelman Colleges first time in the Pitch Fest competition. As for the panels, Davis is proud of the ones assembled this year as well as the topics they address. For example, Ilana Colemans narrative, Dos Estaciones, and Iliana Sosas documentary, What We Leave Behind are part of this years festival. In the A Womans Viewpoint: Mexican and Mexican American Films Today panel discussion on April 22, these filmmakers will discuss the impact of women filmmakers telling Mexican and Mexican American stories and how new markets are affording them greater opportunities. On April 30, the festival will have a panel discussion on Career Sustainability in a Changing Film and Television Landscape. The advent of streaming and new film and television outlets has seen an expansion of career opportunities in below-the-line careers not even imagined a decade ago, RiverRun states in its program guide. Join our panel for a discussion about the advent of new career opportunities and how these options can provide career satisfaction and sustainability in a rapidly evolving industry. Family Night screenings will be Jetsons: The Movie and The Parent Trap. We are looking forward to sharing all of these films with our audiences this year and seeing our audiences live in person, Davis said. We ended up with 174 films from 33 countries, so its a very strong lineup this year. We truly have something for everyone. 336-727-7366 @fdanielWSJ Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Kalvin Michael Smith, who claims innocence in the 1995 brutal attack on Jill Marker, cannot get his appeal to move forward because a prosecutor has not taken up the case. The Forsyth County District Attorney's Office has a conflict, and the N.C. Attorney General's Office has declined to handle it. According to Assistant District Attorney Penn Broyhill, his boss, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill, has not had any luck in getting any outside prosecutors to take the case. GREENSBORO The paintings covering the walls of Leak Chapel at West Market Street United Methodist Church depict hauntingly beautiful crosses distressed through different means of violence. Using a blow torch. Blasts of a shotgun. The dull teeth of a chain saw. The collection, as part of Journey Inward: a Meditative Art Walk, is a more modern-day reflection on the biblical story of the last days of Jesus. Easter is a violent story, said sculptor and painter Thomas Sayre, whose work is the inspiration for the meditative walk. Somehow, out of that violence, resurrection can occur. Each year on Easter morning, churches expect an influx of people whose only other visit may be at Christmas, the other major Christian observance. This year, many of those faces include people who havent been in the sanctuary since 2020, when most churches closed their doors to in-person worship. As West Market Street considered the ways to celebrate Easter, members looked at artwork bought from Sayre. Sayre created the paintings during the Bosnian war in the 1990s as he thought about how much violence people inflict on each other. Much of the of the worlds most beautiful art, music and poignant poems have come out of troubled hearts, reads a pamphlet outside the chapel that houses the art walk. The project drew others in. I just volunteered myself, not really knowing what I was going to do, said local artist and church member Sage Hanna Betts. She eventually offered a take on Russias attack on Ukraine, with an oversized distressed cross featuring bent nails and the blue and yellow of the countrys flag. Faith through art Jill Alventosa-Brown, the associate pastor at West Market Street, says the work has helped people to strengthen their spiritual journey. She knows it wont speak to everyone in the same way. One of their passions, Alventosa-Brown said of the artists, is to try to help people connect to their faith through art. Sayre, who is also known for his earthcastings monumental sculptures made in and of the earth has recently worked in Greensboro. He was commissioned to create 20 huge manmade stones along the Downtown Greenway, ranging in weight from 6,500 pounds to nearly 11,000 pounds. Sayre grew up on the grounds of the National Cathedral, then under construction, where his father served as dean and the family lived in the residence now named for his father, the Rev. Francis B. Sayre. He was introduced to welding to create art by workers at the ecumenical church in the nations capital. He would get to know the brick masons and the stone carvers and other artists he revered who put in the stained glass and mosaic. He discovered woodworking in a basement workshop at home with his father. It is also where he developed a reverence for creating a three-dimensional space capable of conveying emotion. As it was being built, I was being built, Sayre said. The artist remembers sitting on the living room sofa with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., just days before Kings assassination. And later, his fathers trip to Selma, Alabama, to march across the bridge with Ralph Abernathy and other civil rights leaders. I grew up in the Episcopal church and then didnt attend church for several decades, Sayre said. Its nothing like having kids to bring you back. We timidly started attending St. Marks. Sayre, whose art is housed in collections from Thailand to Tennessee, was able to contribute his talents to the church by making crosses of the sort not normally put on canvas. During Lent, he was particularly struck by the idea that we are both the crucifiers and the crucified. We are all capable of violence, of sin, of despicable things, and we have to own that as human beings, Sayre said. Connecting with God After Betts volunteered, she pored over Sayres methods with the crosses. He was destructive, and he used methods I had not used before, Betts said. With her husband in construction, she has access to old wood that they try to reuse. She took pieces and went to town on them with a hammer and chisel. She later added old chains and rusted nails. Sayres pieces are in the style of Greek crosses, with arms of equal lengths. Betts used the traditional cross. For Sayre, it also reflects that humans always find themselves at crossroads. The Triad is nearby lots of power spots from Pilot Mountain to Old Salems Moravian community in Winston-Salem to the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, built on 140 wooded acres near Stoneville where people say they see the beauty of God and nature. However, there has been movement toward themed indoor meditative walks. They are popular with people of various faiths who use them for a range of reasons, from connecting with God to finding a spot where they can clear their thoughts. Sayre is asking people to face their own thoughts and behavior. Ultimately, goodness is reflected in the pieces, Sayre believes. I would tell people to look closely at these crosses and how they are made, he said, and let them reflect into your own spirit and what might they help you with, what might they call you to think about. Contact Nancy McLaughlin at nancy.mclaughlin@greensboro.com or 336-373-7049 and follow @nmclaughlinNR on Twitter. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As he has for some 67 years now, Gary Lewis started his Good Friday tending to the babys grave a small, white headstone that marks the grave of his sister, Susan Diane. Lewis was just 8 when Susan died in 1954, four days after she was born. Yet even as a boy tagging along with his dad to Gods Acre, he understood that caring for his sisters gravesite was a sacred task. We may have missed two or three years because of rain, Lewis said. But other than that, weve been coming here every year. Though its origins are difficult to pin down with absolute certainty, cleaning headstones in Moravian cemeteries each Easter amounts to a celebration of family and all who came before. The physical work undertaken annually by children, parents and grandparents strengthens family ties. I followed in my dads footsteps because thats what he did, Gary Lewis said. Its about our heritage. An honor to be asked To their way of thinking, Gary and Betty Lewis, married for 52 years, dont see cleaning graves as anything out of the ordinary. Plenty of others do likewise in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. On a picture perfect Good Friday morning, dozens stepped carefully across the manicured grass at Gods Acre, the Moravian cemetery adjacent to Home Moravian Church thats hosted the Sunrise Service since the 18th century. Adults pulled handcarts behind them, loaded with brushes, fresh flowers, rakes, the occasional small leaf blower and D/2 solutionan environmentally friendly liquid cleaner used on gravestones. Tradition and innovation can coexist. Children roughly the same age Lewis was in 1955 scurried about the grounds. No doubt they were excited about Easter and spending time with siblings, cousins and friends while they made memories that they will carry into adulthood. I remember coming out here in the car when I was younger, said Kim Hawley, Lewis niece, not long after arriving to do her part. Its part of our family. We get together and reminisce a whole lot. Its something I really enjoy, talking about our family. This year, the 250th anniversary of the Sunrise Service, the extended Lewis clan cared for 21 graves. Some gravestones, like baby Susans and Otis Lewis (Garys dad), belong to relatives. Others are family friends and still others are for fellow members at Konnoak Hills Moravian Church, where Gary Lewis worships. Family tradition, of course, is part of the allure. But so, too, is the way Moravians treat death. Every stone is the same, and the cemeteries are laid out in neat rows and columns. One of the symbols of Gods Acre is that we are all equal in death, said the Rev. John Jackman of Trinity Moravian. One of our bishops may be buried next to a laborer. Gary Lewis loves that aspect of his faith, and yet puts on as if caring for gravestones is a chore. His wife and niece were quick to poke holes in his facade, however. Oh, he loves it, Betty Lewis said. Hawley laughed out loud after hearing her uncles protestations. We keep telling him we have to cut it off somewhere, she said. He cant say no. Those four words neatly summarize his attitude. For Lewis and plenty of others just like him, being asked to care for someones grave is an honor. Its not a favor requested lightly. The asking is a matter of great importance; its an act of love, trust and respect. That was very evident when Gary Lewis paused for a moment to try and explain why he was working so hard on a gravestone belonging to John Pfaff, who died in 1947. Its kind of a long story, he said before wiping a tear and asking Betty to help with the details. Pfaff was the father of a longtime family friend, she explained. Three years ago, his daughter was diagnosed with a fast-moving, deadly cancer. She asked us if we could look after him, Gary Lewis said. Thats how we got (more to tend.) A celebration Grieving a loss, especially one relatively recent, naturally plays into this annual ritual. But the joy that comes with remembering softens the blow. And the overriding sentiment seems a celebration of life while noting that death is only a part. It is a celebration. Our whole family enjoys it, said 67-year-old Bobby Bennett while filling a plastic bucket to rinse a stone. When relatives from out of state cant make it, they feel like they missed out. Bennetts list, like that of the Lewis family, has grown with the passing of time. The 15 stones his family came to wash include that of his mother Betty Bennett. She died last year from the virus, he said. Causes of death, whether accident, infant mortality or COVID-19 the modern scourge that temporarily halted the in-person celebration of the Sunrise Service vary and can change with advances in modern medicine. But the constant, the love and respect for ones ancestors shown annually, remains. It shows every year when people like Gary and Betty Lewis, Kim Hawley and Bobby Bennett bring their wagons and their children and grandchildren to Moravian cemeteries. Those steeped in the honor, tradition and humility in cleaning the small, white headstones should be confident that future generations will care for them as they have done so faithfully for others. We hope so, Betty Lewis said. The tradition is dwindling. Possibly, but not if people like Hawley have anything to do with it. Through her actions, shes showing her own children how things are done. It has to be their thing, she said. You cant make them. I hope theyll come to love it, too. Its a tradition well carry on somehow. Its important to my family, so its important to me. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Creed Burleson checked into the Radisson Blu in Kyiv on Feb. 22 with big plans. He would set up a new website design business in Ukraine over the coming days, stopping by the bank and submitting paperwork to establish the new company with local authorities. Instead, Burleson, 62, an Army veteran from Marion, N.C., ended up in the hotels garage-turned-bunker two days later as Russias bombardment began. There was no way out because the trains were so packed, he told McClatchy. The sounds of air raid sirens were constant as Burleson searched for an escape. At that point, in the early days of the war, the extent of Russias capabilities and its penetration of the capital werent clear. But Burleson did not believe that time was on his side. So he reached out to Project Dynamo, an organization founded months earlier by three Florida men to help extract Americans from war zones the U.S. government wouldnt enter. Project Dynamo put him through a secretive vetting process to confirm his identity. They told him to expect a text with a pickup location and to pack a single bag. He received the text with coordinates around March 2 with four hours notice, and was soon on a bus toward an undisclosed location and told to turn off all his electronics. All the security areas that we had to go through some of the authorities came on and looked at you. Some of them collected our passports. Some of them went through our luggage. And you just hoped they were Ukrainians, and not Russians, because what if theyve infiltrated? Burleson recalled by phone, now safely out of Ukraine. I was really, really happy to get the heck out of there, he added. Private rescues Project Dynamo began in the living room of Bryan Stern, a Tampa, Fla., resident and U.S. veteran who was among a small group of military first responders in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. When the United States began pulling out of Afghanistan 20 years later, in August last year, and images emerged of Afghans falling off an airborne U.S. C-17 in their desperate effort to escape, Stern was reminded of that day in New York when men and women jumped to their deaths from the towers. I called up a couple friends of mine, and said, This is what were going to do, Stern said in an interview on an encrypted video call from a location in southern Ukraine. Two other Tampa residents help Stern with the business and legal side of the project. We didnt have a very detailed plan we had some ideas, we had some thoughts, he said. But we know enough to know that you have to get there first to understand the environment. Project Dynamo was successful at conducting private rescues of Americans in Afghanistan at the end of the war there. After the U.S. military departed in September, with Taliban forces in full control, Dynamo chartered an aircraft that flew over 120 U.S. citizens and green card holders to the United States. But some in the U.S. government expressed concern that the group took risks that other nonprofits would not. One of their flights out of Afghanistan in September had to be grounded in the United Arab Emirates en route to the United States, after Project Dynamo failed to share the manifest with U.S. authorities in advance. One individual on the flight was ultimately not allowed to enter the United States. A State Department official would not comment on the work of Project Dynamo, instead directing U.S. citizens to the departments website for assistance leaving Ukraine. We continue to be focused on communicating with U.S. citizens residing in Ukraine to urge them to depart immediately, an official said. U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine, and those in Ukraine should depart immediately using commercial or other privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so. In January, as the group was wrapping up its operations in Afghanistan, another crisis brewed. Stern arrived in Kyiv over Valentines Day weekend at the encouragement of a donor to begin planning for the possibility of a Russian invasion, building infrastructure for rescues. In an unfamiliar country, he had to find airfields, aircraft, buses and drivers, figure out escape routes and identify potential waypoints and safe houses. Everyone we work with, I have personally met, Stern said. We take the time to drink the tea, eat the food, meet the family, smoke the hookah, smoke the cigars, drink the vodka whatever it is to make sure the people were talking to are the ones were supposed to be talking to. It became clear as soon as the war began on Feb. 24 that Dynamos mission in Ukraine would look far different than its operations in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, all the land borders were closed. So all of our operations were by air, Stern said. In Ukraine, its the photo negative. The first thing they did was close the airspace, but all the land borders are open. A spokesman for Project Dynamo said the organization has evacuated more than 400 people from Ukraine so far, with multiple rescue missions currently underway. Press for Project Dynamo is handled by Judge Public Relations, whose owner, James Judge, is running for Congress in Tampa as a Republican. Unlike its mission in Afghanistan, Dynamos work in Ukraine is not limited to U.S. citizens and residents. Nationals of Ukraine, NATO countries and others with claims for asylum are eligible as well. Deb, a Canadian volunteer for Project Dynamo who helps secure their database of case information and train case officers, said her work for the organization has been among the most fulfilling of her career. For me, its the direct connection to the people in crisis we have the messages from people asking for help, and some of those messages are very specific of the troubles theyre in, said Deb, who asked for her last name not to be published out of safety concerns. All of the stories are heart-wrenching, she said. The ones that hurt me the most are the people in places like Mariupol where we literally dont have a way to get there safely to help people. Babies and Holocaust survivors The group has organized its rescue missions into several categories. Gemini and Aquarius missions focus on bringing babies recently born through surrogacy out of Ukraine, and surrogate mothers to safer areas of the country where they can still give birth without compromising the parental rights of the child. Ukraine is one of the only countries in Europe where surrogacy is allowed, entangling expecting families around the world in the war. Voyager missions focus on extracting Holocaust survivors mostly Jewish Ukrainians hoping to reach Israel. Many of these people find themselves stuck in southern or eastern Ukraine, where the war has shifted since Russia was forced to retreat from its assault in Kyiv in the north. Most people who wanted to leave en masse have left, Stern said, but theres a whole bunch of people who are stuck in the east and the south who are cut off. So instead of doing busloads, now were doing carloads. While Mariupol has been surrounded and decimated by the Russians, other territories in the south and east remain contested and can become suddenly accessible to attempted rescue missions. The fluidity of the war could continue for some time, Stern said. When we were in Afghanistan, we were in the last 10 pages of a 400-page book, he said. Here were in the fifth week of World War Three. Who knows where this war goes. McClatchy investigative reporter Ben Wieder contributed to this report. RALEIGH Some partisans I know insist political allegiances are so rigid that elections have become little more than turnout contests. Whichever party gets its base out wins. Persuadable swing voters used to exist in significant numbers, they concede, but are now about as hard to find as Bigfoot. Well, call me super-Squatchy. I still see plenty of swing voters as well as competitive elections in which they are the determining factor. And Im not alone. Consider last years gubernatorial race in Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin shocked the political world by defeating former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffes attempted return to office. Virginia had been trending blue for many years. At the start of the race, few analysts gave Youngkin much of a chance. They were mistaken. Now some observers, on both sides of the political aisle, have the equally mistaken view that Youngkins victory was a consequence of solidly Republican voters infuriated by hot-button issues and motivated to vote against Joe Bidens party turning out in huge numbers while solidly Democratic voters stayed home. Political operatives at the Democratic firm Civis knows better. After taking a close look at the election returns, theyve concluded that voters switching their partisan preferences played a far more important role in Youngkins win than turnout differentials did. Thats not to say turnout wasnt a factor. Compared with the numbers of votes cast in the 2017 gubernatorial race, turnout was up 13% in Virginias deepest-red counties versus 6% in the deepest-blue counties. Democratic participation was not depressed, in other words. It went up. Still, Republican participation went up even more. These changes in the electorate were not sufficient to explain the outcome, however. When the Civis folks applied their models to the Virginia election totals, they produced strong evidence that quite a few voters whod supported Biden in 2020 then opted for Youngkin the following year. Because a vote-switcher is worth twice as much to a campaign as a turned-out base voter adding a vote in favor as well as subtracting a vote against the behavior of swing voters proved to be decisive, accounting for about 80% of the red shift that put Youngkin into office. Furthermore, Civis discovered that the Virginia experience was hardly a special case. In New Jersey, where Democratic incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy had been widely predicted to cruise to reelection in 2021, he nearly lost to insurgent Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli. Although the Democrats notched the win, New Jerseys red shift was actually more dramatic than Virginias. And once again, the 80/20 rule applied: about a fifth of Ciattarellis surge was about turnout differential and four-fifths was about Biden voters opting for the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Theres no question the population of swing voters is smaller than it used to be. When the two major parties were more ideologically diverse with plenty of conservative Democrats in Southern and Midwestern states and a fair amount of center-left Republicans in the northeast and Pacific northwest many voters felt perfectly comfortable picking Republicans for federal offices and Democrats for local ones (or vice versa). Even as late as 2004, Republican incumbent George W. Bush won the presidential race in North Carolina with 56% of the vote at the same time Democratic incumbent Gov. Mike Easley won reelection with 56% of the vote. Were unlikely to see that much ticket-splitting for a long time. If a jurisdiction is closely divided, however, the ticket-splitting need not be widespread to be decisive. After all, North Carolina went for both Donald Trump and Roy Cooper in 2020, though in each case by a modest margin. Effective campaigns, then, will continue to devote substantial resources to detaching loosely affiliated voters from the other side and bringing them over by Election Day. As an advocate of elevating the public discourse, Im glad the electoral incentives point in that direction. Treating each other as open to persuasion is a more constructive way to argue, anyway and a healthier way to live. John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. Follow Hood on Twitter @JohnHoodNC I woke the other morning with the image of a street in my head. Its an old, worn, two-lane street, cracked and pitted and bordered by narrow sidewalks. Theres nothing special about it, though in my foggy morning mind, I remembered that it leads to a riverside park next to a chicken shack. Checking my memory against Google Maps, I quickly found it: Its West Grubb Street in Hertford. From North Church Street the main drag it stretches to Missing Mill Park, a humble little patch of grass and trees next to a bend in Perquimans River. Hertford is a river town, one of those little spots on the map with a one-block development of hardware and junk shops and a pharmacy that serves lunch. Its a friendly town, one where residents have approached me with a smile: Hey, who are you? Ive never seen you here before. All my memories of Hertford are pleasant, and thinking about it made me wish I was there. Its been a while now since Ive visited the Inner Banks, an area of the state that resonates deeply with me, with its flatlands, pine-oak forests and tannin-tinted waters. Before the pandemic, I drove down once or twice a year. But COVID, and my awareness that its the rural areas in the state that have been hit the hardest, have made me more reluctant to go. Last year I went to well-masked San Diego to meet the Russian domesticated foxes I wrote about then. And while I enjoyed some of the citys attractions especially the museums around Balboa Park I have little desire to go back. Its still the quieter places Merchants Millpond, the Great Dismal Swamp and small river towns Elizabeth City, Edenton that draw me, that invite me to sit back and imagine the weight of the churning water. Theres plenty to explore without the contribution of crowds and congested traffic. I learned about these places and others the old-fashioned way: by wandering around. I used to pride myself on being able to intuit my way around a new town to, through dead reckoning and a lizard-brain understanding of how cities are arranged, find the things that would appeal to me: diners, used bookstores, boardwalks, parks, interesting architecture, local oddities. Theres something to be said for going in blind, for following the curve in the road without knowing where it leads. The true explorer takes chances. Follows whims. Whats that thing down the block, the thing with the wavy yellow flag? Im gonna walk down to see. Ill confess, though, that these days when Im planning a trip to a new place, I tend to check Google Maps first. Google Maps is its own category of exploration. By combining the two, Ive proved that the map is not the territory. There are always surprises. Ive tried at times to imagine what it might be like to explore Winston-Salem. What would I see here, with virgin eyes? Would it be welcoming? Appealing? I think so. Imagine youre a mild adventurer like me, and youve taken Salem Parkway into the city with no previous knowledge of what it holds. The Cherry Street exit seems a likely route to downtown, so you take it north. Fourth Street exhibits shops and street life, so you park and walk a few blocks. You get a coffee at Camino Bakery, check the chalkboard marque at Aperture Cinema. A little farther west is the Tattoo Archive and the Design Archive vintage shop. Between the two, you find the alleyway that leads to Bookmarks and Footnotes. With a little luck, someone might direct you to the arts district and the Innovation Quarter and, before you know it, youve had an adventure. I cant speak for everyone, but that would be enough to keep me happy for a while. Ill go, probably soon. One Saturday morning when the air is fresh and my feet are restless, Ill throw some clothes in the car and hit U.S. 158 East. Ill drive that street in Hertford and eat a chicken sandwich in the park. Ill stroll beside the boats docked in Little Washington. Ill buy another stack of books for the kitchen table at the Recycled Reader in Betty City. And along the way, in between whats familiar, there will be new sights, new people, fresh perspectives. You might think that things dont change much in small towns, but youd be wrong. Somethings always going on. Ill let you know how it goes. Moving ahead The writer of the April 13 letter No change for me laments that he may be forced at some point to buy an electric vehicle. He claims that the cost is high, and that the charging infrastructure is unsupported and inconvenient. With the current available tax credits and the diminishing cost of lithium ion batteries, the costs of an EV are approaching those of internal combustion vehicles. Charging stations are becoming very common and that trend will certainly continue exponentially as more EV vehicles hit the roads. I expect that charging stations will soon be commonplace at restaurants, motels, travel rest stops and shopping centers, etc. The Tesla supercharger can add a 200-mile charge in up to 15 minutes. Thats not much longer than it takes to fill the tank, visit the facilities and buy a snack at most travel stops. And the technology will only improve over time. I also think the writer might not lament the loss of his old, reliable, fossil-fuel-fueled vehicle so much when he no longer has to perform required maintenance, such as oil changes, transmission maintenance, belt replacements, coolant and radiator maintenance, emissions testing, exhaust system replacement, and all the other chores necessary to keep the old ICE vehicle puffing along. Technology doesnt stand still, and we will always be compelled to move forward, whether we want to or not. Henry Ford, a great American innovator, said it best: If you had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. Myron G. Whitley Winston-Salem Democratic valuesIn response to Our view: Cawthorn lawsuit leads to questions (April 12), its heartening to hear that Im not alone in my opinions toward Rep. Madison Cawthorn. Recently, sheer feelings of disappointment, disgust and distrust are all I have felt toward the very people in our government we choose to represent us. The way he has represented our state dismantles the very values of democracy this nation was built on. With 11 N.C. voters suing Cawthorn over his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection and the multiple other public scandals mentioned in this editorial, it is evident that he hasnt upheld his oath and is unfit to represent North Carolinians. It needs to be much more publicly known that he and his views do not represent those of the majority in this state. Time and time again, the voices we hear the loudest are the ones that are the most worrying. It is imperative that we elect officials who are aware of their platform and use it for the betterment of the community they represent, and not their personal social status or political agendas. John Farabow Winston-Salem DangerousTennessee is passing a new law that allows grown men to marry young girls. Theres no age requirement at all. Florida, Kentucky and Oklahoma have just passed abortion laws that give rapists more rights than any teenaged girl they may impregnate. And yet these people are obsessed with a handful of transgender high school students. Last week a Tennessee Republican state senator, Frank Niceley, gave a speech on the state Senate floor in which he spoke admiringly of Adolf Hitler. This is not an exaggeration. A sample: So for two years Hitler lived on the streets and practiced his oratory and body language and how to connect with citizens, and then went on to lead a life that got him in the history books. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a likely 2024 presidential candidate, has released an 11-point plan that would eliminate Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, reduce taxes on the richest Americans and raise taxes on middle-class and poor Americans. He thinks his plan is a winner. In the meantime, rational Republicans like Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Rob Portman are retiring. I dont like this new Republican Party. Its very dangerous. If Republicans take control in November, were pretty much doomed. Peter Ro Winston-Salem Short memoriesAs we approach the November elections, I cant believe what a short memory Americans have. Back when former President Trump was in charge, a pandemic raged through the nation, killing hundreds of thousands. Trump lied about the risks and many died because they believed him. Supply chains broke and businesses shut down, many to never reopen. We couldnt buy toilet paper. Now gas is between $3 and $4 a gallon and people think thats a crisis? Come on, man. Jimmy Bryant Winston-Salem The ACLU of Nebraska is thrilled to announce Mindy Rush Chipman will lead their statewide legal program as the organizations next legal director. Rush Chipman is an accomplished civil rights attorney who comes to the role with significant experience advocating for often marginalized clients in diverse areas of law including criminal defense, housing, immigration law, juvenile law and unlawful discrimination. Lincoln, Nebraska (April 16, 2022) Swanson Russell recently promoted eight in its Lincoln and Omaha offices: Kim Bertrand, Stephanie Havranek, Ryan Koenig, Katie Scherer, Kiley Shuler, Kaitlyn Smejdir, Eric Smits and Andrea Tremayne. Bertrand was promoted to social media strategist. Since joining Swanson Russell in 2015 as a public relations intern, Bertrand has served in a number of roles, including PR and social coordinator, community manager and associate social media strategist. Over her tenure, the San Jose, California, native has worked on clients such as Badlands Gear, Kimber, BASF Nunhems and Oregon Products. Havranek was promoted to senior project manager. The Omaha, Nebraska, native joined the agency in 2020 as a project manager and has worked on numerous clients, including SiteOne Landscape Supply, Textron Aviation, NEST 529 College Savings Plans, and Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting. Koenig was promoted to senior UX designer. Since starting at Swanson Russell in 2016, he has served as an associate UX designer and, most recently, as a UX designer. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has worked on various clients including MemorialCare, Miller Childrens & Womens Hospital, Ransomes and Nebraska Public Media. Scherer was promoted to account director. She joined the agency in 2016 and has served in roles including account manager, senior account manager and account supervisor. During that time, the Grand Island, Nebraska, native has worked on clients including Visit Omaha, Hoegemeyer, Cattlemens Beef Board, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals and OrthoNE. Shuler was promoted to senior account manager. The Aurora, Nebraska, native started at Swanson Russell in 2018 as an account manager and has worked on clients including Koch Agronomic Services, Arctic Cat Snow, Arctic Cat Off Road and Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting. Smejdir was promoted to senior project manager. The Lincoln, Nebraska, native joined the agency in 2021 as a project manager and has worked on several clients including NDS and JLG. Smits was promoted to media coordinator/buyer. He joined Swanson Russell in 2021 as a media coordinator and has worked on clients such as MemorialCare, JLG, Koch Agronomic Services, JLG, and Arctic Cat. Smits originally hails from Bellevue, Nebraska. Tremayne was promoted to email marketing operations manager. Since joining the agency in 2015 as database marketing manager, the Walthill, Nebraska, native has gone on to serve as database marketing supervisor. Tremayne has worked on clients including JLG, Badlands, Johnson Outdoors, Hoegemeyer, Artic Cat and Textron Aviation. Swanson Russell is a nationally recognized full-service branding, advertising and public relations agency in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. The agency partners with clients across many industries while specializing in agriculture, construction, landscape/turf, outdoor recreation and healthcare. To learn how Swanson Russell builds a Real Connection between brands and audiences, visit swansonrussell.com. For some churchgoers, gone are the days of scrambling to get kids fed, groomed and in their Sunday best before the 9:30 a.m. service. Since the coronavirus pandemic first pushed worship services online in the spring of 2020, church members of every denomination have been able to safely watch live or on-demand from the comfort of their home. Yet even as churches arrive at the third Easter Sunday of the pandemic, with restrictions loosened and life looking more and more like normal, worship leaders across Lincoln still report many congregants opting to attend virtually. Local pastors wonder if the way the public engages with church has changed forever. Bret Welstead, a pastor at New Covenant Community Church in southeast Lincoln, said one-third of his congregation still attends online, and most opt for convenience reasons rather than health concerns. The online shift follows an overall increase in remote activity. Some of them just prefer the online experience to coming on Sunday mornings, Welstead said. His church isnt alone. Other pastors in Lincoln reported a similar drop in in-person attendance that lingers today. Danny Lamonte, a pastor at First Free Church, said 20%-30% of his members are still online. His church, one of several located along South 84th Street, is seeing roughly 650-700 people in attendance on a Sunday morning. Lamonte said the continued interest in livestreamed sermons seems fitting in an increasingly digital age. Its not a lazy convenience, its just a practicality, Lamonte said. If youre 30 or below, youve lived with social media in every arena of your life. To have church online isnt revolutionary. It just makes sense. And, as it turns out, it also makes sense to churchgoers across the country. According to a March study by Pew Research Center, U.S. churches are reporting similar findings. Of the one-third of Americans who describe themselves as regular churchgoers, 36% attended both in-person and online in recent months. Another 21% exclusively watched church online, even as 95% of U.S. churches were open for in-person services. Despite the shift in attendance, Lamonte said he doesn't think it has caused churches much of a financial strain. Committed donors remain active. Giving across-the-board has continued consistently during the pandemic, Lamonte said. I think this is because most often those who give or donate to churches do so because they feel a deep sense of connection, community, and commitment. Michael Ryan, a pastor at Southwood Lutheran, noticed lower attendance even after restrictions lifted. But things are slowly returning to normal, he said. Even so, the church still receives nearly 500 online views of its sermons each week. We will continue streaming, Ryan said. There are so many people who can't get to church for one reason or another. Some members of New Covenant, Welsteads church, see the virtual services as a form of outreach. New Covenant invites those who livestream into its community by designating volunteers to engage with remote viewers. Jamie Chambers is one of those hosts. Chambers said she tries to build relationships with remote viewers by messaging them and asking if they have any prayer requests. Theres probably people who would never feel comfortable going into a church whove been able to dip their toe in and see what its about, Chambers said. Thats a neat opportunity. Chambers attends a mix of in-person and online services, but said many choose the online option when its difficult to arrive smiling and on time. While I am very excited to sometimes be back in the church building, I do find a lot of great reasons for us to stay home, Chambers said. I love when we can worship from home. I dont have to worry about my 10-year-old or 5-year-old. Though several Protestant pastors in Lincoln reported a post-pandemic drop in in-person attendance, Catholic churches report retaining a larger share of congregants who attend in-person. The Rev. Nicholas Kipper, communications director of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, said the dioceses October 2021 census saw only a 4%-5% decrease in attendees. Catholics are expected to attend in-person, Kipper said, unless physical conditions prevent them. Most parishes stream Mass for those who cant make it. I think that if someone is able to attend Mass, they really should go, Kipper said. There are certain situations that would dispense a person from attending, and that would include your own poor health. While Protestant attendees arent bound to obligation, many pastors believe the physical experience is better than online. The Rev. Rick Lorimer of Christ Place Church said 75% of his congregation attendance has been in-person, but he said those numbers have been on the rise. In addition, the online presence has grown since the pandemic, he said. But even though his church has made sure it's possible to watch services from home, he doesnt think online is a perfect replacement. I think God made us to be in community, Lorimer said. I don't think God made any of us to be in isolation or alone." Welstead echoed Lorimers sentiments about the importance of in-person interactions with other churchgoers. Relationships are vital to spiritual health, he said. But Welstead also recognizes that the world as the local church once knew it is shifting. Hes not sure what things will look like five years from now. I think were just in a time of change in our country and in our churches, Welstead said. We are just trusting that God knows better than we do, and he knows whats coming. Reach the writer at jthompson@journalstar.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Legislature, once again, failed to address the states most pressing problem when it killed LB920, a bill aimed at cutting Nebraskas nation-leading prison growth and overcrowding. The bill, which was based on a data-driven study led by the Crime and Justice Institute, which resulted in 21 proposals for reform, 17 of which received consensus support from the study panel of lawmakers, the administration of Gov. Pete Ricketts and the states court system. Taken as a whole, the proposal would have cut the states inmate growth, reducing Nebraskas 2030 prison headcount by 1,000 from the current projections. But its intent to cap minimum sentences to provide incarcerated people more time on parole supervision, make possession of very small amounts of drugs a misdemeanor and set standards for when judges would sentence those convicted of more than one crime to consecutive sentences garnered opposition from law enforcement and conservative senators waving the "soft on crime flag. Instead, Lincoln Sen. Suzanne Geist offered a proposal that included the 17 unanimously approved initiatives. But her plan would have only reduced the current project by no more than 150, essentially doing nothing to seriously address overcrowding. Much of LB920s failure, in fact, lies at the feet of Geist, who led the filibuster effort and refused to allow first-round passage of the bill to create time for more negotiations between senators and with Ricketts, who opposed the sentencing measures. Given the spirit of cooperation Ricketts had agreed to talk about the sentencing measures the negotiations could have resulted in the passage of a compromise bill in the Legislatures final days. It also appears that the rejection of LB920 will turn out to be one of the most expensive, short-sighted votes in the Legislatures history. With the state projected to add 1,300 more people to its incarcerated population of 5,500 between now and 2030, the state will have to build not one new $270-million-plus prison, as Ricketts has proposed, but two. Why dont you stand up and say Im for two prisons, a frustrated Sen. Steve Lathrop, LB920s primary sponsor, asked during the debate. There were, of course, no claims of favoring two prisons. Nor, because of the intransigent opponents, was there an effective effort at negotiations on or off the legislative floor that might have resulted in a significant cut in the number of those in and going to prison. Instead, the filibustering senators, including Sens. Mike Hilgers and Rob Clements, who represent Lancaster County, again kicked the can down the road, with Geist promising to address the issue again next year. But with the likelihood of an even more conservative Legislature in 2023, this rejection may well have killed the opportunity for meaningful prison reform unless it is ordered by courts in future cases. And, that failure to address prison reform will cost taxpayers more than $270 million, as the Legislature apparently aims to do the impossible and build its way out of the corrections crisis. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SOMERS Bryan Albrecht, the soon-to-retire president and CEO of Gateway Technical College, continues to speak highly of Foxconn, the company, and its partnership with the publicly-funded tech school. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat and Racine native who represents Milwaukee, asked Albrecht and other area officials on Monday: If its true that an employer thats currently had a (state) contract renegotiated Foxconn promised a lot of jobs in this area, promised to have a vertical career ladder for people, really extracted a lot of public monies in order to build here; and they claimed that they did not have the workforce that they expected. What happened? Albrecht present for a U.S. House of Representatives select committee hearing held on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside replied: We have a very strong partnership with Foxconn, and we continue to provide training for the workforce that they need currently. I think that (Foxconns) workforce agenda changed as a result of changing product lines. So the extent to the number of individuals that theyre hiring is not nearly consistent with what the original expectation was, but the types of jobs are. So were training a lot of surface-mount technologists; a lot of automation; a lot of business application-type programming. So Im really optimistic that whatever comes out of that development will add value to the region of southeast Wisconsin and put us us in a place to be an attraction for future employers. Albrecht later explained that when he said surface-mount technology, he was referring to circuit board assembly. That line of work could have taken off around Foxconn had Intel decided to place a semiconductor megafactory the largest of its kind ever proposed in the U.S. in Mount Pleasant instead of suburban Columbus, Ohio, as was announced in January. Foxconn last year was approved to receive tax credits by reaching spending and hiring goals, having reported a capital investment of $266 million in Racine County and the creation of 579 eligible jobs. The company was to receive $2.2 million in job credits and $26.6 million in capital investment credits. As originally proposed, Foxconn was to create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin and build LCD screens for TVs. It does not appear that those working at the facility are making such screens, and current goals indicate the company will employ no more than 1,500 in Racine County. Albrechts statements echo that of Mount Pleasant and Racine County officials: That the hundreds of millions in public investments surrounding the Foxconn project will allow for outside developers to come in and benefit from the upgraded infrastructure on the southwest side of Mount Pleasant, rather than southeastern Wisconsin benefiting primarily from Foxconn itself. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PLEASANT PRAIRIE The investigation of a Village of Pleasant Prairie Department of Public Works employee on administrative leave has been turned over to the Racine County Sheriffs Department. Village officials did not indicate the specific employee, but the public works director has been placed on administrative leave following an alleged undisclosed complaint. John Steinbrink Jr., who has been public works director since 2010 and employed with the village the last 28 years, is currently on paid administrative leave, according to Village Board President John Steinbrink, his father. Im not sure why the allegations were made, but it will all come out to a head, he said Tuesday. The elder Steinbrink said last week he could not comment further on the matter and referred Lee Newspapers to village administration and human resources officials. On Friday, the village indicated its investigation had been turned over to RCSO. The Village of Pleasant Prairie has placed a Department of Public Works employee on administrative leave pending an investigation into the employees work for the Village. In the interest of complete transparency, we have asked an outside agency the Racine County Sheriffs Office to conduct that investigation, the village stated in a release. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to share any additional details at this time. We will keep the public abreast of any information on Village personnel matters as we are able to share them, it further stated. Steinbrink Jr. could not be reached for comment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Throughout the country, in almost every industry businesses have been experiencing supply chain issues with problems getting the goods they need. We see this a lot with the food industry at grocery stores and local restaurants. Earlier this month, Racine Unified School District was hit hard with this when several schools were forced to serve the bare minimum to students. At Wadewitz Elementary, one mom said her children were served just carrots, apple slices and three slices of cheese for lunch. My kids came home starving, she said. I thought surely they were served more but just decided not to eat what was offered. I was wrong. At Gifford Elementary, the same issues were reported. A video was posted on social media of a hot lunch at Gifford School that included what appeared to be a slice of American cheese, a bag of Goldfish pretzels, raw carrots and a small bag of apple slices. After the sub-par lunches, Racine Unified apologized to families for having missed the mark. In an apologetic post on social media Friday, RUSD said: Supply chain issues have been a huge challenge for school lunches here in RUSD and across the country. But we have clearly missed the mark with the lunch served this Wednesday. We are working to correct it going forward. RUSD was right to take ownership for the issue and hopefully this issue can be resolved. But what would have been even better is if the district had been proactive and let families know about the issue at least the day before so that families could opt to pack cold lunches for their children if they were able. By having more kids bring their own lunches, there could have been more for others. While no one is happy about supply chain issues, its something we all understand is a fact of life now and many families would have packed a lunch. Its better to be proactive then reactive. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Killeen, TX (76540) Today Cloudy early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. Near record high temperatures. High near 95F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low around 75F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. 1. Yes. If inflation remains high and interest rates rise, the economy will be a major factor. 2. Yes. If the nation goes into a recession, it will be the issue on the minds of most voters. 3. No. Inflation will likely moderate by then; if so, the economy wont be a major issue. 4.No. All the turmoil involving Russia and Roe v. Wade will probably take center stage. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the economy will play with voters at this point. Vote View Results Kristi Nystrom is glad to have much more space for her 6-11 Crystals LLC store, and to help bring additional life to Fifth Avenue in downtown La Crosse. She opened her store on March 27 in its new location in the Scenic Center building at 115 Fifth Ave. S., a year after it had opened in Eagle Bluff Plaza on the North Side of La Crosse. Its still a rock and healing crystals shop as well as a metaphysical shop, she said, with merchandise that includes such things as cards, books, candles, oils, herbs, stickers, incense, journals, tapestries, salt lamps, handmade soaps, pottery and jewelry. Nystrom, who also goes by her nickname of Kiki, said she has more than doubled the amount of space devoted to the creations of local artists. The store carries the works of more than 20 local artists and has room to add more, she said. Her new location also has a classroom for classes on such things as healing crystals and intuitive tarot reading. Its also available to rent to people who might want to teach a class or use the space for a meeting, Nystrom said. The store also offers energy healing services. And a woman who does Thai-style massage therapy will begin offering that at the store starting in June. Nystrom said 6-11 Crystals carries much more merchandise with its move to the new downtown location. It had outgrown its previous space on the citys North Side. I love the downtown location, she said. I feel our downtown is very unusual for a small city this size because it is so vibrant, she added. And businesses have been opening along and near Fifth Avenue, an area where a number of department stores were until Valley View Mall opened in 1980. The Scenic Center building was occupied by the J.C. Penney Co. department store before the mall opened. Latino Bar and Grill opened recently in another part of the Scenic Center building, and the LAX Food Hall has announced plans to open in June at 508 Jay St., Nystrom noted. Nystrom started her business in 2020 by selling rocks and healing crystals in a space at the Gallery 6 Salon in Onalaska, where she was a hairstylist. She left her hairstyling career behind when she opened 6-11 Crystals in Eagle Bluff Plaza, along Hwy. 16 in La Crosse, in February 2021. We were shut down by the state for about three months in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said of hair salons. So I thought that maybe I should look into something else, like diversifying, she said. And this has always been of interest to me. I was always that little girl who would come home with pockets full of rocks that I picked up in the yard, in the neighborhood or if we were on vacation. Weve been rock hounds our whole lives. Nystrom said she feels the terms rocks and healing crystals are interchangeable. Because all inorganic material like this has an energy vibration that can help heal the psyche or the body, she said. Nystrom said the term metaphysical refers to things that are beyond the physical realm and include such things as tarot card readings and astrology. She chose the name 6-11 Crystals for her business because June 11 is her birthday and because she started the business at the 611 Main St., Onalaska, address of Gallery 6 Salon. I thought alright, theres a little symmetry there, Nystrom said of the numbers. Her husband, Lonnie, and their children Sophie, Boden and Anika help out at the store. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Children celebrating Easter, with their Easter Bunnies and Easter eggs. Sanja Radin/Collection E+ via Getty Images The Easter Bunny is a much celebrated character in American Easter celebrations. On Easter Sunday, children look for hidden special treats, often chocolate Easter eggs, that the Easter Bunny might have left behind. As a folklorist, Im aware of the origins of the long and interesting journey this mythical figure has taken from European prehistory to today. Religious role of the hare Easter is a celebration of spring and new life. Eggs and flowers are rather obvious symbols of female fertility, but in European traditions, the bunny, with its amazing reproduction potential, is not far behind. In European traditions, the Easter Bunny is known as the Easter Hare. The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious roles down through the years. Hares were given ritual burials alongside humans during the Neolithic age in Europe. Archaeologists have interpreted this as a religious ritual, with hares representing rebirth. Over a thousand years later, during the Iron Age, ritual burials for hares were common, and in 51 B.C., Julius Caesar mentions that in Britain, hares were not eaten, due to their religious significance. Caesar would likely have known that in the Classical Greek tradition, hares were sacred to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Meanwhile, Aphrodites son Eros was often depicted carrying a hare, as a symbol of unquenchable desire. From the Greek world through the Renaissance, hares often appear as symbols of sexuality in literature and art. For example, the Virgin Mary is often shown with a white hare or rabbit, symbolizing that she overcame sexual temptation. Hare meat and witches mischief But it is in the folk traditions of England and Germany that the figure of the hare is specifically connected to Easter. Accounts from the 1600s in Germany describe children hunting for Easter eggs hidden by the Easter Hare, much as in the contemporary United States today. Written accounts from England around the same time also mention the Easter Hare, particularly in terms of traditional Easter hare hunts, and the eating of hare meat at Easter. One tradition, known as the Hare Pie Scramble, was held at Hallaton, a village in Leicestershire, England, which involved eating a pie made with hare meat and people scrambling for a slice. In 1790, the local parson tried to stop the custom due to its pagan associations, but he was unsuccessful, and the custom continues in that village until this day. The eating of the hare may have been associated with various longstanding folk traditions of scaring away witches at Easter. Throughout Northern Europe, folk traditions record a strong belief that witches would often take the form of the hare, usually for causing mischief such as stealing milk from neighbors cows. Witches in medieval Europe were often believed to be able to suck out the life energy of others, making them ill, and suffer. The idea that the witches of winter should be banished at Easter is a common European folk motif, appearing in several festivities and rituals. The spring equinox, with its promise of new life, was held symbolically in opposition to the life-draining activities of witches and winter. This idea provides the underlying rationale behind various festivities and rituals, such as the Osterfeuer, or the Easter Fire, a celebration in Germany involving large outdoor bonfires meant to scare away witches. In Sweden, the popular folklore states that at Easter, the witches all fly away on their broomsticks to feast and dance with the Devil on the legendary island of Blakulla, in the Baltic Sea. Pagan origins In 1835, the folklorist Jacob Grimm, one of the famous team of the fairy tale Brothers Grimm, argued that the Easter Hare was connected with a goddess, whom he imagined would have been called Ostara in ancient German. He derived this name from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, that Bede, an Anglo-Saxon monk considered to be the father of English history, mentioned in 731. Bede noted that in eighth-century England the month of April was called Eosturmonath, or Eostre Month, named after the goddess Eostre. He wrote that a pagan festival of spring in the name of the goddess had become assimilated into the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Its interesting that while most European languages refer to the Christian holiday with names that come from the Jewish holiday of Passover, such as Paques in French, or Pask in Swedish, German and English languages retain this older, non-biblical word, Easter. Recent archaeological research appears to confirm the worship of Eostre in parts of England and in Germany, with the hare as her main symbol. The Easter Bunny therefore seems to recall these pre-Christian celebrations of spring, heralded by the vernal equinox and personified by the Goddess Eostre. After a long, cold, northern winter, it seems natural enough for people to celebrate themes of resurrection and rebirth. The flowers are blooming, birds are laying eggs, and baby bunnies are hopping about. As new life emerges in spring, the Easter Bunny hops back once again, providing a longstanding cultural symbol to remind us of the cycles and stages of our own lives. ___ Tok Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today. ___ Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The past few months have been filled with a tremendous amount of gratitude and excitement. I deeply appreciate the well wishes and expressions of confidence that I have received since officially being named president of Viterbo University in February. I also want to publicly thank Chair John McHugh, the rest of the Board of Trustees, and Viterbo Ministries for this opportunity and their faith in my leadership. I was a first-generation college student from a working-class family whose education at St. Bonaventure University was made possible through an Army ROTC scholarship. Education changed my life, and I will always be grateful. Like all of us at Viterbo, I find joy and satisfaction in helping our students succeed academically, professionally, and in developing into the ethical and visionary leaders of tomorrow. Since arriving at Viterbo in 2017 as the vice president for student affairs, I have witnessed the tremendous good that happens at the university and at all of our communitys educational institutions. In March, I shared my aspirations for Viterbo with campus community members in a presentation entitled Vision 2027: Imagine, Believe, Act! I would like to share three of those goals with La Crosse Tribune readers as well. Achieving them will take the collective effort of employees, alumni, students, friends, and community members but I know these are attainable if we work together. Here is what I envision for Viterbo in the year 2027: University and Community Partnerships: Existing partnerships with community organizations and other universities are strengthened and improved, while new, entrepreneurial, and creative agreements provide additional revenue streams and enhanced awareness of the institution. Higher education institutions, health care organizations, community and regional businesses, and nonprofit organizations seek partnerships and collaboration with Viterbo to meet organizational and community needs. Viterbos values, ethical decision making, and value-added reputation make Viterbo the partner of choice for these organizations. Mission and Identity: Through our focus on values-base d education, traditions, connections to history, social teachings, social justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, Viterbo is considered the top-ranked Catholic, Franciscan institution of higher education in the Midwest. The universitys identity and mission are interwoven throughout all aspects of the campus and is a source of pride and a distinctive feature of a Viterbo education. We embrace our status as the only Catholic University in the La Crosse Diocese. Pipelines, Programs, and Professional Development: In keeping with the proud history and traditions of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Viterbo has successfully implemented bold, market-driven academic programs that have increased enrollment at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels. Additionally, we have expanded professional development and certificate programs beyond the regional area to serve clients at the state, national and global level. Viterbo has successfully launched exciting enrollment initiatives to attract, recruit and retain new student populations. These initiatives have yielded large numbers of Hispanic students, online military aligned students and bachelor completion students. Additional structures including enhanced English as a Second Language, advising and military aligned student support are institutionalized to facilitate student success and retention. I am very passionate about my call to serve as Viterbo president. The university is a special place, and I know as well as anyone how a Catholic college education can change lives. I can think of no finer tribute to the legacy of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration than to continue to do our utmost to help the students of today achieve successful and fulfilling lives that truly make a difference in the world. Pace e Bene (Peace and all Good)! Rick Trietley is president of Viterbo University. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. My story as student at Western Technical College starts in a nontraditional way. It was 2020, after Covid- 19 hit, and similar to hundreds of thousands of workers, I was impacted by the pandemic. I received a letter in the mail letting me know I would be part of a big layoff in the company I was working for at the time. I waited weeks thinking they might need some help in the plant, and I called them to see if they would bring people back at some point in the future. The answer refused, saying they were prioritizing those with more seniority. I had been hired a few months before the pandemic, so I was not one of those people. After receiving this news, my wife told me I should go back to school to get my degree. I wasnt sure if that would be a good idea. I was 34 at that time. After thinking a little bit and after having a long conversation with my wife, I decided to go back to school. She told me that my best option was Western Technical College before transferring to another college. I started in the spring term of 2021. Like many others, I started my classes online. It was difficult and challenging in the beginning, but Western has an amazing support system. I remember getting one special email looking for students interested in being a candidate for the next student government election. I thought that would be a good way to make friends and to meet more people in college. However, I was wondering if my peers, most of them being young adults, would vote for me. I decided to apply for different positions and see what kind of response I would get from the students, considering I was new to the school. The election came and a few days later, I got a call from Ge Vang, who is student government advisor. He told me that I have won the position of student parliamentarian and he wanted to know if I was interested. I said yes. The position of Student Parliamentarian focuses on updating the constitution and bylaws of Western Technical College. Additionally, they must be informed about any legislative issues at the state level that can affect our student community. When returning to school, I wasnt expecting to be a part of student leadership. Nevertheless, life gives you opportunities, and Western is a place where students have a voice and feel welcome, no matter their background. Recently, the team of Student Government went to Madison to meet with other student leaders of the 16 technical colleges in Wisconsin. We requested that our legislators help with funding Open Educational Resources (OER), which is an initiative that looks for the creation of free educational resources online. This allows students to save money on books during their time in college. At the beginning of this journey, I wasnt expecting to be where I am now. I am thankful for team of the Student Government: Ge, Sally, Becky, Abdul, Halaynna, Jeanne and Perla. Together, we are making a difference in the campus community. I am very proud to be a part of Western Technical College. It has been a place where I have met awesome people and made good friends. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) Studies show that pets help their owners relax, reducing their stress level, blood pressure and loneliness while boosting their mood. If youre skeptical of those findings, just step inside Calle Friesens classroom or visit Melanie Hausers office. Inside, youll see students with huge smiles on their faces while cuddling, petting and scratching two pets who are building fan bases on the Buena Vista University campus. Friesen, an associate education professor, brings her trained therapy dog, Cooper, to class one day each week, and he also spends an hour in the schools counseling center. Across campus, youll find Reepicheep, an orange tabby cat who comes to campus for an hour every week and roams the suite outside the office of Hauser, an associate chemistry professor and university chaplain. For students, Cooper and Reepicheep enable them to momentarily forget upcoming deadlines, homesickness or other worries. Its really nice to have that interaction. Hes definitely helped me lose some stress and relax in class, Rachel Hardy, a senior from Adel, Iowa, told the Sioux City Journal. The dog-loving digital media major had just finished scratching the soft, curly face of Cooper, an 85-pound sheepadoodle, a cross between an English sheepdog and a poodle. Tail wagging furiously, the 15-month-old certified therapy dog greets each student enthusiastically as he or she walks in the door, then spends the rest of class seeking affection and quietly giving plenty in return. Students cant help but look into his big, caring eyes and scratch his head while they listen to Friesen. They often later tell Friesen that Cooper boosted their spirits. It happens almost every week, Friesen said. For Friesen, Cooper is a valuable tool, a classroom therapy dog who prepares her students, most of them future teachers, to encounter therapy dogs when they go to student teaching assignments or begin their careers. More Iowa schools are getting therapy dogs, Friesen said, because of their ability to de-escalate student anxiety and stress, helping them calm down. They also make excellent reading partners for children who are hesitant to read aloud in front of others, making no judgments of a students abilities while they listen. Hes just going to cuddle up with you, heart to heart, said Friesen, Coopers handler who began bringing him to campus last fall. Hauser had no such plans to bring a pet to campus five years ago, when a colleague found a stray kitten at the side of a Storm Lake street standing next to his mother, who had just been struck by a car. Hauser agreed to take the kitten in to be a buddy for her other orange kitten. Reepicheep, named after a character in C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia book series, soon wanted to be everyones buddy. I got him home, got him cleaned up, and he had personality right away, Hauser said. He is the most mellow cat Ive ever met. Nothing stresses him out. When Hauser became the campus chaplain in 2020, she thought a cat whos never stressed could help stressed-out college students. I always thought this cat would be a great therapy cat. Everyone he meets is his best friend, she said. I figured wed give it a trial run, and he developed a fan base. Reepicheep made his debut this semester, and every Thursday afternoon, a handful of students, plus a few faculty and staff members, eagerly await the arrival of the cat whos become so popular he has his own Instagram account. I was really interested because I really love cats and all animals, freshman criminology major Stephanie Redman, of Albert Lea, Minnesota, said when she saw the posters around campus in January notifying students of Reepicheeps office hour. I have a cat at home, and I was kind of homesick for him. Its nice and calming to pet the cat, its a stress reliever. Reepicheep strolls through the suite outside Hausers office in typical cat fashion as if he owns the place. He stops and gives everyone a chance to shower him with attention, happily accepting belly rubs. You can pick him up and he has no issues with it, said Andrew Fox, a sophomore digital media major from Omaha. It helps me mentally. Friesen and Hauser love observing the positive impact their pets have on students. Both professors said theyre considering expanding the hours their animals are on campus. Im excited that its worked as well as it has, Hauser said. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Sioux City Journal. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Anyone who doubts that secrecy in government breeds poor public policy should take a look at the Business Court Pilot Project launched by our Wisconsin Supreme Court. For the last five years, the project has granted large commercial interests outsized influence over our court systems handling of their cases, exactly as intended. The business court pilot debuted in 2017 in Waukesha County and the 8th judicial district (encompassing Brown, Marinette, Kewaunee, Oconto, Door, Outagamie and Waupaca Counties). It was expanded to other districts and, in a surprise move, to Dane County in 2020. Heres how it works: the Chief Justice, currently Annette Ziegler, receives recommendations from big business and selects a limited number of business court judges. These hand-picked judges then receive training out-of-state from special interests aligned with big business. They follow court procedures drafted by big business lawyers. The process largely bypasses the voter-controlled and otherwise random judicial assignment of cases. It creates a two-tiered court system one controlled by business interests and one for everybody else. It began in September 2016, when then-Chief Justice Patience Roggensack formed the Business Court Advisory Committee to develop a specialty court proposed by big business, for big business. Ignoring the Supreme Courts own internal operating procedures designed to promote transparency and diversity of opinion in appointing court committees, the chief justice stacked the committee with lawyers representing business interests. The committee included no labor or consumer advocates, no one representing the viewpoints of the public, and no one speaking for other stakeholders in our circuit court system. Working privately, the advisory committee soon hatched a petition to establish and control the business court, which it filed with the Supreme Court on October 26, 2016. Less than two weeks later, the court adopted the petition by a 5-2 vote, with no public hearing, no opportunity for public comment, and no public notice that the petition was even scheduled for a vote. Thus, out of public view, our Supreme Court rapidly and fundamentally changed our circuit courts democratic structure for handling big business commercial litigation, simultaneously degrading judicial independence and corrupting a cardinal principle underpinning our court systemthat everyone should be treated equally when he or she comes before the court. The business court model was forced on to the Dane County circuit court system beginning in July 2020. The Supreme Court is now weighing a petition to extend the pilot program, set to expire on June 30, 2022, for another two years. The big business takeover of circuit court commercial litigation wasnt the first time our Supreme Court displayed a penchant for secrecy. For example, in 2012, the Supreme Court majority voted to close administrative rules conferences to the public, reversing an open meetings policy that had informed Wisconsin voters on important court matters for years. To sit out here in public and philosophize, said then-Justice Roggensack,is really not the best use of our time. A more transparent approach might have led to a different outcome on the Business Court pilot project. But its not too late to comment on the request to expand the project for another two years. Written comments can be submitted to Attorney Laura Brenner at lbrenner@reinhartlaw.com, and should be received by 4:30 p.m. on April 8. This time, transparency may produce a better result a return to normalcy for our courts. Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Attorney Richard G. Niess served as a Dane County Circuit Court judge from 2004 -2020, including 13 years as presiding judge of the civil division. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sunday, April 17, 2022 From The Washington Post: A father sold his daughter to a wealthy man in search of anther wife. When the daughter turns 15 for this marriage, the buyer would be 62 by then. Child marriage has long been prevalent in many Afghan communities. As a deepening humanitarian crisis grips Afghanistan, fueled by a confluence of economic, financial and political shocks worsened by the governments collapse in August, children are increasingly bearing the brunt of the growing poverty. While there is no comprehensive data available, the United Nations, aid agencies and local officials say they are receiving credible reports of a rise in child marriages and sales of babies for adoptions as Afghans seek ways to cope with their spiraling lives. Prices are rising, and millions struggle to purchase food and pay rent. Clinics have closed as health workers havent been paid their salaries. Adding to the turmoil is one of the worst droughts in a quarter-century. As the economy collapses, 24.4 million Afghans 55 percent of the population need humanitarian aid, a 30 percent increase from last year, according to the United Nations. Read more here. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/family_law/2022/04/paid-child-marriage-in-afghanistan.html The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly spent 15 minutes meeting with Prince Charles this week. The couple - who now reside in California after quitting as senior members of the Royal Family - met with Prince Harry's father at Windsor Castle before seeing his grandmother Queen Elizabeth in her private apartments. Charles' wife Duchess Camilla also joined them for the visit. Harry's relationship with his family family has been strained since he and Duchess Meghan took part in a bombshell interview with Oprah a year ago, where they claimed that a member of the royal family shared their "concerns and conversations about how dark [their son Archie's] skin might be when he was born." However, Charles, 73, is said to be keen to work on his relationship with his son. A source told The Daily Mail newspaper's Richard Kay: "He loves his son and he has been broken-hearted by everything that has taken place, although he fears history repeating itself with Harry just as it did with Princess Diana. But he also wants to keep the door open and keep talking, something he still regrets not doing with Diana." And Queen Elizabeth, 95, was delighted to see Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40. The source said: "He has always had the ability to make her laugh and she loves that about him. "To this day whenever she hears that Harry is on the phone her eyes light up. "Would she love to see Harry on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee events? Of course, but she knows there has to be reassurance on all sides for that to happen." Harry and Meghan made the brief stop in England to see his family, while on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games. Originally published on celebretainment.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. How do the worlds top stars muster the poise and determination to stand on stage, despite the nerves and anxiety of having a bad performance? For both Beyonce and Adele, the secret has been the creation of an alter ego. Beyonces was the assertive and empowered Sasha Fierce, who allowed her to perform with extra self-confidence and sensuality. Usually when I hear the chords, when I put on my stilettos, like the moment right before when youre nervous then Sasha Fierce appears, and my posture and the way I speak and everything is different, she told Oprah Winfrey in 2008. It was a strategy that she continued to use until 2010, when she felt she had matured enough to avoid the psychological crutch. Inspired by an emotional meeting with Beyonce herself, Adele followed suit, telling Rolling Stone magazine in 2011 about her creation of Sasha Carter. The persona was a combination of Beyonces Sasha Fierce persona and the (real) country music star June Carter. Adele said the strategy helped her give her best to every performance during her breakout year. Although the embodiment of a fictional persona may seem like a gimmick for pop stars, new research suggests there may be some real psychological benefits to the strategy. Adopting an alter ego is an extreme form of self-distancing, which involves taking a step back from our immediate feelings to allow us to view a situation more dispassionately. Ethan Kross, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has led much of this research over the past decade, showing that even small shifts in perspective can help people to gain control of their emotions. In one study, participants were asked to think about a challenging event in the future, such as an important exam, in one of two different ways. The group in the immersed condition were told to picture it from the inside, as if they were in the middle of the situation, whereas those in the distanced condition were asked to picture it from afar as if they were a fly on the wall. The differences were striking, with those taking the distanced viewpoint feeling much less anxious about the event, compared to the immersed group. The self-distancing also encouraged greater feelings of self-efficacy the sense that they could pro-actively cope with the situation and achieve their goal. Read the full article at BBC. Hurts Donut Co. in Middleton, which specialized in oversized specialty donuts and donut milkshakes, abruptly closed due to an owners recurrence of cancer and staffing issues. A company spokesperson detailed in a social media post how in 2017 Janelle Wilks emailed the company about her dream of opening a Hurts Donut shop, but shortly after, was diagnosed with breast cancer. After 16 rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, Wilks, with the encouragement of her family, bought the Middleton franchise from its previous owners. It may not have been a straight line to opening their dream store, but only a temporary setback on a bigger, more significant course, the post said. Kasondra Clegg, the donut chains chief marketing officer, said Wilks lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she and her husband, Scott Wilks, opened their first Hurts Donut shop in 2019. They have kept that shop open, she said. They have a really good support system at home and an incredibly loyal team that has become as close as family, Clegg said, noting that 10 of the employees in Cedar Falls have been there since the beginning and know the business in and out. Clegg said the Wilkses held the grand opening of their Middleton store in September 2020 after installing a new espresso bar, making updates and hiring employees. According to the social media post, Janelle Wilks fell inside one of her shops and a doctors visit found advanced cancer. It has been a challenge to remain staffed while the leadership is away during this very difficult time, the post said. The post ended by saying it was a tough decision to permanently close the Middleton store, but it was so the owners can prioritize their health and family. Clegg said Janelle Wilks fell inside her Cedar Falls store. Scott Wilks didnt respond to a call or text. Middleton is a little over three hours from where they reside, Clegg said. Janelles diagnosis makes it extremely difficult for them to continue to travel to Wisconsin. Victor Anderson, who works for Lokre, the property owner, said Scott Wilks told him he had to close due to a lack of staffing. Anderson said hes looking for a replacement tenant or tenants. National exposure Hurts began in 2013 in Springfield, Missouri, and before its heralded opening in Middleton, had been featured on the Food Network. The shops Nutella donut made BuzzFeeds list of 33 donuts to try before you die. Seth Corless, who lives in Springfield, first opened the Middleton shop with two friends in October 2016. He said he didnt want to talk about his experience there. A sign at the closed Middleton shop says, We sincerely apologize and hope that we will see you again soon at one of our 21 other locations. It also says that it was a privilege to serve your community since 2017. The Middleton shop sold what Hurts advertised as a rotating lineup of up to 70 donut flavors 24 hours a day. The two-story, 6,000-square-foot space at 2831 Parmenter St. had been Blue Spoon Cafe, a more upscale spinoff of the popular fast-food chain Culvers. Code violations Last month, the Middleton Hurts had seven health code violations, four that were considered priority, including food contact surfaces of cooking and baking equipment for cinnamon rolls soiled with food debris. Public Health Madison and Dane County said that Hurts needed to correct the violations by washing, rinsing and sanitizing the surfaces at least every 24 hours. Records note that the cinnamon roll frames were cleaned and sanitized during the March 3 inspection. No reinspection was needed for any of the violations, the health department report showed. There were no immediate closures as a result, said Morgan Finke, a spokesperson for the public health department. The facility also received information for reaching our staff if there were any questions or concerns about the inspection, as is standard practice. Clegg said maintaining the Hurts standard, while battling stage 4 cancer from three hours away, proved to be difficult. The Wilkses, she said, were physically unable to be present to implement the quality expectations we strive for. Read more restaurant news at: go.madison.com/restaurants Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A woman was stabbed twice Saturday night, once in her abdomen and once in her elbow, after entering a North Side apartment amid an argument according to police. The woman had gone to the apartment, in the 1900 block of Northport Drive, at around 8:43 p.m. Saturday with her brother to confront the occupants about something that was said earlier at a birthday party, according to a statement by Madison police Lt. Jennifer Hannah. Another man, one of two occupants in the apartment, heard the woman outside of his door, opened it, pushed the woman away and told her to leave, according to Hannah. The woman's brother entered the apartment and began to fight with the male occupant while the woman ran into the apartment and attacked a female occupant. The male occupant of the apartment was able to grab a kitchen knife with one hand, while fighting with the woman's brother with the other hand, and swung it at the two fighting women, Hannah said. The male occupant stabbed the woman, once in the right elbow and once in the right side of her abdomen. The woman and her brother then ran out of the apartment, Hannah said. Dispatch received multiple calls - at least one about a stabbed woman in a parking lot, and one from the male occupant of the apartment, who called police to notify them that a woman entered his apartment, had been stabbed and had since left, Hannah said. The stabbed woman's injuries are not life-threatening and once she is released from the hospital, she will be arrested, Hannah said. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LVIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond. Torture chambers are built there, Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, creating famine. In occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and introducing Russian currency, the ruble. Intensified Russian shelling of Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, has killed 18 people and wounded 106 in the last four days alone, Zelenskyy said. This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential neighborhoods, against ordinary civilians, he said. He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will begin in the near future. Zelensky again called for increased sanctions against Russia, including its entire banking sector and oil industry. Everyone in Europe and America already sees Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies, Zelenskyy said. All of this requires greater speed from Western countries in preparing a new, powerful package of sanctions. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Russia strikes Ukraine's big cities, bears down on Mariupol Elderly mother feels lost, seeks son's body in Ukrainian town of Bucha Prince Harry pays tribute to Ukrainian competitors as he opens the Invictus Games We pray for you: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they can Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: WASHINGTON -- Ukraines foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russias continued attacks there could be a red line that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation. Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces. He says the Ukrainians continue their struggle but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Kuleba says his country has been keeping up expert level talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a red line that stops peace efforts. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says hes praying on Easter for those living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says hes also praying for peace, freedom and basic dignity and respect for all of Gods children. Biden didnt say which war he had in mind, but the president has been deeply involved in trying to force an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The American president says hes grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar falls on heavy hearts for those who have lost loved ones and those among us living in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty. KYIV, Ukraine A regional official in eastern Ukraine says at least two people have been killed by Russian shelling. The Luhansk regions governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said that at least four others were wounded Sunday when Russia forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote. Zolote is located near the front line in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas, where the Russian forces are preparing for a massive offensive. WASHINGTON Ukraines prime minister says the besieged city of Mariupol hasn't yet fallen to Russia and the Ukrainian forces there will fight to the end. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed during a Sunday appearance on an American television broadcast for help for the approximately 100,000 Ukrainians who remain trapped in the eastern city without food, water, heat and electricity. He says some regions of Mariupol remain under Ukrainian control, and that Russia doesn't have full dominance over the city. Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege. The Russian military gave a deadline for surrender to a few thousand Ukrainian fighters who were providing the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, but the Ukrainians didn't submit. Shmyhal told ABC News This Week that Ukrainian forces are still fighting, including in the Donbas region, but we do not have intention to surrender. The prime minister says Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy, if possible. Shmyhal says surrender isnt an option, adding that we will not leave our country, our families, our lands, so we will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war. KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv. Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administrations health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sundays shelling of Ukraines second-largest city. Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires. Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers. KHARKIV, Ukraine Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames. At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further. MOSCOW The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupols giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be guaranteed to keep their lives. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications. Konashenkov warned that all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed. He claimed that along with Ukrainian troops, there are about 400 foreign mercenaries encircled at Azovstal, most of them from European countries and Canada, communicating in six languages, according to intercepts. Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently verified. VATICAN CITY In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. In a speech from the balcony of St. Peters Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. He expressed hope that the war in Europe will also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow in situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget. Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. MILAN Italian Premier Mario Draghi is calling Ukraines resistance to Russias invasion heroic, depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a prolonged war. Draghi told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday that what awaits us is a war of resistance, prolonged violence with destruction that will continue. There is no sign that the Ukraine population can accept a Russian occupation. Draghi noted that Italy remained close to the Ukrainian people, with the reopening of its embassy in Kyiv. The ambassador returned to the capital on Friday, and the embassy is expected to be fully operational on Monday. Draghi, who spoke to Putin before the war broke out and again at the end of March, said he has come to believe that speaking with the Russian leader is just a waste of time. Draghi said: I have the impression that the horror of the war, with its carnage, with what they have done to children and women, is completely independent of the words and the phone calls. KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines deputy defense minister says that the key port of Mariupol is holding despite the continuing Russian attacks. Hanna Malyar said Sunday that the defenders of the key Sea of Azov port have tied up significant Russian forces besieging the city. She described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine that prevents the Russian troops encircling the city from advancing to other areas of the country. Malyar said that the Russians have continued to hit Mariupol with air raids and were possibly preparing an amphibious landing to beef up their forces in the city. LONDON In his Easter sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw in Ukraine. The leader of the Anglican church said Easter is a time for peace and not blood and iron. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week the week leading to Easter he said let this be a time for Russian cease-fire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. Welby said God hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. MOSCOW The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be guaranteed to keep their lives. The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender. It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1 months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldnt be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didnt mention any numbers for the city defenders. MOSCOW The Russian military says it has struck a military plant on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital with missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday the military has used precision-guided air-launched missiles to attack the ammunition plant in Brovary outside Kyiv overnight. He said that other Russian air raids also destroyed Ukrainian air defense radars near Sievierodonetsk in the east and several ammunition depots elsewhere. The strikes were the latest in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines weapons factories, air defense assets and other facilities as Moscow prepares for a massive offensive in Ukraines eastern industrial heartland called Donbas. SOFIA, Bulgaria Bulgaria has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its Black Sea ports as part of expanded EU sanctions, the countrys Maritime Administration announced on its website on Sunday. All vessels registered under Russian flag, as well as all vessels that have switched their Russian flag, or flag or maritime register registration to any other state whatsoever after Feb. 24, are forbidden access to Bulgarian maritime and river ports, the authority said. Exceptions will be made only for ships in distress or seeking humanitarian assistance, or ships transporting energy products, food and pharmaceuticals to EU countries. KHARKIV, Ukraine Russias bombardment of cities around Ukraine on Saturday included an explosion in Kharkiv that destroyed a community kitchen. Associated Press journalists at the scene recorded the immediate aftermath of the apparent missile attack. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded by missile strikes Saturday in that city alone. The kitchen was set up by World Central Kitchen, which is run by celebrity chef Jose Andres to establish feeding systems in disaster and war zones. Andres tweeted that the non-governmental organizations staff members were shaken but safe. The organization says it has now reached 30 cities across the country, providing nearly 300,000 meals a day. Andres said the attack in Kharkiv shows that to give food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience and resistance and that his groups chefs will keep cooking for Ukraine. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. Mariupols fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. NEW YORK A Russian general whose troops have been besieging the Ukrainian port of Mariupol was buried on Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, the governor said. Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov was deputy commander of the 8th Army, which Russian media identified as being among the forces battering Mariupol for weeks. Gov. Alexander Beglov released a statement saying Frolov died a heroic death in battle without saying where or when he was killed. Photographs on Russian news websites showed his grave at a St. Petersburg cemetery piled high with red and white flowers. Ukraine has claimed that several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed during the war. WASHINGTON Austrias chancellor said after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this past week that the Russian president is in his own war logic when it comes to Ukraine. Karl Nehammer told NBC in an interview that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war. Nehammer was the first European leader to meet Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. He said we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Before arriving in Moscow last Monday, Nehammer had visited Bucha, Ukraine, the town outside of Kyiv where graphic evidence of killings and torture has emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Nehammer told Meet the Press that he confronted Putin with what he had seen in Bucha, and it was not a friendly conversation. He said Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation, on one hand, and on the other hand, he told me that he doesnt trust the Western world. So this will be the problem now in the future. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Health savings accounts (HSAs) are so popular these days, it's hard to believe they're not even 20 years old yet. But though they're pretty common, people's knowledge of how to squeeze the most out of them often lags a little behind. If you have an HSA or are eligible for one, here are five costly mistakes you don't want to make. 1. Not contributing to your HSA It's smart to contribute to an HSA every year if you're eligible for one and can afford to do so. As long as you have a qualifying health insurance plan -- one with a deductible of $1,400 or more for an individual or $2,800 or more for a family -- you may set aside up to $3,650 if you have an individual plan or $7,300 if you have a family plan in 2022. These contributions reduce your taxable income for the year, and if you spend the money on medical expenses, it's tax-free. That's a benefit you won't find with any other retirement account. If you struggle to remember to make contributions on your own, see if you can set up automated contributions. Remember to review your HSA plan every year. The government periodically raises the annual limits on HSA contributions, so you might be able to set aside more money in future years. 2. Not making catch-up contributions if you're eligible Adults 55 and older can contribute an extra $1,000 to their HSA in 2022. This means they can contribute up to $4,650 if they have an individual health insurance plan or $8,300 if they have a family plan. If you're able to, you should try to set aside this extra cash to help your balance grow even faster. 3. Not investing your funds Many HSA providers enable you to invest your funds to help the plan grow more quickly. Unless you plan to use your HSA money for a planned expense in the near future, investing is a good idea. It can turn your HSA into a nice supplement to your personal retirement savings. If you invested $3,650 in your HSA every year for 10 years, you'd end up with about $52,300 if you had a 7% average annual rate of return, despite only contributing $36,500 yourself. The remaining $15,800 comes from investment earnings. And over time, this number will only get larger. If your current HSA provider doesn't enable you to invest your funds, you may want to seek out another provider that does. Be sure to investigate your investment options and fees before choosing a company to work with. 4. Spending your HSA funds on minor medical expenses You're free to spend your HSA funds on whatever you want, but if you have a small medical bill, you might prefer to pay for it out of your own pocket so you can leave your HSA funds alone. This way, they'll stay invested so they can grow into an even larger sum over time. There's nothing wrong with using your HSA funds to cover larger medical expenses. But if you consider your HSA to be another retirement account, step back and reevaluate your savings strategy after a big withdrawal. You might need to set aside more money in your HSA or another retirement account going forward to stay on track. 5. Spending your HSA funds on non-medical withdrawals while under 65 You can also use your HSA funds for non-medical expenses, but you will pay taxes on these. You'll also get slapped with a 20% early withdrawal penalty if you're under 65 at the time. This is stricter than the 10% early withdrawal penalty on those under 59 1/2 that most retirement accounts have. You should avoid non-medical withdrawals under 65 at all costs -- and even once you're 65, you should only do this as a last resort. If you reserve the money for medical expenses, you won't have to worry about paying taxes on it at all, and people often require more medical care as they age. If you avoid the errors mentioned above, you can wind up with a pretty sizable sum in your HSA. But keep in mind, HSA rules might change over time, so be sure you're keeping up to date on any changes. This will ensure you don't miss out on opportunities to get even more out of your HSA. The $18,984 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $18,984 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Members of Colorados House Judiciary Committee begin debate on the fentanyl bill Tuesday. One principle should guide them: the desire to save lives. With Colorado enduring an increasingly deadly infestation of a drug that kills instantly, this may be the most important work legislators embark upon throughout their careers. If they get it right, more will survive. If they get it wrong, the carnage continues. No rational person wants addicts in prison. Most individuals dying instantly from fentanyl are not trying to harm themselves or others. They self-medicate against depression, anxiety, loneliness, helplessness, boredom and other conditions society should help them resolve. Whether consumed voluntarily or accidentally, fentanyl kills in minuscule doses. Two milligrams may kill a grown adult an amount so small one can die by giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an overdose victim. Coloradans are under attack by a flood of fentanyl mostly manufactured in China and smuggled across our countrys southern border by drug cartels. State legislators cannot control China or the border, but they may give law enforcement the tools to take this killer off our streets and out of our homes. Judiciary members should craft a bill that makes the possession of fentanyl a felony. Knowing that two grams may kill an adult, no possession is a safe or minor offense. The frequent loss of young adults and children who make the mistake of taking fentanyl or any other drug laced with it constitutes a serious crime against humanity. The committees bill should: Require felony charges for any possession of fentanyl (exempting medical applications by licensed professionals) Establish hard mandatory prison time for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death Eliminate the Good Samaritan prosecution shield for drug dealers who report overdoses Committee members will begin with a draft bill that maintains misdemeanor penalties for suspects caught with up to four grams of fentanyl. Frankly, that is insane. It is enough to kill 2,000 accidentally or with intent. It grants immunity to dealers who kill and call the cops, eliminating the fear of consequences for committing deadly crimes. Dealers who kill are not made innocent or good by calling 911 any more than others who commit deadly crimes. Felony penalties for possession would give prosecutors the leverage to bargain with addicts by offering lower charges in exchange for treatment. This is a common practice of prosecutorial discretion. Some would take the deals, others would not. Either way, no one would do prison for a felony conviction of possession alone. Colorado has seldom if ever imposed prison for simple possession. The prison-for-possession myth bolstered the passage of a 2019 Colorado law that reduced to misdemeanor status all charges for possession of up to four grams of Schedule 1 and 2 narcotics again, enough fentanyl to kill thousands. This law means no one fears the light consequence of possession. The urban legend of prison-for-possession manifested after a 1996 congressional bill, initiated by then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware. It required harsh prison time for federal convictions of crack possession. The disparity in federal sentencing for white-collar cocaine and crack cocaine led to the disproportionate incarceration of Blacks and other minorities. Then-President Donald Trump stopped it with his First Step Act in 2019. This legislation reformed sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed the African-American community, Trump said during a State of the Union address. We need prison for those who manufacture, supply and distribute drugs not for the addicts whose lives they endanger. Propose a law that helps cops and prosecutors confront this disaster. Authorize them to control the supply and demand sides of fentanyl circulation. The right law will save not imprison our friends and relatives who suffer from addiction and dont deserve to die. Hit them with felony charges (tough love) that will interrupt their use and encourage treatment, recovery and lives worth living. Reprinted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch distributed by Creators.com Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In a special chorus performance to celebrate the 100-day of the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan National Theatre's Children's Choir, consisting of 80 Nicaraguan pupils, sang "Sparkling Red Star" and "Ode to the Motherland" in Chinese. Since China resumed diplomatic relations with Nicaragua last December, bilateral relations have developed rapidly, with pragmatic cooperation constantly expanding. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Among the 15 million across the U.S. expected to lose Medicaid coverage at the end of the declared public health emergency July 15 are an estimated 3,500 in Henry County. And the numbers from Martinsville will only add to that local gap. However, between the assistance provided through the Affordable Care Act as well as local reduced-rate health clinics, the blow is likely to be well cushioned. Ann Walker, Medicaid/FAMIS outreach advocate for the Martinsville and Henry County Coalition for Health and Wellness, shared local data. Henry County gained 3,490 people enrolled in Medicaid during the declared public health emergency: The number of enrollees was 19,921 on April 1, about an 18% increase over the amount on March 1, 2020, which was 16,431. The population of Henry County is 50,948 almost 40% are enrolled in Medicaid. The Martinsville city data was not available, Walker said,. At the start of the pandemic, when the public health emergency started, there was an increase of applications, Walker said. Applicants were able to apply over the phone and online in a process that could take as little as 15 minutes. Walker said that Medicaid is estimated to have around a 20 percent drop-off rate of people who will no longer receive coverage after the end of the officially declared public health emergency. However, she added, people in the Martinsville and Henry County area are fortunate to have other options. People who are no longer income-eligible to receive Medicaid have the option to apply for special enrollment through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if they apply within 30 days of when their Medicaid coverage ends, Walker said. Adults whose income is less than 138% of the federal poverty level can apply to enroll for the Medicaid expansion. If less than 139 to 150% of the federal poverty level, they can enroll in the Silver Plan through the ACA, she added. For people who do not opt to go through those channels, she said, the local area has multiple federally qualified healthcare centers where patients without insurance can receive health care. Such clinics through the Coalition are Bassett Family Practice and Ridgeway Family Health. Various online sources such as enrollva.or/get-help and coverva.org help people find coverage options. For help renewing or updating contact information, people can call or text Walker at 732-0509. One of the main concerns with the loss of coverage is how people will find out that they will need to either renew or find new coverage. The Virginia Medicaid agency Department of Medical Assistant Services (DMAS) is not only a good source of information on Medicaid but is informing members and stakeholders of the end of the declared public health emergency and that they should make sure to update their contact information so that if they are still eligible they can stay covered, she said. DMAS has done an exceptional job getting the information out, in my opinion, Walker said. It has information on the internet and social media, and it has sent out letters and published public service announcements. For people who lose coverage and somehow miss the information on renewing, Walker said that the process to get reinstated fairly easy. Because of this work done by DMAS and the federally qualified healthcare centers, Walker said she doesnt think that the MHC area will have a public health crisis as a response to the loss of Medicaid coverage. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Several countries, including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United States, and international organizations including the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council have denounced the raid conducted by the Israeli occupation forces on Al Aqsa Mosque and expressed concern over the spate of violent incidents at the al-Aqsa compound. In a statement by the Foreign Ministry, Morocco strongly condemned the Israeli raid on the Al Aqsa Mosque, the closing of the shrines gates and the attack on unarmed worshipers in the mosque compound, causing many injuries. This blatant aggression and methodical provocation during the holy month of Ramadan against the sanctity of the mosque and its place in the heart of the Islamic Ummah will only fuel feelings of hatred and extremism and destroy the chances of reviving the peace process in the region, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said. Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI chairs the Al Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, calls on the United Nations and the international community to intervene urgently to put an end to these violations and assaults against the defenseless Palestinian people and its sacred values, the statement said, adding that upon the Sovereigns instructions, Moroccos condemnation and denunciation were communicated directly to the head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. According to media reports, more than 200 people were injured in clashes between Palestinians, and Israeli police on Friday. The Palestine Red Crescent said most of the Palestinian injuries came from rubber bullets, stun grenades and police batons, whilst Israeli police reported injuries to three officers, as a result of stone-throwing. In a message released by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on leaders on all sides to help calm the deteriorating situation, and insisted that provocations on the Holy Esplanade must stop immediately, to prevent further escalation. The status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, he said, must be upheld and respected. The Secretary-General reiterated his commitment to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict, on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, international law, and bilateral agreements. The OIC has also condemned the Israelis incursion into the sacred mosque and their assault on worshippers, saying this dangerous escalation is an affront to the feelings of the entire Muslim Ummah and a blatant violation of international resolutions and instruments. The Islamic Organization held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the fallout of such daily crimes and offenses against the Palestinian people, their territories and sanctuaries. The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Naif Falah, strongly condemned the attack, calling it a dangerous escalation. He stressed the importance for Israel to respect the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites. Similar statements were issued by the foreign ministries of others countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt, who condemned the attack and renewed their commitment to the Palestinian cause. The European Union on its part urged authorities to quickly calm tensions, condemning violence following Israeli police officers raiding and attacking Palestinian worshippers in Jerusalems Al-Aqsa Mosque. The EU calls on the authorities to act urgently to de-escalate the current tensions in Jerusalem. The statement added that acts of incitement around the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif must be avoided and the status quo has to be respected. In the same connection, the State Departments Spokesman Ned Price said the United States is deeply concerned by the violence in Jerusalem on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. We call on all sides to exercise restraint, avoid provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. We urge Palestinian and Israeli officials to work cooperatively to lower tensions and ensure the safety of everyone, he said in a statement. The State Department is closely following developments and will continue to be in close contact with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials to seek to deescalate tensions, he added. The story of Montanas only Argentine restaurant is one of resilience and tenacity and good humor in the face of a boatload of headaches. There were about two dozen individual circumstances over the past three years that probably would have killed off any other small business, including almost nonstop construction around the storefront and a pandemic. But Empanada Joint owner Solange Brunet and her partner Will Maloney were determined to make it to the 10-year anniversary this spring. The onset of COVID was grinding for the small downtown Missoula eatery, located at 123 E. Main Street. And on top of that, construction of huge luxury hotels behind her shop and next door added one headache after another. Then, her landlord undertook a complicated effort to restore the historic facade of the Radio Central Building, which meant her storefront was blocked by scissor lifts and construction cones and her windows were covered in plastic for nearly seven months. It was insanely difficult, Brunet said. Every deadline was missed. Some days you want to cry, and other days you just want to shout what the f---. People come in all the time and tell me theyre surprised were still alive. Now however, theyve got a renovated interior that theyre finally showing off to customers. Theyve also got plans for a Sunday brunch menu and theyre going to use their food truck for more events this summer, including a food truck pod nearby. The fact that the Empanada Joint is still in business is a minor miracle, according to Brunet and Maloney. First, the pandemic forced Brunet to get creative. She shut down indoor eating at first. I wasnt going to argue with people about masks, she said. She had to lay off her staff, although they did fine with federal and state unemployment. But Brunet, who worked as a landscaper and a bartender at Charlie Bs before she built the Empanada Joint from scratch, never took advantage of any federal COVID aid funding like the Paycheck Protection Program. Ive done everything with a debit card, she said, explaining that she was loath to take on debt. So, she made empanadas by hand, alone in her shop, and sold them by the dozen and delivered to customers. Also, Maloney had purchased a food truck before the pandemic, which turned out to be their saving grace. They were able to find new customers at local breweries and events and get through the storefront shutdown, although their revenue was never as high without the storefront. Meanwhile the downtown block where her shop is located has been rapidly changing in the last few years. First the historic Mercantile building was deconstructed and removed to build the new Marriott Hotel, and then a new six-story AC Hotel was built right next door. Then construction began on the new Wren hotel nearby. Then the work on the facade of her building began, and took way longer than she was originally told. When her previous landlord sold the Radio Central building a few years ago, Solange said she negotiated a long-term lease. Without that, she said, she would probably be a victim of Missoulas rising rents and lease rates. Im not a strong businesswoman, she said. Im not, and Ill admit that to anybody. But I knew to do that. Shes spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading the sewer and other infrastructure of the space she leases, so she wasnt about to give up. The removal of the old facade of the Radio Central Building and the restoration of the hundred-year-old brick has been a long, drawn-out process. Weve had three years of construction going on around us, Maloney said, shaking his head as he recalled all the miscommunication that happened along the way. Supply chain issues caused delays for their windows, but there were just all kinds of other problems as well. A temporary wooden sheltered walkway blocked their entrance for much of that time, so most customers thought they were closed. One of the biggest battles was construction, Brunet said. Weve got to make it so people can enter our shop. Nobodys coming walking through all that to come to lunch. They dont want to deal with it. And all our parking was blocked off. Brunet just grimaced when she recalled everything they went through, including closing the storefront for a year. It was devastating, she said. Recently, a sinkhole developed in the back parking lot, so now their parking spaces are just a giant pile of debris and a gaping pit where construction workers are trying to fix the issue. Brunet shook her head and smiled as she surveyed the scene out her back door. But now, theyre showing off their new counters and their remodeled interior. Theyve got new customers from the food truck events, people who never knew they had a downtown storefront. And later this year, theyll begin offering eggs Benedict and breakfast empanadas on Sundays. Theyve also added new menu items for the weekday, including fried chicken Milanesa and el choripan, an Argentine brat that comes with chimichurri and a choice of a side salad, soup or sweet potato fries. Theyve also got plenty of homemade desserts and fruit empanadas. Both Maloney and Brunet said that their regular customers are amazed that they survived the last three years, and theyre also excited about the new space. A lot of people that have been going through the construction have been so grateful that we are where were at right now, Maloney said. Brunet said that while Missoula is undergoing a lot of changes recently not all of them good the people here still care about supporting local entrepreneurs. Missoulians, they care about small businesses like ours and they dont want to see them fail, she said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 24 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Scientists have detected invasive smallmouth bass DNA in a water sample collected along the upper Yellowstone River, just north of Yellowstone National Park. But samples collected along the nearby Gardner River have all produced negative results. Adam Sepulveda, a research zoologist for the U.S. Geological Surveys Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, said the positive sample came from the spot where an angler reported catching a smallmouth bass on Feb. 19. The angler did not know what he had caught, so he released the fish back into the river. It was the farthest upstream report of the species ever documented along the upper Yellowstone River, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Genetic material from the positive sample could belong to one fish, or it could belong to multiple fish, Sepulveda said. Bass DNA was not present in any of the water samples collected along the Gardner River. Environmental DNA sampling is a screening tool for aquatic invasive species like smallmouth bass, but to be confident that a negative result is a true negative result, lots of samples need to be analyzed, according to Sepulveda. We cant say with 100% confidence that there are no bass in the Gardner River, but we can be very confident there is not an established population, he said. Smallmouth bass were stocked in the Tongue, Bighorn and Yellowstone rivers between Miles City and Billings in the 1960s up to the 1980s, and since then, the invasive, predatory fish species has steadily been moving upstream. Over the last seven years, smallmouth bass have been found near Emigrant and near the Highway 89 Bridge, just above the confluence of the Shields and Yellowstone rivers. Scientists do not know where the most recently-reported bass came from. Sepulveda and other researchers have been trying to determine how far upstream smallmouth bass can establish abundant populations as part of a study that began in 2016. So far, theyve found no evidence of age-0 bass beyond the stretch of the Yellowstone River between Reed Point and Big Timber, he said. The researchers initially thought that the factor limiting the fish species upstream establishment was water temperature, but theyve since determined that conditions farther upstream are warm enough to support a bass population, Sepulveda said. We havent figured out why they are not upstream yet in much higher and more consistent numbers, he said. Our hypothesis at this point is that it is related to density As one area gets too crowded, you have individuals that move a little bit further upstream to find their own space. Officials worry that an established bass population could threaten native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in Yellowstone National Park. In a statement released on March 9, Todd Koel, Yellowstones lead fisheries biologist, said that once the parks fishing season opens on Memorial Day weekend, anglers will be required to kill and report any smallmouth bass that they catch there. Our goal is to protect native fish populations and natural ecosystems, Koel said. We will do everything in our power to prevent the establishment of smallmouth bass in the park and prevent them from preying on and displacing trout and other native fish. The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to vote upon a mandatory catch, kill and report rule for smallmouth bass along a stretch of the Yellowstone River at their next meeting on April 19. The rule would apply to the Yellowstone River between the border of the national park and the Springdale Bridge Fishing Access Site. It would also expand to the entirety of the Shields River. Eric Roberts, fish management bureau chief for FWP, said whenever people do catch and report a fish, a lot of times the department will just take the tissues off of the fish that it needs, and then the person can have the fish back to eat it. Officials have been aware of smallmouth bass in the Yellowstone River for quite a while, but the species movement upstream has been slow, he said. If you think about where we typically find them from Big Timber to Emigrant thats quite a ways upstream. And from Emigrant to the confluence with the Gardner thats another pretty big jump upstream, he said. Were more inclined to think (this bass) was moved by people as opposed to a natural pioneering of smallmouth upstream. Catch, kill and report regulations will help the department to get a better idea of how established bass are in the stretch of the river north of the park, according to Roberts. Otolith samples, or samples taken from the ear bones of fish, can help the department figure out where individual fish originate from, which may inform future management decisions around smallmouth bass. (Next steps) really depend on how established the population is, Roberts said. If we determine that its still at a really low level, we may keep the catch, kill, report rule in place. If its more expansive than what we expect, we might institute a no-limit rule to allow anglers to harvest as many bass as possible. Depending on the prevalence of bass, other suppression measures like netting or electrofishing could be used, but they also may impact the cold water fishery. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I write to you today as a former city councilman with one goal: making housing affordable in Montana. Long before I was elected, I observed housing prices skyrocketing in the state. This problem has only accelerated in recent years particularly after the pandemic. This is nothing new to readers, but the real question is: what can the government do about it? For example, a 2021 study from the National Association of Homebuilders estimated that excessive regulations add as much as $93,000 to the average price of building a single-family home. The government needs to do its part to reduce the barriers that add to that $93,000. A separate 2022 study from the Frontier Institute found that over 70 percent of primary residential areas in Montanas most in-demand communities either outright prohibit or penalize affordable multi-family housing development. These studies serve to quantify what I experienced after four years of serving on the Missoula City Council. If we truly want to make Montanas housing affordable, we need to work together to restore private property rights to individuals and let the citizens decide what is best for their communities. I observed, time and time again, multi-family unit developers faced with uncertainty and confusion when asking permission from local governments to build on their own property. Developers worked with city staff to develop a plan that fit all the current regulations and permitting requirements. Then they took the final step of the approval process bringing the plans before the city council only to be rejected. This has a devastating impact on the housing market as a whole in our communities. This uncertainty, coupled with burdensome regulations such as minimum lot size, zoning, density and setback requirements, make Montana cities unattractive to build in. Unfortunately, all of these compounded burdens often make the risk untenable for many builders. This is especially true for homes and units that would be most attainable for a large segment of the population. This large block of housing inevitably has lower profit margins compared to high end condominiums or single family homes. Over the decades, cities have taken more and more property rights away from land owners with restrictive zoning and regulatory burdens. These are often implemented to appease the most affluent constituencies and special interest groups. For example, the elimination of single-family zoning is sold to the public as the banning of single-family neighborhoods, which couldnt be further from the truth. All it would amount to would be the ability of individuals and families to dictate what is built in their communities. Developers build what their community values and what their customers want to invest their hard-earned dollars in. There will always be a market for single-family homes, just as there will always be a market for multi-family developments. If local and state officials truly want to solve affordable housing, they need to do the hard work and lead by easing zoning and regulatory burdens in their communities. This often means making tough decisions. While safety and public needs are real and we need to consider the impacts of building, in my experience almost none of the barriers to building are due to safety. They almost always stem from aesthetic, class, or demographic reasons. Elected officials are tasked with following the law, the Constitution, and serving the needs of their constituencies. Montana needs more housing across the entire spectrum, from apartment complexes to duplexes, to single-family homes. Its time for politicians to start giving back private property rights and tackle overly restrictive zoning and regulatory restrictions. The citizens of Montana deserve the opportunity to decide how to live their life by choosing how and where they want to live. Jesse Ramos, writing from a libertarian perspective, is a former Missoula City Councilman, and the community engagement director for Americans for Prosperity-Montana. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Your voice in the U.S. House of Representatives is about to double thanks to population growth that gave Montana back its second Congressional seat for the first time in nearly 30 years. One of the big questions voters in Western Montana face is whether they want their new representative to truly voice their interests or whether we will have a congressperson who is more at ease with the powerful interests that spend over $100 million dollars each year on K-Street lobbyists and consultants who haunt the hallways of Congress seeking special favors at the expense of Montanans. If you read or listen to the talking heads in the D.C. swamp, the odds-on favorite for our new seat is Ryan Zinke. Thats the same Ryan Zinke who, only four months after being elected in November 2016, walked away from his Montana Congressional seat to take a position where he could coddle those same powerful special interests as they sought favors and special advantage. Its paid off as Zinke is now $30 million richer since jumping into the D.C. swamp. But Zinke had already bellied up to the petroleum bar to cash-in on the big money theyre pocketing by overcharging us at the gas pump. In his legally-required financial report, Zinke disclosed that he had received $460,000 from ConocoPhillips alone. That report was up to seven months late, raising more questions of whether Zinke was getting money from Big Oil as a candidate. Almost exactly a year ago, while still being paid big money from Big Oil, Zinke decided to announce that he would start picking up big campaign dollars from Big Oil by running for this seat. Sort of like trying to butter your bread on both sides. And this could just be the tip of an iceberg. As I said, representing Montana is about making choices. Candidates have choices to make. Voters have choices to make. Ryan Zinke made a choice years back to be in the pocket of Big Oil. He supported them in Congress, coddled them from Interior, collected more than a half million from them as a consultant or board member, and now is chasing them for more campaign cash. There is no question whose bed Ryan Zinke has chosen to lay down in. I have made a choice as well. In a letter last week to the ConocoPhillips CEO I told him in no uncertain terms: I am running for the same Congressional seat as Ryan Zinke and I want you to know that I have no interest in receiving any consulting, lobbying or campaign checks from ConocoPhillips. I intend to represent the interests of Montanans, not powerful corporations such as ConocoPhillips. Montana voters will also need to make choices. Will you choose to demand answers from Ryan Zinke about: 1. What exactly did Ryan Zinke do for the $460,000 he got from ConocoPhillips? 2. Did Zinke use his positions to secure a $2,500 campaign contribution from ConocoPhillips PAC and other Big Oil donations? 3. Did Zinke advise ConocoPhillips to go ahead and price-gouge Montanans at the gas pump while raking in $8.1 billion in profits last year? Will you choose to believe Ryan Zinke when he lies and denies these facts and tells you he wants to represent you? Or will you choose to cast your vote for me, Monica Tranel, in my crusade to serve Montanans in Congress with the same level of commitment and dedication, honor and integrity, I applied to represent America in two consecutive Olympic Games. The choice, I hope, is clear. Monica Tranel grew up in eastern Montana with her nine siblings and is an attorney and candidate for Montanas U.S. House seat MT-01. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The house is ablaze in the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, and those who should have prevented the fire sit idle, playing the blame game and taking no accountability. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) tried to avoid pulling CMS funding of the State Psychiatric Hospital at Warm Springs. CMS was slow as molasses in doing anything to address the State Hospital's shortfalls, but at some point, even they couldn't continue to turn a blind eye. The initial complaint that led to a CMS investigation was lodged in August 2021, and it still took eight months for CMS to pull the plug on DPHHS. Despite its professed role in ensuring quality healthcare is delivered in CMS-funded facilities, CMS's reticence to act was so profound that it wouldn't even investigate until the Montana press exposed the unaddressed problems. And remember, folks, Montanans who are involuntarily committed to the hospital are dying under the state's care. Dying. In an extraordinary display of the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, the Montana Democrat Party's executive director, Sheila Hogan, proclaimed: "This goes far beyond politics this is a crisis of leadership." She's right; however, she fails to mention that she Shelia Hogan was the director of DPHHS under then-Gov. Bullock when the fire at DPHHS and Warm Springs started. She did nothing during her tenure to quell the blaze. In fact, in 2017, CMS issued an "immediate jeopardy" notice to the State Hospital for virtually the same reasons CMS pulled funding from the hospital this week. By all accounts, nothing changed. Hogan also had oversight of the foster care system in Montana, which is now the proud owner of the moniker "worst in the nation." The only bright spot that comes from choosing Hogan as leader of the Democrat Party is an assurance that the Republican red streak will continue into the foreseeable future. Not to be outdone by Hogan, between August and this week, our current Gov. Greg Gianforte and his director, Adam Meier, haven't done squat to remedy the patient neglect problems, instead choosing to wait for "more data." Yet the relevant data revealed itself months ago: $7 million (now $14 million) in the red, four dead patients, 40% staff vacancy, and one brutal patient assault. Judging by his recent press releases, Gianforte is distracted, focusing on recruiting Minnesota business owners to compete with Montana employers for employees and housing. It's now clear Gianforte's Montana Comeback Plan has been trashed in favor of a Minnesota Comeback Plan. Our character as Montanans manifests in our treatment of our most vulnerable. The crisis at Warm Springs exposes a fundamental lack of leadership from both political parties. Prioritizing politics and "comeback" gimmicks over the needs of Montanans foretells a bleak future where our nickname Last Best Place is replaced with Last Place You Want to Live. Tammi Fisher is an attorney, former mayor of Kalispell and the host of the Montana Values Podcast. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A request to annex and zone nearly 24 acres within Lebanons growth boundary, which would lead to a plan to build 68 high-end homes, was deferred by the citys planning commission on Tuesday. The Ridge Estates is the name of the proposed development on Darlenes Way between the StoneBridge and Deerfield neighborhoods, roughly 1.5 miles east of State Route 109. Pricing of the homes will be determined, but landowner Jeff Hall said the neighborhood will likely include $1 million properties. Local builders and multiple custom homes are planned, Hall said. Lebanons planning commission deferred any action on The Ridge Estates at its March meeting as a number of residents spoke about the project. Traffic on Bonnie Valley in Deerfield and water drainage were the two key concerns, Lebanon Planning Director Paul Corder said. Im requiring Mr. Hall to have a neighborhood meeting to discuss and present his project and go from there, council and planning commission member Chris Crowell said. Lebanon City Hall Hall will schedule the community meeting before the next planning commission meeting on April 26. Hall initially planned to schedule a community meeting before the city council meets. The planning commission will provide a non-binding positive or negative recommendation on the annexation and zoning requests. The city council ultimately votes on approval with two readings. The plan for the site does not maximize the density that could be allowed according to the city's future land use plan, Corder said. Hall has turned down an offer to sell the property to a company that builds homes for rent, the landowner said. Hall also owns The Hall Group architecture firm. Well gladly listen to and talk with the neighbors, Hall said. We are trying to do a development that is better than anything they could expect. The plan is to offer larger lots closer to the Deerfield side and more density closer to the StoneBridge side to transition from each neighborhood, Hall said. Story continues Hancock Crossing Zoning and annexation that will lead to 77 single-family homes on Hancock Lane in Lebanon was recently approved. Hancock Crossing is the name of the development on about 32 acres near at Coles Ferry Pike and Hartmann Drive, not far from Jones Brummett Elementary School. Changes included lowering the number of homes allowed from the 121 under a previously plan Lot sizes will be a minimum of 12,000 square feet, developer Mark Vastola said. The price range for the homes are tentatively estimated to be in the mid-$500,000 range, Vastola said. LEBANON HOUSING MARKET: Housing market spotlight: Check out trends in 37090, Lebanon LARGE-SCALE BUILDING PLANS: Lebanon clears way for separate Central Pike and Prologis large-scale building plans Chipotle submits plans in Lebanon A site plan to build a 2,375-square-foot Chipotle restaurant at 620 S. Cumberland Street in Lebanon were approved by the citys planning commission Tuesday. The future Chipotle will be on 1.46 acres next to a future Whataburger to be built on South Cumberland Street in front of Lowe's. Whataburger plans to open two restaurants in Lebanon, the other on State Route 109 by the new Publix now under construction. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lebanon home development: The Ridge Estates, Hancock Crossing, Chipotle Rendering of Bldg. 2 renovation PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD, Maine - Portsmouth Naval Shipyard hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Reactor Servicing Support Facility in historic Building 2 on Wednesday, March 30. Honored participants in the ceremony include Shipyard Commander Captain Michael Oberdorf; Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Atlantic Rear Admiral Lore Aguayo; Nuclear Engineering and Planning Manager, Stephen Fahey, SES; Oak Point Associates Peter MacGovern and Nutmeg Companies, Inc. Jason Bugbee. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard cut the ribbon March 30 at Building 2, one of the oldest facilities at the shipyard (circa 1864), after completing major renovations. Right to left cutting the ribbon are Shipyard Commander, Capt. Michael Oberdorf; Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Atlantic, Rear Adm. Lore Aguayo; Nutmeg Companies, Inc. Mr. Jason Bugbee; Shipyard Nuclear Engineering and Planning Manager, Mr. Stephen Fahey, SES; and Oak Point Associates, Mr. Peter MacGovern. Its always a challenge when renovating a historic building. You want to preserve the history while working to bring the facility up to speed in support of nuclear-powered submarine maintenance, said Rear Adm. Aguayo. This facility was a collaborative effort, between contractors, NAVFAC, and the shipyard, all joining together in support of the warfighter and getting our submarines back to sea. Building 2 is one of the oldest facilities at PNS. The building was constructed circa 1864 as a clothing and provisions storehouse and served as the insulator shop for many years prior to this renovation. People are our most valuable asset and this facility provides a professional work environment for our team, said Fahey. [It] provides a unified location to plan and prepare for excellence in execution and positions us to provide urgent, well thought out response to any obstacle in the way of mission execution. The Building 2 project provides a modern three-story Reactor Servicing Support Facility while maintaining the historic character-defining architectural features of the original building. The new plan is a practical, and functional layout with improved ship servicing adjacencies and better day-to-day work flow, helping to increase productivity and to create a team building working environment. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is Americas leader for attack submarine maintenance, repair, and modernization. The on-time completion of submarine availabilities is critical to maintaining the Navys maritime superiority. As a NAVSEA operated field activity, Portsmouth is committed to expanding our undersea advantage and maximizing the material readiness of the fleet by safely delivering first-time quality, on time, and on budget. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard holds ribbon cutting ceremony for historic Building 2 Dr. Rev. Bob Shepherd and wife, Dolores Vinson Shepherd, are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary April 19, 2022. The couple met in Athens, Georgia, at church choir practice where Dolores sang in the choir directed by Bob. Through the years, Bob and Dolores ministry has led them to serve churches in Worthville, Georgia, Bullock, Mooresville, Sanford and Morganton. Prior to Morganton, Bob also served as vice president for development at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs. Bob and Dolores and their four children, Karen, Dale, Vicki and Noel, hold special memories for all of these church families and communities. The Shepherds have also been blessed with six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. They have continued to reside in Morganton after Bobs retirement in 1994 from the First Baptist Church there, where Bob serves as Pastor Emeritus. Since then, they have been fortunate to serve an additional 14 churches on an interim basis throughout North and South Carolina. The children invite you to join in their parents 70th wedding anniversary celebration by sending congratulations and well wishes to Bob & Dolores Shepherd, c/o First Baptist Church, 502 W. Union St., Morganton, NC 28655. A local organization will celebrate businesses prioritizing workplace diversity with a special event. Select 2000, an advocacy group that works with local businesses and organizations to promote workplace diversity, will hold its inaugural Diversity Champion awards banquet from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at the Morganton Community House. The organizations mission is to use education and advocacy to work with local employers to enhance racial and cultural diversity among recruits and hires for administrative and professional positions, according to its website, select2000.org. Select 2000 was aware of businesses in the community that had already shown diversity in their hiring practices for leadership, and they were included in the awards banquet, said Arwen March, secretary of the board for Select 2000. The banquet brings awareness to cultural disparities in leadership positions in the area and provides an opportunity to recognize businesses that saw these disparities and decided to address them. The awards banquet will include dinner and a presentation by Holly Jones, community partnership and outreach coordinator for the North Carolina Department of Justice. Cecelia (Surratt, Select 2000 founder,) reached out to the Office of the Attorney General, and we could not be more pleased that Holly Jones was selected to represent the department, March said. Ms. Jones career reflects her dedication to welfare of North Carolinians, from her time working with the city of Asheville, Buncombe County, the YWCA (Young Womens Christian Organization) and now as the community partnership and outreach coordinator for the NC Department of Justice. Jones is a former Asheville city council member and Buncombe County commissioner, according to her biography. She is described as an experienced local elected representative with a track record of building community consensus and advancing innovative policies that move the needle on critical needs, and an effective public policy official who championed public and early childhood education, domestic violence prevention, public safety, environmental stewardship and equity. The biography notes that as county commissioner, she spearheaded a comprehensive county plan to address domestic violence, which culminated in the establishment of a nationally-recognized Family Justice Center. She advocated for a variety of minority and underserved groups through efforts to increase affordable housing and build new schools. She also supported an anti-discrimination ordinance designed to protect against gender and sexual orientation discrimination. In addition to working with city and county governments, Jones also served as the executive director of the YWCA in Asheville for 15 years, where she led a successful $4 million capital campaign to grow the organizations budget so it could expand programs supporting diverse populations. Jones said she will speak on behalf of the NCDOJ at the banquet. My remarks will focus on the value and importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, including specific examples of DEI programs and policies within NCDOJ, Jones said. Following her remarks, Select 2000 will give a brief overview about each award winners efforts to promote diversity and then present the awards. The banquet is open to the public. Tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at the Burke County Chamber of Commerce at 110 E. Meeting St. in Morganton. For more information, visit select2000.org. Staff writer Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com. I know a great many of readers will attend places of worship, experience the joy on the faces of children as they see their colorful Easter baskets for the first time, and watch with a twinkle in your eyes as they try to find the eggs youve carefully colored and brilliantly hid. Others in faraway lands may be celebrating the holiday differently, so here are a few traditions that may be very different than what we in America are used to. For example, in France, since 1973, members of the Brotherhood of the Giant Omelette have gathered in Bessieres, France, to cook an omelet made up of more than 15,000 eggs. This tradition is kept alive by an association of volunteer cooks who use oar-like wooden spoons and a pan more than 13-feet wide to prepare the feast over a large fire in the town square. The mouth-watering event attracts thousands of people every year who gather to watch and wait for a taste. The legend is that when French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte and his army stopped to rest for a night near the town, he ate an omelet so delicious that he ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs they had to prepare a giant version for his army the next day, and the tradition continues today. Finlands Easter traditions might be a carryover from Halloween. To celebrate the holiday, Finnish children dress up like witches and go knocking door-to-door reciting a traditional rhyme wishing neighbors a healthy year in exchange for a chocolate egg or coin. Willow twigs decorated with colorful feathers and paper are carried to drive away evil spirits. The tradition stems from the belief that evil spirits and witches used to wander around the streets misbehaving before Easter. If you find yourself in Florence, Italy on Easter Sunday, the holiday starts off with a literal bang as locals gather to celebrate the 350-year-old Easter tradition of Explosion of the Cart. A pair of oxen adorned in garlands pull a three-story high wagon filled with fireworks through the streets to the front of the cathedral, accompanied by drummers, flag throwers and people in historical costumes. During Easter mass, the Archbishop of Florence lights a fuse that sends a dove-shaped rocket down a wire to the cart, igniting a vibrant fireworks show. This extravagant custom dates back to the First Crusade and is meant to ensure a good harvest. The beloved Easter bunny looks a bit different in Australia. In 1991, nonprofit Rabbit-Free Australia launched a campaign to replace the rabbit which is an invasive species in the country with the endangered bilby. The big-eared marsupial is under threat due to an increase in predators and European wild rabbits taking over their habitats. Candy makers have taken to crafting chocolate and candy Easter bilbies in an effort to save the animal, with a portion of the proceeds going toward conservation organizations like the Save the Bilby Fund. Cobblestone roads in Antigua, Guatemala, are transformed into colorful carpets to mark Easter. The beautiful carpets are made using colored sawdust, vegetables and flowers and can stretch up to approximately 800 meters (about 2,625 feet) long. Local artists use stencils to create the elaborate patterns and scenes covering traditional and religious themes. The Good Friday procession over the carpets will be followed by a clean-up team thatll sweep up all remnants of the art. To celebrate Easter, Bermudians gather to fly homemade kites made using wooden sticks and decorative tissue paper, with the bright geometric designs in the sky symbolizing Jesus ascension into heaven. This Easter tradition is paired with a feast of codfish, hot cross buns and sunrise services on the beach. In Portugal, people gift each other almonds for Easter coming in all colors and coatings such as hard candy, chocolate, or caramelized sugar. Its tradition for godchildren to give their godparents a stalk on Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter) and for godparents to give almonds in return on Easter Sunday. The egg-shaped almonds are said to represent the beginning of life and the spring season. When the clock strikes 11 a.m. the morning of Easter Saturday, residents of the Greek island of Corfu throw clay pots from their balconies onto the street. This noisy and therapeutic custom is performed to symbolize the earthquake that followed the resurrection of Jesus. Others believe the tradition started in the 16th century when people would throw all of their old belongings out of the window to prepare for the new year and mark new beginnings. Since Im half Polish, this one intrigued me, but I dont recommend its practice here in America unless proper notice is given ahead of time. Easter Monday in Poland is also known as Wet Monday. Traditionally, boys will soak the girls on Monday, with the girls seeking their revenge the following day. The weapons of choice for this massive water fight range from empty soap bottles to water balloons. According to legend, the girl who gets soaked the most will be the next one to get married within the year. Although the origin of this Easter tradition is uncertain, the use of water may represent the spring rains, which ensure another successful growing season. And to end this column is a quote from humorist Jack Handey: Good idea: Finding the Easter eggs on Easter. Bad idea: finding the Easter eggs on Christmas. In other words, as a reminder to us all, keep searching, never give up hope and persevere against all odds. You also might want to write down where youve hidden all the eggs. Peg DeMarco is a Morganton resident who writes a weekly features column for The News Herald. Contact her at pegdemarco@earthlink.net. Editor's Note: This story is part of "River in Peril," a four-part series produced by reporters and photographers from The Montana Standard, and videographers from the Helena Independent Record. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ About the series: The summer of 2021 posed grim challenges in the Big Hole Valley, and current dry conditions suggest 2022 could be similarly challenging. Many stakeholders agree that the river flowing through the valley is now in peril - facing threats from climate change, prolonged drought, irrigation withdrawals, pollution, heavy recreation use, development and more. Over the past several months, Montana Standard reporters and photographers have worked on this four-part series, which runs Sunday through Wednesday. Stories examine the past and present of the Big Hole River, the many factors impacting the quality and quantity of its waters, and how groups with competing interests are collaborating to save what many believe to be "Montana's Last Best River." For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples hunted, gathered, quarried stone and traded in and around the valley of the river that became known as the Big Hole. Signs of their passage live on in tipi rings, stone projectile points and other lithic scatter including stone flakes. Separate tribes of Native Americans who came to be identified as the Salish, Shoshone, Nez Perce and Blackfeet traveled through the region. Most did their best to avoid the fierce Blackfeet while moving to the plains to hunt bison. Life changed irrevocably for indigenous tribes in the Rocky Mountain West after the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark from 1803/18041806 and impacts associated with the fur trade. In the decades that followed, the Big Hole River Valley provided an Old West microcosm of the exploits of white men and women seeking wealth or a simpler life or something akin to biblical dominion trapping, mining, smelting, hard drinking, gambling, a notorious attack by the U.S. Army on a Native American tribe, homesteading and ranching. People have long attempted to hang a name on the ultimately unnamable: The Waters of the Pocket Gopher (Salish); The Land of Big Snows (Shoshone); Hot Springs Valley (William Clark); The Land of 10,000 Haystacks. Fur traders such as Alexander Ross and his men killed beavers aplenty after arriving in 1824, with more trapping to follow. The near extirpation of the beavers probably changed the Big Hole River significantly, according to the Big Hole River Foundation. The removal of beaver dams likely contributed to faster flows, increased erosion, incision and simplification of the stream channel, decreased retention of sediment, decreased riparian cover, decreased floodplain connectivity, lowered groundwater tables and summer base flow, and loss of habitat diversity, the foundation reports. Chasing dreams Miners chased dreams up the creeks and gulches of the Big Hole River drainage. Gold fever burned most fiercely but silver fired the imagination too. Men from around the nation and world shouldered mighty risks, back-breaking toil and harsh weather in pursuit of promising dust and ore. They panned and sluiced and dug. They used hydraulic hoses. Some, like William Allen, spent a fortune in the early 1900s in a quest to strike it rich. Among other endeavors, he paid to build a narrow-gauge railroad from Divide through Wise River and up to Coolidge, where he also built the states largest silver mill at the time, completed in 1922. Earlier, in the 1870s, the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company purchased claims at the headwaters of Canyon and Trapper creeks after the discovery of rich silver deposits. The company built the town of Glendale, about 10 miles below the mine, and constructed a smelter there. The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology reported that smelter activities stimulated the growth of a large communityAt its peak, Glendale boasted a population of over one thousand, a large skating rink, two doctors, one lawyer, two churches, 10 saloons, a brewery and a community spirit that pushed it into the race for capitalship of the state at one time. Other reports estimated Glendales peak population reached between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Miners who worked in the Big Hole River Valley from about 1900 included men from Austria, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales, along with an array of U.S. states. Ultimately, mining never became a dominant industry in the valley. Pat Munday, author of Montanas Last Best River: The Big Hole River and its People, observed, Fortunately for the beauty and integrity of the Big Hole environment, the watershed is not particularly rich in mineral resources. Nearby watersheds, such as the Clark Fork, Blackfoot, and Jefferson have suffered from extensive mining. Some miners who grew weary of the chase opted to settle down, a choice eased by the Homestead Act of 1862. In addition, the bustling mining town of Butte and the emerging smelting town of Anaconda along with the Anaconda Co. itself created demand for the kinds of goods the Big Hole Valley could deliver beef, timber, horses, mules and more. Battle of the Big Hole Separately, the reluctance of many Native Americans to embrace life on Indian reservations led to a bloody battle in August 1877 between roughly 800 Nez Perce attempting to escape that fate and pursuing U.S. Army troops and volunteers during what became known as the Battle of the Big Hole. The troops and volunteers struck first, firing indiscriminately into tipis and shooting fleeing women and children. But the Nez Perce warriors rallied and routed the soldiers led by Colonel John Gibbon. The surviving Nez Perce continued their flight. The Battle of the Big Hole generated immediate and widespread interest. Even more than the Nez Perce's long retreat over the Bitterroot Mountains into Montana, the hard-fought battle turned the Nez Perce's struggle into an epic, sensational event, reports the History of the Big Hole Valley Montana Pioneers of the Old West. Historian Merrill Beal observed that the fight, coming within fourteen months of the Custer Massacre, aroused the whole nation and attracted the attention of the world. A few of the white veterans of the battle objected years later to reports that they had slaughtered women and children. Survivor Barnett Wilkinson claimed they had taken up weapons to fight the soldiers. Chief Joseph countered, The Nez Perces never make war on women and children; we could have killed a great many woman and children while the war lasted, but we would feel ashamed to do so cowardly an act. Accounts vary about how many Nez Perce died that day. Josephs count was 50 women and children and 30 warriors. Others have said the Nez Perce suffered 89 killed, noting that most of the dead were women and children. The Nez Perce fled the battle and continued on the long quest to reach Canada. But on Sept. 30, 1877, U.S. cavalry troops, led by Col. Nelson Miles, attacked the fleeing tribe at what became known as the Battle of the Bear Paws. After more fighting, Chief Joseph is said to have observed, From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. The Nez Perce were forced then to endure reservation life and, according to at least one observer, sadness lingered like a pall in the Big Hole. There slumbers a valley in southwestern Montana so impregnated with silence that the spirit of the visitor seems to hear sorrowas if the sound waves of a once great misery enacted here moved on but left sad ghosts behind, observed a travel writer, describing the Big Hole battlefield (from History of the Big Hole Valley). Decades before, the Nez Perce had been hospitable to the Lewis and Clark expedition. After some initial apprehension, the Nez Perce embraced the expedition, providing aid during a very trying time and reminded friendly to Lewis and Clark when they returned in 1806, according to a National Park Service narrative. In the aftermath of the expedition's departure, the promises of a productive relationship with the United States government proved to ring hollow. In a generation, the flight of 1877 would tear asunder any notions of lasting peace and friendship. Lewis and Clark In August 1805, Lewis and Clark had decided not to ascend a stream Clark dubbed Wisdom River because of strong currents and beaver dams. They opted instead for what is now known as the Beaverhead River to continue a portion of their quest to reach the Pacific Ocean. On their return, Clark and Lewis split up at Travelers Rest near present-day Lolo, with plans to reunite at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Clark and companions traveled through the Big Hole Valley during the summer of 1806. Of the valley, he wrote, we assended a small rise and beheld an open boutifull Leavell valley or plain of about 20 miles wide and near 60 long extending N&S in every direction around which I could see the high points of Mountains Covered with Snow. Observers before and since have marveled at the sprawling beauty of the Big Hole Valley, whether buried in snow or greening up in spring. Clark discovered hot springs in the vicinity of what is now Jackson Hot Springs. Ever the citizen scientist, he supervised an experiment that involved cooking small pieces of meat in the hot water. More than a half century later, southwest Montana became a destination for homesteaders and ranchers. Homesteading meant stability and prosperity to miners tired of moving from one boomtown to the next, a new start for those who had failed to prosper on the plains, and an unfettered life of freedom for recent immigrants, Munday wrote in "Last Best River". Predictably, those who traveled to the Big Hole included a few eccentrics, men like George Pettingill, The Wild Man of Wise River. Pettingill was said to be about 6-feet-2 with matted dreadlocks that nearly reached his waist. Accounts suggest he traveled into the Wise River area by 1869, lived eight miles up Wise River at Sheep Creek in a dugout, startled people who encountered him, stalked game relentlessly until it surrendered and ate his bounty raw, reports History of the Big Hole Valley. A December 1894 article in the Cincinnati Enquirer described Pettingill as the most interesting and mysterious character of the state, if not the whole Northwest. Meanwhile, the Homestead Act, its successors and other government measures made ranching in the remote and wintry Big Hole more palatable. The flood Ranchers quickly recognized the absolute necessity of accumulating large amounts of hay to sustain cattle herds through the prolonged and often bitterly cold winters. Haystacks proliferated courtesy of beaverslide hay-stackers, a Big Hole invention credited to ranchers Herbert Armitage and David Stephens around 1908. Ranchers were among those who suffered property damage in June 1927 when a dam built by Montana Power at Pattengail Creek gave way above Wise River. Four people died. The floods victims included a husband and wife and their adopted son, as well as Charles Ferguson, said to be a rancher and trapper. The flood destroyed numerous structures in Wise River and then washed out bridges on the Big Hole as the raging waters barreled downstream. As the valley settled, the city of Butte teemed with toil and turmoil. For residents who had the opportunity to travel for a break from the industrial milieu, the Big Hole provided refuge and recreation. Butte was an island of mine activity surrounded by barren dirt, Munday wrote. Yet just over the Great Divide south of town flowed the Big Hole River. Perhaps because Butte was such a blighted landscape, wealthy and working class Buttians alike appreciated every chance to fish the Big Hole. Munday notes that the Big Hole received attention as a national destination in publications that included The Anglers Guide Book, published in 1886. Anglers in Butte could ride the Sunday fishing train from Butte to Divide to wet a line. One of the Big Holes most famous fly fishermen, fly tyers and conservationists was born in 1906. Later, George Grant, Tony Schoonen and others led the fight in the mid-1960s to defeat the Reichle Dam, proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation near the town of Glen. In 1972, local conservationists formed the River Rats Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Board members included Grant and Schoonen. In 1985, the dedicated efforts of conservationists helped produce the Montana Stream Access Law. History shows that the work of people who have loved the Big Hole River for the support it provides for agriculture, for its scenic beauty and for its world-class fishery, have preserved a treasure recognized for centuries. Munday quoted George Grant, A millionaire couldnt buy a piece of water as good as any reach on the Big Hole River. And we can fish it for nothing. With thanks to Tim Fay of Wise River and Dana and Alta Miller of Dewey for their guidance. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Editor's Note: This story is part of "River in Peril," a four-part series produced by reporters and photographers from The Montana Standard, and videographers from the Helena Independent Record. Read about River in Peril: The summer of 2021 posed grim challenges in the Big Hole Valley, and current dry conditions suggest 2022 could be similarly challenging. Many stakeholders agree that the river flowing through the valley is now in peril - facing threats from climate change, prolonged drought, irrigation withdrawals, pollution, heavy recreation use, development and more. Over the past several months, Montana Standard reporters and photographers have worked on this four-part series, which runs Sunday through Wednesday. Stories examine the past and present of the Big Hole River, the many factors impacting the quality and quantity of its waters, and how groups with competing interests are collaborating to save what many believe to be "Montana's Last Best River." The combination of crotchety natives, pesky mosquitoes and harsh, prolonged winters provides one formula for discouraging subdivisions. Thats according to a couple of irreverent respondents to a Beaverhead County Community Survey released in November 2020. But for those who care about the future of the Big Hole River and for the scenic valley through which it flows, the responsible management of development feels like a sacred obligation. Guy Alsentzer, executive director and founder of the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, likened the Big Holes vulnerability to that of the Golden Goose, the folk tale bird whose largesse was throttled by the sort of greed that could replace cows with condos. One constraint against subdivision development in the upper Big Hole Valley could be the survival of large-scale ranching by people whose familial roots run deep. Take the family ranches off the landscape and youre likely to end up with subdivisions, said Pedro Marques, executive director of the Big Hole River Watershed Committee. Pop over and look whats been going on in the Bitterroot, he said. Conservation easements also can play a key role in limiting subdivision growth. As can floodplain ordinances, which are meant to limit developments from siting septic systems in the floodplain. Rob Macioroski is the planning director/floodplain administrator for Beaverhead County. The Planning Board and I are closely watching the development along the Big Hole River, and are working on updating our current growth policy for Beaverhead County, including the areas from Wisdom to Glen, Macioroski said. Wade Fellin is a fifth generation Montanan with deep ties to the Big Hole Valley. He manages the Big Hole Lodge near Wise River with his father and is a fishing guide. Fellin said people who build close to the Big Hole River invariably destroy riparian vegetation in a quest to improve their view. And sometimes the structures themselves become victims of ice jam flooding. Both Fellin and Alsentzer said there should be a sense of urgency about protecting the remarkably intact ecosystem of the Big Hole. Conservation easements play a role Macioroski said conservation easements submitted in recent years to the Planning Board for review will help limit development in the Big Hole Valley and facilitate the continuation of ranching and farming on those properties. One conservation easement in particular eliminated multiple subdivision lots along the Big Hole River in Beaverhead County just north of the town of Melrose, Macioroski said. Subdivisions can pose a host of threats to rivers and traditional activities along them. Their residents can consume precious groundwater and add nutrients and other pollution through septic systems. The developments compact soils, and stormwater runoff can wash petroleum products and lawn fertilizers into nearby streams. They can block wildlife corridors. They can be an aesthetic blight on the landscape. The Nature Conservancy, the Western Rivers Conservancy, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and The Montana Land Reliance are among the nonprofits that have helped secure conservation easements in the Big Hole Valley. When The Nature Conservancy completed the 2,013-acre conservation easement on the Steel Creek Ranch, it described the significance. The land sustains a great diversity of wildlife, from such iconic animals as wolves, moose and elk, to Greater Sage-grouse and pygmy rabbits, the organization observed. Conservation of the ranch also protects a last, narrow migration route less than a half-mile wide for pronghorn that must move between summer and winter ranges. Encroaching development in the area had threatened to pinch off this vital lifeline. The Montana Land Reliance holds 17 conservation easements in the Big Hole area more than 15,000 acres of land and more than 50 miles of stream frontage. A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a qualified organization, such as a land trust. A conservation easement restricts certain land uses, such as residential development, to protect conservation values. Last summer, the Western Rivers Conservancy purchased the 200-acre Eagle Rock Ranch on the Wise River. The organization described plans to convey the property to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. Meanwhile, Alsentzer said oil and gas leasing in the Big Hole watershed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has the potential to cause significant environmental damage. The interactive map above displays the size and location of Montana Land Reliance conservation easements in the Big Hole area and the date the agreements with land owners went into place. More of the organization's easements can be found online at mtlandreliance.maps.arcgis.com Oil and gas leasing The Upper Missouri Waterkeeper non-profit is among those believing that threats to the river include the prospect of oil and gas development. Our clean water, world-class fisheries and public lands, not to mention the livelihoods of hundreds of Beaverhead County residents, have been unnecessarily threatened by wildly speculative oil and gas development proposals for too long, said Fellin, program director for the non-profit and also a fishing guide and co-owner of the Big Hole Lodge. On Nov. 12, the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper announced it had submitted a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that called on the BLM to revise a Dillon Resource Management Plan to carve out Montanas last, best places and withdraw them permanently from the federal oil and gas leasing program. Kathy Hadley, a past-president of the National Wildlife Federation and a board member of the Montana Wildlife Federation, has expressed similar concerns and called for action from the U.S. Department of the Interior. There is broad support from local stakeholders for the Interior Department to protect these landscapes through the land use planning process, Hadley said. So it's time for Interior to roll up its sleeves, get to work and develop a new management approach for public lands in the Big Hole region so they can never be threatened by oil and gas development again. Rob Thomas, a professor of geology and environmental sciences at University of Montana Western, does not believe oil and gas development in the Big Hole region poses an undue threat. The potential for oil and gas in our area is very low because of the geology, Thomas said. The rubber meets the road where exploration has been done in the past and showed absolutely no economic oil in the region. Major petroleum company surveys and test wells found a lot of brine or salty water, he said. They never drilled a well and produced a thimble of oil. There is no oil and gas. Momentum building Grass roots momentum for protecting the Big Hole Valley and its 151 miles of undammed river has been building for decades. In 1988, noted conservationist, fly tier and angler George Grant founded the Big Hole River Foundation. The foundation describes itself as a nonprofit science-based conservation organization dedicated to defending and conserving the natural and cultural resources of the Big Hole Valley. The foundation says its efforts have helped restrain streambank development and have provided abundant opportunities for recreationists to have river access. Meanwhile, the Big Hole River Watershed Committee formed in 1995 to help protect agricultural interests by developing plans to conserve the fluvial Arctic grayling rather than have it be listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species. Listing could have had far-reaching consequences for irrigators whose summer hay crops get their cattle through the long winters. In years past, many outfitters and guides sparred with ranchers who pulled water from the Big Hole. Pat Mundays book about the Big Hole refers to the blue-ribbon fishery as Montanas Last Best River. Few who have experienced the Big Hole would argue with that characterization. Supporting agriculture Retaining agriculture and the open space it provides will be a key part of any strategy to protect the Big Hole from the sort of change bedeviling other regions in Montana. Marques said the smaller ranches can be most vulnerable to the slings and arrows of agriculture. Drought can limit hay production and drive smaller producers into debt they cannot absorb, he said. Brian Wheeler, executive director of the Big Hole River Foundation, shared similar thoughts. In addition to all the varied conservation efforts being undertaken by NGOs (nonprofits independent of government), landowners and agencies, the economic viability of these smaller multi-generational family ranches is as important to preserving open space and wildlife corridors as it is to supporting families, Wheeler said. Marques said some who visit the Big Hole and its environs see it as a recreational playground and want it preserved instead of managed. When a ranch does change hands and the newcomer has no ties to the Big Hole Valley, its important to reach out to them as soon as possible, Marques said, to politely school them about the valleys land ethic. Were not against new owners and new people coming into the valley, but they typically dont feel the same deep connection to the land as longtime residents, he said. JM Peck and his family run the Trapper Creek Ranch near Melrose. Peck has adopted innovative ranching practices in an effort to run the cow-and-calf operation in harmony with the river. Farmers and ranchers are very proud of their heritage and legacy on the land, said Peck, who serves on the board of the Big Hole River Foundation. We are also proud of the wholesome, healthy, sustainable food we raise. We are blessed to get to live in the Big Hole Valley, he said. Peck said people travel from all around the world to savor the region and all it offers. Development in the valley threatens what many of us have worked so hard to preserve and the beauty that so many flock to enjoy, he said. Ranchers care deeply about the land and are always working to preserve and improve it and further development will threaten that. Peck said the river corridor faces a host of challenges, including drought, climate change and concerns about water quality. Environmental impacts from development will also continue to negatively impact wildlife, fisheries and recreational opportunities along the river, he said. I want to work with my neighbors to not only preserve our agricultural legacy but all the other components that make this such a wonderful place as many say, the last best place. A tipping point Further development along the river corridor could push us past a tipping point on resource allocation, Peck said. In the cattle industry we are pushing for more research to better understand how cattle interact with the environment and how we can use them to improve it. Rancher Dean Peterson serves on the Big Hole Watershed Committee. The Peterson Bros. Ranch Co. is a family-run cow-and-calf operation near Jackson and Wisdom. He said population growth can bring many challenges. The hardest thing for small communities like the Big Hole when it starts to see development is often for the people who do emergency responses, he said. That would be the fire department, ambulance and some of the things that the county provides, like snow removal or road grading. Often people come from somewhere where they are used to the county or city doing a lot more for them than is done in these small communities. Peterson said the U.S. Forest Service often seems to have the money to pay for maintenance whereas the countys tax base cant support greater services, including emergency services. The ambulance and fire departments are almost always volunteer and all those volunteers have other jobs. With more people in a community the more those emergency response people are needed and theres not always enough of the emergency response people to get the job done, he said. In October, in the wake of a vigorous wildfire season, the Wise River Volunteer Ambulance Service held a meeting that focused on the ominous possibility that the service would cease if it could not recruit more EMTs or people willing to participate in EMT training. Peterson said community growth can create a demand for service jobs but also stimulate rent increases that make housing unaffordable. Much of the Big Hole Valley is not an easy commute, especially in winter. Peterson said change is inevitable. The one thing that keeps places like the Big Hole from development is 11 months of winter and one month of mosquitoes," he said. "Usually in the end it all works out. It is not always comfortable for everybody involved. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Editor's Note: This story is part of "River in Peril," a four-part series produced by reporters and photographers from The Montana Standard, and videographers from the Helena Independent Record. Read about River in Peril: The summer of 2021 posed grim challenges in the Big Hole Valley, and current dry conditions suggest 2022 could be similarly challenging. Many stakeholders agree that the river flowing through the valley is now in peril - facing threats from climate change, prolonged drought, irrigation withdrawals, pollution, heavy recreation use, development and more. Over the past several months, Montana Standard reporters and photographers have worked on this four-part series, which runs Sunday through Wednesday. Stories examine the past and present of the Big Hole River, the many factors impacting the quality and quantity of its waters, and how groups with competing interests are collaborating to save what many believe to be "Montana's Last Best River." The Big Hole River stopped being pristine soon after white men arrived and commenced trapping beaver, mining for gold and silver, felling timber, cutting roads, smelting copper, growing hay and raising both cattle and Cain. Yet the Big Hole largely escaped the fate of the Clark Fork River, which was polluted by mining and smelting tied to boom times on the Richest Hill on Earth. The Big Hole remains clean and cold enough to support a blue-ribbon trout fishery with an international reputation. Superlatives swarm around the free-flowing Big Hole River like a blizzard hatch of caddis flies. Some say it is the states Last Best River, which is saying a lot in Montana. Yet, like many of Montanas famous trout streams, the Big Hole faces threats to water quality. As the climate changes, as snowpacks dwindle, as people seek to build trophy homes on sacrosanct sites, as heavy metals seep and nutrients wash and oil and gas companies consider exploration it certainly seems that collaboration is as necessary to the health of the Big Hole River as deep and lingering snows. Brian Wheeler, executive director of the Big Hole River Foundation and a former fishing guide, said the state hasnt always taken a keen interest in the health of its rivers. I think Montana, in general, has taken for granted its cold-water fisheries, Wheeler said. The high-elevation Big Hole Valley is famous too for its hay, beaverslides, brutal winters, mosquitoes and sprawling cattle ranches that contribute to a bucolic landscape back-dropped by rugged mountains. Traditional agriculture provides one hedge against ranchette subdivisions and can preserve wildlife migration corridors. But it also routinely takes water from the river for irrigation and adds nutrients. Cattle can damage streamside vegetation as they seek or hang out in water, causing erosion and removing shade for the river. Ankle-deep heaps of manure the diameter of manhole covers contribute nitrogen and phosphorous to the river and its tributaries. Today, varied interests with varied stakes dont always agree about whats best for the Big Hole River. But there does seem to be consensus about the wisdom of keeping the river running clear, clean and free. Algal blooms Among the primary pollutants are sediment, heavy metals and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Water temperature can also be considered an impairment as it rises. The nutrient loading is mostly from agriculture and aging septic systems. The metals flow in from tributaries, draining lands contaminated by the Washoe Smelter at Anaconda, the former Coolidge mining town in the Pioneer Mountains and other sites of historic mining. Runoff from both manure and commercial fertilizers can add nutrients to rivers and streams. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus can cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, according to the EPA. Significant increases in algae harm water quality, food resources and habitats and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive, the EPA says. Algal blooms occur in the Big Hole and other Montana rivers. Montana received accolades in 2014 when the state adopted science-based, quantifiable numeric nutrient water quality criteria for nitrogen and phosphorous. Numeric standards identify the maximum allowable concentration of a pollutant and also track duration of exposure. State government support for that approach ended during the spring of 2021. On April 30, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 358 into law. It repealed the numeric water quality standards. Narrative vs. numeric According to the EPA, numeric nutrient criteria are a critical tool for protecting and restoring a water bodys designated uses related to nitrogen and phosphorous pollution. The designated uses of a water body articulate goals for the water, such as supporting aquatic life and human activities, including recreation and use as a public water supply. State Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, carried SB 358. It was supported by mining and by oil and gas interests, as well as municipal government associations. Advocates for dropping the numeric standards said that compliance to meet the quantitative standards was too expensive for discharge sources such as water treatment plants. Foes of narrative standards say they are subjective and ambiguous and will not protect Montana streams as well as science-based numeric standards. Narrative standards are statements instead of specific quantities that describe the desired conditions of a waterbody. That bill was roundly opposed by most voters, Wheeler said. When they remove the numeric thresholds and go instead to narrative definitions we are reactive instead of proactive. The Upper Missouri Waterkeeper non-profit has expressed similar objections to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality relying on narrative standards: By removing the numeric goal posts for nutrient pollution and ignoring scientific standards that tell us when a waterbody has reached its tipping point, DEQ will be reactive and wait until there is a visible issue before ratcheting down on nutrient pollution discharges. Moira Davin, a spokeswoman for DEQ, said that prior to 2014 narrative nutrient standards were used statewide to assess water bodies and protect them from the effects of elevated levels of nutrients such as the growth of nuisance algae. Narrative standards are protective of beneficial uses such as swimming, boating or fishing, Davin said. There is some question, at this writing, about whether EPA will approve the DEQs switch to a narrative approach and whether it would be sufficient to meet the federal Clean Water Act. Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and Guy Alsentzer, its founder and executive director, have sued the EPA for failing to either approve or reject revisions to the state's water quality standards. "Montana's unlawful passage of polluter-driven Senate Bill 358 is the exact reason why EPA holds authority as the ultimate backstop under the federal law to protect clean water," Alsentzer said last month. Testing the waters Meanwhile, in 2018, the Big Hole River Foundation recognized a need for regular water quality testing on the river. The foundation raised money to redirect the focus to scientific data collection and to build a new strategic plan, Wheeler said. No one was consistently monitoring water quality. DEQ approved the foundations Sampling and Analysis Plan in April 2020. Currently, no state agency is regularly collecting water quality data on the Big Hole. Its unfortunate that a lot of the state obligations to monitor water quality have fallen to small groups and volunteers, Wheeler said. The Big Hole River Foundations water quality sampling was in its second year of state-approved data gathering in 2021. Wheeler or volunteer Jeff Raddon traveled upriver from a sampling site near Twin Bridges and then along Montana 43 to visit nine other sampling sites on the way to Skinner Meadows near the headwaters. They traveled upstream to avoid sampling the same water twice. There is a lot of windshield time collecting samples, Wheeler said. Sampling starts in April. It ended in 2021 in October. Sampling occurs more often during spring runoff when the majority of nutrients and sediment enter the river. Later, analysis of the samples by a contracted laboratory examines a host of parameters, including: total nitrogen, total phosphorous, total suspended solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductivity, total dissolved solids and temperature. Big Hole River Foundation water monitoring site map: Hooking mortality Temperature is a critical parameter during summer droughts. According to Montana Trout Unlimited, When water temperatures rise into the high 60s, trout begin to experience stress and hooking mortality rates increase. If temperatures remain above 70 (degrees Fahrenheit) for an extended period of time, trout begin to die, especially if they are caught and released. Separately, sampling twice a year also examines the relative health of macro-invertebrates aquatic insects such as caddis flies, stoneflies and mayflies. These are among the insects trout love to eat and fly fisherman try to imitate with hackle, thread, bobbins, barbless hooks and the like. The Big Hole is especially famous for the vigor and abundance of its annual stonefly hatch. In August, Wheeler said it was too soon to draw conclusions about sampling results. If a specific problem is detected and sustained across three years of testing then it can be considered an impairment, he said. That said, Wheeler said sampling to date has found nutrients entering the upper Big Hole that are likely tied to agriculture. Dean Peterson is a fourth generation rancher in the upper Big Hole. His father, the late Harold Dean Peterson, was a founding member in 1995 of the Big Hole Watershed Committee, or BHWC. The non-profit committee came together after the intersection of two key developments: drought in 1994 and the potential listing under the federal Endangered Species Act of the population of the river-dwelling Arctic grayling in the Big Hole. Notes: Sampling stations in the Big Hole are operated by the USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center and various government agencies. Organizations such as the Big Hole River Foundation have become increasingly involved in water quality monitoring over the years as sampling efforts by state agencies have slowly dwindled due to lack of resources, among other reasons. Grayling as catalyst The fluvial Arctic grayling of the Big Hole represents the last strictly river-dwelling native grayling population in the continental United States. After the population severely declined during the mid-1980s, the Arctic Grayling Recovery Program was initiated to determine ecological factors limiting the population, monitor their abundance and inform the general public of their plight, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Agriculture was viewed as a chief contributor to that plight. Ranchers who helped form the BHWC knew that a federal endangered species listing of the Arctic grayling could have far-reaching implications and restrictions affecting irrigation and other agricultural practices along the river. The watershed committees early meetings featured occasional confrontations between recreationists and ranchers. Peterson serves now on the BHWC. The Peterson Bros. Ranch Co., a family-run cow-and-calf operation, includes about 6,000 acres that are owned or leased and additional acreage leased from the U.S. Forest Service. Peterson said the ranch uses granular fertilizer in the fall on hayfields. He said he suspects cow manure is more of a contributor to nutrient pollution than fertilizer. Peterson said BHWC and FWP have worked together to get cattle away from the river where possible. Long periods of drought in years past have put ranchers and recreationists at odds, he said. Youve got to find a way to get along. You get nowhere by fighting and squabbling over little things or big things, Peterson said. I think the watershed committee has done a very good job of bringing everyone to the table to talk about the issues and look for solutions. The outfitters are making a living off the same water I need to grow grass with, he said. I think its important to keep the ranchers on the landscape because if you dont you end up subdividing it, Peterson said. Its important that were here and that we stay here and to do that we have to make a living. He said many irrigators and recreationists made sacrifices during the hot, dry summer of 2021. Meanwhile, the dedicated interagency and producer efforts have brought Big Hole grayling back from the brink. Historic mining The BHWC and partners have tackled a host of projects designed to improve water quality in the Big Hole and its watershed. One has focused on streambank restoration on the upper Big Hole near Jackson to reduce erosion and sediment caused by historic grazing, roads and bridges and to plant mature willows to hold the soil. A similar project has been proposed for severely eroded streambanks on private land near Glen along the lower Big Hole. In both locations the lack of riparian vegetation and its shade causes increases in water temperature. Another endeavor addressed impacts of historic placer mining in the French Gulch Drainage. That project removed mine tailings, created new wetlands, built a new stream channel with natural meanders and much more. A project in development intends to address ongoing pollution of Elkhorn Creek by heavy metals from historic mining at the Elkhorn Mining District at Coolidge. Elkhorn Creek flows into Wise River, a tributary of the Big Hole. Meanwhile, downstream at Melrose, JM Peck manages the Trapper Creek Ranch, a cow-and-calf operation that has been in his family for three generations. Peck said he works to continue the legacy of his father and grandfather as stewards of the land and river. My grandfather was the first guy to fence cattle off the river on our ranch, Peck said. He did things like that, when his neighbors probably thought it was a waste of time and money. We have to change and adapt The Trapper Creek Ranch has nearly two miles of frontage on the Big Hole. Not all of it is fenced off but the ranch continues to work in that direction, Peck said. He said the ranch and partners, including the Big Hole Watershed Committee and the Nature Conservancy, have planted willows to help sustain riparian areas. He said Trapper Creek Ranch tries to irrigate as efficiently as possible and applies fertilizer using a GPS system and other technology as a guide. Fertilizer is expensive, he said. The ranch would waste money if it ran into the river. In addition, the ranch hopes to use a drone to help monitor grazing. This is something new and is still in development, Peck said. Were really just grass farmers and cattle are the best way to convert grasses into a commodity, he said. He is one of two ranchers on the board of directors for the Big Hole River Foundation. Peck and his father and a full-time ranch hand work the ranch, which has about 7,000 deeded acres and additional lands leased from the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management. The ranch uses technology too to control pivot irrigation on the ranch. Peck said it just makes sense to incorporate technology to operate more efficiently, an approach that benefits both the ranch and its ecosystem. Just because weve done it one way for 100 years doesnt mean its the best approach moving forward, he said. I think if were going to be here another 100 years we have to change and adapt. The evidence of time passing is close at hand. Ruins of the once bustling ghost town of Glendale stand in the foothills above Trapper Creek Ranch. Peck said the Big Hole is the regions lifeblood. He said he does not believe outfitters and ranchers are at loggerheads. Were neighbors, and we want our friends and neighbors to be successful, he said. Ranchers help preserve open space, he said. Part of what makes the Big Hole so great is the open space, Peck said. Not pointing fingers In Montanas Last Best River, published in 2001, Pat Munday referenced George Grant, the angler, conservationist, celebrated fly tier and founder of the Big Hole River Foundation: When George Grant was born more than 90 years ago, few could have imagined that the Big Hole would become a place needing protection. Wheeler said the Big Hole River Foundation plans to continue water sampling and inspecting macro-invertebrates for years to come. The foundation has said the sampling will provide data that will be the cornerstone on which any meaningful future work will stand. We are not pointing fingers, Wheeler said. We are looking for solutions. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated and refuted by witnesses throughout 52 days of war. The toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old sons body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. Were not ruling out further strikes on the capital, Klitschko said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where its safer, do it. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armored vehicle plant was targeted. He didnt specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. As the U.S. and Europe send new arms to Ukraine, the strategy could be aimed at hobbling Ukraines defenses ahead of whats expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. It was the second strike in the Kyiv area since the Russian military vowed this week to step up missile strikes on the capital. Another hit a missile plant Friday. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian presidents office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the wars violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In apparent preparations for its assault on the east, the Russian military has intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in recent days. Friday's attack killed civilians and wounded more than 50 people, the Ukrainian presidents office reported. On Saturday an explosion believed to be caused by a missile sent emergency workers scrambling near an outdoor market in Kharkiv, according to AP journalists at the scene. One person was killed, and at least 18 people were wounded, according to rescue workers. All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too," recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Saturday's toll was three dead and 34 wounded. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Jose Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow the first European leader to do so since the invasion began Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Nehammer said he confronted Putin with what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and it was not a friendly conversation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of the port city of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraines eastern industrial heartland. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraines prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. Russian Maj. Gen. Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried Saturday in St. Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov. Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. In the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war in an Easter vigil homily at St. Peters Basilica that was attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three members of Ukraine's parliament. Francis did not refer directly to Russias invasion but has called, apparently in vain, for an Easter truce to reach a negotiated peace. Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Robert Burns in Washington and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Criminal syndicates run their own sophisticated schools to train thieves to steal copper cables and metal in South Africa. That is according to Rens Bindeman, a technical advisor from the South African Revenue Protection Association (Sarpa), who recently spoke to SAfm about potential ways to clamp down on these crimes. Copper and metal theft have been rife in South Africa in recent years, costing Eskom, municipalities, and transport agencies Transnet and Prasa billions of rand. Transnets Freight Rail Agencys regularly-published cable theft statistics paint a bleak picture of the situation on the ground. Around 39km of copper cable was stolen from its railway network in 86 incidents last week, most of which was stripped from its container corridor. Bindeman explained that members of the cable theft syndicates behind incidents such as these have previously been caught taking notes in court cases where suspects were being prosecuted. These notes are typically taken back to sophisticated training schools where the modus operandi of the theft is adjusted to avoid new thieves from being caught and trialled like previous suspects. Bindeman said intelligence-driven police investigations into the syndicates masterminding the attacks would be vital in solving the problem. He was opposed to an outright ban on the sale of scrap metal to clamp down on cable theft but called for the existing legislation on the sale of secondhand goods to be better applied and gaps in current systems to be ironed out. One of these gaps is at the point of export, where illegal copper gets shipped overseas. Bindeman said it was difficult for port authorities to open containers to inspect if they contained their labelled contents. You have to take two days to try and get that stuff out. Most of these containers are just going straight through [customs] because they cant see what it is, he explained. He added that only one port in the country had a working scanner that could detect what was in a closed container. Transnet Engineerings executive manager for security and forensics, Neil Naidoo, also told SAfm about how far metal and cable thieves would go to claim their loot. The guys are even so brave that while the train is in motion to sabotage it, Naidoo said. They go under the train, and they cut the engine cables of the locomotive to prevent it from moving. Naido explained that direct losses due to cable theft amounted to between R250 to R350 million per year, while the repair costs of locomotives were around ten times more. In addition, consequential losses of shipments not being able to reach their destinations on time due to the cable vandalism and train breakdowns have cost Transnet around R7 billion. Lehanne Sergison nearly trapped her aunts alleged rapist and killer in a reverse romance scam after flirting with the man on Facebook. Also known as a honey trap, Sunday Times reported that Sergison said she was beyond caring for her safety when she contacted him. She wasnt afraid of him as she was in London and he was in Johannesburg, but Sergison also said she never really thought of the consequences. Sergisons aunt, Christine Robinson, was raped and murdered on a game farm she managed allegedly by one of her employees. Robinson, a British national and retired school teacher had moved to South Africa with her partner Robbie in 2002, the Daily Mail reported. They married in 2005. Together they managed the Rra-Ditau game lodge on the borders of the Marakele national park, roughly 14km from Thabazimbi, Netwerk24 reported. Doctors diagnosed Robbie with terminal cancer in 2012. After briefly returning to the UK, he succumbed. According to Sergison, Robinson didnt want to continue running the lodge without Robbie and considered selling it. However, on 30 July 2014, she was found murdered in her bedroom. The knife used to cut her throat was still stuck in her neck. The only suspect, Zimbabwean national Andrea Imbayarwo (aliases Andrew Ndlovu, Andrea Druza), skipped the country the following day. Sergison made contact with Imbayarwo in 2018, masquerading as a flirty 20-something air hostess. When I saw that he was advertising on dating sites, I was incensed by the lack of action, Sergison told the Sunday Times. According to the report, South Africa tried and failed three times to get an extradition order for Imbayarwo. Police all but abandoned the case after the lead investigator retired. Sergison also said that she had tried and failed to get the British foreign office to take an interest in the case. After contacting Imbayarwo on Facebook, she reached out to the South African police and local civil and firearm rights activist Ian Cameron. Cameron is the community safety director at Action Society. The plan was to arrest Imbayarwo during a fake date Sergison made with him, but the sting operation using a woman to pose as her wasnt approved in time. Imbayarwo broke off contact when Sergisons alter ego, Missy Falcao, didnt show. However, on the anniversary of her aunts death in 2020, Sergison published a photo of Imbayarwo that he posted on his birthday. Cameron also shared the photograph widely. Imbayarwos employer saw the post and contacted Cameron and the police six hours later. Police arrested him in Johannesburg that night, the report stated. According to Netwerk24, Cameron worked with retried investigating officer colonel Gawie Louwrens to follow up on the lead. Sergison commended the police team initially running the case, saying that the docket was perfectly compiled. Imbayarwo went on trial this week, where he pleaded not guilty to murder, rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and violating the Immigration Act. His defence argued it was pure coincidence that his DNA was found on Robinsons body, Netwerk24 reported. He also testified that the sex was consensual and that he and Robinson regularly slept together. However, Imbayarwos former coworker Hopewell Komo testified he had overheard him telling his girlfriend on the phone, I killed a white woman. Imbayarwo denied the allegation. Komo said he was driving Imbayarwo to Musina, ostensibly to visit his ailing mother in Zimbabwe. He said Imbayarwo began acting strangely and started shaking after the phone calls. Komo testified that Imbayarwo then pulled a knife on him, held it against his stomach, and demanded that he stop the bakkie in Louis Trichardt. He reported the incident to Louis Trichardt police, who he helped look for Imbayarwo, but they couldnt find him. Judge Marisa Naude-Odendaal dismissed the robbery with aggravating circumstances charge and said she would deliver judgement on the remaining charges on Tuesday, 19 April 2022. Now read: These scams are most successful at tricking South Africans out of their money Greetings, dear readers, welcome. Isnt it fun when you can trade favors with someone? Helping one another is so stimulating 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. Im thrilled to be a relatively new member of Mollys Angels board of directors. One of the highlights is meeting and getting to know the other members, who have been on the board, for the most part, for more than two or three years. I not only have much to learn, but am very pleased to be serving with these folks. It was fun to learn that one of the members, Justin Gomez, is a friend of one of my grandsons, Brian Dodd, each involved with Leadership Napa Valley. Im enjoying getting to know Justin. Brian had said that I would. The favors that Justin and yours truly are trading are in regard to the fact that I was eager to write about him and his LNV practicum groups important theme: food insecurity issues in our valley. When he asked me if I would be interested, I was delighted. Justin later invited me to join him and another member of the practicum group, Marlen De La Cruz, for coffee and an enjoyable discussion of their theme. Justin, would you please share with us how you and the group happened to select this theme of food insecurity? Justin: Thank you Betty. Our group met several times early in the Leadership Napa Valley Class 34 program. Each meeting we would discuss issues in the community that were important to us, and we kept coming back to the theme of food insecurity. "Marlen, working at La Morenita Market, brought a new perspective to the group and an awareness of the food that is currently in our community. We spent a lot of time researching the issue. Food insecurity (as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture) is a lack of consistent access to enough food, including reduced access to quality, variety and nutritionally adequate food for an active, healthy life. Having sustained access to enough food is tied to positive social, physical, and mental health outcomes. In a town that is so often associated with abundance, the fact that more than 30 percent of local adults ages 65 and over are considered food insecure (according to Live Healthy Napa Valley) shocks and saddens me. Many of these same individuals are more likely to live alone, have high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, asthma, gum disease and depression. Food insecure seniors also report being in poor physical or mental health (Feeding American Study on Health Consequences of Senior Hunger). Just in Napa County, 19 percent of children are food insecure, with six percent of seniors in Napa living below federal poverty levels (according to Feeding It Forward). Your elderly neighbor may be facing the difficult choice of being forced to pay rent, fill a pharmacy prescription or buy food. Poverty and/or the inability to shop or cook is a contributing factor as well as lack of transportation. There is help available. But if California produces nearly half of the nations fruits and vegetables, why do one in seven residents currently struggle with food insecurity? Its not because theres a shortage of food. Studies show that America produces twice as much food as we need in order to feed everyone in our country. So whats the problem? Napa Valleys Feeding it Forward reported that in 2019, an astonishing 35 percent of all food in the U.S. went unsold or uneaten. That is equal to billions of dollars of wasted food, in addition to water, landfill space and energy. The good news is there is a local food rescue movement that is working to rescue good donated food across the valley and quickly channel it to folks who are in need. The way it works (following all designated guidelines and protocol) - large events, restaurants and hotels (donors) often have large quantities of prepared food that will be thrown out each day, despite being perfectly good to eat. Volunteers register to pick-up the food and transport it to a designated food recipient (non-profit, church, school, etc.). One of the area non-profits that is actively involved in food rescue is Feeding it Forward. For more information on how you can sign up to donate, volunteer or receive food, visit fifnv.org. Thank you, Justin. Wonderful information, that there is food available and people to contact for help. Were a little long this week, but felt you would enjoy the information. Stay well and happy and well see you next week. Contact us if you have any questions and we will try to answer them. Email Betty at bettyrrhodes94@gmail.com. The city of Napa has found it difficult to fill vacant positions throughout the past year, even though the Napa City Council prioritized filling those positions in the 2021-2022 budgeting process. The city is finally seeing some steady progress as it heads into the 2022-2023 budgeting process, according to a quarterly recruitment update that will be presented to the Napa City Council on Tuesday. In April last year, city staff identified 85 vacancies. After passing the budget in June 2021, the city saw a rise in vacancies despite hiring efforts, and staff identified 92 vacancies in September 2021. By January this year, after more hiring efforts, the citys situation had improved to 76 vacancies. And, according to the Tuesday recruitment update, the city now has 57 vacancies. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The city deliberately maintained a staffing hole of roughly 60 positions in the budgeting process in 2020, in response to pandemic-induced economic impacts. The plan to hire those positions back last year, bolstered by federal funds, didnt immediately take off, and Human Resources Director Heather Ruiz has previously attributed that to national hiring difficulties and the loss of city staff to retirements and other jobs. But employee turnover has dropped to only three departures from March to January this year, compared to 12 from July to September last year and eight from October to December last year. In total, 37 employees left the city last year. That is about half of the 68 departures the city saw in 2020, and comparable to the 40 departures in 2019. In other news, a Napa Police Department Military Equipment Use Policy is headed to the City Council for approval on Tuesday. The policy is the result of a new California law, Assembly Bill 481, which mandates law enforcement agencies obtain the approval of their governing bodies at a public meeting before taking actions related to the acquisition, funding or use of military equipment acquired before Jan. 1. That means governing bodies, such as the Napa City Council, can choose to approve or reject requests for the use of, or requests for, any military equipment. The policy covers collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in deploying military equipment in the jurisdiction of the department, seeking funds for the equipment, acquiring the equipment either permanently or temporarily, and other categories, as well as any military equipment not covered by the previous points. The law also requires law enforcement agencies to disclose each type of military equipment approved for use each year, and for them to post an inventory of currently owned military equipment. The Napa Police Departments current list of military equipment, published as an item on the citys council agenda, consists of 14 items, including a Lenco Bearcat G2 armored vehicle, a remote-controlled tactical robot, armor piercing projectiles, firearm suppressors, three launchers, flashbang grenades, an infrared laser, 21 AR-15 style rifles and 25 9mm submachine guns, a ballistic breaching shotgun and breaching rounds to fire through hardened barriers, chemical agents and smoke canisters, and more. While the U.S. military may use some of the same equipment, the Napa Police Department deems all of these items as valuable pieces of law enforcement equipment that would be used to help respond to criminal activity, defuse critical incidents, lessen the use of force, or aid in the safety of our community and employees, says a police department statement at the top of the report. The proposed 4-page policy contains a list of definitions for whats considered military equipment. The policy also contains a best practice section that notes the chief of police should designate a department member to act as a military equipment coordinator, who would essentially carry out the requirements of the law. The council will also on Tuesday be holding a public hearing workshop on the upcoming 2022-2023 budget; the council is being asked to provide input on potential amendments to the budget proposal. You can reach Edward Booth at 707-256-2213. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Jon Crawford, the former Napa County undersheriff who is running against Sheriff Oscar Ortiz in this years election, received a $500,000 settlement from the county after his departure from the sheriffs office last year an exit Crawford said was forced on him because of his pursuit of the countys top law-enforcement job. Crawford on Wednesday confirmed receiving the payout approved last year by the Napa County Board of Supervisors a deal he said arose from the appeal of his termination as second-in-command at the sheriffs office in June 2021. 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. In an interview with the Napa Valley Register, Crawford gave his most detailed account of his departure from the sheriffs office, which he had earlier described as a termination for purely political reasons. The sole cause of his exit, he said, was choosing to run for sheriff against Oscar Ortiz, whom former Sheriff John Robertson endorsed as his successor before retiring last June. Ortiz won the approval of Napa County supervisors and is running for a full four-year term on the June 7 primary ballot. I really have done nothing wrong in this whole thing, said Crawford. Thats why I said it was all political. I didnt disparage anyone or interfere with the operation of the sheriffs office. County spokesperson Leah Greenbaum confirmed the size of the payment to Crawford and its approval by supervisors. She described the settlement as resulting from a personnel dispute that did not result in finding fault with Crawford or the sheriffs office, but declined to share further details on Crawfords exit after 22 years with the department. Because the matter is of a personnel nature, the County cannot disclose the settlement agreement unless Mr. Crawford signs a release, Greenbaum said in an April 8 email, citing an exception to California public records law for personnel, medical or similar files. Memorandum To: John Crawford, Undersheriff From: John Robertson, Sheriff Date: June 5, 2021 Re: Notice of Termination I am hereby releasing you from your at-will position as Undersheriff from the Napa County Sheriff's Department, effective immediately. Please turn in your badge, access keys, County vehicle, and all other County issued equipment. This decision was difficult, but necessary in order to preserve the smooth and efficient operations of the Sheriff's Department. If you wish to appeal this decision, you may do so pursuant to Section 37E of the County Policy Manual, which sets forth the grievance procedures for managers. I wish you the best in your future endeavors. Sincerely, John Robertson, Sheriff A letter from Robertson to Crawford dated June 5, 2021, obtained by the Register, is titled Re: Notice of Termination and informs Crawford he may appeal the decision according to the countys grievance procedures for managers. I am hereby releasing you from your at-will position as Undersheriff from the Napa County Sheriffs Department, effective immediately, the letter reads. Please turn in your badge, access keys, County vehicle, and all other County issued equipment. This decision was difficult, but necessary to preserve the smooth and efficient operations of the Sheriffs Department. Crawford, who had served as Napa County undersheriff for three years, left the agency less than three weeks after announcing his candidacy for sheriff on May 14. His campaign launched as then-Sheriff John Robertson was preparing for his retirement, which took effect June 26. Word of his removal came by way of an evening phone call from Robertson on or about June 2, 2021, Crawford said, adding that the decision came from Robertson and not anyone else in county administration. He called me at home and said my campaign was causing pain and discomfort to people around the county, he said. What he said was that hed put me on administrative leave for three days, and I could clean out my office if I wanted. I said OK. What else do you say to that? When youre told your campaign is the reason for your dismissal, that means its political. I was an at-will employee; if my performance was not up to snuff, he could easily have transferred me to another assignment or let go of me. None of that happened until I ran for sheriff and started campaigning. Reached by the Register on Thursday afternoon, Robertson denied pressuring Crawford to quit the department due to his electoral aspirations. When Robertson initially told Crawford of his decision to recommend Ortiz a 26-year sheriffs office veteran who was then the American Canyon police chief to succeed him, Crawford said he was willing to work with Ortiz, according to Robertson. After Crawford announced his campaign for sheriff, Robertson added, he was offered the option of being reassigned as a captain while still running for sheriff, but declined. Having Napas new sheriff face a ballot-box challenge from his second-in-command proved untenable, according to Robertson. You cant have the undersheriff running against the sheriff, he said of the position, whose holder works at-will and at the sheriffs discretion. Its like the vice president running against the president; it doesnt work. The decision was actually Jon Crawfords to leave the sheriffs office, said Robertson, who added he backed Ortiz based on his work experience and community support. It comes down to his political ambition to be sheriff, which is troubling. And Im glad Ive made the decision that I made. Later Thursday, Crawford replied he had assured Robertson he would uphold his law enforcement duties above all other considerations, no matter who his superior was. My response was that Im a professional, and in no way, shape or form would I ever endanger lives or property to make the sheriff or sheriffs office look bad, or risk peoples lives or property over political ambitions, he said. If I had left of my own volition, why would it have been settled in the manner it was settled? Its just not the case. Within days of leaving the sheriffs office, Crawford said, he filed an appeal that eventually reached the Board of Supervisors, which approved a settlement that fall after meeting in closed session. (The date of the closed meeting was not immediately available.) Crawford said he signed the agreement in December and received $500,000 as a lump sum. Since leaving the undersheriffs job, Crawford has concentrated on his election race against Ortiz. The following month, Ortiz, who was then the American Canyon police chief, won county supervisors approval to complete the rest of Robertsons term as sheriff through 2022. During the May 18 meeting when Ortiz was selected, Supervisor Ryan Gregory said he had considered having the board interview both Ortiz and Crawford for the sheriffs position, but in the end, honored Robertsons recommendation. Ortiz officially declared his candidacy on June 21 for a full four-year term as sheriff. Napa County later announced Crawfords departure from the sheriffs office but branded the exit a personnel matter and declined to explain why the undersheriff left. Its purely political; theres no other way of putting it, the former undersheriff then told the Register, although he declined to share further details at the time. I have an untarnished career. Ive spent 22 years doing the best I can do to bring honor to the profession and the county. Nothing has changed. Ortiz and Crawford are scheduled to appear Tuesday evening in a sheriff candidates forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Napa County. The virtual forum will take place via Zoom from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To view the candidate forum, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86326514512?pwd=V1RqS0xVVTliWTRLUVJsemRhdHNCdz09, meeting ID 863 2651 4512, passcode 490182. A Spanish-language simulcast will be available. For more information, visit lwvnapa.com/events-calendar. You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Javelin manufacturer to double production of anti-tank missile systems Sri Lankan Prime Minister submits his resignation to the President Marukyan: There should have been half million people on streets now if people really wanted change of power in Armenia Russia envoy to Armenia: Everyone should avoid steps that could aggravate situation Oil prices drop in Saudi Arabia after COVID-19 outbreak in China Armenia army general staff ex-deputy chief: I will say its a lie if someone says it was possible to win 44-day war Georgia condemns presidential elections in South Ossetia ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party official says authorities plan to divide Armenian diaspora Azerbaijan continues attempts to appropriate Armenian Dadivank Monastery Bitcoin is trading at a low since the summer of 2021 Armenia ambassador-at-large: Whoever says 'they want Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan' probably wants it Turkeys Erdogan to attend Teknofest in Azerbaijan System Of a Down members welcome opposition Resistance Movement actions in Armenia (PHOTOS) Journalist attacked in Baku 19 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia in past 5 days Novak: Russia has already started selling oil to a number of new buyers Putin: NATO countries did not want to hear Russia Two Chinese ships enter Japanese territorial waters China assures Australia of peaceful intentions in cooperation with Solomon Islands Holy Etchmiadzin clergy visit Victory Park memorial in Yerevan Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Let us live for new victories Armenia ex-defense minister: Wedding at Mountains ideologically impossible after change of power NATO Secretary General urges Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine Karabakh negotiation process did not fail under Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan, says Seyran Ohanyan Armenia ex-defense minister: Resistance Movements breakthrough moment already passed Karabakh President visits Stepanakert Memorial on May 9 anniversaries Armenia Investigative Committee chief on including PM Pashinyan as defendant: We have just accepted proceedings Heavy snowfall recorded in Armenia rural community, in May! Karabakh President: Shushi is in captivity again, Artsakh must always be Armenian and impregnable Armenias Pashinyan to Russias Putin: Memory of great past obliges us to strengthen our inherited friendly ties Armenia PM arrives at Victory Park accompanied by enhanced security Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan: For stateless servile creatures, cost of peace is homage paid to enemy Azerbaijanis desecrate Armenian church in occupied Togh village of Artsakh (VIDEO) Armenia PM: Blood of our martyrs who gave their lives to Motherland should not be forgotten Armenia premier, president, others are at Victory Park Armenia marks May 9 Armenia PM visits Yerevan military pantheon Zelenskyy and German Parliament Speaker discuss heavy weapons supply to Ukraine Bloomberg: Hungary continues to block EU oil sanctions against Russia Israel to abolish mandatory PCR testing at airport as of 20 May US and G7 countries introduce new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus Syrian President visits Iran Canada PM visits city of Irpin in Ukraine Armenia's ex-president Serzh Sargsyan is on France Square Ukrainian media report on US First Lady's visit to Uzhhorod, Ukraine Marine Le Pen still hopes to defeat Macron in parliamentary elections German Parliament Speaker arrives in Kiev German media reports Russian hacker attack on German government website Resistance Movement rally in Gyumri ends: next rally will take place tomorrow in France Square Armenia Ombudsman's Office to monitor rallies also in Gyumri Media: IS militants fire seven rockets at Tajik Armed Forces Rally of Resistance Movement in Gyumri Germany registers steepest rise in diesel prices among EU countries since February Minute of silence declared in Artsakh on 9 May in memory of those killed fighting for homeland Bloomberg: G7 leaders to discuss possible new sanctions against Russia Ex-security chief John Lee named new leader of Hong Kong Xi Jinping Delivers a Keynote Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 Resistance movement heads to Gyumri with car march Andy Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe breaks all records at auction in New York Ancient Roman 2,000-year-old relic bought in US for $35 Ferrari bans Justin Bieber from buying its sports cars St. Kirakos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir reopened seven years later NATO chief warns of further escalation of Ukraine situation in coming weeks Azerbaijan intensely firing toward Armenias Sotk gold mine, 1 wounded Iran FM discusses nuclear talks in Vienna with UN Secretary General Yerevan.Today: Azerbaijani journalists are in Armenia Candidate with Turkish citizenship and served in Turkey army is nominated for US Senate Opposition Yerevan rally participant remanded in custody Armenia Investigative Committee comments on cases of blocking streets with trucks Resistance Movement holding rally in Vanadzor US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Syria Women kick off march in downtown Yerevan Man found dead under Yerevan bridge Armenia Judge Boris Bakhshiyan released from custody Armenia President meets with Security Council secretary Biden demands to stop leaks of US intel sharing with Ukraine At least 22 dead in explosion at 5-star hotel in Cuba Newspaper: Armenia PM had arrangement with ruling political teams parliament faction G7 leaders to discuss possible new sanctions on Russia Armenia Security Council chief: No talk of withdrawing Russian peacekeepers from Artsakh Resistance Movement heading towards Vanadzor by motorcade Newspaper: Armenia consumer market inflation was 2.3% in April compared to March Pentagon announces additional $150M in aid to Ukraine Sri Lanka's president declares state of emergency amid mass protests Austria needs several years to give up on Russian gas Biden to sign new arms package for Ukraine worth at least $100 million Armenia's third President Serzh Sargsyan in France Square Armenia parliament speakers mother spits at protesters Resistance Movement to hold rally tomorrow in Vanadzor, women's march to take place in Yerevan 2nd Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court dismisses appeals by lawyers in Hrant Dink case European Parliament: Ankara deliberately 'destroyed' its chances of joining EU NEWS.am digest: Large scale protests continue in Yerevan, people forcibly arrested Scholz to take part in G7 Ukraine discussion with Zelenskyy Germany to supply Ukraine with seven self-propelled howitzers Resistance Movement rallies in France Square Al-Monitor: More niceties, zero progress in third round of Turkey-Armenia peace talks Apple, Google, Microsoft to introduce passwordless authorization before end of 2023 Japan may start letting tourists into country in June Investigative Committee: Criminal case opened into hooliganism committed by marchers in downtown Yerevan Six people injured in building explosion in Madrid Charlton Heston kept his two Academy Awards -- the best actor Oscar for the 1959 film "Ben-Hur" and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award he won in 1978 -- in a side table in his study where he read every morning, his family told The Hollywood Reporter. Years after the Wilmette-raised actor's 2008 death, his son Fraser took his best actor Oscar while his daughter Holly Heston Rochell acquired his humanitarian award, which he received for work with various groups including the American Cancer Society. Advertisement "This award is meaningful to me," Rochell told The Hollywood Reporter for its series tracking the whereabouts of Oscar statuettes after the winner's death. "I remembered flying to Bangladesh with my mom and dad and doing charity work." Rochell told the news outlet she keeps the award by her bedside in the apartment she shares with her 15-year-old son Charlie and 19-year-old daughter Ridley Charlton Rochell, a Northwestern University freshman. Advertisement Heston attended New Trier High School in Winnetka and Northwestern, where he met his future wife Lydia Marie Clarke. Clarke, 92, resides in an assisted-living facility. Fraser Heston said he keeps the "Ben-Hur" Oscar in his home office near a French poster of Heston's 1958 movie "Touch of Evil." He said the Oscar will eventually go to his son Jack. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Resurrection of Christ today. The Feast of Holy Resurrection is also called Easter, which means liberation, deliverance from sins, and return to God. Easter is considered one of the greatest feasts of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Following the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ His body was taken off the cross and placed in the tomb, the entrance to the tomb was closed by a large stone and the soldiers were ordered to control the entrance to the tomb. After three days the three women, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices and fragrant oils to anoint the body of Jesus. As they got closer, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, the entrance to the rock was open, and the tomb was empty. Suddenly two angels dressed in white appeared and said to them, Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, ha has been raised (Lk 24:5-6). The women returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven disciples and the rest. According to Peter more than 500 people saw Christ who had risen from the dead. So, this is the evangelical tiding of the fact of Easter or Holy Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ became the basis of Christian doctrine. If that is true, it means that Christ has been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe (1 Co 15:13-14). Christ died for the salvation of mankind and by His Blood took away the sin in the world, so that we should inherit eternal life. On Easter, believers dye eggs. The egg is a symbol of the resurrection and the birth of new life. And the color red symbolizes the life-giving blood of the crucified Christ, shed for the sake of our salvation. St. Gregory of Datev considers the egg to be the symbol of the world, the shell of which is the sky, the membrane is the air, the white is the water and the yolk is the earth. Dyeing eggs red symbolizes the salvation of the world by means of Blood of Christ. When we take a red egg in our hands, we proclaim our salvation. The night before, St. Christmas Eve Liturgy is served in churches, and Easter celebrations begin. On Sunday morning, the service of Easter Matins, the rite of consecration of the four sides of the world (Andastan), is celebrated, followed by the service of the Holy Liturgy. Greeting one another, Christians say, Christ is Risen from the dead and receive the answer Blessed is the Resurrection of Christ. Fifty-day period beginning from the Easter Feast the Holy Feast of the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ and lasting till Pentecost in the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church is called Hinounk or Hinants period. That period is dedicated to the mystery of Resurrection of the Lord, and that is why it is Dominical period. The name Hinounk comes from the word hisuonk (fifty). The first forty days of the period are dedicated to the appearings of Rosen Christ. This period is concluded with the Feast of Ascension. According to the Church rules, there are no fasting days during all fifty days of Hinants period, which means that all people can eat everything during that period. The incident with a group of illegal migrants crossing the Evros River in a boat on the Turkish-Greek border occurred Saturday night, a woman was killed by gunfire from the Turkish side, Greek TV channel Sky reported. The shooting happened after 21:00 local time on Saturday, near Soufli. The shots from the Turkish side killed the woman, an illegal migrant. Greek border guards discovered a boat with migrants on the Turkish side of the river separating the two countries, and then tried to cross the water barrier to cross to Greece. The border guards claim they responded to gunfire from the Turkish side, which occurred after they warned the migrants on the river not to let their boat approach the Greek shore. The Greek coast guard warned with light signals for the boat with the migrants to change course, but it did not. Shots were then fired from the Turkish side, to which the Greeks responded accordingly, the TV channel notes. Eventually, Greek authorities found and took away the six illegal migrants and the dead woman. She had been shot at close range. In turn, the Greek TV channel ERT-1 reported that a 22-year-old woman of African descent died. It is assumed that there was an altercation between the carrier and the migrants, as a result of which the 22-year-old woman was fatally shot with a .22 caliber pistol. Such guns are not used by either Turkish or Greek border guards. Only six migrants and a child managed to cross to the Greek shore. Five others of the group remained on the Turkish coast. Everything in Polley's film works with everything else: the soundtrack, full of parlor favorites from another age lending the memory-film aspect of "Stories We Tell" a nostalgic quality, never overwhelms the emotional content of the on-camera revelations. There's a shot in the film of one key interview subject, gently putting away an old photograph in a desk drawer. It's held for just the right length of time, as the man's heart breaks a little on camera, in sync with our own. Polley's sense of timing is perfect. This fascinating odyssey is very nearly that too. Josh Brolin has revealed he almost was cast as Batman in Zack Snyder's superhero films and shares his reaction to losing out to Ben Affleck, who portrayed the caped crusader in Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and 'Justice League' follow-up. Hollywood star Josh Brolin, who has made quite an impact in superhero films, recently revealed he almost was cast as Batman in Zack Snyder's superhero films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, during his appearance on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast discussed having been in contention to play Batman for director Zack Snyder before the filmmaker settled on Ben Affleck, who debuted as the Caped Crusader in 2016's Batman v 'Superman: Dawn of Justice'. "That was interesting to me," Brolin said about the prospect of playing the role. He went on to emphasize that he was eager to play the part, had Snyder not gone in a different direction: "That was his decision, that wasn't my decision. That was his decision." The actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for 2008's 'Milk', added that the role particularly appealed to him because he likes taking on projects that involve some risk. He said, "Something that is set up to not work at all or to work flyingly, I like those odds. I like playing with those odds. I'm like, 'Am I the guy who's gonna make it all fail?'" This isn't the first time Brolin has talked about coming close to getting the coveted gig. In 2018, Brolin told Comic Book Movie that everything worked out for the best. "I'm really glad it didn't happen. I haven't thought twice about it," he said at the time, as per The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI) According to Deadline, 'SNL' has confirmed that Cumberbatch will be making a return trip to Stage 8H during the April 16 episode featuring Lizzo as host and musical guest. Cumberbatch, a two-time Oscar nominee, had last hosted the NBC late-night institution in 2016. The versatile actor will stop in at 'SNL' as part of the promo campaign for Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which opens May 6. Cumberbatch will also be seen this year in the Netflix fantasy movie 'The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar', based on the 1982 Roald Dahl book of the same name. The property was adapted by director Wes Anderson. As per Deadline, Canadian rockers Arcade Fire are set for a notable sixth appearance on 'SNL'. The band most recently performed on the show in March 2018, following stops in 2013 and 2007. (ANI) Former Karnataka minister K.S. Eshwarappa, who stepped down Friday after being embroiled in the contractor suicide case, said on Saturday that doubts are being raised over the death of Santhosh K. Patil, as it is not clear whether it was a case of suicide or murder. "I have tendered my resignation so as to not cause embarrassment to the party in connection with this case," Eshwarappa said. Santhosh K Patil, a civil contractor and local BJP leader from Belagavi, committed suicide by consuming poison on April 12 at a lodge in Udupi. Prior to ending his life, Patil had sent a message to mediapersons alleging that Eshwarappa had promised him to release funds for Rs 4 crore projects in the limits of Hindalga Gram Panchayat. He added that after the completion of work, Eshwarappa refused to release the money and demanded a 40 per cent commission. Udupi police have lodged an FIR against Eshwarappa, making him a prime accused in the case. "I have been comforted by the ministers and party workers. It is the opinion of all well-wishers that there is a conspiracy behind all this against me. I also thought, fearing court notice, the deceased might have taken the extreme step. Now, doubts are raised as to whether it could be a murder. The truth has to come out during the course of the investigation," Eshwarappa said. "Even I am sympathetic about the death of the contractor. But, he had been misused in this case. The investigations should bring out who all are behind all this. There is a big conspiracy. It has to be found out whether there is a party, or an individual or an institution behind all this. If the truth comes out, the deceased's soul will rest in peace," Eshwarappa said. Talking about the alleged involvement of state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, he said the investigation is going on and he would comment on it once the probe is over. "If Opposition leaders Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy had conscience, they would not have demanded my arrest. If I have committed a mistake, let me get punished. I have faith that I will come out clean," he said. "Why did they not arrest then minister K.J. George after a police officer held him responsible for his death before committing suicide? If grandmother (late Indira Gandhi) could not cause any harm to the BJP, how can her grandson (Rahul Gandhi) cause damage to the party," Eshwarappa asked. --IANS mka/arm ( 430 Words) 2022-04-16-21:24:04 (IANS) Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Saturday said that over 27 crore workers from the unorganised sector, which employs over 90 per cent of the workforce, have been registered on the e-shram portal in the last six months. Talking to reporters, the Union Labour and Employment Minister highlighted the work done by the government for the workers of the unorganized sector. The BJP has been observing 'Samajik Nyay Pakhwada' (fortnight dedicated to social justice) to mark its foundation day on April 6, with its leaders focusing on highlighting the government's specific welfare measures on each of the days. He said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working with the vision of "sabka saath sabka vikas" and has reached out to every section of society with various schemes, he said. While emphasizing the concept of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas', the Union Minister said, "The steps that have been taken in the last seven years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in various fields are not only to move forward to achieve the goal but also to carry forward many programs and schemes at the grassroot level to connect with all the sections of the society." He said that over 90 per cent of the workforce in India is in the unorganised sector. Yadav said that among those who have registered on the platform, 56 per cent are female workers. "In six months, more than 27 crore workers of the unorganized sector have been registered on the e-shram portal in the country. The best thing about this registration is this year, about 54 per cent are women workers and 48 per cent of men have been registered," said Yadav. "59.4 per cent of people who have registered on the e-Shram portal are between the age group of 18-40. All of them have income less than Rs 10,000 but now the work is being done to link our MSME portal, the portal of skill development, agriculture and the National Career Portal with an integrated approach," he added. He further said that the E-Shram cards will be linked to Aadhar cards. "The biggest benefit of this linking is that unorganised sector workers will get pensions, insurance, education, health and other benefits," he added. "In 2019, the Prime Minister's Shram Yojana was started, in which every person up to 60 years of age has been given a guarantee of minimum pension of up to Rs 3000 and till now approximately around 50 lakh labourers are getting this benefit," said Union Minister. He said that Shram Suvidha Portal has also been created in the country and all the arrangements have been given to those who used to visit our government office a lot at one time. "Four new labour codes have been passed by the Parliament and the subject of making laws in the state is going on. The government has established social security fund for nearly 38 crore workers in the unorganised sector," said Yadav. Yadav said that the biggest change brought into the new labour code is ensuring that labourers get the minimum salary. He said that now 50 crores labourers are getting the minimum salary. "All the incentives have been implemented on ground level and have reached everyone. This has increased the confidence in financial growth and development among poor people," Yadav said. He further said that provision has been made to increase the number of labourers from 18000 to 24000. Yadav also referred to the implementation of the one-nation-one-ration card scheme which is helping the poor in procuring their quota of rations from anywhere in the country. Emphasising the need for formalisation of the economy, Yadav mentioned that in the agricultural sector, through farmers' credit, 22-27 per cent formalisation is being done. "The growth of digitalization in the unorganized sector has led to a rapid increase in the formalization of the economy. In the agriculture sector also, a provision has been made to formalize about 22 to 27 per cent by farmers' Credit, the demand for MNREGA has been increased in Budget 2021," he said. The daily wage has been increased from Rs 182 to Rs 202, which has benefitted 13.62 crore families. Atal Pension Yojana provision has been made by the government in all sections. He further said that a new skill development ministry has been created by the government to increase the capacity building of new technology which will provide employment and employment opportunities in the country and skill development is being enhanced through online training in the country. On August 26, 2021, the government launched the e-Shram portal (www.eshram.gov.in) for creating a national database of unorganised workers. It includes construction workers, migrant workers, gig workers and platform workers, street vendors, domestic workers, agriculture workers, etc. According to an official statement released earlier this month, e-Shram portal seeded with Aadhaar will be used to "deliver all the social security benefits of the central and state governments for the unorganised workers." (ANI) As the war of words escalated with Arvind Kejriwal's party over felicitation of the accused involved in alleged vandalism at Delhi Chief Minister's residence, Delhi BJP leaders hit back and said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a party of 'corrupt', 'goons' and 'anti-nationals'. Delhi BJP general secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal said that AAP is a party of middlemen, goons, corrupt and anti-nationals. Hitting out at the AAP, Chahal citied names of its MLAs booked by the police under various charges, and alleged that it was not appointing Lokayukta fearing they will loose their membership of the Assembly. Delhi BJP vice president Rajan Tewari said that 38 MLAs of AAP have serious cases registered against them and this is the reason why Kejriwal has not appointed a Lokayukta so far because he knows if it were to happen his MLAs will be expelled from the Assembly. Chahal noted that there was no need for any BJP worker to take certificate from AAP leaders who themselves faced charges. "In fact, Kejriwal himself has 13 cases against him; Amantullah Khan has 12 cases, while the list is still long and includes names of Satyendra Jain, Somnath Bharti besides others who have separate cases registered against them in various charges," Chahal said in a press conference with Tewari. The two sides crossed swords after eight BJYM activists who were accused of vandalism outside Kejriwal's residence during a protest last month, were felicitated after their release by Delhi BJP president at party office on Thursday. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 267 Words) 2022-04-16-22:52:03 (IANS) Taking a dig at the Congress over its 'yatra' against corruption, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Saturday that Congressmen should first count the skeletons in their own closets. He was reacting to the protests launched by the opposition party against the alleged corruption by the ruling BJP in the state. Speaking to mediapersons here, Bommai said, "Congressmen are taking out a yatra against corruption as if their hands are clean, as if they are holy. But the people are aware. It would not fetch any dividends. They are trying to set a narrative, but the people of Karnataka have seen them for many years. People know the scams they perpetrated. We too will go to the people and expose the scams of Congress leaders." Replying to a query as to why the sections related to Prevention of Corruption Act have not been invoked in the FIR against ex-minister K.S. Eshwarappa in the Santhosh Patil suicide case, Bommai said, "There is an allegation of abetment of suicide in the case. The case is under investigation. The forensic report will shed light on what exactly happened." The Congress in Karnataka has intensified its attack against the BJP government in the state following the death under suspicious circumstances of civil contracter Santhosh Patil. The deceased, a contractor and BJP leader, committed suicide by consuming poison and held Eshwarappa directly responsible for his death. He had alleged that Eshwarappa had asked for a 40 per cent commission in a Rs 4 crore project through his aides. The police have registered an FIR against him and made him the prime accused in the case. Eshwarappa tendered his resignation as Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj on Friday. However, the Congress has called for an indefinite strike demanding the arrest of Eshwarappa. Hitting back at the Leader of Opposition, Siddaramaiah, Bommai raised the issue of the suicide by a police inspector during Siddaramaiah's tenure as the Chief Minister. "In the Ganapathy suicide case, there was a video and a death note mentioning the name of a then minister. Did his name find a mention in the FIR," he asked. "The FIR was registered after orders from the court. Ganapathy's family had to approach the court to get the FIR registered. But we have filed an FIR based on the complaint and started an investigation. Based on the findings of the probe, further sections of the law would be invoked. Let the investigation proceed. We are not interfering in any way," Bommai added. --IANS pvn/arm ( 432 Words) 2022-04-16-23:12:02 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that the Narendra Modi government is bringing an economic and social revolution in the country. Addressing the BJP State Executive meet, Bommai said, "The last 7 years of Modi government at the Centre has raised India's stature among the comity of nations. The Modi government is bringing an economic and social revolution in the country." He said that along with the responsibility of the BJP, which is the world's largest political party, the state government's responsibility too has increased. "Let us discharge this responsibility by giving a good administration," he added. Talking about the PM Modi's pro-people programmes, the Chief Minister said the Kissan Samman Yojana of the Modi government has benefited 60 crores, of people of the country, the Ayushman Bharat programme has provided health coverage for the common man, AtmaNirbhar and Mudra schemes are giving employment opportunities for the youth, the Deendayal Upadhyaya programme is providing electricity to every village and housing for all is being implemented through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. "The Jal Jeevan Mission is a great programme to provide tap water for every household," Bommai said. He said that Karnataka has the distinction of effectively managing the COVID crisis in the country. "The able and efficient leadership of Modi and BS Yediyurappa enabled the state to successfully combat the COVID-19 menace. About, Rs 15,000 crore has been spent on COVID management. Karnataka has the distinction of most effectively managing COVID crisis in the country," Bommai said. The Chief Minister said that the scheme to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections has reached 49 per cent of the households in Karnataka. "The motto of building New India from New Karnataka is being realised through major road and railway projects, 7 engineering colleges are being upgraded, the benefits of welfare schemes of the State and the Centre has been all-pervasive and all-inclusive," Bommai said and called upon the party rank and file to prepare for holding Beneficiaries' Conventions in every Assembly constituency in the State. Taking a dig at Congress over corruption, they have no moral right to talk about corruption as Congress is the Gangotri of corruption. "Congress' defeat in recent elections 5 States shows that the party is directionless. They have no moral right to talk about corruption as Congress is the Gangotri of corruption," Bommai added. (ANI) I would not say Weiss' production (which features a resonant set by Brian Sidney Bembridge) was perfectly cast, nor is the narrative trajectory as clear as it could be, and there are times when you crave a more relaxed and less intense production that better humanized this world and that came replete with a more of a sense of humor, if only as a counterbalance to all of the trauma, angst and poetic symbolism. (My favorite line of the night was "I'll sleep when I'm dead." "No, you won't." Touche.) BJP National President JP Nadda will arrive here in Tripura for a two day-visit to address a state conference of the party and to review the party's organizational progress, top sources in the party's state unit said on Saturday. Although dates are yet to be finalized, preliminary works to turn the maiden visit of Nadda after being appointed as the national president a success are underway, sources added. "His visit has been deferred thrice due to COVID-19 related restrictions and other engagements of the party president. This time, he has given his consent to visit Tripura to address the party's conference. During the conference he will chair separate meetings with all the frontal organizations of the party's Pradesh unit and review the party's organizational progress," said the party source. His visit is significant in the sense that the party is all set to fight multiple electoral battles just after his visit and the presence of the party's head at such a point in time will act as a morale boost for the party workers. According to the available information, he will address the party functionaries at the conference and later hold a closed-door meeting with the party's core committee. "He will arrive here and spend a night here. He will depart for New Delhi a day after his arrival," party sources further added saying that most probably he would be visiting Tripura this month. (ANI) Delhi Police arrested a 40-year-old man, who allegedly killed his wife and son in Delhi's Geeta Colony, police said on Saturday. The accused is identified as Sachin, who worked as an accountant in a private company and ran a grocery shop alongside. According to the police, the accused ran away from the house after committing the crime. However, he confessed his crime through a message on a family WhatsApp group. "He confessed the crime committed by strangulation and smothering after a scuffle with his wife due to financial problems," said Deputy Commissioner of Police of Shahdara, R Sathiyasundaram said. At around 3.50 pm on Saturday, the police received a call from the woman who informed them about the crime. "At around 3.40 pm on Saturday, the police received a PCR call from a woman who informed about the crime. A team of police Forensic Science Laboratory reached the spot immediately and recovered the bodies of two victims. The body of a 35-year-old woman was found on the bed while another body of her 15-year-old son was lying on the floor," the police said. He further said, "The crime took place on the second floor of a house at Geeta Colony. The mother of the alleged accused informed us about the crime. The reasons behind the crime are yet to be ascertained. But the police are speculating that financial problem might be the reason behind the crime." Further investigation into the case is underway. (ANI) Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister said that Chandra Shekhar always worked for the welfare of the downtrodden and marginalised. "Chandra Shekhar Ji was a towering personality who was widely admired for his commitment to democratic values and efforts to remove poverty. He always worked for the welfare of the downtrodden and marginalised. Tributes to him on his birth anniversary," tweeted PM Modi. Chandra Shekhar served as the eighth prime minister of India from November 10, 1990, to June 21, 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal with outside support from the Indian National Congress. (ANI) Sharply reacting to the joint statement of 13 Opposition leaders over incidents of communal violence and alleging duplicity against them, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday said that Congress and other parties create arson and disrupt harmony among communities. The BJP also accused the Opposition leaders of duplicity, citing a spate of arson and communal violence in West Bengal while the Trinamool Congress, which is also part of the joint statement, rules the state. The BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at the joint statement appeal, alleging Congress and other parties create arson and disrupt the communal harmony whether they are in power or in Opposition. Notably, 13 Opposition parties, including Congress, issued the joint statement, calling upon the people to maintain peace and harmony in the wake of recent incidents of violence witnessed in different parts of the country. "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a signatory to the joint statement. But violence is taking place on a large scale in West Bengal. Such duplicity only shows that the Opposition parties, including Congress, whether they're in power or in Opposition, are responsible for disrupting the harmony while also indulging in arson," Bhatia said. Claiming that the actions of the opposition parties are opposite to what they have stated in the joint statement, the BJP leader charged them of practising "appeasement politics". "The joint statement is fake. People are questioning (interim president of Congress) Sonia Gandhi for her silence over Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan CM) failing to nab prime accused Matlub Ahmed in the Karauli violence? Why is he absconding for 14 days? Your appeal seeks strict action against rioters. But this is not happening in Karauli. Is this because you want to practice appeasement politics? Actions are opposite to words used in the joint statement," he said. Citing an example of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who ordered the Khargone administration to demolish illegal buildings of the accused in the violence that erupted on the occasion of Ram Navami, Bhatia hit out at Rahul Gandhi for calling the demolition "bulldozer of hatred". "You are not taking action in the state where you are in power. In Madhya Pradesh where you're in opposition, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken strict action. The accused has been arrested. Their illicit properties were brought down (with a bulldozer). Rahul Gandhi called it a bulldozer of hatred. You stand with the rioters and break the morale of the men in uniform," he said. Notably, several people were injured in the stone-pelting between two groups during the Ram Navami procession. Meanwhile, appealing to the people to maintain peace, Congress tweeted, "We reiterate our commitment to combat and confront the poisonous ideologies which are attempting to entrench divisiveness in our society." Expressing deep concern over the "growing incidents of hate speech and recent outburst of communal violence" in the country, leaders of 13 Opposition parties in a joint statement on Saturday urged people to maintain peace and harmony while demanding stringent punishment against the perpetrators of communal violence. Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), M K Stalin (DMK), CPI (M)'s Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah (NC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), D Raja (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP), PK Kunhalikutty (IUML), and CPI (ML)'s Dipanker Bhattacharya issued the joint statement on Saturday. The 13 leaders alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been silent on the spate of communal violence and said that he has "failed to speak against the words and actions of those who propagate bigotry and those who, by their words and actions, incite and provoke our society." (ANI) As the festival of Easter is being celebrated on Sunday, devotees took part in mass and prayer sessions in churches across the country. In Kerala's Kochi, eastern mass and prayer sessions were held at St Mary's Cathedral Basilica by Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry. Devotees gathered in large numbers to join sessions, praying to and remembering Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the day now known as Easter to millions of his devotees across the world. Sounds of hymns and prayers rang across the centuries-old cathedral. During his speech to the devotees, Cardinal George Alencherry highlighted the massive extent of sectarian thoughts, conflicts, and their escalation to riots and wars in the modern era and the loss of innocent lives due to it. "We must cultivate a positive attitude of seeing everyone as brothers and sisters without hostility," he added. In Mumbai, the famous St. Michael's Church also hosted special Easter prayers. Devotees thronged in large numbers to remember the holy name of Lord Jesus. A devotee named Julie told ANI, "It is an important day for us, we are really happy today. Jesus rose from the dead today. He died for us on the cross. He brought salvation to the whole world and gave us all a new life." "Today is a great day. God has saved us," added another devotee named Amelie. In Goa, Easter celebrations were held with great vigour and faith by the devotees at the Immaculate Conception Church in Panaji. Easter Vigil was held outside the church. Fr Walter De Sa, Parish Priest, Immaculate Conception Church, Goa told ANI, "We will start the Easter vigil. The resurrection of Lord Jesus is the climax of our celebration, the culmination of Paschal Mystery. After death, our Lord rose. We are going to celebrate this victory over death and sin. The ceremony will begin with blessings of fire and light. Lord is the light of the world, he takes away all the darkness, namely sin and other evils. We will put out all lights, light a candle and enter the Church. Once we are inside the church, will turn them all. The significance is that the Lord is the light of the world." "Then after it, the second part of the celebration will start. We will read the Old Testament and see the history of salvation unfold till it reaches its climax in the New Testament when in Jesus we all received a new life and were freed from slavery and Satan. After this, we will bless the Holy Water. It symbolises new life. Jesus himself said that he is the 'living water'. Then, we will have the renewal of baptismal vows, where we will proclaim our rejection of Satan and our acceptance of faith in God. Later we will begin the liturgy of Eucharist, the cultivation of celebration of Eucharistic sacrifice." "At the end, we will have a procession with a blessed sacrament around the church, we will enter the church with it and give solemn benediction to the people. We will also sprinkle holy water over people to signify that they are new creatures today, they have a new self and have become closer to god. Easter Vigil is the mother of all vigils. On Easter Sunday, masses will be held as usual, we will praise the Lord," he added. In Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, devotees offer prayers in a church in Nungambakkam on the occasion of Easter Sunday. Easter is a holy Christian festival that celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, three days after he was put on a cross and executed. As mentioned in the Bible, Christ was crucified on the day of Good Friday and buried in a grave after his last supper which is commemorated as Maundy Thursday. However, on the third day when his disciples visited his grave, they found that the grave was empty. The day marks the triumph of Christ over death and this also makes him the 'Son of God'. The day is celebrated with pomp and grandeur every year. Traditions like church visits, baking hot cross buns and decorating Easter eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Spring equinox occurs when the Sun is exactly above the equator, thus making the day and night of equal lengths. Traditions like baking hot cross buns and filling empty eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. On this occasion, people also exchange Easter baskets and special gifts with their loved ones. (ANI) Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani, who was recently sacked from the Bihar Cabinet, has claimed victory in his party's defeat in the Bochahan Assembly bypoll in an apparent potshot at the former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). "We thank the people for showing faith in VIP for the Bochahan Assembly bypoll. We contested to win and weren't successful, but we congratulate Amar Paswan (RJD) for the win. Even in our defeat there lies a win for us," said Sahani while speaking to reporters. He stressed that the BJP lost the bypoll by over 36,000 votes. "Some state leaders (of BJP) still have time for introspection and stop misleading central BJP leaders. The BJP will have more setbacks in 2024 (Lok Sabha elections) or 2025 (Bihar state polls)... BJP Bihar president Sanjay Jaiswal should resign," he said. Notably, Sahani was a minister in the Bihar Cabinet led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. However, he was sacked from the ministerial post in March this year after three MLAs of his party joined the BJP. In the counting of votes of the bypolls in four states, RJD's Amar Paswan won the bypoll with 48.52 per cent votes and secured 82,562 votes while VIP's Geeta Kumari secured 17.21 per cent votes. The BJP candidate Baby Kumari got 26.98 per cent votes in the bypoll. In the recently concluded bypolls, TMC's Shatrughan Sinha won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, while Babul Supriyo won in Ballygunge Assembly seat, securing 51,199 votes. Congress' Jadhav Jayshri Chandrakant (Anna) won the Kolhapur North Assembly seat in Maharashtra. (ANI) During his visit to Karnataka, Nadda is expected to attend several party programmes while also paying a visit to various historical temples in the state. Today, he will visit Bhatrahalli Anjaneya Temple in Hosapate and take part in a meeting of the state BJP executive. He will also take part in a question and answer session with the delegates. On the second day of the visit, Nadda will visit several temples including Shri Virupaksheshwara Temple, Yantrodharaka Anjaneya Temple in Hampi, and Kadale Kalu Ganapa, Sasuve Kalu Ganapa, Ugra, Narasimha, Badavi Linga and Ugrana Veerabhadra Temple. He will also visit Malyavanta Hill in Hampi. The BJP chief will also visit the world heritage site Vijaya Vittal Devasthanam, famous for its stone chariot and musical pillars. Nadda will also visit Kamlapur Archaeological Museum. Nadda will also chair a meeting with state BJP leaders which is expected to be attended by BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh among leaders. The meeting will mainly focus on the preparations for the upcoming state assembly elections. During the visit, Nadda is expected to assess the ground-level situation in the state. Three teams with seven to eight leaders, led by BJP general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and state BJP president Nalin Kateel will also be assessing the ground-level situation to boost the party's preparations for the assembly polls. The BJP is expected to take a call on the post of Karnataka party chief in the coming months as Kateel's term ends early next year. A reshuffle in the Karnataka cabinet is also in the pipeline for which Chief Minister Bommai has made 2-3 visits to the national capital to meet the party's top leadership. (ANI) The meeting was organised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police North West at Kushal Chowk in the Jahangirpuri area with the members of the Aman committee of PS Jahangirpuri, PS Mahendra Park and PS Adarsh Nagar. The police asked the committee members to appeal to the people to maintain peace in their area, officials said. "To maintain peace and tranquillity in the area, a meeting was organised by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North West at Kushal Chowk in PS Jahangirpuri area with the members of the Aman committee of PS Jahangirpuri, PS Mahendra Park and PS Adarsh Nagar," said DCP North-West Usha Rangnani. Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in violence-hit Jahangirpuri of northwest Delhi on Sunday. Fourteen persons have been arrested so far, in connection with a clash between two groups during a religious procession yesterday. Clashes broke out between two groups after stone-pelting incidents were reported from the Jahangirpuri area in the national capital on Saturday evening during a procession. "After Delhi's sensitive incident, a flag march is being conducted by police with the goal to create an atmosphere of faith and security for the public. I appeal to the public to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours," said Love Kumar, Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order). Delhi Police has registered a case and started the investigation of the incident.Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Depender Pathak said that the situation is under total control and the atmosphere is peaceful. Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke with Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Depender Pathak. (ANI) In wake of the ongoing loudspeaker row in the state, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said that the Muslims in the country should understand that "religion is not above law and country" while also asking them to take down loudspeakers from mosques. "We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. We want the loudspeakers that are put up in the mosques and are illegal in the entire country should be taken down. If you do it on loudspeaker, then we will also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law. After May 3, I will see what to do," Thackeray said. The MNS chief asked the Hindus to "wait till May 3" and play Hanuman Chalisa thereafter in front of the mosques that "don't take down the loudspeakers". Notably, Thackeray had earlier warned the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to remove the loudspeakers from the mosques by May 3, or else the party workers will put up speakers outside mosques and play the Hanuman Chalisa. "I only have to say to the Hindus across India to wait till May 3. And after that, play Hanuman Chalisa in front of all such mosques that don't take down the loudspeakers," he said. State Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil had said, "Clear instructions have been given that loudspeakers are allowed within the permitted decibel limit and if anyone violates that then legal action will be taken." Reacting to the statement, Thackeray said that he needs to take permission before conducting his rally, however, this is not the same case with loudspeakers being used in the mosques. "If I have to conduct a rally and deliver a speech, I do need permission from the police. Who gives them permission to pray on loudspeakers daily? The Muslim community should understand that it is not a religious issue but a social issue. It is only about the loudspeaker, I feel there is no need for it," he said. Talking about the Delhi Jahangirpuri violence and stone-pelting that erupted following a clash between two groups during Shobha Yatra, the MNS chief said, "Such things should be answered in a similar manner, otherwise, those people will not understand." Thackeray said that he would hold his next public meeting on May 1 in Aurangabad and visit Ayodhya on June 5. "I will hold a public meeting on May 1 in Aurangabad. I will go to Ayodhya on June 5. If because of the Supreme Court and the Central government, the construction of Ram Mandir is possible. It would be good if I go there," he said. (ANI) Amid violence in Jahangirpuri, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from North-west Delhi Hansraj Hans has appealed for peace. "I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and brotherhood. There are some bad elements in every religion; they are responsible for such incidents," he told ANI. He also hinted at the involvement of international powers in the violence. "There could also be some international powers that might want to weaken India, as we are becoming stronger," he said. The Delhi Police sub-inspector Medha Lal sustained bullet injuries that were allegedly fired from the C-Block side of the area during the violence at Jahangirpuri. "Yesterday, a religious procession was taken out. When they reached a mosque, an argument started between two groups. Stone pelting followed but both groups were separated. Not much happened initially...," said Lal. "The ones taking out the procession were taken to the G-block side and those around the mosque to the C-block side. Stone pelting started from the C-block side and bullets were fired from there too. Later, people came to the C-block side with swords. I also sustained a bullet injury and went to the hospital on PCR," he added. Lal also mentioned that during the violence, people were present in thousands and a lot of police personnel sustained injuries in the stone-pelting. Five more people have been arrested on Sunday in connection with the Jahangirpuri violence. So far 14 persons have been detained, informed Deputy Commissioner of Police North-West Usha Rangnani. Following the violence, heavy security was deployed in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area.Delhi Police has registered a case and started the investigation of the incident. Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Depender Pathak said that the situation is under total control. Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke with Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Depender Pathak over Jahangirpuri violence and asked them to enforce law and order, said official sources. (ANI) COLUMBIA, S.C. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital on Saturday that left 14 people injured. Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said 22-year-old Jewayne M. Price, who was one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest, remains in police custody and is expected to be charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol. Advertisement It is not immediately known if Price has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Fourteen people were injured during the shooting at Columbiana Centre, Holbrook said in a news release Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. Advertisement Holbrook said no fatalities have been reported but that nine people were shot and five people suffered injuries while attempting to flee the mall for safety. Police said the 73-year-old victim continues to receive medical treatment, but the other victims have been released from local hospitals or will be released shortly. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. Investigators believe that at least three suspects displayed firearms inside the mall but are working to determine how many suspects fired weapons. Police said at least one firearm was seized. Authorities stage outside Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, S.C., following a shooting, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Sean Rayford/AP) Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running. Johnson said people were screaming for their children and spouses, knocking over tables in the food court as they fled. Everybody was trying to get outside, Johnson said. When I was coming out, you could see baby strollers turned over, peoples phones and left keys. It was kind of a hectic situation. Johnson said he gathered his wife, daughter and son and began heading toward the exit after letting the crowd clear out for a bit. Advertisement My biggest thing was and not to sound selfish was to make sure that our family was OK and to get them out safely because this is not something that we love to do for Easter weekend. Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting, though officers began letting more traffic through the streets surrounding the shopping centers and strip malls that are usually packed on weekends. Officers were also stationed outside a nearby hotel designated as a reunification area for people at the scene of the shooting and their families. Workers from a couple of stores remained clustered in the mostly empty parking lot Saturday evening, waiting for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings so they could leave. They said they did not hear or see anything during the shooting but followed the malls alert system and were evacuated by police shortly after. They declined to give their names, citing company policies. Todays isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted, Columbiana Centre said in a statement. We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement. The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near malls across the country. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyns Atlantic Terminal Mall. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Officials said he was with a group of boys when they got into a dispute with a second group. Advertisement On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said. And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala Vice President KS Radhakrishnan slammed the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in the state, saying that the state government acts like policemen in old Hindi movies and has a sort of connivance with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of Popular Front of India (PFI). His comments come after an RSS worker was allegedly murdered in Palakkad. "The state government acts like the policemen in old Hindi films. In those, policemen used to interfere only after the culmination of some drama. The same thing is happening here. The policemen were there, but they could not do anything. There is a sort of connivance between SDPI and CPI-M. It is up to CPI-M to make clear the nature of such connivance. I expect a reasonable answer from Sitaram Yechury. CM Pinarayi Vijayan owes an apology to the peace-loving people of Kerala," Radhakrishnan told ANI. The BJP leader went on to add that the police force has lost control over its men and alleged that there are "sleeping cells' in the police force receiving training from police and armed forces. "Primary duty of the state is to protect the life and property of citizens. But a murder happened within the vicinity of the police. The police could not do anything. Why did the police fail to get information regarding the planning of the murder?" questioned the leader. Radhakrishnan reiterated his party's stand to ban PFI, saying that it gives military training to its rank and file to chop the head of animals. "Their usual targets are dogs. They are giving sufficient training to their rank and file to annihilate their political opponents. The annihilation of political opponents and democracy cannot go together. No democratic system can entertain its activities. They want to establish the Islamic Republic in India by challenging the authority of 80 per cent of its people. They focus on soft targets. Look at Sreenivasan killed in Palakkad. Once upon a time, he used to be an RSS man but was now leading a normal life, doing a business. He was not even involved in RSS. They want to kill innocent people to spread terror and fear among the public," he added. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker was hacked to death in Palakkad on Saturday, informed the officials. The deceased was identified as Sreenivasan, a former Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh of the RSS. Sreenivasan was hacked at a shop by a group of people who had reached there on bikes. The Bharatiya Janata Party accused PFI of the murder. Earlier, a Popular Front of India (PFI) worker Subair (43) was hacked to death in Palakkad on Friday. He was attacked while he was on a bike along with his father. PFI had blamed the RSS for the murder. (ANI) Sarang was addressing a press conference in Bhopal. His comments come after Khargone violence, in which people were injured when stones were pelted on a religious procession. The minister also said that the government is ensuring that incidents like Khargone violence do not occur again. "We have eliminated the rioters from Khargone. Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is ensuring that such incidents do not occur again. We are not only eliminating the rioters but will also end such mentality," said the minister during the conference. Several people including police personnel were injured when groups of people pelted stones at each other during a Ram Navami procession on April 10. The stone-pelting started at the beginning of the procession leaving around four people injured including a police inspector. (ANI) For the appointment of the new Chief of Defence Staff, the government is likely to consider both serving and retired military officers, sources said. The post has been lying vacant since December 8 last year after the death of the country's first CDS late General Bipin Rawat in an air crash. Sources told ANI that the government is also expected to announce the appointment of the next Army chief in the coming week itself as a decision has already been taken. The panel of officers to be considered for the appointment as the next CDS is likely to include both serving and retired officers, the sources said. The panel is also likely to include both three-star and four star-rank officers, they said. The appointment of the CDS by the Narendra Modi government within six months of coming back to power in 2019 has been hailed as one of the biggest reforms in the higher military structure of the country. The CDS office and the theatre command planned to be created and put under its command are expected to make it the strongest ever military office in the country with all fighting formations reporting directly to it. The CDS was appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs which functions at present under an Additional Secretary-rank Lieutenant General. The CDS is also the head of the Integrated Defence Staff presently headed by a three-star officer from the Indian Air Force. The government has also made the CDS in-charge of the Make in India in defence programme and has been given the mandate of promoting and ensuring the Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme in the defence sector. Gen Rawat used to devote a majority of his time to promote self-reliance in defence and was also responsible for bringing out the positive list of indigenisation which listed items being put in the import ban lost to promote job creation within the country. The CDS is also the single point of contact for the government for giving military advice and is the senior-most bureaucrat in the defence ministry which has four major departments. (ANI) Parents of MBBS students who returned from Ukraine gathered at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Sunday seeking the government's intervention to accommodate their children in medical colleges. Dr Rajesh Kumar Chandel from Himachal Pradesh, father of Vivek Chandel, a fifth-year MBBS student of a Kharkiv University in Ukraine said, "We are not protesting, we are requesting the government to accommodate our children in colleges. All the parents have come to Delhi to request the government to accommodate their children in Indian medical colleges. We have met our Chief Minister, Union Minister Anurag Thakur and others. Apart from them, we have also met BJP National President JP Nadda at his residence. He assured us that this problem will be solved shortly." "We have come here to show how many students are affected and are requesting the same. We want to collectively raise a voice as it is about the future of our children." Earlier in March, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in a written statement laid on the table of Rajya Sabha said that the government has been able to safely bring home 22,500 Indian citizens and 147 foreign nationals belonging to 18 countries from Ukraine since February 2022 in the wake of Russia-Ukraine war. RB Gupta, President of the Parents Association of Ukraine Medical Students said, "My child is a second-year student who is studying in Ivano. We are in favour of the government. We are just requesting the government that the way they have saved the lives of our children under Operation Ganga, they secure our children's future the same way." "Currently, people from 10 states have joined here at Jantar Mantar including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha," Gupta added. "We request the government to fulfil the dreams of students who had gone to Ukraine to become doctors. We want them to be accommodated in India. Some special norms should be there for these students," he further said. "Till now we have spoken to Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya. Parents Association went to his residence and submitted the memorandum. We also met former Health Minister Harshvardhan and many Lok Sabha MPs," Gupta told. "Around 12,000 students are there who need to be accommodated. 20,800 students have come from Ukraine of whom 4,800 are in Engineering or other courses. 18,000 students are in medical out of which 4,000 students are in their final year and have already been given directions. We want all of them to be accommodated in India. If the government brings out a Bill, then there is a possibility to accommodate these students in India," he added. Aditya Bhardwaj, a fourth-year student at Kharkiv in Ukraine said, "We are requesting the government as they have already helped us a lot by bringing us back home. We are already obliged to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government for bringing us back home safely. Our future is in dilemma. Our classes that are running online are not running properly. Teachers are taking classes in war zone conditions. We request the Indian government to accommodate us in Indian colleges so that we can pursue our studies here." "Only two to three classes are held in a week and that too gets interrupted as it is in the middle of firing and bombing starts due to which teachers have to move to bunkers. Our external affairs minister said in Lok Sabha that the Indian government is in talks with the European countries to accommodate us. The most important part is that our clinical part of the syllabus is about to start. So, if we go to Hungary, Poland, it is necessary for us to know the local dialect. For our clinical education, we won't be getting a chance to interact with patients till we don't know their local language. We learnt Ukrainian for four years, but to go to a new country and learn their language will be an extra burden on us," Bhardwaj said. Sanya, a third-year student at Ivano in Ukraine said, "Our online classes are running, but MBBS is not a course which can be learnt online. We need to have practical knowledge which we are unable to do. We have no idea when we will go back to Ukraine. So we request the government, either give admission to us here or provide some facilities to us to have practical knowledge." (ANI) A firefighting operation is underway and no injuries have been reported so far, the police added further. Further details are awaited. Last month, five people were injured after a fire broke out at Patel Building near Mumbadevi temple on March 29 evening, as per Mumbai Fire Brigade. (ANI) Army Commanders' Conference is an apex level biannual event that is held in April and October every year, the ministry said. The conference is an institutional platform for conceptual level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army. During the conference, the senior leadership of the Army will review the operational situation along the active borders, assess threats in the entire spectrum of conflict and undertake an analysis of capability voids to further focus on capability development and operational preparedness plans. Discussions on aspects pertaining to infrastructure development in border areas, modernisation through indigenisation, induction of Niche tech and assessment of any impact of the Russia - Ukraine war are also scheduled. As per the release, Various agenda points sponsored by regional commands will be deliberated upon by the senior commanders apart from proposals concerning improving works, financial management, introducing e-vehicles, and digitisation in the Indian Army. As part of the conference, Boards of Governors meetings of the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) and Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) will be organised. The Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh is expected to interact with the senior commanders and address the conference on April 21. The conference is also a formal forum for senior leadership of the Army to interact with the senior functionaries of the Department of Military Affairs and Department of Defence during the MoD Interaction Session, the release read further. (ANI) A day after a clash between two communities occurred in the national capital's Jahangirpuri area, Rashtriya Janta Dal MP, Manoj Kumar Jha on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and give a strong message to everyone across the country on the matter. The round of political reactions is continuing on the stone-pelting in the Jahangirpuri area of the capital Delhi on the procession taken out during the birth anniversary of Lord Hanuman. Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Prof Manoj Jha has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself should intervene in view of the continuous riots happening in different parts of the country. Talking to ANI today on the same subject today, Prof Jha said, "I am familiar with the area of Jahangirpuri and we have never seen such scenes in Jahangirpuri before. The Jahangirpuri incident is not isolated. If you look at the images of different places from all over the country, then there is a pattern. I request the Prime Minister for his direct intervention. Prime Minister should give a strong message and whoever is indulging in such violence, tearing the social fabric, is hindering us in marking the 75th year of independence." Notably, on Saturday, a procession taken out during Hanuman Janmotsav was attacked by some people of a particular community in Jahangirpuri area, after which violence erupted there. In such an atmosphere of communal tension, both the parties and the political parties are constantly blaming each other. Prof Jha termed the continuous allegations and counter-accusations after this incident as unnecessary and said that it is unfortunate that whenever such an incident takes place, someone is making indecent remarks against each other. "The most important task of the 'social' fire brigade was to douse off the fire. We have embarked on a journey backwards and are falling into a new abyss every day," he said. He added, "In view of these incidents, the Bharatiya Janata Party expressed its anguish while the opposition parties questioned the intentions. Opposition urged the Centre to look in the mirror and introspect on the incidents. To whom will I go if I have a complaint today? I don't have any other option but to urge the Prime Minister. In the 75th year of independence, the Prime Minister should come out and give a strong message." (ANI) Mumbra Police official today informed that "PFI's Mumbra President, Abdul Matin Shekhani is absconding. Two police teams are conducting a search operation to locate him." A case has been registered against him, the police added. Notably, several Popular Front of India associates were booked in the Mumbra area of Thane district for holding an unauthorised protest in front of a mosque here on Friday, a police official said. The people were booked under sections 188, 37(3) and 135 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police are likely to arrest PFI office-bearer Abdul Mateen Shekani in the matter soon. Further probe into the matter is underway. (ANI) Many students, who have returned from conflict-ridden Ukraine to India, gathered along with their parents at Jantar Mantar on Sunday and requested the Centre to provide admission to them in medical colleges in India. Many of them were seen holding placards with slogans like 'Save Career of Ukraine Students' written on them. "We request the Central government to provide admission to these students in medical colleges in India. I hail from Himachal Pradesh and have expressed my concerns in front of the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister as well. I along with other parents met BJP chief JP Nadda as well in Himachal on April 12. It is about the future of our children after all," a concerned parent said to ANI on anonymity. RB Gupta, a parent from Gurugram said to ANI, "I thank the Government for its efforts in Operation Ganga and bring back our children safely. However, for the future of our children here, we have gathered here and hope that our children get a chance to continue their studies in medical colleges in India. People from several states have gathered here. It is not a protest. It a merely a gathering requesting the Central government to listen to our concern." "I am a student from a university in Kharkiv in Ukraine. This is not a protest. We are just requesting the Indian Government to tackle our dilemmas and accommodate us all in medical colleges in India. Our online classes are also interrupted due to the war-like situation there," a student said to ANI. On April 6, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha that India is in touch with Ukraine's neighbouring countries Hungary, Romania, Kazakhstan and Poland to help the evacuated medical students from the war-torn country to pursue their studies. "We have been in touch with Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and Poland (about continuing education for the students evacuated from Ukraine) because they have similar models of education," he said in Lok Sabha. Responding to the Opposition's concerns over the disruption of the studies of the evacuated medical students, Jaishankar said that India is in talks with Poland, Romania, Kazakhstan, and Hungary to find ways to help the affected students complete their education. (ANI) VATICAN CITY On what is supposed to be Christianitys most joyful day, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in the senseless war in Ukraine and in other armed conflicts raging in the world, and voiced worry about the risk of nuclear warfare. May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged, Francis said, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peters Square. Advertisement The pontiff had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed by faithful for the holiday for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020. Applause erupted from many of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican to number 100,000 in the square and on a nearby avenue, when he mentioned Ukraine. Please, please, let us not get used to war, Francis pleaded, after denouncing the flexing of muscles while people are suffering. Yet again, the pontiff didnt cite Russian President Vladimir Putin for the decision to launch the invasion and attacks against Ukraine on Feb. 24. Advertisement Peoples hearts are filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing, the pontiff said. Let us all commit ourselves to imploring peace, from our balconies and in our streets, Francis said. May the leaders of nations hear peoples plea for peace. Pope Francis on his popemobile drives through the crowd of faithful at the end of the Catholic Easter Sunday mass he led in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP) In a clear reference to the threat of nuclear warfare, Francis quoted from a noted declaration of 1955: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? He was quoting from a manifesto written by philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein. The manifestos text, sounding a grim warning against the consequences of nuclear warfare, was issued a few months after Einstein died. Meanwhile, in Britain, the leader of the Anglican church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called for Russia to declare a cease-fire and withdraw from Ukraine. Noting that in the Eastern Orthodox church followed by many in Russia and Ukraine Sunday marks the start of Holy Week with Easter coming on April 24 Welby exhorted Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and commit to talks. Francis also drew attention to other wars in the speech known by its Latin name Urbi et Orbi to the city and to the world. May the conflict in Europe also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow, situations that affect all too many areas of our world, situations that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget, Francis said. Advertisement Two days after Palestinians and Israeli police clashed in Jerusalem, Francis prayed that Israelis, Palestinians and all the inhabitants of the Holy City, together with pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, of living in brotherhood and of accessing Holy Places in reciprocal respect. He called for peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Francis spoke plaintively about Yemen, which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims. He expressed hope that a recent truce would restore hope to that countrys people. He also prayed that God grant reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, which is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, including food shortages. Francis denounced the exploitation of the African continent and terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and violence in Congo. In Latin America, many have seen their plight worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, aggravating social problems stemming from corruption, violence and drug trafficking, the pontiff said. Advertisement But Francis found hope in the open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe, referring to the some 10 million people who have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced by the war. At the Polish border station of Medyka, a paramedic from Warsaw helped set out a traditional Easter breakfast with ham, cheese and Easter cakes for some of the latest refugees from Ukraine, the majority of whom have streamed into neighboring Poland. They lost their homes. They are seeking refuge in our country, said volunteer Agnieszka Kuszaj. She hoped that the meal would help them forget for a moment about all the terrible things that have happened. Maria Dontsova, 31, who is from Kharviv, the heavily bombed city in eastern Ukraine said: I wish all families peace who are suffering in Ukraine at this great holiday Easter. Speaking in English, she expressed hope that war will end as soon as possible, and people stop suffering, and we can prevent the war (from) spreading to Europe Earlier, the pontiff, who has a knee ligament problem, limped badly as he made his way to an altar set up in front of St. Peters Basilica. After Easter morning Mass, Francis boarded the white popemobile for a whirl through the square among the cheering ranks of the crowd. In Spain, believers and secular enthusiasts flocked back in large numbers to Holy Week processions this week for the first time since the start of the pandemic after most health restrictions were lifted. Advertisement Jill Lawless in London, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Medyka, Poland, contributed. Lauding the development of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, he said, "India is no longer known just for service, but is known for contributing to the world and moving forward under the leadership of PM Modi." He also highlighted Karnataka's emergence as an Information Technology hub in the world. "Today Karnataka is developing as one of the leading IT hubs of the world. The people of Karnataka are enterprising, hardworking and have the desire to move forward. Karnataka is poised to scale new heights and preserve ancient cultures," he added. He also emphasised on the 'Mission 150' plan for Karnataka and stated that the BJP will do its best to fulfil the plan. Earlier, he visited the Bhatrahalli Anjaneya temple in Hosapete. The BJP president is on a two-day visit to Karnataka. (ANI) The Supreme Court will deliver an order on the plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case on Monday. On April 4, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana had reserved the order after hearing all the parties. Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government had said that it is a grave offence but accused Ashish Mishra is not a flight risk. He further submitted that it is a serious case as five people have died. "It is matter of trial," he had said. The apex court was hearing a plea seeking the cancellation of bail of Ashish Mishra, who is the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni. Ashish Mishra was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on February 10. The SC-appointed committee recommended preferring the appeal to cancel the bail of Ashish Mishra. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for petitioners, had urged the Supreme Court to set aside the order of the Allahabad High Court granting bail to Mishra.Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ashish Mishra, justified the Allahabad High Court order. Senior Advocate Jethmalani had submitted that all witnesses are under police protection and there is no possibility of witness tampering. He had also apprised the Court that the "state has vehemently opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra in Allahabad High Court." Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for petitioners, had submitted that the order of Allahabad HC suffered from complete non-application of mind. Earlier, in an affidavit, Uttar Pradesh Government told the Supreme Court that the state has made all efforts to protect the witnesses and families of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incidentThe Uttar Pradesh Government had told the Supreme Court that all the witnesses are regularly contacted by the police for appraisal of their security conditions. The submission of Uttar Pradesh came in an affidavit, replying to the petition seeking to cancel bail to Ashish Mishra. Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court it had opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra in the Allahabad High Court and the submission of the petition that the State did not effectively oppose the bail application of the accused Ashish Mishra is completely untrue. In the earlier hearing advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, said that one of the prime protected witnesses was brutally attacked, a few days after bail was granted to Ashish Mishra. Family members of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. In the Special Leave Petition, family members of the deceased challenged the Allahabad High Court order dated February 10, 2022, wherein Ashish Mishra was granted regular bail. The petitioner said that the Allahabad HC order is unsustainable in law. They also said that they have approached the Apex Court as the State of Uttar Pradesh has failed to prefer any appeal against the impugned order. Ashish Mishra was released from jail in February followed by Allahabad High Court granting him bail. Eight people, including four farmers, died in violence on October 3, 2020, in Lakhimpur Kheri. Earlier, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee headed by retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. (ANI) "Attacks on Ram Navami and Hanuman Janmotsav Shobha Yatras are a conspiracy to disintegrate the society in a designed manner. The behaviour of Congress on this subject is most irresponsible," said Nadda. He also alleged that the previous governments of the southern state freed the accused from the Popular Front of India. "It was the Siddaramaiah government of Congress which did the work of freeing the people from PFI. Our government will take action against the culprits," he added. He also stressed that the current government would take necessary actions against the miscreants and the facts would come out sooner or later. Earlier, he visited the Bhatrahalli Anjaneya temple in Hosapete. The BJP president is on a two-day visit to Karnataka. (ANI) The Police along with 15 Rashtriya Rifles at a checkpoint established at Sonmullah Crossing intercepted a suspicious person who on seeing joint naka party tried to flee from the spot but the alert party apprehended him tactfully. He has been identified as Bashir Ahmad Kumar, the official release by the police stated. During his personal search, incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one Chinese Pistol, two Pistol Magazines, 13 live rounds of 9 mm and a mobile phone were recovered from his possession. Affiliation and involvement of the arrested terrorist associate is being ascertained, the police said. Accordingly, a case under relevant sections of law has been registered in Vilgam Police Station and an investigation has been initiated. Further probe into the matter is underway. (ANI) The State Investigation Agency (SIA) tightened the noose around the author of a seditious article Abdul Aala Fazili and the Editor and other associates of the monthly digital magazine "The Kashmir Wala". The search was held at several locations in Srinagar, informed the officials on Sunday. "The article titled "The shackles of slavery will break" written by Abdul Aala Fazili and published in the monthly digital magazine "The Kashmir Wala" on the one hand is highly provocative, written with the purpose of abetting the youth to take the path of violence by glorifying terrorism and on the other, the write-up promoted and propagated the false narrative, which is essential to sustain secessionist-cum-terrorist campaign aimed at breaking the territorial integrity of India," informed the police in an official statement. The officials also informed that the repeated reference to freedom and terror outfit's rhetoric makes it amply clear that the article is not 'merely propaganda but also the articulation of Pakistan ISI and the vision of its sponsored terrorist secessionist networks.' The searches for the collection of evidence, by the sleuths of SIA of Jammu and Kashmir, were conducted at the Office of The Kashmir Walla at Rajbagh, at the residence of Abdul Aala Fazili at and the residence of Fahad Shah (Editor of the monthly digital magazine) at Soura Srinagar. The search teams seized incriminating evidence, which includes the material in computers, laptops and other digital equipment. (ANI) To protest against the soaring fuel prices, members of auto, taxi and cab drivers' associations in Delhi have decided to go on a strike from Monday for two days. Several unions of auto and cab drivers are demanding that the fare rates be hiked and fuel prices be reduced. The strike has not been called off despite assurance from the Delhi government to resolve their issues. The Delhi government had announced forming a committee to look into fare revision in a time-bound manner. Auto and Taxi Association of Delhi, a unit of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, has announced a strike in Delhi on April 18 and 19. They claim that a large number of autos and cabs will not hit the streets of Delhi on these two days. General Secretary of Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh, Rajendra Soni in a telephonic conversation with ANI alleged that the Central and the Delhi government is not paying heed to their demands. He said that they wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 30 highlighting their demands which include subsidy on CNG prices. "We did not receive a response from the government. We staged a protest for two days and are now compelled to go on strike," he said. Listing demands of the auto and cab unions, Soni said, "We do not want the fare to increase, because it will affect the pockets of the common people as well. Our only demand is that the government does not increase the fuel price and give us subsidy on CNG prices. We demand that the government provide Rs 35 per kg subsidy on CNG prices." Soni assured that the protest would be peaceful; however, he warned that some elements - in favour of the government - might attempt to disrupt the protest. However, many more unions associated with auto and taxis are not joining this strike. Delhi State President of Capital Driver Welfare Association, Chandu Chaurasia told ANI that Gramin Seva and e-rickshaw will not take part in the strike on April 18 and 19. "As usual, we will continue to serve the people of Delhi," he said. However, Chaurasia also supported the demand for subsidy on CNG and said that we should definitely get relief. President of the Sarvodaya Drivers' Association of Delhi, Kamaljeet Gill said that Ola and Uber cab drivers will go on a strike on from April 18. "Ola and Uber fares have not been increased since 2015 and we have protested against this many times but the government did not pay heed. In these seven years, the prices of CNG and petrol started soaring high," he said. Singh also said that the protest will not stop until a solution to the problem is found. "We have support from Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Strikes will also start there tomorrow," he added. The price of CNG is currently Rs 71.61 per kg in Delhi. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met migrant workers in the national capital on Sunday and said that a cell would be formed in Dehradun to solve the problems of the migrant residents of Uttarakhand. The official press release by the Chief Minister's office conveyed, "Today, the migrant people of Uttarakhand met Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at Uttarakhand Sadan in New Delhi. Chief Minister Shri Dhami expected everyone to be cooperative in the development of Uttarakhand." Chief Minister Dhami said that a cell would be formed in Dehradun to solve the problems of the migrant residents of Uttarakhand. Through this cell, along with resolving the problems of the migrant brothers, efforts will be made to implement their suggestions related to the interest of the state. Dhami said that the people of our state have brought laurels to the name of Uttarakhand besides creating a unique identity outside the state on the strength of their talent. He said that our expatriate people of Uttarakhand are not only partners in the development of our state but also our brand ambassadors. (ANI) They were arrested from Kazchaparambu in Palakkad while they were trying to escape to Kodungallur, police said. Investigating officers said that all five are natives of Elapully where the murder took place. The people who were taken into custody , according to police had provided the necessary support to the accused in the murder and had participated in the conspiracy. It may be noted that Subair was hacked to death on Friday while he was returning home after offering prayers at a local mosque along with his father, Aboobacker. Police said that the assailants hit the bike in which Subair was driving with his father pillion riding. They hacked Subair to death in front of his father who suffered minor injuries in the fall. After the killing of Subair on Friday, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists hacked to death a former RSS pracharak , Sreenivasan (45) on Saturday. The killings and counter killings have sent shock waves across the people of the state during festival time with Vishu, Easter being celebrated on Friday and Sunday and for Muslims its the holy Ramzan month . --IANS aal/pgh ( 228 Words) 2022-04-17-20:54:03 (IANS) Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma on Sunday urged the Bangladesh government to felicitate industries to set up units in Tripura to take the existing business relations between both the countries to a new height. Varma, who also happens to be the Finance Minister of the state, observed that both the countries will be equally benefited if Bangladesh Industries open manufacturing units in the state given the relaxations granted by the Government of India. He said that Tripura is all set to become the trade corridor of the entire North East India and Bangladesh should be a part of it. During the inaugural speech for the three-day 'Bharat-Bangladesh Paryatan Utsav' (Indo-Bangla Tourism Festival) at Ujjayanta Palace, Varma said, "We want Bangladesh industries to invest in Tripura. The Bangladesh government can encourage their industries to show interest in Tripura and become a part of the state's development. Both sides will be immensely benefited by this." "Our government is setting up a land port and work is progressing for the proposed special economic zone (SEZ) in Sabroom of Tripura's south district. Our state is all set to become a trade corridor for the entire Northeast region," he added. Varma further said that Tripura and Bangladesh share close relations for many decades and both the regions have potential in the tourism sector. "We are neighbours, not only geographically but also historically and culturally. The sole purpose of such events is to strengthen the strong friendship we share for decades", the minister said. Dr Md Abdus Shahid, MP and Chairman of Committee on Estimates and Former Chief Whip of Bangladesh Parliament said that tourism plays an important role in boosting the economic sector and such events help to strengthen the bonding between both the countries. Tripura Tourism minister Pranajit Singha Roy said Tripura has secured the second position in the North East region in terms of foreign tourist footfalls. "Most of the tourists come from Bangladesh." The three-day event started with an indigenous food festival and cultural events. A rally was also organized on the first day of the festival to celebrate the event. (ANI) Former Army Chief Gen JJ Singh has sought an explanation from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadda over a meeting with British Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi who has an anti- India stand on the Kashmir issue. "Despite knowing that Dhesi has an anti-India stand on Kashmir, why CM Mann and Raghav Chadda met him recently in Punjab and must explain what assurance has been given to the British MP by Maan and Chadda," Gen Singh said. He further said that it was said that discussions were held on giving certain facilities to the Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in Punjab. He also said the Indian government has given many facilities to the NRIs of Punjab and many of them have been de-listed from the 'black list' and were allowed to visit the state. In 2019, Dhesi had said: "I do not support the Indian government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and removing the statehood from the Kashmiris." He had reiterated his stand when he came to India in August 2019 and had criticised the Indian government for abrogating Article 370 and dividing the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Gen Singh's remarks came ahead of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India from April 21-22. This will be his maiden visit to India as the Prime Minister of UK and he will discuss various bilateral issues with Indian Prime MInister Narendra Modi on trade, defence and Ukraine crisis. --IANS ams/pgh ( 265 Words) 2022-04-17-21:28:05 (IANS) KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian fighters holed up in a steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from the Russians on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. The fall of Mariupol, the site of a merciless, 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin, would be Moscows biggest victory of the war yet and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. Advertisement As its missiles and rockets slammed into other parts of the country, Russia estimated 2,500 Ukrainian troops and about 400 foreign mercenaries were dug in at the hulking Azovstal steel mill, which covers more than 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is laced with tunnels. Moscow gave the defenders a midday deadline to surrender, saying those who laid down their arms were guaranteed to keep their lives. The Ukrainians rejected it, just as they did with previous ultimatums. Advertisement We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABCs This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but we do not have intention to surrender. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Easter greetings via Twitter, saying: The Lords Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil. If Mariupol falls, Russian forces there are expected to join an all-out offensive in the coming days for control of the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin is bent on capturing after failing in its bid to take Kyiv, Ukraines capital. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have killed at least 21,000 people, by the Ukrainians estimate. A maternity hospital was hit by a lethal Russian airstrike in the opening weeks of the war, and about 300 people were reported killed in the bombing of a theater where civilians were taking shelter. An estimated 100,000 remained in the city out of a prewar population of 450,000, trapped without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for battle in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Firefighters work to extinguish fire at an apartments building after a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (Andrew Marienko/AP) Russian forces, meanwhile, carried out aerial attacks near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity ahead of the anticipated assault. Advertisement After the humiliating sinking of the flagship of Russias Black Sea Fleet last week in what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack, the Kremlin had vowed to step up strikes on the capital. Russia said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Explosions were also reported overnight in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least two people were killed when Russian forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote, near the front line in the Donbas. At least five people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris, including part of at least one rocket. Russia also said that its forces shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jets in the Kharkiv region and destroyed two Ukrainian command posts and a radar system for S-300 surface-to-air missiles in the city of Avdiivka, north of Donetsk city. Ukrainian officials did not immediately confirm the claimed losses. Advertisement Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the Russians continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to reinforce their ground troops. Capturing the southern city on the Sea of Azov would allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets. The looming offensive in the east, if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory that he could sell to the Russian people amid the wars mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the Wests sanctions. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow this week the first European leader to do so since the invasion Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. Without explicitly mentioning Putins decision to invade, Pope Francis made an anguished Easter Sunday plea for peace in Ukraine, decrying this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged. Advertisement Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. Notably, Tripura has crossed the national average covering 50.32 per cent of rural households with drinking water tap connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme, said the state Drinking Water and Sanitation (DWS) Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Saturday. Taking note of the state's performance, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has rewarded the Tripura government Rs 100 crore, Chowdhury added. Tripura has urged the Bangladesh government to felicitate industries to set up units in Tripura to take the existing business relations between both countries to a new height. Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, who also happens to be the Finance Minister of the state, observed that both the countries will be equally benefited if Bangladesh Industries open manufacturing units in the state given the relaxations granted by the Government of India. Meanwhile, BJP National President JP Nadda will be visiting Tripura for a two day-visit to address a state conference of the party and to review the party's organizational progress. Although dates are yet to be finalized, preliminary works to turn the maiden visit of Nadda after being appointed as the national president a success are underway, sources informed. (ANI) Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning. This is his maiden visit to Delhi after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term. After being administered the oath, Singh had said that his government's first task would be to make Manipur a corruption-free state and will work day and night to wash out the corruption from the state. "Next task would be to wash out all drugs-related matter from the state and thirdly, would try to see that all the insurgents operating in the state are brought to the negotiating table and political dialogues are held with them," he added. Notably, Union Home Ministry declared the entire state of Manipur excluding the areas falling under the jurisdiction of 15 Police Stations as "Disturbed Area" for a period of six months with effect from April 1, 2022 in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (Act No.28 of 1958). As per the order, AFSPA has been withdrawn from Imphal, Lamphel, City, Singjamei, Sekmai, Lamsang, Patsoi, Porompat, Heingang, Lamlai, Irilbun, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakchin and Jiribam police stations in Manipur. The Disturbed Area Declaration in the entire Manipur (except the Imphal Municipality area) is in operation since 2004. BJP retained power in Manipur by winning an absolute majority with 32 seats in the 60-member House in the Assembly polls. Singh, along with cabinet ministers Thongam Biswajit Singh, Yumnam Khemchand Singh, Govindas Konthoujam, and Nemcha Kipgen, all from the BJP, and Awngbow Newmai from the Naga People's Front (NPF) were administered the oath by Governor La Ganesan. The Congress had bagged five seats and the NPP won seven seats. Naga People's Front bagged five and the Kuki People's Alliance got two seats. Independents bagged three seats. The BJP had formed the previous government in the state with the support of the Naga People's Front (NPF) and the National People's Party (NPP) with Biren Singh as Chief Minister. (ANI) An international team of environmental scientists have warned that the world's coral reefs - the 'canaries in the coal mine' of climate change - may vanish in the coming 30 years. Coral reefs are home to over a quarter of all ocean life. They are also a source of food, livelihoods, and cultural heritage for 500 million people, and protect coastlines and communities from storms and erosion. Forecasts show that coral reef eco-systems around the globe are likely to become functionally degraded by 2050, if the goals of the Paris Agreement are not met. Even with drastic emission reductions to ensure global warming is kept within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up to 90 per cent of the world's corals could still vanish in the next three decades, leaving behind a reef structure that will lose many of its functions. Drawing on expertise from universities and wildlife conservation groups from across the world, including the University of Leicester, the scientists published a series of significant recommendations to protect, conserve the world's coral reefs. "Coral reefs are the 'canaries in the coal mine' when it comes to sensing ecosystems under stress from ocean warming due to climate change. Corals can sense when ocean temperatures exceed a dangerous threshold and warn us when we need to take measures," said Jens Zinke, Professor of Palaeobiology at Leicester. "Our research has shown that coral reefs have been severely impacted by ocean warming in the past three to four decades, yet some reef locations show lower rates of warming or benefit from mitigating circumstances due to local oceanography. "Some reefs have the ability to resist or recover from thermal stress faster than others, and these reefs may serve as sanctuaries under future warming. This is a major new research direction - to find those locations and protect them before they are gone," Zinke said. The scientist published the latest recommendations in the white paper Forecasting Climate Sanctuaries for Securing the Future of Coral Reefs. These include expansion of the 50 Reefs conservation portfolio for climate change to include coral resistance and recovery sanctuaries. They also called sustainable financing initiatives to support the implementation of regional portfolios; and catalysing large-scale, data-driven coral reef monitoring efforts to test and develop new models and predictions of climate sanctuaries. --IANS rvt/pgh ( 394 Words) 2022-04-16-23:10:01 (IANS) Alarmed at the recent fraud allegations at some of its portfolio startups like BharatPe, Zilingo and Trell, top investor Sequoia Capital India on Sunday said it will continue to respond strongly when it encounters "willful misconduct or fraud", and take tough action wherever needed. One of the biggest investors in the Indian and Southeast Asia startup ecosystem, it said that recently, some portfolio founders have been under investigation for potential fraudulent practices or poor governance. "These allegations are deeply disturbing. We have always strongly encouraged founders to play the long game. We focus on the enduring, and discourage focussing on vanity metrics. Despite that we find some counter-examples of what we espouse," the VC said in a blog post. BharatPe co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover, along with his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, has been charged by the fintech platform of "extensive misappropriation of company funds" and using "company expense accounts" to "enrich themselves and fund their lavish lifestyles". The Grovers are no more a part of the fintech company which initiated an internal probe against them. On the other hand, online fashion marketplace Zilingo has suspended its founder and CEO Ankiti Bose following a probe over wrongdoing in accounting books. Shailendra Singh, Sequoia Capital India's head, has left the board of the Zilingo. Live commerce startup Trell also probed claims that its founders siphoned off money. Without naming the startups, Sequoia Capital India said that all it "makes us reflect on what we could have done, along with other investors who have partnered in these companies, to prevent such situations". "It is easy to think of this issue as ascribed to poor due diligence. But let's remember that when investments are made at seed or early stage there is hardly a business to diligence. Even later stage investors can face negative surprises, post investment, if there is wilful fraud and intent," the company noted. It said that the board is there to govern and help make decisions in the best interest of the shareholders. "The board is not responsible to investigate on an ongoing basis unless something formally is brought up with them, which is often through a whistleblower," said the top investor. "Better corporate governance is a shared responsibility between founders, management and the board. And to get there the ecosystem needs to come together and commit to some changes." Sequoia Capital India said it will continue to have zero tolerance towards proven wrongdoing. "We won't hesitate to act to protect the interest of the company and employees, even if it costs us financially. We will take tough calls where needed in the interest of doing what is right," the leading investor stressed. "Our worst days are when we hear about breaches of integrity or ethics in the portfolio. This is the stuff that pains us deeply. And it's time we speak about this," it added. --IANS na/vd ( 496 Words) 2022-04-17-19:38:02 (IANS) Washington [US], April 17 (ANI/Sputnik): A total of 12 people were injured as a result of the shooting that occurred at a mall in the city of Columbia, in the US state of South Carolina, according to the Columbia Police Department. Police Chief William "Skip" Holbrook told reporters during a Saturday briefing, broadcast on social media, that no one was killed in the shooting, but a total of ten people were hit by gunfire, while two others were injured during the "stampede" following the incident. The victims' ages range between 15 and 75; two of the injured are in critical condition, according to Holbrook. "This was not a situation where we had some random person show up at a mall to discharge a firearm and injure people," Holbrook told reporters, adding that the three individuals who were delayed "knew each other" and that the shooting was the result of "some type of conflict." (ANI/Sputnik) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the demise of Bilquis Edhi, a Pakistani humanitarian activist, in Karachi and said that her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. "My sincere condolences on the passing of Bilquis Edhi. Her lifelong dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. People in India too remember her fondly. May her soul rest in peace," PM Modi tweeted on Saturday. Earlier, the Indian embassy in Pakistan has expressed condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Bano Edhi. "High Commission of India expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Edhi. Hers and Edhi foundation's humanitarian assistance is well appreciated across borders. RIP," tweeted the Indian embassy. Notably, Bilquis Edhi, founder of Edhi Foundation, a social welfare organization in Pakistan, adopted the specially-abled Indian girl Geeta, who was found sitting alone on the Samjhauta Express by the Pakistan Rangers at the Lahore railway station when she was just seven or eight years old. Geeta was later brought to India from Pakistan back in 2015. Bilquis, whose death was confirmed by her son Faisal Edhi, passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 74 on Friday, reported the Dawn newspaper. According to a spokesperson of the Edhi Foundation, Bilquis was suffering from "multiple ailments". "She had heart problems in addition to lung issues," the media outlet quoted him as saying. The wife of renowned humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Bilquis was rushed to a private hospital in Karachi earlier this week after her blood pressure suddenly dropped. A professional nurse, Bilquis was called the Mother of Pakistan. Her charity saved thousands of unwanted babies by placing jhoolas (cradles) at Edhi Homes and centres across the country. She was felicitated with various national and foreign awards including the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice (2015), and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, which she received along with her husband in 1986, according to the media outlet. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi, and former premier Imran Khan, among others, expressed grief on the demise of Bilquis Bano Edhi. (ANI) Moscow [Russia], April 17 (ANI/Sputnik): Nationalist militants and foreign mercenaries blocked by the Russian Armed Forces at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol have until Sunday to lay down arms and surrender, Col . Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's National Defense Control Center, said. "Considering the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, and being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces propose that militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries stop all hostilities and lay down arms starting from 06:00 Moscow time [ 03:00 GMT] on April 17, 2022," Mizintsev said. He added that all those who lay down arms are guaranteed life. According to Mizintsev, the nationalists and mercenaries at Azovstal are "persistently demanding permission from the authorities in Kiev to lay down their arms and surrender. At the same time, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities categorically forbid doing this and are threatening [them] with subsequent executions." Mizintsev pointed out that, on Saturday, April 16, there was a sharp increase in the intensity of radio communications by militants of nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries at Azovstal. According to Russian Defense Ministry's representative, the militants "are in a hopeless situation, with virtually no food or water." A ceasefire is being declared in the Azovstal area starting from 02:30 GMT on Sunday, Mizintsev specified, saying that the Russian forces expect the Ukrainian armed units and foreign mercenaries to exit the plant without any weapons or ammunition between 03:00 and 10: 00 GMT on Sunday. On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that all of Mariupol's urban area had been cleared of Ukrainian troops, with more than 4,000 soldiers eliminated over the past day alone. According to the Russian military, the remnants of the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol remain blocked at the Azovstal metallurgical plant. (ANI/Sputnik) The Mauritius Premier is arriving in India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his visit, Jugnauth will participate in the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar next Tuesday as well as in the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, along with PM Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. The Mauritius PM will also pay a visit to Varanasi apart from his official engagements in Gujarat and New Delhi. "India and Mauritius enjoy uniquely close ties, bound by shared history, culture, and heritage. The upcoming visit will further strengthen the vibrant bilateral ties," MEA said. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary to the Cabinet of Mauritius NK Ballah in New Delhi and said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries was "progressing from strength to strength". Earlier in January, PM Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth had jointly inaugurated the India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually. They also launched the Civil Service College and 8 MW Solar PV Farm project in Mauritius that is being undertaken under India's development support. (ANI) Sri Lanka's Opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) five MPs (Members of Parliament) will join the hundreds of protesters at Galle Face, the ongoing protests which erupted in the city of Colombo a few days back, if the need arises. The five MPs name Harin Fernando, Manusha Nanayakkara, Mujibur Rahman, Kavinda Jayawardena and Hector Appuharmy, Daily Mirror reported. "We are willing to forget party politics and join the protesters if the need arises," MP Fernando said. "We will back the protesters, especially if the government tries to suppress their rights," he added. The MPs appealed to the protesters to not get discouraged by the acts of the government. The Sri Lankans are protesting against the government's handling of the economic situation. At the time when the nationals were celebrating their new year, a massive protest erupted in the Galle Face Green area. Protesters have been accusing Rajapaksa's government of corruption and misrule. Meanwhile, SJB will hold a meeting today to decide their next move regarding the no-confidence motion against the ruling government and impeachment motion against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The SJB party said that it is planning to hand over the impeachment motion and the no-confidence motion to the Speaker when the parliament convenes on April 19 after the New Year holidays, Colombo Page reported. The Leader of the Opposition, and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, on Wednesday, signed the impeachment motion against the President and the no-confidence motion against the government. 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. (ANI) "UNAMA is deeply concerned by reports of civilian casualties, including women and children, as a result of airstrikes in Khost & Kunar provinces last night. Civilians are never a target. UNAMA is working to establish facts on the ground and verify the extent of losses," UNAMA tweeted. Meanwhile, the Taliban have summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. The local officials on Saturday of the Khost and Kunar provinces confirmed that the Pakistani aircraft launched the airstrikes on different parts of the provinces, killing five children and a woman. Officials of the Khost province said that the Pakistani aircraft bombed the Pesa Mila, and Mir Safar areas of the province on Friday night, according to Khaama Press. While, the local residents of the province said that the airstrikes were conducted in the Spera district of Khost province, killing 33 members of two families. Moreover, the local residents of Shaltan district of Kunar province said that five children and a woman were killed in the airstrike conducted by Pakistan. Upon this, Pakistan government nor the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has commented on the bombing but the Pakistani media said that the bombings have targeted the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pashtun Islamist militant groups in those provinces, as per reported by Khaama Press. (ANI) Chicago Fire Department Lt. Quention Curtis, 56, speaks with students at the Black Fire Brigade in the Washington Park neighborhood on April 7, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Quention Curtis said hes tired of talking about race and the Chicago Fire Department. Its no secret that Black firefighters have lagged far behind their white counterparts for decades. What the veteran fire lieutenant-emergency medical technician would like to focus on is how more training could increase the number of Black candidates applying for firefighting jobs, leading to more Black people in the ranks. Advertisement A clause in a collective bargaining agreement from the early 1980s requires the department to strive for as close to 45% minority representation as possible in all ranks. The department of nearly 4,800 uniformed members currently has 721 Black employees, which represents 15%. Of that number, 422 are firefighters, 35 of them women, according to department numbers the Tribune received in a records request. Hispanic representation is higher at 18%. The departments most common rank, firefighter-EMT, had 277 Black employees compared with 796 white and 283 Hispanic, according to a personnel report from the citys office of public safety administration. On the paramedics side, the numbers are more stark. The department had 33 Black paramedics, compared with 257 white and 76 Hispanic. Advertisement The departments command staff, including captains, lieutenants, engineers and battalion chiefs is also largely white and male. It is what it is. Its an unspoken thing, Curtis said recently at the Black Fire Brigades South Side firehouse on South Wabash Avenue, one of two it owns. I tell people I dont want to talk about racism it was here before I got here; itll be here when Im gone. Lets talk about change. What are we going to do to change it? Chicago Fire Department Lt. Quention Curtis with former student Ian Price at Curtis' Black Fire Brigade in the Washington Park neighborhood on April 7, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Raised in Cabrini-Green, Curtis runs the fire brigade, his own not-for-profit that trains young people and minorities in firefighting techniques so they can earn professional licenses. With this training, brigade graduates are better equipped to apply for paramedic and EMT jobs, or take the CFD entrance test when offered. The test was last given in 2014. Because of years of litigation and large applicant pools, tests have been offered infrequently. In a city with a falling but still large Black population, encouraging more Black residents to join the ranks of the Fire Department has the potential to revitalize troubled neighborhoods, Curtis, 57, said. Though three African Americans have led the Fire Department, including current Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt, the departments first Black woman leader, the upper ranks are still mostly male and white. Even with a recruitment push by Fire Department brass, the number of Black firefighters and paramedics has fallen to third behind Hispanics and whites of the same rank. I need diversity greatly in my entry ranks and up through, Nance-Holt said during a budget hearing in October, according to Block Club Chicago. Because the only way to get people to this position (is for them) to walk in the door. If we cant get them in the door, we cant make them engineers, lieutenants, captains on up the ranks. Low numbers arent unique to Chicago; the federal government has investigated fire departments in New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Florida, according to published reports. Advertisement Last year, organizations representing Los Angeles Black and Latino firefighters called for a federal investigation into claims of rampant racial bias and ill treatment within the department, according to the Los Angeles Times. Along with creating the culture, traditions and character of the modern urban fire department, experts and historians say an Irish chain of command maintained an insular social hierarchy that opposed any advancement of Black firefighters across the country. The result has been an industry where white men make up about 80% of U.S. career firefighters, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Chicago, veteran and retired Black firefighters are also fearful that an expected cascade of retirements by Black firefighters will further reduce the departments numbers. Curtis will hit his 35th year with CFD in December. Chicago Fire Department Lt. Quention Curtis talks with students at the Black Fire Brigade in the Washington Park neighborhood on April 7, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) But he is convinced that programs steering young adults toward fire services with high salaries offers a path toward middle class living and could lead to welcome cash infusions in the citys underserved neighborhoods. Advertisement The starting salary for a firefighter/EMT is about $63,000 a year, but salaries can quickly rise based on certifications and licenses. Curtis said fewer Black firefighters in the department equals a missing stable income in neighborhoods that desperately need them. What does that equate to? Crime. Bottom line. An opportunity to make a difference Carmelita Wiley-Earls has the deft touch of a velvet hammer, a mix thats part grandmother, part drill sergeant. Her speaking voice is soft, but commanding, as one would expect of a woman who served as a deputy district chief, a fire marshal and the commander of the fire academy before her retirement last November. She says her rough and tumble upbringing on the West Side prepared her for a CFD career that has included some unpleasant experiences and challenges by subordinates. I grew up with four brothers that didnt like me so it was a perfect fit, she said in a second-floor instruction room at the brigades Washington Park firehouse. What I didnt understand was that they were preparing me for this job. Isolation. Nonacceptance. Earning your way ... which is not a bad thing. Sometimes you need to be isolated to focus. Wiley-Earls uses the lessons of her 30-year career to help instruct and hopefully inspire the young men and women attending the fire brigades training course that has produced 460 graduates who earned a state paramedics license and are working for fire departments and ambulance companies. The graduates include 130 single mothers and 13 homeless people. Advertisement Carmelita Wiley-Earls at a decommissioned firehouse in Chicago on Nov. 19, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) The Black Fire Brigade prepares students that have never been exposed to this type of opportunity and Im going to keep talking about that word, because thats all it is. Its an opportunity to make a difference, she said. City residents, Wiley-Earls said, have the tools and its been proven 460 times. Walking through the doors from various backgrounds, from homeless to two-parent homes. So its not about strength, its about will. Curtis founded the fire brigade in June 2018 with the joint aim of training young residents and creating a Black firefighters museum. The organization bought the two South Side firehouses and has a refurbished fire engine called Engine 21 after the citys first Black company. The fire brigade does not charge tuition and is funded through donations. It is designed to not only teach lifesaving skills but also introduce applicants to the sense of shared purpose and camaraderie of a firehouse. The best thing about this program is theyre around firefighter culture because we operate this like a fire department, Curtis said. Theyre learning about a first responder family and how we stick together. Curtis said his goal is to make Black firefighters more visible in Black communities, inspiring their youth. Were there to save your life and everybody knows it. Firemen are our heroes, Curtis said. Advertisement But imagine, Wiley-Earls interjects, Imagine if there was more Black heroes coming to your house to save you? Then the image of what you see will change. Curtis said he hopes that an uptick in Black hiring could offset the racial disparity in many CFD ranks. Vital positions with the highest Black and white disparity include firefighter/emergency medical technicians, new recruits and engineers, along with ranking positions such as lieutenants, captains and battalion chiefs. Only about 9% of CFD is female, according to city statistics. In a statement, a spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department said hiring is handled by the citys Department of Human Resources rather than the Fire Department itself, and that much of the reason for the racial imbalance is the low number of Blacks who apply to take the test. The next test is planned for later this year. Chicago Fire Department Lt. Quention Curtis adjusts Mia Richardson's uniform at the Black Fire Brigade in the Washington Park neighborhood on April 7, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) The Chicago Fire Department believes that its members should reflect the diverse makeup of Chicagos residents, but this must be primarily driven by the makeup of those who sit for and pass the entrance exam and subsequent qualifications for admission to the Quinn Fire Academy, the statement said. Eric Strong, a retired Black CFD battalion chief who runs Malcolm X Colleges fire service operations program, said there are big challenges in recruiting eligible young Black candidates, including a general lack of awareness of firefighting jobs and the loss of the best qualified Black candidates who are lured to college or lucrative private-sector jobs. Advertisement The lack of access to neighborhood firehouses also puts Black youth at a disadvantage, said Strong, the father of a CFD firefighter. It has to do more with the fact that they dont see any, he said. Theres no one to talk to about the job, the benefits of being a firefighter. You see a guy in a uniform or on that truck, you look at him and think Maybe I can do it, too. Ive had many white officers, good friends, who spoke of how they got inspired by the neighborhood firehouse being able to visit, to come in and see things, Strong said. Retired fire Capt. Ezra McCann is among those who have doubts about the citys recruitment efforts, believing its past racist policies obscure any notions of progress. During his career, McCann turned over an infamous video of a 1990 party at a Woodlawn firehouse that captured a group of white firefighters making ethnic slurs, drinking beer and exposing themselves. He later sued the city claiming his superiors retaliated for turning over the tape. McCann, who joined the department in 1977 in a wave of court-ordered hires that boosted Black firefighter totals by 250, accuses the department and the city of dragging its feet when it comes to hiring Black firefighters and giving preference to white applicants living in white cop and firefighter neighborhoods on the edges of the city. Advertisement The fix has always been in for these city jobs to go to white communities: Mount Greenwood, Jefferson Park, all of these communities up around OHare airport and on the Southwest Side. McCann said. A long history of segregation The increase in Black political influence as its population increased did little to clear a path for Black firefighters to be hired and promoted. In 1872, a year after the Great Chicago Fire, Chicago created Engine 21, the citys first Black fire company that gained the begrudging respect of whites and was credited with creating the iconic firemans pole, according to Tribune reports. But the early heroism of the Black company didnt lead to many more positions or spots in white firehouses. In cities such as Chicago, New York and Boston, Black progress on fire departments was often met with outright hostility, Wayne State University professor David Goldberg wrote in his book Black Firefighters and the FDNY: The Struggle for Jobs, Justice and Equity in New York City, which made comparisons among racially segregated departments. CFD was one of the first departments investigated by the federal government for racial bias in hiring, which Mayor Richard J. Daley and his fire commissioner, Robert Quinn, denied. Photograph of Engine 21 from 1873, on display at The African American Firefighters Museum on Feb. 16, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) The citys force stayed lily white well into the 1970s under the 21-year rule of Quinn, a Bridgeport native and boyhood friend of Daley. Quinn was a hero fireman who was something of a neighborhood legend after he infamously blared an air raid siren after the Chicago White Sox won a pennant in 1959. Advertisement Quinns 1979 Tribune obituary noted his reputation both as a straight talking firemans fireman, and a bigot. He once told reporters the reason why there were so few Black firefighters was because They dont like heat and smoke. In another interview, Quinn said: We have never had any discrimination in the Chicago Fire Department. It just seems that the Irish and the Polish are the people that try to be firemen. In 1963, Ald. Leon Despres introduced a resolution asking that Quinn end the discrimination, citing only 187 Black firefighters out of 4,514 and only one integrated unit. In the next nine years, only nine additional African Americans joined the department. The following year in 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice brought a civil rights action against the city due to unlawful hiring and promotion practices against African Americans and Hispanics. At the time, Black and Hispanic employees comprised less than 5% of CFD uniformed personnel. In the ensuing decades, federal oversight of the department forced hiring for Black, Brown and female recruits through quota systems, inflaming divisions within the department. This spurred decades of dueling lawsuits between Black and white firefighters and applicants claiming racial bias and reverse discrimination. For decades we have tried to diversify the Chicago Fire Department. But at every turn, like most cities, we have been met with legal challenges from both sides, former Mayor Richard M. Daley said in 2010 after the Supreme Court reinstated a ruling that the city erred in using a scoring system for a 1995 firefighter test that eliminated a large number of minority candidates. A time for change For now, Strong wants to keep pushing efforts to introduce firefighting to local residents. Advertisement Malcolm X is planning to open a satellite CPR and EMT training center in the Chatham neighborhood and teach CPR courses at the West Side Learning Center in West Garfield Park, he said. Chicago Fire Department Lt. Quention Curtis with students at the Black Fire Brigade in the Washington Park neighborhood on April 7, 2022, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) The West Side college is also looking into establishing the first testing site in the city for the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a physical training course whose successful completion is required to work on city and suburban departments. Curtis said he thinks the time is right for change in CFD. Old racist attitudes have lost steam as firefighters of different races and genders share quarters in firehouses. Its a different time now. The whole racist adage is almost over ... everybodys (racially) mixed today, and white kids grow up with Black kids, he said. Curtis said he believes problems with Black hiring will end when the city makes it a priority. Lets get out of racism and start talking about the administration. If the administrations turned a blind eye, thats your problem. Advertisement wlee@chicagotribune.com Twitter@Midnoircowboy Condemning the incident on Twitter, Khan said, "For the first time ever, Pakistani military aircrafts bombarded Afghan soil under the Taliban, killing more than 40 civilians. Though, Pakistan has been killing Afghans through her proxy forces, the Taliban and Mujahideen, for decades." Khan also shared a picture of the corpses of the people killed in the incident and called the International criminal court and Amnesty International to take note of Pakistani war crimes in Afghanistan. The local officials on Saturday of the Khost and Kunar provinces confirmed that the Pakistani aircraft launched the airstrikes on different parts of the provinces. Following the incident, the Taliban summoned Pakistan's ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the incident. According to the country's foreign ministry, the Afghan acting minister of foreign affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi and the acting deputy defence minister Alhaj Mullah Shirin Akhund were present in the meeting and condemned the attacks by Pakistani forces. "Pakistani Ambassador to Kabul Summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, today. Along with the IEA Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the session also included Deputy Defense Minister Alhaj Mullah Shirin Akhund where the Afghan side condemned the recent," it tweeted. Meanwhile, according to analysts, the attacks indicate Pakistan's direct interference and violation of Afghan national sovereignty, reported ToloNews. "The airstrikes and ground operations conducted by the Pakistan forces alongside the (Durand Line) in Khost and Kunar are an obvious violation and interference in Afghan airspace and territory," the media outlet quoted Sadeq Shinwari, a political analyst, as saying. (ANI) The Sri Lankan Army has issued a statement urging the people to not be duped by malicious and misleading media reports that the troops are about to "cause violence in the ongoing protest", local media reported. "As evident in the past few days, different elements and groups with vested interests are poised to insult the troops and speculate alleging that the troops are about to cause violence, under training to assault, etc. which are completely false, fabricated and baseless," the statement said. The Army pointed out that certain parties are giving misleading and concocted interpretations and also propagating baseless and provocative allegations which are tarnishing the Army's reputation, Colombo Page reported. Dismissing the "corruption in a hospital" reports, Army said, "Those malicious reports, largely in the cyberspace, which also speak of corruption in a hospital due to their mere ignorance and lack of knowledge of Army tender procedures and well-structured and stipulated Advisory Boards of the Army claim that the organization has resorted to corruption in a hospital, a ridiculous allegation which is rejected outright by the Army as appalling and irrational." Notably, the Army has never been involved in any of the protests that took place in the island nation, reported Colombo Page. According to the statement, the Army pointed out that they have never acted against the interest of the state as the disciplined member of the country have always tried to bring peace to the country through their valuable sacrifices. The Army urged the citizens to have full confidence in the troops as has been in the past because current serving troops remain more trained, professionally qualified, and well-suited to take on any security challenge, in this scenario, only if the Police call us to assist them. (ANI) "Karzai condemned Pakistani forces' attacks in Kunar & Khost in which dozens of civilians--including women & children--were killed & wounded. He called them a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty, a violation of intl norms & a crime against humanity," TOLOnews reported. Meanwhile, the Taliban have summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. The local officials on Saturday of the Khost and Kunar provinces confirmed that the Pakistani aircraft launched the airstrikes on different parts of the provinces, killing five children and a woman. Officials of the Khost province said that the Pakistani aircraft bombed the Pesa Mila, and Mir Safar areas of the province on Friday night, according to Khaama Press.While, the local residents of the province said that the airstrikes were conducted in the Spera district of Khost province, killing 33 members of two families. Moreover, the local residents of Shaltan district of Kunar province said that five children and a woman were killed in the airstrike conducted by Pakistan. Upon this, Pakistan government nor the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has commented on the bombing but the Pakistani media said that the bombings have targeted the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pashtun Islamist militant groups in those provinces, as per reported by Khaama Press. (ANI) Reacting to the violence that broke out in the Punjab Assembly between the Opposition and treasury benches on Saturday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the country is heading towards civil unrest, reported local media. Taking to his Twitter, the PTI leader said, "We are inches away from full fledge Civil unrest, @ImranKhanPTI has exercised utmost restraint very soon even he won't be able to stop this very angry mob and we ll see Country plunging into a civil unrest." Terming his opponents 'imported leaders', Chaudhry said that they will not be able to leave the country. Another PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari said that the only solution to this civil unrest is elections. "These are just a few MPAs, imagine if the awam [public] goes out of control and takes the matter in their own hands... only solution to this civil unrest is elections. Let the people decide their own fate. Call elections!," The News International quoted Bukhari as saying. The PTI leaders' remarks come as violence broke out in the Punjab Assembly that gathered for the election of the Chief Minister on Saturday. Chaos ensued in the Assembly after the PTI and PML-Q lawmakers threw "lotas (round vessel)" at Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as he arrived to chair the session. The ruling coalition's lawmakers threw the plastic lotas at Mazari, while some of them dragged him by his hair and even thrashed him, following which, he was taken back to his chamber by the Assembly guards, reported the Dawn newspaper. Meanwhile, things did not settle down as the protesting lawmakers broke the Speaker's chair, microphone and a side table, and threw around various articles, including files, in the House. Following this, a heavy contingent of anti-riot police was called to control the situation. However, when several private guards of PTI-backed PML-Q candidate Parvez Elahi (wearing Assembly force's uniform), as well as plainclothesmen, entered the hall from the rear entrance, the opposition lawmakers reacted as they thrashed the guards and threw them out of the House, according to the media outlet. The mayhem reportedly left Elahi injured. However, after the police and anti-riot force took positions inside the House, the Deputy Speaker initiated the Assembly proceedings, following which, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz was elected as the Chief Minister, according to the media outlet. Meanwhile, the newly-elected Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has announced his plan to hold an inquiry into the Assembly brawl incident. "We will also hold an inquiry into whatever happened in the Assembly today and action will be taken against those held responsible. The conspiracy was not against me but it was hatched to target democracy and the Constitution," ARY News quoted him as saying while speaking on the floor after assuming power. (ANI) In an effort to increase its control in the disputed areas, China has begun sending its most advanced fighter aircraft and also militarized at least three artificial islands that have been built in the South China Sea. According to a report, China has begun sending its most advanced fighter aircraft, the J-20, to patrol the East and South China Seas. This is not a new move for China. Last month, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John Aquilino said, "China has fully militarized at least three of several artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment as well as fighter jets," VnExpress International reported. Gregory Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, said that militarisation matters the most as it authorizes China to do anything when the country is not at war. Referring to militarization, Poling said that this progress has been a steady development by China and not something with a clear endpoint. China's Navy now regularly rotates its forces through the Spratlys, a widely-scattered group of uninhabited islets and reefs in the South China Sea, the subject of territorial claims wholly or in part by six neighbouring nations, reported VnExpress International. China's Coast Guard keeps its dozen boats on patrol every day at Vanguard Bank, at Second Thomas Shoal, Luconia Shoals, and Scarborough Shoal. There are about 300 Chinese military vessels that were found at anchor in the Spratly Islands each day of the year. And this only becomes possible because the vessels can use the extensive group of islands as their forward operating bases. And the results are pressurizing Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines to move out of the South China Sea, reported VnExpress International. The Spratly Islands bases were built between 2013 and 2016 and most of the military infrastructure was finished by 2018. And the deployments of navy, coast guard, and militia forces were at their current levels by the end of 2018. By early 2020, China started deploying its patrol aircraft to the islands regularly but has not deployed fighter jets. According to Carlyle Thayer, emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra at the Australian Defense Force Academy, the militarization of artificial islands has allowed China to consolidate its control over the South China Sea, reported VnExpress International. Thayer said, "China can at present threaten military and civilian aircraft with its HQ-9 system that flies within 125 km of its artificial islands up to an altitude of 27 km. And China can target surface ships up to 400 km." "This capability should intimidate littoral states. And in times of conflict, China can target enemy ships and aircraft that transit or overfly the South China Sea," Thayer added. Professor Herman Joseph Kraft, the University of the Philippines, said that China's militarization of some islands in the South China Sea makes it more possible for Beijing to increase its coast guard and navy to patrol the area. Kraft feared that China will try to strengthen its hold on an artificial island on Scarborough Shoal, which is not going to be acceptable to the Philippines. Carl Schuster, a visiting professor at Hawaii Pacific University, said that the U.S. has already predicted that China will militarize Scarborough Shoal before 2030 and also expected that the process will start by 2025. Although China currently has not placed any military equipment or garrison on Scarborough Shoal, maps show the radar covers and weapons coverage that the country has now established in the south of Scarborough Shoal and what that coverage will be when it places a garrison and equipment on Scarborough Shoal, reprted VnExpress International. (ANI) While Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts, many believe that China's "debt-trap diplomacy" is behind the crisis, said a media report. Writing in Channel News Asia (CNA), R Ramakumar, a Professor of Economics at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, highlighted that China's "debt-trap" policy is singularly responsible for the dire economic situation of Sri Lanka. "Many believe that Sri Lanka's economic relations with China are the main driver behind the crisis. The United States has called this phenomenon debt-trap diplomacy," the report said. The report further stated that this is where a creditor country or institution extends debt to a borrowing nation to increase the lender's political leverage - if the borrower extends itself and cannot pay the money back, they are at the creditor's mercy. Defaults over China's infrastructure-related loans to Sri Lanka, especially the financing of the Hambantota port, are being cited as factors contributing to the crisis, the report noted. The construction of the Hambantota port was financed by the Chinese Exim Bank. The port was running into losses, so Sri Lanka leased out the port for 99 years to the Chinese Merchant's Group, which paid Sri Lanka USD 1.12 billion, the report said. The island relies on the import of many essential items, including petrol, food items and medicines. Most countries will keep foreign currencies on hand in order to trade for these items, but a shortage of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka is being blamed for the "sky-high prices", Ramakumar said. On April 1, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had declared a state of emergency, which was withdrawn within a week, following massive protests by angry citizens over the government's handling of the crisis. Sri Lanka is now experiencing its greatest economic crisis since independence from British rule in 1948. The slump is blamed on currency shortages caused by the travel ban imposed during the COVID-19 epidemic. This has resulted in the nation's inability to purchase sufficient fuel, resulting in an extreme shortage of food and essential commodities such as heating fuel and gas. Sri Lanka appears to be on the edge of a "humanitarian crisis", according to the United Nations Development Programme, as its financial troubles grow, with rising food prices, and the country's coffers having run dry. According to World Bank estimates, five lakh people in Sri Lanka have fallen below the poverty line since the onset of the crisis, according to the World Bank. (ANI) Sri Lanka's Federation of University Teachers' Association (FUTA) has decided to go on a one-day strike on Tuesday in support of the ongoing Galle Face protest which demanded the resignation of the President and the government, local media reported. The FUTA planned to start the protest march from the University of Colombo to Galle Face at 1 pm on Tuesday, Colombo Page reported. Earlier, the collective of unions and mass organizations declared April 20 as a national day of protest and to mobilize the working masses who will continue to strike in the workplace, reported Colombo Page. Ravi Kumudesh, President of the Federation of Health Professionals said that he felt disgusted towards the working people of the country for turning a blind eye to the people who are fighting for an independent public opinion. Even the Opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has said that their five MPs (Members of Parliament) will join the hundreds of protesters at Galle Face if the need arises. The five MPs are Harin Fernando, Manusha Nanayakkara, Mujibur Rahman, Kavinda Jayawardena, and Hector Appuhamy, Daily Mirror reported. "We are willing to forget party politics and join the protesters if the need arises," MP Fernando said. "We will back the protesters, especially if the government tries to suppress their rights," he added. Meanwhile, the trade union staged a protest on Saturday in front of the Lake House building to the Galle Face where thousands of protesters dug in for the 8th consecutive day. The Sri Lankans are protesting against the government's handling of the economic situation. At the time when the nationals were celebrating their new year, a massive protest erupted in the Galle Face Green area. Protesters have been accusing Rajapaksa's government of corruption and misrule. 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. (ANI) Even after eight months of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, Afghan citizens continue to take dangerous steps to flee the country, seeking shelters across nations, while the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the world to lend a helping hand to the refugees. The UNHCR while urging the world to provide more support for the refugees said that since the Taliban takeover on August 15 last year tens of thousands of Afghans, mostly youth, are resorting to dangerous ways to get out of the war-torn nation. The UNHCR Afghanistan further tweeted "women plus children in Afghanistan are bearing the brunt of the country's humanitarian crisis". "Millions have fled their homes, struggling to find adequate food and shelter. Robust donor support is vital and their communities must have access to life-saving aid," reported TOLOnews quoting the UNHCR. In a humanitarian effort, the Tajikistan government built a temporary camp south of the capital Dushanbe for a possible overflow of Afghan refugees, Tajikistan state-owned media Khawar TV reported, said TOLO news. Tajikistani officials said the camps have been prepared with the support of the UNHCR, Save the Children, and the Agha Khan Foundation (AKF). "The camp consists of 64 tents and includes facilities with electricity, water systems, bathrooms and kitchens," said the spokeswoman of the Tajikistan Emergency Committee, Hamida Yousufi. Mahdi Arefi, an international relations expert, also said that the move by Tajikistan is a signal of a contribution for Afghan civilians who may seek safety in case of any military and security threats in Afghanistan due to the Taliban. Afghan experts welcomed the decision and called it a good move to assist Afghanistan people, reports stated further. When the Taliban gained control over the capital city of Kabul, anti-Pakistan protests across the world were organised against Islamabad's role in helping the Taliban. The Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August and the US military ended its 20 years of military presence in the country. (ANI) Post the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, an acute economical crisis resulting in a market crisis has hit the factories of the country much to the worry of the factory owners, reported TOLO news. Reportedly, out of 5000 active factories about 2,000 of them have stopped operating. Shortage of raw materials and banking issues have caused factory holders to pause their activities since they are unable to pay their employees. The Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines has stated, that owing to the construction of certain factories on rented land there have been serious economic challenges as well, as per Tolo news. Banafsha Ahmadi, a female factory owner who invested two million Afs into her spice-producing factory, was compelled to shut it down since the demands had dropped dramatically. She said, "The changes caused a reduction in the people's economy. We couldn't pay the salaries of our employees. This is due to the lack of a market." ACIM representative Mohammad Karim appealed to the Ministry of Economy to facilitate long-term economic projects for the betterment of the country, as reported by TOLO news. "The women started their trade activities. We hope the government supports them and paves the ground for economic development in the country," Karim cited. (ANI) The Taliban warned Pakistan to face dire consequences for the recent airstrikes on the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan that killed 60 civilians if repeated. In a statement, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and Chief Spokesperson of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid said, that Pakistan should not test the patience of the people of Afghanistan or else should be ready to face the aftermath. "We are trying our best to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels and negotiations. Such acts will create tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan which will lead to conflicts that are in favour of no one," Mujahid said. He further condemned Pakistan's recent airstrikes on Khost and Kunar provinces in the strongest terms adding that repetition of such moves will have dire implications, reported The Khaama Press. Mujahid added that Afghans by defeating the US have proven that they can defend their country hence, Pakistan should not examine the patience of the people of Afghanistan. The Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August and the US military ended its 20 years of military presence in the country, marking the end of a chaotic and messy exit from America's longest war. The Foreign Ministry of the Taliban-led government also summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan to the ministry and asked for the prevention of such attacks in the future. Pakistan's aircrafts bombed civilians' homes in the Spera district of the southeastern Khost province killing at least 60 civilians, said The Khaama Press. (ANI) U Minh Thuong wetland reopens to eco-tourism after long hiatus U Minh Thuong National Park in the southern province of Kien Giang has been welcoming an increasing number of tourists after months of closure to prevent COVID-19 and wildfires. U Minh Thuong National Park in the southern province of Kien Giang is one of the two most important peatland areas in Vietnam. Eco-tourism activities at the park, the worlds 2,228th Ramsar site and the eighth in Vietnam, have been reformed with a new model gradually developing. Management officials said many tours with diversified services had been improved, focusing on environmental education and attracting the participation of the local community. Tran Van Thang, deputy director of the national park, said thanks to the parks untouched nature and healthy fresh air, it has welcomed an increasing number of visitors. The park had to close last May due to COVID-19 restrictions. It has also been placed in a two-month routine closure as part of the efforts to prevent forest fires during the dry season. In 2021, the park received over 26,000 visitors, equivalent to just 38 per cent of the yearly plan. It was allowed to reopen on January 20 this year and since then has served more than 11,000 visitors. Many took sightseeing tours around the park to enjoy the unique wetland ecosystem, while others came for fishing. Vu Van Chat, a tourist from Hanoi at the park, said he and many others in his group were thrilled to see the wetland ecosystem, especially the vast melaleuca forest. He was particularly amazed at the waters red colour and many species of wild birds, bats and monkeys. Chat said after visiting the melaleuca forest, all members of his group bought local specialities, such as honey and fish sauce, as gifts for friends. Another tourist, Nguyen Van ong, from am Doi District in the neighbouring province of Ca Mau, said he was very passionate about catching fish, and only in the National Park were there the native fish species he was interested in. He and his friends usually begin their trip at around 4am to have plenty of time to travel deep inside the park to go fishing. Truong Be Diem, a National Park tour guide, said tourists often chose to visit the park during Tet (Lunar New Year festival), national holidays and weekends. They can visit the wetland ecosystem by boat to see local plants and animals such as cajeput, water lilies, storks and bats. The regenerated melaleuca forest ecosystem and forest watchtowers have also attracted visitors to enjoy the panoramic view of the whole forest, Diem said. Vast potential with challenges Located about 65km to the southwest of Rach Gia City, U Minh Thuong National Park, one of the two most important peatland areas in Vietnam, boasts unique and rare features that are hard to find anywhere else in the country or even the world. Founded in 2002, the park is surrounded by a 60km-long embankment system and covers 21,122ha of land in U Minh Thuong District, including 8,053ha of core zone and 13,069ha of a buffer zone. At its 19th session in Paris in October 2006, UNESCO designated the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve, which includes marine and insular areas, as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This reserve is the fifth in Vietnam to earn the UN science agency's recognition and the second-largest among the nine biospheres reserves in the country, following the area located in the west of the central province of Nghe An. U Minh Thuong is in the core area of the Kien Giang reserve and a key site for wetland biodiversity conservation in the Mekong Delta. It is the only park with a purely primaeval forest among forest ecosystems on acid sulfate soil in the Mekong Delta. The park is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Parks. IBAs are forest or wetland areas important for the conservation of bird populations and other fauna and flora species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). There are 63 IBAs in 37 provinces and cities across Vietnam, covering nearly 1.7 million hectares or 5 per cent of the countrys natural area. A survey in 1995 showed that U Minh Thuong boasts about 3,000ha of primaeval forest dating back 6,000 years. Additionally, the park is one of the two most crucial peatland areas in Vietnam; the other is U Minh Ha in the neighbouring province of Ca Mau. The cajuput forest ecosystem on peatland in U Minh Thuong holds particular importance as it nurtures hundreds of wild animals, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and many aquatic species. Thirty-two mammal species have been found in this park, including 10 species listed in Viet Nams Red Data Book and the IUCN Red List, such as the hairy-nosed otter, fishing cat, Asian palm civet, Finlaysons squirrel and Sunda pangolin. It also provides habitat for 188 bird species, including eight threatened globally, such as the spot-billed pelican, greater adjutant, black-headed Ibis, sociable weaver, grey-headed fish eagle and black eagle; 54 reptile and amphibian species; and 34 fish species. Moreover, it owns the richest biodiversity in terms of plants in the Mekong Delta, harbouring more than 254 plant species. So far, 72 rare animal and plant species listed in Vietnams Red Data Book (2007) and the IUCN Red List (2012) have been spotted in U Minh Thuong. A report from the IUCN says the peat swamp forest, a rare wetland habitat in the Mekong Delta, is strictly protected in the core zone of U Minh Thuong. However, fires and farmland conversion have reduced their geographical coverage. Peat swamp forests provide habitats for various vulnerable species, including otters, pangolins, and fruit bats. Melaleuca cajuputi (white samet) dominates U Minh Thuong peat swamp forest vegetation. But drought and higher air temperatures increase the risk of fires. Seawater intrusion also threatens the peat swamp and vegetation. The habitat has been evaluated as very highly vulnerable to climate change. The practice of water stocking, following the 2002 catastrophic forest fire, has permanently inundated almost all areas of the melaleuca forest and has resulted in poor tree growth. The pumping of outside water to maintain water levels brings in saline water, which may fundamentally change the freshwater conditions. Melaleuca forests are moderately vulnerable to climate change. Preservation efforts Over the past years, authorities of Kien Giang have made strong efforts to conserve and recover natural resources on the peatland to keep the wildness of the ecosystem and biodiversity in the National Park. In 2012, the park was designated the first ASEAN Heritage Park on peatland in Southeast Asia, becoming the fifth ASEAN Heritage Park in Vietnam. In 2015, it was recognised as a Ramsar site a wetland of international importance. Given the parks natural beauty and rich biodiversity, local authorities have been carrying out a project to develop eco-tourism in U Minh Thuong for 2019-2020, with a total investment of over VN150 billion (US$6.46 million). The project aimed to preserve natural resources and biodiversity while making the most appropriate use of the forests potential to develop eco-tourism and environmental education in the park. The province will gradually complete the infrastructure system in the park and create attractive tours to make U Minh Thuong one of the outstanding national parks in the Mekong Delta and the world, according to the Kien Giang provincial Peoples Committee. Deputy director of the park Thang said to implement tourism development the park would improve its management role and perfect the method and organisational apparatus for tourism while accelerating investment in infrastructure and creating new tourism products to attract more visitors. He added that it had also strengthened the protection of natural landscapes and waste treatment in the park. An Aurora police officer was fired after being accused of leaving a teenager numerous threatening voicemails last year, Aurora police officials announced Friday. A local resident came to the police departments front desk on April 24, 2021, and reported that his teenage child had received numerous threatening voicemails, according to a press release issued by the police department. During an investigation, officers learned that the phone number connected with the voice mails was a personal phone associated with Aurora Police Officer Jonathan Olsen, police officials said in a news release Friday evening. Advertisement Olsen could not be reached for comment. Representatives with the Aurora police union also could not be reached for comment. Olsen, 41, was previously terminated by the department in the fall of 2017 after being accused of abusing department resources to access information about a woman amid criminal charges of harassment on social media, The Beacon-News previously reported. Olsen, who was an officer with the department since 2006, was later reinstated after he appealed his termination, which was reduced to a 60-day suspension. Advertisement In December of 2017, Olsen pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor electronic harassment and was sentenced to 24 months of court supervision, according to Kane County court records. In the recent case, detectives began a criminal investigation concerning the voice mails and interviewed several people, officials said. The teen and their family came to the departments Office of Professional Standards and signed a formal complaint against Olsen a few days later. Olsen was placed on administrative leave and an internal administrative investigation was launched into his conduct. The department found the complaint sustained and the case was sent to the newly-formed Civilian Review Board. Olsens case was one of the first reviewed by the board, which concurred with the findings and also recommended Olsens termination. Police Chief Keith Cross also recommended Olsens termination, officials said. Aurora police did not say the date Olsen was fired. Police presented the case to the DuPage County States Attorneys Office for review and no charges were filed against Olsen, police said. DuPage States Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement that the teen and their parents were satisfied with the disciplinary action against Olsen and did not wish to pursue further action. Because criminal charges will not be filed, Berlin said he will not be permitted to publicly discuss the specific allegations presented to his office. It is crystal clear that Jonathan Olsen violated the law and traumatized several people with his actions, Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross said in a statement. Our officers are held to a very high standard and must be held accountable for their actions. His conduct was detrimental to the department as a whole and his credibility as a police officer. mejones@chicagotribune.com Newly-elected Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Saturday announced the de-sealing of resignation letters tendered by 123 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, reported local media. Ashraf directed the National Assembly Secretariat to deal with the issue of resignations of the PTI Members according to the previous rulings and rules and present them before him so that action could be taken as per law, reported The News International. The announcement comes after Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) parliamentary leader Maulana Asad Mahmood and former Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq called upon the Speaker to investigate and review the issue of resignations of the PTI Members. Claiming that he received calls from a number of PTI members who did not want to resign, Sadiq said that verification of each resignation was not done as per the rule. Further, citing the technical details, he said that the National Assembly Secretariat had received cyclostyle resignations whereas those should be handwritten by every Member of the National Assembly. Ahead of the election for a new Prime Minister of Pakistan, PTI decided to resign en mass after Imran Khan said that he will not sit in the assemblies with 'thieves'. Their resignations were approved by the former acting Speaker Qasim Suri on Friday. Following the approval, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated his 123 MNAs for "standing firm for a sovereign Pakistan". "Want to appreciate our 123 MNAs as their resignations have been accepted by Speaker Qasim Suri. Their standing firm for a sovereign Pakistan and against US-initiated regime change bringing to power criminals, convicted & on bail - the ultimate insult to any self-respecting independent nation," he tweeted. (ANI) The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations condemned Pakistani airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan, launched on Saturday, April 16, which killed over 40 people, including women and children, the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN said in a press statement. Afghanistan's envoy to the UN said that the airstrike was the aggression of Pakistan against the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and it breached the international laws, principles of the UN Charter, UN General Assembly, and Security Council resolutions. According to the statement, Pakistan breaks the resolution 1453 (2002) on the "Kabul Declaration on Good-Neighbourly Relations." "The cross border shellings by the Pakistani military in the eastern province of Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism has caused a high number of civilian casualties and displacement of local Afghan people for more than a decade," the statement reads. The statement further stated that there must be a holistic approach to the fight against terrorism and violence and added that the killing of civilians can't be justified. "The Afghan people have already suffered from the terrorist acts and they have been the victim of terrorism for the past twenty years," the statement stated. Afghanistan's envoy to the UN called on Pakistan to stop these acts of aggression and also asked to respect the territorial integrity of their country. Earlier, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the report of civilian casualties in Pakistan's airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan and called it a "crime against humanity". "Karzai condemned Pakistani forces' attacks in Kunar & Khost in which dozens of civilians--including women & children--were killed & wounded. He called them a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty, a violation of intl norms & a crime against humanity," TOLOnews reported. Meanwhile, the Taliban has summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. (ANI) Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the world to be prepared for the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, reported CNN. Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN, said, "Not only me -- all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried because it can be not real information, but it can be truth." "Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That's why. We should think not be afraid, not be afraid but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world, I think," the media outlet quoted him as saying. This comes as the US officials have warned about the possibility of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if backed into a corner. "Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they've faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low yield nuclear weapons," the media outlet quoted Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns as saying. Meanwhile, comparing the losses of troops incurred by Ukraine to that of Russia, Zelenskyy claimed that as per Ukrainian officials, about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, however, Russia's casualty numbers are 19,000 to 20,000. He added that about 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been injured in the war and it's "hard to say how many will survive." Speaking on civilian casualties, he said, "It is very difficult to talk about civilians, since south of our country, where the towns and cities are blocked -- Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol further east, and the area to the east where Volnovakha is -- we just don't know how many people have died in that area that is blocked", according to the media outlet. On February 24, Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) The protestors complained about their salaries, saying they have not been paid for three months, TOLOnews reported. "We were supporting the women who were facing family violence or were displaced and had nowhere to live. They have closed many of these centers and the women were obliged to leave," TOLOnews quoted Malali, a protestor as saying. According to the protestors, the organization of "Women for Afghan Women" was active in 13 of 34 provinces but has halted operations in the country. The organization of Women for Afghan Women started operations in 2017. The organization was providing legal aid, accommodation and financial services to the women and children in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. The situation in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban's return to power in August last year. People in Afghanistan are also facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis which is being driven by decisions and positions taken by the international community, especially the US, that have blocked Afghanistan from aid funding and access to the global financial system. (ANI) While India plays a prominent role in helping its neighbour Sri Lanka come out of a deep economic crisis, it was learnt from reliable sources that Colombo has asked New Delhi to provide bridging finance for the crisis-ridden country till the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides adequate funds, which may take another three to four months. Notably, this comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held several rounds of discussions with her Lankan counterpart and High Commissioner. Sri Lanka, sources added, has also asked India to use its influence on friendly countries like Japan to help Colombo with a line of credit and also reach out to multilateral organisations for assisting the island nation. A source familiar with the development said that the Indian Finance Minister was positive about this proposal and is expected to reach out to other friendly countries to mobilise assistance for the economic crisis-affected Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry is expected to meet Sitharaman in Washington DC in the coming week, according to sources. In the shape of the line-of-credit for food, fuel, medicine, currency swap and deferment of payment at the Asian Clearing Union, India has already provided assistance to the tune of USD 2.4 Billion to Sri Lanka. However, for the next four months, till the IMF deal is worked out, the island nation will be needing much bigger financial backing for imports. Technical talks are also taking place between members of the Sri Lankan Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt, with India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran. Sri Lanka will begin talks with the IMF tomorrow and the process is likely to take around four months to operationalise. Thus, Colombo is looking for bridging finance for this period from India and other countries. Sources familiar with the developments said India is the first and only country that is coming forward to bring Sri Lanka out of its financial mess, and Colombo sees it as a new chapter in the bilateral relationship with New Delhi. Sri Lanka sees this as long term, beyond crisis, and hopes to play a prominent role in India's energy aspirations for the future, they said. India's southern neighbour Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of its people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation. The country's economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the Covid pandemic following the crash of the tourism sector. (ANI) Amid the worldwide disapproval of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, another imminent threat lurks over Tajikistan residents as they fear Taliban attack yet again. Tajiks have always been a target of the Taliban as according to the latter, involvement of this ethnic heterogeneity in local and national politics holds the power to overpower the Taliban's rule, defusing their grip on Afghanistan, as reported by an independent, non-profit media organization Fair Observer. This terror of fragmentation has led the Taliban to build a centralized governance system controlled by the Pashtuns. Accompanied by war crimes, barbaric punishments like beheading, lashing, stoning, and amputation are imposed upon the Tajiks as well. Dreadful videos have emerged portraying the merciless killings of the Tajiks at the hands of the ruthless insurgents, especially in the provinces of Panjshir and Baghlan. The return of the Taliban can once again create dominance and oppression over the Tajik residents accompanied by mass murder and assassination by the ruling party when the non-Pashtuns aka the Tajiks fail to comply with their diktat. The civilians of Tajikistan hence find themselves in a terrible face-off with the smoking barrel of a gun or at the sharp end of a knife, Fair Observer reported The Taliban's re-entry to Afghanistan has been a source of joy for many Pashtuns but, Tajiks and Uzbeks dread a reign of terror as they set foot in another cycle of violence. The client state founded by Abdul Rahman Khan was always riddled with intra-ethnic feuds and tribal conflicts. But the founder was successful in channeling the aggression of the Pashtuns towards the Uzbeks and Tajiks in central Afghanistan commencing this war. On March 15, the Taliban invaded Afghanistan launching an unprovoked war on the country, establishing their rule over the citizens, causing a massive disturbance, much to the shock of the West. (ANI) They chanted anti-Pakistan slogans and asked the Taliban to prevent such attacks by Pakistan, reported Tolo News. Pakistani airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan launched on Saturday, April 16, killed over 40 people, including women and children. Afghanistan's envoy to the UN said that the airstrike was the aggression of Pakistan against the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and it breached the international laws, principles of the UN Charter, UN General Assembly, and Security Council resolutions. According to the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the UN said in a press statement, Pakistan breaks the resolution 1453 (2002) on the "Kabul Declaration on Good-Neighbourly Relations." "The cross border shellings by the Pakistani military in the eastern province of Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting terrorism has caused a high number of civilian casualties and displacement of local Afghan people for more than a decade," the statement reads. Afghanistan's envoy to the UN called on Pakistan to stop these acts of aggression and also asked to respect the territorial integrity of their country. Earlier, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the report of civilian casualties in Pakistan's airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan and called it a "crime against humanity". "Karzai condemned Pakistani forces' attacks in Kunar and Khost in which dozens of civilians--including women and children--were killed and wounded. He called them a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty, a violation of international norms and a crime against humanity," Tolo News reported. Meanwhile, the Taliban has summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. (ANI) The exchange rate of the Pakistani Rupee with the US dollar is subject to uncertainty owing to the political and economic turmoil in the country, currency experts and dealers say, Pakistani media reported. Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the interbank market was reported as saying, "Foreign exchange reserves of the country, particularly of the State Bank, have been declining, which is sending a strong negative signal to the currency market." Dawn newspaper reported. The economic crisis has led Pakistan to import essential items from other countries like petroleum, machinery, vehicles, textiles, vaccines, expensive palm oils, and even wheat and sugar. As per Ahmed, the price hike on the import bill indicates that the trade deficit will continue in the coming months. "We paid over USD14 billion to import petroleum products during the first nine months (July to March) of this fiscal year, almost twice as compared to a year ago," Ahmed added Aamir Aziz, a manufacturer, and exporter of finished textile goods also affirmed that in February large-scale manufacturing companies experienced a growth of 8.4 per cent which demonstrated an increase in industrial activity. "The demand is still high. Importers are willing to buy more, but the State Bank's restrictions have kept buying and selling at a certain level," said Atif Ahmed, the currency dealer. As per reports, Pakistanis withdrew an amount of USD 329 million from March 25 to April 8 from commercial banks. A rollover payment of USD 2.4 billion from China awaits Pakistan as the latter has already cleared the due amount to China. Bankers said the country still needed USD 15 billion for debt servicing and completing other foreign commitments since the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank have reduced from USD 20.07 billion to USD 10.5 billion. (ANI) Renowned radio stations of Afghanistan, Radio Paktia Ghag and Radio Maimana, were shut for an indefinite period of time due to a financial crunch. Radio Paktia Ghag broadcast for 11 years in the southeastern province of Paktia, while Radio Maimana broadcast for 10 years in the northern province of Faryab. The two radio stations halted operations last Wednesday, reported TOLOnews. "We used to have around 40 employees, men and women. They were working under the Paktia Ghag production," said Zabiullah Ayoubi, director of Paktia Ghag radio station. In another statement, Adibullah Sonmas, the director of the Maimana radio station expressed, "We didn't have the ability to extend our licence." The journalists called on media watchdogs and media-supporting organizations to help Afghan media outlets. Apart from the closure of several media organizations, at least 50 journalists and media workers have been detained briefly or arrested by the police or Istikhbarat since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. These arrests, which are often accompanied by violence, have lasted from several hours to nearly a week. They usually occur when journalists are covering street demonstrations by women in the capital, Kabul, "The closing of media outlets creates problems for the people and journalists because when the media is closed, there will be no one to raise the voice of the people," quoted Farkhunda Mehbi, a journalist, reported TOLOnews. The media-supporting organizations called the closing of radio stations a tragedy and urged the Islamic Emirate and the international community to provide support for the Afghan media community. "We expect the Islamic Emirate to help the Afghan media by easing taxes and eliminating crimes against the Afghan media," said Hujatullah Mujahdidi, a member of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA). The Ministry of Information and Culture said the Islamic Emirate is committed to the media in a brief statement. "The Islamic Emirate, based on its capacity and by the law, is committed to helping the media," said Abdul Haq Humad, press director of the Ministry. Based on available figures, dozens of media outlets have stopped activities since the fall of the former government. At least 27 Afghan TV and radio broadcasters stopped operations since the Taliban takeover in mid-August, reported sources. Afghanistan is ranked 122nd out of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index which RSF issued in April 2021. (ANI) Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday decided against joining the cabinet of new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Zardari who is considered a key player behind the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister, said that his party will not take ministries as they want their friends to be accommodated first, citing The News International reported by Geo News. At the same time, the PPP has invited applications from candidates for National Assembly and provincial assemblies for the next election. In a brief press talk at Parliament House, Asif Zardari said that they want their friends to be accommodated first. When asked if he wants to put all the burden on Shehbaz Sharif, he said that there is no such thing. "We want friends to be given a chance," reported Geo News. After Zardari's press talk, senior leaders of the PPP started explaining his remarks and said he did not mean that the PPP was not joining the cabinet. A senior PPP leader, on the condition of anonymity, said that the PPP wanted to fulfill promises and agreements that it had made with coalition partners, then it would join the cabinet. Sources said the PPP, in a meeting with the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), had finalized names for the cabinet, reported Geo News. The central leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) suggested their four members for different positions in the new government during the meeting held on Friday. The members suggested that the position of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) should be given to their member Sherry Rehman, Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah should get the Communication department, Petroleum should be given to Naveed Qamar and the Ministry of Human Rights should be given to Shazia Marri. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to add 12 PML-N MNAs to his federal cabinet, while PPP will get seven slots, sources told Geo News Thursday. PM Shehbaz was sworn in as the prime minister on April 11, following the removal of Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion -- making him the first prime minister to be removed through the democratic process. Meanwhile, apart from the PML-N and PPP members, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) is expected to get three ministries and a state minister portfolio, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) is expected to get two ministries each. Independent candidates are also likely to get ministries, the sources said, reported Geo News. MQM-P will get the governorship of Sindh, PPP Punjab, JUI-F Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and BNP-M Balochistan, the sources said. (ANI) On April 16, the Smithsonians National Zoo held a Celebration for the 50th Anniversary of Giant Pandas Arrival in the United States at the Panda House. Ambassador Qin Gang was invited to attend the celebration. Accompanied by Director Brandie Smith of the Zoo, Ambassador Qin toured the Panda House, and saw the Zoos in-residence giant panda family: Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Xiao Qi Ji. Then he delivered remarks to the media. Ambassador Qin said in his remarks that over the past 50 years, China and the US have achieved a lot in giant panda conservation. Fifty years ago, there were only a few hundred pandas, but now there are more than 1,800. Giant pandas are not an endangered species any more, and this fully shows our achievement in biodiversity protection. When working together, China and the US can get things done. I believe that we have the wisdom and courage to maintain cooperation and deliver results, not only in giant panda conservation, but in many other areas, to the benefit of the people of both countries and the world. Dr. Smith said, the US and China have maintained great communication to conserve giant panda and save endangered species. Giant panda is a perfect example of how our two countries can work together and also a goodwill ambassador for our people. I hope that such cooperation will continue for better conservation of giant pandas. After their remarks, Dr. Smith invited Ambassador Qin to enter pandas habitat, where they used bamboo to add the finishing touches to a fruitsicle cake that had a 50 decoration on it. Nearly 20,000 American visitors registered online to attend the celebration in person. They gathered early in the morning at the Panda House and watched with great interest the pandas enjoy their treats. The crowd was filled with cheers and laughter. Visitors, especially children, were amazed by the pandas and took plenty of pictures. As a courtesy to support the celebration, Chinese Embassy in the United States set up a cultural booth outside the Panda House to hand out giant panda souvenirs and books. The Embassy staff also displayed calligraphy skills onsite and showed visitors how to write with brushes Chinese characters such as ""(Xiao Qi Ji), (Giant Panda), "" (50th Anniversary) and "" (Goodwill Ambassador). There was a long line of visitors waiting to have a try. Visitors also enjoyed panda-shaped bao buns specially made by Embassy chefs for the celebration. The event was covered by the Associated Press, The Washington Post, NBC, CBS, Fox, The New Yorker, Voice of America, Sinovision, WUSA9, WTOP and Chinese media, including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CGTN, China News Service, China Daily, and Dragon TV. In February 1972, US President Nixon paid a historic visit to China. The government of China gave a pair of giant pandas to the US as a gift. On April 16 of the same year, giant pandas Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing came to the United States and arrived at the Smithsonians National Zoo. US First Lady Pat Nixon attended the ceremony to dedicate the Panda House. Over 8,000 Americans greeted Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing on their arrival. On their public debut, more than 20,000 people lined up to see them, and over one million people visited them in the first month of their public appearance. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of giant pandas in the United States and the close cooperation between China and the United States in giant panda conservation, the Smithsonians National Zoo launched a six-month celebration starting from March 16. Following the Pakistani airstrikes in the Khost and Knar provinces of Afghanistan that killed a number of civilians, the Taliban regime warned Pakistan of "bad consequences" in case of any future airstrike inside their territory. Taliban's government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, issued the 'warning' in a statement on Twitter following the summoning of Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan on Saturday for lodging a protest over the alleged airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) strongly condemns Pakistan's attacks on refugees in Khost and Kunar," Mujahid said, adding, "The IEA calls on the Pakistani side not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues and not repeat the same mistake otherwise it will have bad consequences." He further said that "Problems between the two countries must be resolved through political means." Pakistani airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan launched on Saturday, April 16, reportedly killed over 40 people, including women and children. Afghanistan's envoy to the UN said that the airstrike was the aggression of Pakistan against the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and it breached the international laws, principles of the UN Charter, UN General Assembly, and Security Council resolutions. Earlier, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the report of civilian casualties in Pakistan's airstrikes in the Khost and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan and called it a "crime against humanity". "Karzai condemned Pakistani forces' attacks in Kunar and Khost in which dozens of civilians--including women and children--were killed and wounded. He called them a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty, a violation of international norms and a crime against humanity," Tolo News reported. (ANI) The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has extended its support to the ongoing Galle Face protest in Sri Lanka demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, local media reported. The support was announced in a press conference by Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, Director, National Catholic Center for Social Communications and spokesperson for the Church, The Island reported. Fernando said that the Catholic Church is also of the view that President Rajapaksa should resign while adding that many members of the Catholic Church were already on the sidelines of the protest. When asked whether the Church had made preparations for religious activities in the protest, Fernando responded in the negative, putting rest to speculations that rose due to social media posts that said there are plans to conduct religious programs on Easter Sunday at the Galle Face protest site. On Saturday, the advisor to the President of Sri Lanka on International Religious Affairs Walpole Piyananda said that the Catholic Church has a "misunderstanding" with the government. A massive protest against the Sri Lankan government, and particularly the Rajapaksa family has been going on in the Galle Face Green area of Colombo. Protesters have been accusing Rajapaksa's government of corruption and misrule while demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa with the slogan of "Go Gota Go", the rallying cry of the protest that refers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka is grappling with an economic crisis that has led to massive protests against the ruling Rajapaksa government. Sri Lanka's economy has been under pressure since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A crash in the tourism sector was followed by a crash in the agriculture sector after the government's move to ban all chemical fertilizers in a bid to make the Island country's agriculture fully organic. Sri Lanka is facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has affected its capacity to import food and fuel, as well as resulted in the country defaulting on its foreign debt. (ANI) China's Zero-COVID policy and its highhandedness in handling the COVID crisis is causing hiccups in supply chains, delays at ports and lockdown in Shanghai which in turn is posing a grave threat to the country's economy especially when it comes to Beijing's GDP targets. China, the world's second-largest economy, was already witnessing a slump in the latter half of last year and is again the growth again seems to be bleak. With a property market slump and regulatory crackdowns last year the policymakers set the lowest annual GDP target for China in decades for 2022, reported Dawn. According to the analysts speaking to a French-based media, the set figure of 5.5 pc would be hard to achieve with stay-at-home and strict lockdowns orders halting production and stunting consumer spending in key cities. Experts from 12 financial institutions polled a French-based media forecast a GDP growth of 5.0 pc for the full year. They expect a figure of 4.3pc for the first quarter, just above the 4.0pc recorded in the three months prior, as per the media outlet. The official data for the first quarter will be published on Monday. Gene Ma, head of China research at the Institute of International Finance said, "China's economy saw a good start in January and February with fewer energy constraints, domestic demand recovery... fiscal stimulus, and resilient exports." The rising COVID cases in March and the restrictions by the Chinese authorities have, "severely disrupted supply chains and industrial activities." Whatsoever gains were made early in the year are set to be reversed, as per the analysts. With many sectors facing the brunt of China's COVID measures, carmakers this week warned of severe disruption to supply chains and possibly even halting production completely if a lockdown in business hub Shanghai continues. State Council of the People's Republic of China's Premier Li Keqiang said that there the support from the state authorities should be stepped up. He noted that tools including cuts to the reserve requirement ratio for banks could be tapped to help virus-hit sectors, reported local media. It is not just Shanghai's economy which is in the clutches of China's strict COVID norms, but also major cities like southern tech powerhouse Shenzhen. Shenzhen went into complete lockdown for almost a week in March. Goldman Sachs in its recently published report said, "The hit to retail sales could be even bigger, as dining-out services -- around 10pc of retail sales -- were temporarily suspended in a few provinces." (ANI) "Five children and a woman were killed and a man wounded in Pakistani rocket attacks in Shelton district of Kunar," cited the provincial director of information, Najibullah Hassan Abdaal as reported by Business Recorder. Besides the killings of the woman and the children, another Afghan civilian received grievous injuries in the Pakistani militant attack as well. According to Pakistan, militant groups operating from Afghan soil itself were responsible for the attack. Wanting to remain in anonymity, a resident of Shelton district, who goes by the name Ehsanullah, was reported saying that the attack by Pakistani military aircraft was executed by Pakistani military aircraft. "Pakistani helicopters bombarded four villages near the Durand line in Khost province," he added. A similar pre-dawn attack was reported by an Afghan government official regarding a militant attack by Pakistan, carried out in the Khost province of Afghanistan. (ANI) Pope Francis wished a happy Easter to Catholics around the world on Sunday and dedicated his solemn speech to the problem of international conflicts, calling peace efforts "everyone's primary responsibility." "The Lord is risen! Let us lift up our gaze, remove the veil of sadness and sorrow from our eyes, and open our hearts to the hope that God brings!" the Pope said in a tweet. Pope Francis celebrated a high mass and addressed Catholics with the Urbi et Orbi (to the city [of Rome] and to the world) message. At noon (10:00 GMT), the pontiff marked the resurrection of Jesus to 50,000 believers who came to a square in front of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, Sputnik News Agency reported. "Brothers and sisters, let us allow the peace of Christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries!" the pope said. In his address, the pontiff listed crisis situations in various parts of the world, including those in the Middle East, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan and Myanmar. Special attention was paid to the Ukrainian crisis. "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine," the pontiff said. He urged world leaders to heed people's plea for peace and stressed that people themselves must not get used to conflicts. "Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyone's primary responsibility!" the pope added. In conclusion, he absolved all those who were present in the square and listened to his message of their sins. Easter is a holy Christian festival that celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, three days after he was put on a cross and executed. As mentioned in the Bible, Christ was crucified on the day of Good Friday and buried in a grave after his last supper which is commemorated as Maundy Thursday. However, on the third day when his disciples visited his grave, they found that the grave was empty. The day marks the triumph of Christ over death and this also makes him the 'Son of God'. The day is celebrated with pomp and grandeur every year. Traditions like church visits, baking hot cross buns and decorating Easter eggs are symbolic of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. (ANI) Amid the ongoing economic crisis and widespread protests against the government, a four-member Sri Lankan delegation led by the newly appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry has left for Washington for initial discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for a possible bailout. The four-member delegation includes the Governor of the Central Bank Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe and Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena, apart from the Finance Minister himself, the Colombo Page reported. Earlier, a high-level delegation, including the Central Bank Governor and other senior officials had attended an IMF meeting in Washington on April 9. Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was scheduled to visit Washington for the meeting with IMF to seek a debt re-restructuring and a bailout, however, following the en masse resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet on April 3, Ali Sabry was appointed as the new Finance Minister and will consequently lead the Sri Lankan delegation. The meeting comes about a month after the IMF released the Staff Report of the Article IV consultations held between IMF and Sri Lankan officials earlier. The IMF had made the recommendations in its staff report made for the global lender's Executive Board following the conclusion of its Article IV consultations with Sri Lanka. The IMF noted that the country faces mounting challenges, including public debt that has risen to unsustainable levels, low foreign currency reserves, and persistently large financing needs in the coming years. The report recommended implementing a credible and coherent strategy to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting vulnerable groups and reducing poverty through strengthened, well-targeted social safety nets. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a national address on March 20 said that he had given the go-ahead for an IMF program after meeting senior staff of the lender in Colombo. Sri Lanka's economy has been under pressure since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A crash in the tourism sector was followed by a crash in the agriculture sector after the government's move to ban all chemical fertilizers in a bid to make the Island country's agriculture fully organic. Sri Lanka is facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has affected its capacity to import food and fuel, as well as resulted in the country defaulting on its foreign debt. (ANI) Pakistani journalist blamed the former Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking money from the poor people of the country so that he can continue to live a luxurious life even after being ousted from the top position. This comes after Imran Khan's appeal to the overseas Pakistani to donate money to his party in order to topple the "foreign-backed" government of Shehbaz Sharif. Taking to Twitter, the founder and editor of The Pakistan Daily outlet, Hamza Azhar Salam, wrote, "PTI MNA @Shafqat_Mahmood collects money from the poor people of Pakistan so his leader @ImranKhanPTI can continue flying in luxurious private jets after losing power. True revolutionaries only fly private." This is in context with a photo shared by a PTI Minister, Shafqat Mahmood who is seen taking money from staff at his friend's house. Sharing the photo, the PTI MNA tweeted, "Went to a friend's house yesterday. To my surprise and great joy their staff came up and contributed Rs 500 and 100 to PTI for the Lahore jalsa. I thanked them with a proper receipt. This is a reflection of spontaneous support Imran Khan and PTI have among the people." Ironically, Khan has asked overseas Pakistanis to donate to a party that is blaming America for overthrowing his government in Pakistan. Earlier, in a Twitter video, he informed the overseas Pakistanis about the namanzoor.com website which is collecting donations from them to topple the government of Shehbaz Sharif and hold new elections. He termed the campaign "Haqiqi-Azadi" and said that the "corrupt government" was forced upon the 22 crore population of Pakistan. Khan said that it was the right of Pakistan's citizens to decide on who would rule their country - either the PTI party or the "corrupt Sharif family" who had been jail for three years and who are fighting corruption charges. The former Pakistan PM also lambasted the US for conspiring with Shehbaz Sharif whose government was imposed on the Pakistani people through a "foreign conspiracy."Khan alleged that with the help of the US, a corrupt government has overtaken Pakistan and therefore he wants the country to hold fresh elections where Pakistani citizens can decide on their future. (ANI) Tallinn [Estonia], April 17 (ANI/Sputnik): Estonia is banning Russian ships from entering its ports starting Sunday as part of the EU sanctions against Moscow over its special military operation in Ukraine, the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure said. "From Sunday, April 17, ships flying the Russian flag are banned from entering ports of the EU, including Estonia. This is one of the sanctions measures previously approved by the European Union. EU ports are also closed from now on for ships that changed their flag from Russian to another flag after February 24," the ministry said in a statement. Vessels with the Russian flag in distress will still be allowed to enter Estonian ports in exceptional circumstances with the permission of the Police and Border Guard Board, which will determine in advance the need for assistance. Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas said that the EU is rethinking its economic activity in favour of greater independence from Russia. Bulgaria has also confirmed enacting the ban on Russian-flagged ships on Sunday. 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 forces. Western countries and their allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia. The European Union has also vowed to reduce its dependency on Russian energy. On April 8, the bloc announced the fifth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which included a ban on imports of coal and other solid fossils from the country starting from August 2022, a ban on the entry of Russian ships into EU ports and restrictions on Russian and Belarusian road transport companies. (ANI/Sputnik) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be travelling to the US on an official visit beginning April 18 to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the Central Bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG). The visit will also include several bilateral interactions, including with Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and South Africa as well as a high-level meeting with World Bank President David Malpass, a Ministry of Finance statement said. The Finance Minister will also hold one-on-one meetings with CEOs from the semiconductor, energy and other sectors of priority for the Government of India. During the course of the visit, Finance Minister Sitharaman will participate in a high-level panel discussion on "Money at a Crossroad" hosted by the Managing Director, IMF. Apart from her official engagements with the World Bank, IMF, G-20 and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Nirmala Sitharaman will also attend an event at the Atlantic Council, a prominent think tank based in Washington DC, and will also interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University. Nirmala Sitharaman is the third high-level minister to visit the US in the last week, with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attending the India-US 2+2 ministerial with their US counterparts on April 11. (ANI) No one who attended the farewell lunch for the then Pakistan ambassador Asad Majeed Khan at his residence which led to the so-called 'Lettergate scandal' felt that America was trying to hatch a conspiracy against former Prime Minister Imran Khan government. "No, there's no conspiracy. Nobody got that impression," the source added. The 'Lettergate scandal' that includes a threatening letter from a foreign country for regime change in the country kicked off on March 7 at a farewell lunch for the former Pakistani Ambassador at his residence, which is also known as Pakistan House, reported Dawn. Even when it was a lunch, a notetaker from the Pakistani Embassy also attended the meeting. Following the meeting, a cable-based on the notes was then sent to Islamabad. Among those who attended the meeting were US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Deputy Assistant Secretary Lesslie C Viguerie. From the Pakistani side, Deputy Chief of Mission Syed Naveed Bokhari and the defence attache attended the lunch meeting. According to a source, the US side expressed its 'disappointment' with Pakistan's decision to send its prime minister, Imran Khan, to Moscow the day Russia invaded Ukraine. One of the sources said, "They pointed out how the invasion had angered the entire American nation and explained why they thought Mr Khan should have postponed his visit." Contrary to Imran Khan's allegations of the US conspiring, Washington said that the final decision to visit Moscow would be of the then Pakistani PM Imran Khan. "Washington believes the final decision to go ahead with the visit despite the invasion was that of Imran Khan," said one of the sources. In another exchange of words during the lunch, America said that Islamabad should have also "considered Washington's sensitiveness" on this issue before going ahead with the visit. The parties also discusses the political developments in Pakistan, and Lu pointed out that Washington was keenly watching the situation and the outcome of the no-trust move against the then prime minister would impact US-Pakistan relations as well, as per the newspaper. "But they did say the outcome will impact bilateral ties, which can be interpreted either way," said the source. On April 10, while commenting on Khan's claim, a US State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter said: "Let me just say very bluntly there is absolutely no truth to these allegations." (ANI) You are here: Business China's express logistics sector slowed down last month, data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed. The index tracking courier logistics stood at 98.3 percent in March, down 2.1 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the federation. It attributed the slowdown to the shrinking market demand and rises in operating costs during the period, and the disruptions to transportation and employment due to COVID-19. Specifically, the sub-index for business courier logistics dropped 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, while cross-border courier logistics slipped 1.2 percentage points. China's manufacturing activity also became less brisk in March, with the sub-index tracking manufacturing business express logistics standing at 96.5 percent, down 5.4 percentage points month on month, the data showed. Based on the statistics of business courier services, the express logistics index reflects the development of the country's industrial activities and express logistics sector. After crying foul over "foreign conspiracy", Imran Khan is now targeting the judiciary for not investigating the alleged letter. Imran's blame game continues. The former PM addressing a mammoth historic rally at Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground, adjacent to the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam, reiterated that his government was removed through a foreign-instigated regime change 'conspiracy' and demanded immediate free and fair elections to let the people decide (who they want as their prime minister), reported Business Recorder. Khan demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the letter under the supervision of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to ascertain the facts. He said, "It will remain in my heart for the whole life that the courts were opened at midnight to oust me". "Shouldn't the Supreme Court have investigated this letter, because it was a conspiracy against an elected prime minister of more than 200 million people?" Khan said, "I was imprisoned for an independent judiciary in the Musharraf era. Respected judges, when the horse-trading was taking place in the parliament and politicians were changing their loyalties for money, why didn't you take action against them? Had they not betrayed the people of their respected constituencies and the constitution of the country? Does our law allow them to be a part of any international conspiracy," Khan asked. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said if the international conspiracy to enslave 200 million people of Pakistan succeeds, no prime minister will ever be able to stand up to US threats, reported Business Recorder. He said the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will try to use his 'Sharif mafia doctrine' against PTI. He will hire his own umpires, and bureaucrats, make cases against PTI in FIA and NAB and will try to rig the elections. "Shehbaz Sharif is out on bail, he has been facing cases worth Rs 40 billion in NAB and FIA," Khan said. PTI chairman said the ruling 'mafia' will also use the foreign funding case as a tool to sideline PTI from the political sphere. But I warn them, "If we were pushed against the wall, you will face dire consequences," reported Business Recorder. Khan said "some people informed me, your life is in danger, but I responded to them that national integrity, respect, and freedom are more important than my life. It was a matter for future generations of this country". He also touched upon the terms - interference, and conspiracy, and asked the rally participants to raise hands and tell if it was interference or a conspiracy, reported Business Recorder. "There was a conspiracy against this country at a very vast international scale," Khan reiterated. "I have never been against any country. I am neither anti-European nor anti-American. I am with humanity. My leader is Rehmat-ul-Alameen - mercy for all human beings. I want friendship with everyone, but not the slavery of anyone," Khan added. The PTI chief said he came to know three to four months back that some politicians who eventually left his party, as well as some journalists, had started having meetings at the US embassy. He said a journalist told him that "a lot of money is being spent on us". Thus, the conspiracy had been in the works for a while, and then our US ambassador meets Donald Lu." Lu says that if the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan will not be successful, then Pakistan will have to go through a difficult time. If no trust motion succeeds, Pakistan will be forgiven. "This is a shameful threat to the elected prime minister of the country of 220 million people. Which country is threatened in this way?" reported Business Recorder. (ANI) The training was conducted onboard the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini, under the aegis of the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA). Notably, INSV Tarini had circumnavigated the globe with an all-women crew from Sep 2017 to May 2018. "Treading the oceans under sails is an extremely challenging activity enhancing risk-taking abilities as well as honing essential seamanship & navigation skills," the Indian Navy informed in a tweet. "It is also an effective method of imparting values of courage, camaraderie & esprit-de-corps among budding Naval Officers," the tweet further read." (ANI) The newly appointed United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) special rapporteur on Afghanistan said on Sunday that he will closely examine allegations of torture, disappearances, killings of former government employees and detentions under the Taliban regime. Richard Bennett was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan during the 49th session of the UNHRC. "I will be certainly monitoring and want to receive information and I will be seeking information on these alleged violations, this is a really important part of my mandate. I want to be accessible," Bennett told Tolo News in an interview. Bennett said that he will focus on women's rights, freedom of expression, minorities and the study of violence in May 2022. The UN Special Rapporteur also urged the Islamic Emirate to abide by international treaties, because, according to him, these commitments are also in the interest of the Afghan government, Tolo News reported. Talking about the recent decree of the Taliban regime, banning girls from school above grade six, Bennett said that he would take up the matter with the Taliban officials. "It is a right for all people of both genders to education and so this is a very important issue not only for me but many Afghans, and members of the international community have raised this issue, and I think it is a key issue," the UN special rapporteur said. The appointment of the special rapporteur comes at a time when the country is facing a devastating humanitarian crisis, as well as a deteriorated human rights situation. According to the US State Department, annual country reports on human rights practices, significant human rights issues occurred before and after the Taliban took over Kabul in August last year. The human rights issues included credible reports of extrajudicial killings by security forces; forced disappearances by antigovernment personnel; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces, the report said. It also includes reports of serious restrictions on free expression and media by the Taliban, including violence against journalists and censorship; severe restrictions on religious freedom; restrictions on the right to leave the country. (ANI) The launch took place at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:13 a.m. local time (13:13 GMT). The rocket is putting into orbit the NROL-85 mission for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The mission's details have not been made public. The rocket's first stage has already landed in the vicinity of the launch site. This is its second launch as it was previously used for putting another intelligence satellite into orbit. The NRO is a US government agency that develops, builds, launches and operates US spy satellites that provide intelligence data to the 18 agencies comprising the US intelligence community and the Defense Department. (ANI/Sputnik) Pakistan's Punjab governor, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, on Sunday postponed the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister-elect Hamza Shehbaz. Cheema has "delayed" the oath-taking ceremony of Hamza Shehbaz due to the ruckus that took place in the assembly a day earlier, reported Geo News. Cheema, in a press conference, condemned the violence that took place in the Punjab Assembly one day prior and said that such incidents set a very wrong precedent. "I am a political worker and have fought elections. This a very wrong precedent being set," said the governor. The Punjab governor accused the CM elect of using "state power" on the polling day against his rival the PTI and PML-Q, reported Geo News. "I believe if Hamza Shehbaz had enough votes, then he should not have made the election controversial like this," said Cheema. It should be noted that during yesterday's session, 197 MPAs had cast their votes to elect Hamza Shehbaz as the chief minister. The governor also questioned whether the elections for the Punjab chief minister were conducted as per the directives of the Lahore High Court and said that he had summoned a report from the secretary of the Punjab Assembly related to the ruckus and violence that took place during the session yesterday. Cheema added that Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari acted in a "partisan way". The governor said that his office will write letters to the advocate-general of Punjab as well as the speaker related to the polls, reported Geo News. "Sitting in a constitutional office, I cannot endorse an unconstitutional act. I will start these [oath-taking proceedings] once I am satisfied that these elections were conducted according to the Constitution and LHC's order," said the governor. Meanwhile as per some reports that started circulating that during Cheema has been removed from office by the federal government. Sources had told Geo News that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had sent a summary to President Arif Alvi for the removal of Governor Cheema. The summary was moved under the discretionary powers given to the premier. The news was also confirmed by PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, reported Geo News. When Governor Cheema was asked to confirm the story, he said that PM Shehbaz Sharif has "no right to remove him from office." "PM has no right to remove me, he sends a summary to the president. I am holding this office with the pleasure of the president and until the president does not notify this, I will continue to hold this office," said Governor Cheema. (ANI) During an intense exchange of fire, two terrorists of Pakistan's banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been killed by security forces in Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local media reported on Sunday. This comes in the wake of the joint search operation conducted by the law enforcement agencies in DIK's Kolachi after the security received inputs about the presence of terrorists in the region, reported ARY News. The terrorists were identified as Khalil and Ahsan aka Deva. During the combat, the terrorists were killed and weapons and weapons and ammunition were also recovered from them. One of the killed terrorists, Khalil was an expert at producing suicide jacks and making landmines. Notably, on April 11, five of the security forces were killed and these terrorists were involved in the incident. In another such incident, earlier in the month of March, four terrorists had been killed including two soldiers in the intense exchange of fire in Bloro area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Bajaur district, as per the news channel. According to the Pakistan military spokesperson, ISPR the terrorists resorted to firing on the security forces in Bloro, Bajaur district. In a prompt response, the terrorists were killed. (ANI) "The president has asked G7 countries to provide USD 50 billion in funding for Ukraine. We are using several parallel routes at the same time," Ustenko said in a televised comment, adding that Kyiv is also considering requesting a Special Drawing Rights loan from the IMF. Ukraine is currently losing about USD 7 billion a month, which adds up to roughly USD 50 billion over a six-month period, he said. 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. The Russian defense ministry said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. (ANI/Sputnik) As the Russia-Ukraine war advances towards completing the second month, in a recent development, the son of the Zaporizhzhia city council head in Ukraine is reportedly been kidnapped by Russian troops. City Council Head Oleh Buryak said that Russian troops kidnapped his 16-years-old son when he was trying to evacuate from occupied Melitopol on April 8, reported Ukraine's media outlet The Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the world to be prepared for the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Zelenskyy, in an interview with CNN, said, "Not only me -- all of the world, all of the countries have to be worried because it can be not real information, but it can be truth." "Chemical weapons, they should do it, they could do it, for them the life of the people, nothing. That's why. We should think not be afraid, not be afraid but be ready. But that is not a question for Ukraine, not only for Ukraine but for all the world, I think," the media outlet quoted him as saying. This comes as the US officials have warned about the possibility of Putin using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine if backed into a corner. 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 forces. Russia said that the aim of its operation is "demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine." (ANI) India gets two months extension for the transportation of 50,000 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of wheat and life-saving medicines as humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan via the Attari-Wagah integrated check-post. "As a manifestation of our sincere efforts towards addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, it has been decided to grant two months' extension to facilitate completion of the transportation. All the modalities shall remain the same as earlier communicated to the Indian side," said the press release by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Government of India recently requested for extension in the time period to complete the transportation process. As per the release, the Government of Pakistan in November 2021 had approved, as a special gesture to the Afghan people, the transportation of 50,000 MTs of wheat and life-saving medicines as humanitarian assistance from India to Afghanistan via the Wagah border on an exceptional basis for humanitarian purposes. The time period granted for transportation of the humanitarian assistance expired on 21 March 2022 however now Pakistan has extended the time duration so that India can complete the transportation of the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Pakistani MOFA said that the High Commission of India in Islamabad has been informed of the decision in this regard. Earlier this month, India announced that it will send 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat to Afghanistan overland through Pakistan. The first consignment of humanitarian aid of 2,500 tonnes of wheat from India reached Afghanistan's Jalalabad through Pakistan on February 26. Meanwhile, the second convoy of India's humanitarian assistance carrying 2,000 MTs of wheat left Attari, Amritsar on March 3 for Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the MEA had said. Moreover, India sent the third consignment of 2,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan in 40 trucks via the Attari-Wagah border on March 8. The fourth consignment of 2,000 metric tonnes of wheat was dispatched for Afghanistan via the Attari-Wagah border on March 15. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had flagged off the first such consignment from Amritsar. (ANI) Pakistan's newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his desire for peaceful ties with India and resolution of all the outstanding issues, including that of Kashmir, local media reported citing sources. This comes in the wake of PM Modi's congratulatory wishes to the newly elected Pakistani counterpart. Sharif, in his reply, thanked PM Modi for congratulating him and said that his country desires peaceful and cooperative ties with India, reported ARY News. PM Modi had after Sharif was sworn in greeted the Pakistani premier and said in a tweet, "India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people." In his response, Sharif tweeted: "Thank you Premier Narendra Modi for felicitations. Pakistan desires peaceful & cooperative ties with India. Peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes including Jammu & Kashmir is indispensable. Pakistan's sacrifices in fighting terrorism are well-known. Let's secure peace and focus on socio-economic development of our people." In his first address to the National Assembly after being sworn in, Sharif had said, "We want good ties with India but durable peace is not possible until the Kashmir dispute is resolved." Sharif the leader of the joint opposition took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday evening hours after being elected by the National Assembly of the country. This brought to an end the political uncertainty that had gripped Pakistan since a no-confidence motion was on March 8 introduced against Sharif's predecessor Imran Khan. (ANI) Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Shenzhou-13's return capsule, carrying astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 9:56 a.m. (Beijing Time). The Shenzhou-13 manned mission was a complete success, the CMSA announced. The trio were carried out one by one by ground workers and placed onto chairs in front of the capsule. They looked relaxed and waved to the ground crew. "Welcome back home," people cheered for the trio and raised their cameras to capture the historic moment. "It is the power and strength of our country that built the high-flying space station. I am proud of my great motherland," Zhai, the mission commander, told the state broadcaster CCTV in a live program. Wang, first female to China's space station, said she is very happy to return to the motherland and wants to tell her 5-year-old daughter that "her stars-picking mom is back." Ye, a newcomer to space, said that he has realized his dream of flying into space. The return capsule separated from the spaceship's orbiting capsule at 9:06 a.m. under the command of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The braking engine of the return capsule was ignited at 9:30 a.m., followed by the separation of the return capsule from the propelling capsule. After the return capsule landed successfully, the ground search team arrived at the landing site. The medical personnel confirmed that the astronauts were in good health. From separating from the space station core module to return to Earth, the journey took only over nine hours, the first time for a Chinese manned spacecraft to use the "rapid return mode." It shortened the flight mainly by reducing traveling circles around the orbit, according to the CMSA. The Shenzhou-13 spaceship was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 16, 2021, and later docked with the space station core module Tianhe. During their stay in Tianhe, the crew conducted a number of scientific and technological experiments, including manual remote operation and module transfer supported by the robotic arm. They performed extravehicular activities (EVAs) twice during the mission, in November and December respectively. The first EVAs, performed by Zhai and Wang, took approximately 6.5 hours. Wang's EVAs made her the country's first female astronaut to leave footprints in outer space. Zhai and Ye carried out EVAs for the second time, completed tasks such as lifting panoramic camera and testing goods transport in about six hours of EVAs. The EVAs further tested the function and performance of the core module airlock cabin, extravehicular suit and mechanical arm, and assessed the technologies related to EVAs, the coordination of astronauts inside and outside the space station, and the coordination between space and Earth. The crew members delivered two live classes from the space station, on Dec. 9 and March 23, respectively. In the classes, they conducted various scientific experiments, such as the crystallization of supersaturated solution, a liquid bridge demonstration, water-oil separation and throwing objects under the zero-gravity condition, amazing numerous students on the ground. In the second class, the trio expressed their expectations for the students on Earth. "We hope you will continue to gain scientific knowledge and explore the mysteries of science. The future space station is waiting for you guys," Wang said. The six-month mission also saw Shenzhou-13 crew members celebrate traditional Chinese festivals in space. The trio became the first Chinese to spend the nation's most important festival -- the Chinese Lunar New Year -- in outer space. They extended their Spring Festival greetings in a video released by the CMSA on New Year's Eve. They wished the motherland and all Chinese people prosperity. With five launches, including two crewed missions, China completed the technology verification phase of its space station program. This year, China will complete the in-orbit construction of its space station. It has planned six launch missions, including the launching of two lab modules Mengtian and Wentian, two cargo crafts Tianzhou-4 and Tianzhou-5, and two crewed missions Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15. With all the CCTV cameras non-functional in a private hospital, a newborn baby was kidnapped in the Gulberg area of Pakistan's Karachi on Sunday, according to police. Sharing the account, the police said that a woman told the family that she was taking the baby boy to an intensive care unit (ICU) and when they went to check on the infant, he was not there, reported ARY News. As the information reached the police, a team arrived at the hospital and launched an investigation into the matter. Three employees of the medical facility have been taken into custody for interrogation. All the CCTV cameras installed at the hospital were non-functional, the police said. (ANI) This comes after Cheema postponed the swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz while he held consultations with the legal team, Daily Pakistan reported. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has used his discretionary powers to remove Cheema, who has been directed to leave the Governor's house at the earliest. Meanwhile, the premier has also sent a summary to the president in this regard. PTI leader visited Pakistan Muslim League (Q) PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at his residence and condemned the assault that occurred during the voting in the Punjab Assembly on Saturday. Cheema mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz was not authorized to remove him from his office, saying the power rests with the President only. Omar Cheema, one of the important members of the former ruling party, earlier replaced Chaudhry Sarwar after the ousted Prime Minister removed Sarwar for his decision to call the Punjab Assembly session. Earlier, there were reports that Cheema was likely to resign in the aftermath of the ouster of Imran Khan from the Prime Minister's seat following a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly. Once a new Prime Minister takes the oath of his position, the Punjab Governor will resign from his post, ARY News had reported citing sources. (ANI) Moscow [Russia], April 18 (ANI/Sputnik): Ukraine has asked Moldova to sell or hand over its MiG-29 fighter jets, but Chisinau has declined over the desire not to undermine relations with Russia, the Ukrainian website European Pravda reported on Sunday, citing sources. According to the news outlet, Kyiv made the request during the first days of the Russian special operation but was rebuffed by the Moldovan leadership, which explained that it did not want to irritate Moscow as it could view that move as a violation of the principle of neutrality. The Moldovan Defense Ministry is said to have six MiG-29 fighter jets, which are operational but have not been deployed in a long time. Chisinau has been trying to sell them for a while but to no avail. 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 troops. (ANI/Sputnik) According to Khaama Press, the local officials of Khost and Kunar provinces confirmed that the Pakistani aircraft launched the airstrikes on different parts of the provinces, killing five children and a woman. Officials of the Khost province said that the Pakistani aircraft bombed the Pesa Mila, and Mir Safar areas of the province on Friday night. In a statement, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and Chief Spokesperson of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid had said, that Pakistan should not test the patience of the people of Afghanistan or else should be ready to face the aftermath. "We are trying our best to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels and negotiations. Such acts will create tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan which will lead to conflicts that are in favour of no one," Mujahid said. The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed its deep concern about reports of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. "UNAMA is deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties, including women and children, as a result of airstrikes in Khost and Kunar provinces last night. Civilians are never a target. UNAMA is working to establish facts on the ground and verify the extent of losses," UNAMA tweeted. Meanwhile, the Taliban have summoned Pakistan's ambassador to convey concerns to the Pakistan government over the recent airstrikes. (ANI) Paris [France], April 18 (ANI/Sputnik): The St Seraphim of Sarov Church, a small wooden Orthodox church in Paris, burned to the ground on Sunday without any casualties, French newspaper Le Parisien reported. According to the news outlet, the church, situated in the 15th arrondissement, was consumed by fire in a few minutes. As a result, both the church building and its collection of icons have been lost. At the same time, the blaze spared the nearby workshop and an 18th-century house. Firemen evacuated three priests, who were not harmed but were shocked by what had happened. Forensic experts are now trying to identify the cause of the fire. It is currently unknown whether it was an accident or arson. The first chapel of the St. Seraphim of Sarov Church was built in the 1930s when the Russian community of the 15th arrondissement was one of the largest in the French capital. It was rebuilt in 1974, but over the years the church started collecting donations for renovation. It was a favourite spot of Orthodox Parisians. (ANI/Sputnik) One person was killed and another person was injured after a duplex caught fire in Urbana early Sunday morning. According to a social media post from the Urbana Fire Division, firefighters were called to respond to a report of a fire with possible entrapment off West Ward Street shortly before 4 a.m. Upon arrival, crews were met with heavy fire on one side of a duplex and one person injured outside. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. In addition to the injured person that was outside, one person was killed inside the structure, according to the post. The Champaign County Coroners Office has identified the person killed in the fire as 51-year-old Valorie A. Jones. The Red Cross assisted with the basic needs of six people who were displaced by the fire, the post said. The State Fire Marshals Office is completing the investigation. At 0341 this morning, The Urbana Fire Division, C-Shift, received a report of a fire with possible entrapment off West... Posted by Urbana Fire Division - Urbana, Ohio on Sunday, April 17, 2022 The congregation gathered for Easter Sunday at a neighborhood funeral home. Some have been members of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church for more than 30 years. Others were inspired to join for the first time. All came to hear the message of resurrection. We are Antioch strong this morning, lead Pastor Gerald M. Dew said to more than 200 congregants at Calahan Funeral Home in Englewood, after a fire on Good Friday tore through their church. It was accidentally set ablaze by workers using a propane torch, Chicago Fire Department officials said. No injuries were reported, but the roof caved in and the building, at 6248 S. Stewart Ave., was significantly damaged. Dew began his sermon by acknowledging the devastation felt on Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was a dark Friday, it was a devastating Friday, hearts were broken on that Friday, tears were flowing on that Friday, and hopes were damaged on that Friday, Dew said. These are the emotions that we are so familiar with because we just experienced an awful Friday. We like Jesus are faced with stones, Dew said. But Easter and resurrection transcends the resurrection of Jesus and points to the obvious opportunity and possibility of our resurrection. Anthony Nichols, 63, has been going to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church every Sunday for the past three years. The pastor is a great pastor, a great teacher, a great leader, and what happened on Good Friday is not going to destroy the faith of Gods children, Nichols said. On Good Friday the church burned down, but we still rise. Antioch has a special place in Nichols heart because it is where he met his wife, Lorea Lewis . 56 , who has been a member of Antioch for more than 25 years. When I first came to Antioch, I was part of another church, but then I met my wife and started going (to Antioch) every Sunday, he said. The couple met in February of 2019 and within six months of dating, Nichols proposed to Lewis in the church. Story continues Nichols said he finds comfort that he can still feel the spiritual guidance of the church community although the church family cannot meet at the physical location. My hope is that we can rebuild, Nichols said. God knows when youre trying to do the right thing, and Antioch teaches us to keep striving to be the best. Erston Harris , 58, said he joined the church as a member in 2012 but has been involved with the Antioch community for more than 30 years through family celebrations and mentorship programs. This is a tight-knit family, Harris said. We have to do the work of the Lord no matter what we do through the ups and the downs. Yvonne Reese, 68, said she had often passed by Antioch when going for a stroll to the store but had not attended a service there until Sunday. When I heard there was a fire, I ran down there but was told that we couldnt go near it, Reese said. " I came here today to support and will make sure to visit. Shirley Calahan is not a member of Antioch but is one of the churchs biggest supporters. Calahan is one of the owners of the funeral home where the Easter service was held. They are our neighbors in the community as well as our partners so we found it to be the right thing to do especially on this Resurrection Sunday, she said. Calahan said that she hopes the funeral home and Antioch can continue their relationship to the next level. Were not sure what that next level looks like but whatever they need us to be or do, well be there to support, Calahan said. " The sun will shine again in the light of the Antioch Church family, and they shall rise again. Read the full article on Motorious Something wicked this way comes Watching the accompanying video of an Acura NSX fitted with a wide body kit is a good reminder of the strange journey of these Japanese supercars. Just the fact that some people smirked at the term supercar is only the tip of the iceberg, considering when the NSX was first revealed by Honda in 1989 it absolutely knocked the socks off everyone at the Chicago Auto Show and then pretty much everywhere else. Watch the latest Motorious Podcast here. Honda was known for making sensible cars, motorcycles, and lawnmowers too, not a sexy, mid-engine two-seater which went toe-to-toe with Ferraris of the day. Of course, Ferrari was able to pull away while Honda kept loping the NSX along into the early 2000s. Thanks to that stagnation while everyone else was pushing the envelope, what started out as a super-advanced vehicle became something detractors loved to mock as overrated. Some had forgotten just how special of a car the Acura NSX was for its time. That meant buying one for years after Honda stopped making them was surprisingly affordable. Some people thought they would forever be remembered as a failure or a wanna-be supercar, but then everything seemed to change after the second-generation NSX launched, like people remembered how well-balanced and enjoyable the original had been. Now, prices for NSXs, whether theyre badged as an Acura or Honda, are on the climb. Like other 90s Japanese classics, people are feeling pretty nostalgic about these cars. Honda is supposedly even weighing expanding its factory restoration program to the United States. The NSX in this video wouldnt be a good restoration candidate since the owner decided to go in a dramatically different direction. Not everyone will like the body kit or the other mods, which includes Recaro seats, cage, racing steering wheel, big wing, diffuser, front splitter, and more. Before you knock this ride, check out the video and then make the judgement call. Let us know if you like this tuned NSX or prefer them OE. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that makes it a felony for doctors to provide gender affirming medical care for transgender youth, and another that requires students to use the bathroom matching the sex on their birth certificate. Ivey's action is part of a larger wave of anti-trans legislation being considered and adopted across the country in record numbers. Uwe Lorenz of Dunkermotoren and Matt French of AMETEK. As NATO and the United States rally to the defense of Ukraine, citizens and corporations are joining together to support Ukrainian citizens in their fight against Russia. AMETEK, a global company with a major presence in Kent and northeast Ohio, is among those leading the charge. When I caught up with Matt French, senior vice president and general manager of the Advanced Motion Solutions division in Kent, Matt was in Bonndorf, a community in southwest Germany meeting with Uwe Lorenz, managing director of Dunkermotoren, a company AMETEK acquired in 2012. The plant is led by Lorenz, who reports to French, and one of the topics on their agenda was their ongoing support for the Ukrainians, an initiative started in the community by two employees in their plant that employs 1,000 workers. The Dunkermotoren employees had hoped to fill one semi-truck with blankets, groceries, diapers, medical supplies, clothing and other basic living supplies through an appeal they made in Bonndorf, a small Black Forest community of about 7,000 people. To their astonishment, they ended up garnering enough donations to fill three semi trailers, some 45 tons in all. The much-needed relief was supplied to a local charity in Ukraine, which took over distributing supplies to the victims of the Russian attacks. Dunkermotoren employees in Bonndorf, Germany loading semi-truck with relief supplies for Ukrainians. Included in the donations were six tons of clothing, 13,800 liters of drinking water, 3,100 tons of powdered milk, 13 tons of food, two tons of baby diapers, one ton of over-the-counter medicines and two tons of bedding. The team of two employees quickly became a team of five and then grew to more than 100 volunteers. AMETEKs Bonndorf and Czech Republic plants are also in the process of employing Ukrainian refugees. We already have hired several new colleagues in the Czech plant, and it has worked out very well for everyone. We are excited to have Ukrainian refugees joining our workforce and becoming part of the community, French said. AMETEK, whose 18,000 employees work in more than 150 production facilities around the world, has earmarked a considerable donation from the AMETEK Foundation for charities that are providing food, shelter, and medical supplies to Ukrainian refugees. Story continues Locally, area readers should know that AMETEK is assisting a Kent State University graduate student, Lydia Lisowsky, a second generation American-Ukrainian, whose father is an AMETEK employee. Lisowsky has established a goal to fill 3,000 medical kits for soldiers in Ukraine by collecting supplies donated throughout the community. Lisowkys cousin, Paul Jatsyshyn, told KentWired that her grandparents, Eugene and Ingrid Lydia Nebesh, fled Ukraine during World War II and found refuge in America. I feel a duty to help the country that has given me so much brightness, Lisowsky said in the interview. She is modeling her kits after those created by Plast Ukraininan Scouting-USA in which she holds a membership. Placing collection bins for medical supplies located in strategic sites in White Hall, Dunbar Hall and Tri -Towers, Lisowsky picks up the donations. Community members can contribute by either donating money or buying supplies directly. Plast Scouts then package and send the kits to Poland and finally to Ukraine to meet the needs of soldiers and those surviving the horrific Russian bombing attacks. French said that AMETEK is donating refreshments to the student volunteers and Plast Scouts during the assembly process and volunteering an AMETEK box truck to make sure the medical supplies get to the proper location. French and his wife have also personally donated medical supplies for the kits. Lorenz said Germans are just as astonished over the outbreak of a war in Europe as Americans. A family man with children ages 10 and 13, Lorenz said he is worried about Europe. After 77 years of relative peace, he said, We did not even imagine a war could break out in Europe. Recognizing the plight of the Ukrainians, Germany has opened its doors and set up a responsive organizational approach to settling the Ukrainians in situations where they meet and interact with Germans. We want them to fully integrate and not be left in isolation to themselves," Lorenz said. AMETEK is a leading global provider of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices providing differentiated solutions to support its customers challenging applications. The companys products can be found in a wide range of end markets including aerospace, medical, research, power, industrial, automation, and advance measurement applications around the world. David E. Dix is the retired publisher of the Record-Courier. This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent's AMETEK helping Ukraine as war with Russia continues The success of the Shenzhou XIII mission represents a major victory of China's plan to explore space, experts from different countries have said, calling for closer international cooperation on science and technology. Three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou XIII manned spaceship have completed their six-month space station mission and returned to Earth safely on Saturday. The mission marks that China has completed the verification of key technologies of its space station, and also sets a record for Chinese astronauts' duration in orbit, according to the China Manned Space Agency. China's Shenzhou XIII mission "spent a national-record six months in orbit," with Wang Yaping becoming "the first Chinese woman ever to conduct a spacewalk," U.S. space and astronomy news website Space.com reported. The astronauts, or taikonauts, preformed two spacewalks, conducted more than 20 different science experiments and delivered two live educational lectures in space, the report said. Calling the success of the astronauts a major win for China's space exploration program, Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, pointed out that as a major developing country, China's stride in space science is an inspiration to the larger global south. By building its own space station, China will expand its scientific reach, Adhere said, adding that China's space exploration program is also open to other developing countries. For example, Beijing is working with African countries across a range of space exploration themes, the scholar noted. "Such exchange programs have significantly boosted capacity for space development programs on the continent." Lameck Odada, an economist at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, noted that China's achievements in space station construction and space exploration are extraordinary, and contribute to human efforts in space exploration. Odada expressed the expectation that China would share its breakthroughs in scientific research and technology and continue to strengthen cooperation with other countries. Saying the mission is "definitely a success," Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist and cosmologist at the Australian National University, told Xinhua that it is "important to move forward with a long-term space station and full operation." This mission has shown that China's astronauts "are capable of long-term space flight, which makes Earth's future goals and plans for the Moon and beyond exciting," Tucker said. Michael Burry. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Michael Burry defended the SEC after Elon Musk castigated the regulatory agency this week. "The Big Short" investor accused the Tesla CEO of making up his own rules. Musk defended his "funding secured" tweet this week, and disclosed his Twitter stake 10 days late. Michael Burry, the investor of "The Big Short" fame, defended the Securities and Exchange Commission, and criticized Tesla CEO Elon Musk for flouting the agency's rules, in a now-deleted tweet on Saturday. "In defense of the SEC, and particularly the SF office, they were nothing but professional in my dealings with them," Burry wrote. "But I don't have billions, can't make my own rules, and would never." The Scion Asset Management boss posted a link to a Forbes story about Musk describing the SEC as "bastards" at the TED2022 conference this week. Musk alleged that agency officials knew his infamous "funding secured" tweet in 2018 was accurate, but went ahead with a public investigation anyway, and threatened his company to bully him into settling with them. The article noted that Musk ostensibly violated his settlement with the regulator by reiterating that he had secured funding. Moreover, a court filing on Friday showed a district judge recently concluded Musk's infamous tweet was "false and misleading," and ordered the executive to stop saying publicly he had obtained the funding. Tesla, Scion, and the SEC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider. Burry may also have been referring to Musk revealing he had amassed more than 5% of Twitter's outstanding shares on April 4 10 days after he was required to make the disclosure. The late filing potentially saved the executive about $150 million, as Twitter's stock price soared after news broke of his stake. The fund manager has previously tweeted that he drew scrutiny from SEC regulators for his role in the GameStop saga in January 2021. Scion had built a stake in the video-games retailer months earlier, and Burry had pushed for changes at the company by writing three separate letters to its board of directors. His endorsement likely fueled the frenzy among retail investors that propelled the stock skyward. Story continues Burry is best known for his lucrative bet against the mid-2000s housing bubble, and his repeated predictions of epic market crashes. He's also ridiculed Tesla's aggressive valuation and wagered its stock would nosedive. Moreover, he accused Musk of selling Tesla shares last year not to pay more taxes, but to cash in on the company's stock-price surge and pay off personal debts. "Burry is a broken clock," Musk responded at the time. Here's a screenshot of Burry's tweet: @michaeljburry Read the original article on Business Insider Apr. 17A corrugated box manufacturer has opened its first United States operations in Hamilton and the company is looking to add employees. Saica Pack, a Spanish-based corrugated box manufacturer at 2995 McBride Court in Hamilton, has an immediate need to hire 10 people, which would put them at 50 total employees, but Gonzalo Aragues, the industrial project manager for Saica, said by the end of 2023 the capacity goal is to have 120. The hiring is needed to help ramp up the corrugated box maker to three shifts. Currently, its operating just one shift to accommodate 32 clients, said Aragues. The 360,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which is considered a "smart warehouse" due to the state-of-the-art machinery and storage area, could have an exponential number of clients. "Typically, one of these similar plants that we have in Europe could have 1,000 clients," Aragues said. "We could have very big ones, like Proctor & Gamble, and then we have small ones that are close to here and have a small volume." In addition to a state-of-the art corrugator the machine that puts the "waves" in the cardboard product, the plant will have a production capacity that exceeds 1,500 MSF/year of corrugated board. Additionally, the plant has two converters, which shape, cut, fold, glue and print corrugated cardboard. Aragues said they plan to install two additional converters at a cost of around $5 million each. That will bring them up to four converters. They have a small converter for small and local businesses, he said. The company was able to complete some orders at the end of 2021, and are now fully operational, which Akin Burak Onder, Saica's U.S. general manager, said is a new milestone for the company. "We have invested in the technology, equipment and people needed to bring performance packaging solutions to this market," he said. "Our offering can help businesses be more cost-effective and efficient." Story continues The company chose to come to Hamilton for "many things," Aragues said. The potential customer base in the region was a main point of interest, he said. It was also because of Hamilton, as they "were very eager to help us and work with us. They've given us many opportunities to build a facility here." Additionally, the workforce possibilities added to the calculus to choose Hamilton. Although the Hamilton warehouse isn't done adding equipment and hiring staff, Aragues said they're looking at the next project the company's second U.S. facility. Saica will announce the second U.S. plant location, either in Ohio or Indiana, in the coming months. This was part of a previously announced $800 million investment the company plans for the U.S. market, growing through strategic acquisitions or new plant construction during the next five years, as part of its global strategy. "This has been a challenging project but, at the same time, very rewarding, we are so thankful for all the support received. We are convinced that we can provide products that will differentiate us in a crowded market", said Saica Group President Ramon Alejandro. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA As the holiday weekend wraps up, we've rounded up all the stories you may have missed Saturday and Sunday to prepare you for Monday. But before we jump into the Southland's top stories, Golden State residents should know that any potential COVID-19 vaccine mandates for California students were just taken off the table for at least a year. Sen. Richard Pan shelved his bill that would have required children ages 0 to 17 to be vaccinated to attend school in person. Then, the California Department of Public Health announced plans to delay Gov. Gavin Newsom's less strict mandate until July 1, 2023. Read more about that here. From a man arrested on suspicion of a burglary spree that spanned across four Southland counties to a warning from police about a "violent criminal" on the loose that escaped from a halfway house in Orange County here are some of the stories you missed over Easter weekend. OC Public Warned Of 'Extremely Dangerous' Man On The Loose A manhunt was underway for an 18-year-old who escaped from a halfway house. He was convicted of stabbing his mother to death when he was 13. Man Arrested On Suspicion Of ID Theft, Burglary Spree In Orange County A 58-year-old man was arrested in connection with identification theft and a string of burglaries across four Southern California counties. Instacart, Lyft Back In California Political Spotlight The ripple effects of Proposition 22 are still reverberating in California labor politics and could rear up in this years election. Gimme Shelter: What If California Put Affordable Housing On Golf Courses? California has reached a broad consensus that it needs more affordable housing. The disputes arise over where that housing should go. Income Tax Deadline: What Last-Minute CA Filers Need to Know Californians have three extra days to file their tax returns this year and those who have filed are, on average, receiving larger refunds. Story continues Rare Pink Moon Rises Over CA's Easter Weekend The "pink moon" was set to rise over the Golden State during the holiday weekend, following the bloom of pink wildflowers in North America. Orange County COVID-19 Rates Tick Up, But Hospitalizations Low The number of COVID-positive patients in Orange County hospitals has fallen by two people to 67. COVID Hospitalizations Fall To 213 In Los Angeles County The number of COVID-positive hospital patients in Los Angeles County has fallen by 28 people to 213. Sheriff's Department Investigating Shooting Death in Bellflower A man in his 20s has been killed in a shooting that is being investigated as possibly gang related. Man in Vehicle Shot To Death In Hyde Park Area A man was shot to death Saturday morning while sitting in a vehicle in the Hyde Park area of Los Angeles. 3 Wounded In San Diego's College East Community Three people suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to the abdomen after a fight between two large groups of people escalated. Boy, 15, Shot Dead In Cellphone Transaction In Long Beach A man was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting death of a boy over a cellphone transaction that went wrong. County Authorities Identify Man Who Died in Malibu A person who died when a vehicle crashed down an embankment in the Malibu area was identified Saturday. Woman Shot Dead in Unincorporated LA County's Greenmead Area A woman was found shot dead Saturday in the Greenmead community of unincorporated Los Angeles County, authorities said. This article originally appeared on the San Diego Patch One gubernatorial candidate is saying the state should push for voluntary summer school to account for losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and his running mate, state Sen. Theresa Fedor, D-Toledo, told reporters on Monday that the state has a moral obligation to pay for students to hit the books this summer, if they so choose. Sign up here for The 74s daily newsletter. Donate here to support The 74's independent journalism. Cranley said in the decades since the DeRolph v. Ohio decisions, in which the Ohio Supreme Court said the funding model for the state didnt equally fund K-12 education, funding should have been the policy priority of any governor, including Gov. Mike DeWine. But since studies have revealed the losses in categories such as reading and math since the pandemic closed schools and changed the way students were educated, more needs to be done. I think this rises to the level of leadership to deal with the incredible devastation that so many families have gone through during COVID, Cranley said on Monday. Ohios interim superintendent of public instruction, Stephanie Siddens, told a state senate education committee at the beginning of 2022 that the pandemic had caused decreases in enrollment, increases in absenteeism and dips in state testing proficiency. Ohio has had substantial achievement gaps before the pandemic and the gaps were further exacerbated by the events of the past two years, Siddens said in January. As a former teacher herself, Fedor said it was hard to watch teachers take on the pandemic, but see support going toward bills battling race education and bills reminiscent of Floridas Dont Say Gay bill. As teachers watch their students struggle, my colleagues, the legislature, wanted to make things worse, Fedor said. The Cranley-Fedor plan announced Monday proposes a voluntary K-12 summer school program of at least six weeks for public or private school students. The program would include free and reduced breakfast and lunch, along with transportation. Story continues As for funding the summer school proposal, education expert and former legislator Steve Dyer says the state has more than enough funding left in federal COVID aid to cover the bill. This is not a question of money, its a question of commitment, Dyer said. Dyer cites federal reports in saying the money leftover from pandemic aid distribution would fund summer school for much more than six weeks, and with a commitment by gubernatorial candidates to fully fund the educational funding overhaul called the Fair School Funding Plan, the summer school proposal could be a permanent option for schools. According to the U.S. Department of Educations reports on Ohio, the state has only spent 21% of the overall awarded funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) for various COVID-related interventions, such as help with chronic absenteeism and after-school care. The state has only used 5.3% of the funds released under the American Rescue Plan for education, though those funds are available through September 2024. Funds for the summer school wouldnt only benefit the students who may have fallen behind during the pandemic, but also the teachers who have served as supports for those students. Providing this option could allow teachers to continue the education through the summer, though Cranley acknowledges not every teacher will want to teach through the summer. Dyer said some teachers he knows have to take side gigs in the summer, and may rather get paid to teach. I think teachers would enjoy doing the thing theyre trained to do, rather than tend bar, Dyer said. The candidates made it clear that the summer school program is optional, despite the importance of bringing Ohios kids back up to their grade-levels. Its something that is optional, but its something that needs to be there, and if nothing is done, our students will be further and further behind, Fedor said. Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and Twitter. Related: Sign up for The 74s newsletter Thomas Tuchel praised Chelsea's focus and composure as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday to earn an FA Cup final showdown with quadruple chasers Liverpool. Tuchel's side had to work hard to break Palace's stubborn resistance in the semi-final at Wembley, but Ruben Loftus-Cheek's ferocious strike put them on course for a third successive FA Cup final appearance. Mason Mount put the result beyond doubt with a fine finish of his own, ensuring Chelsea of a date with Liverpool in the final at Wembley on May 14. It will be Chelsea's fifth FA Cup final in the last six years as they look to make amends for losing in the showpiece against Arsenal and Leicester in 2020 and 2021 respectively. It was a welcome tonic after Tuesday's painful Champions League quarter-final exit at Real Madrid, where the Blues scored three times to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit only to go out after extra time. "I thought the performance was very controlled and very serious. It was hard, the opponent changed system twice, but we took care of their counter-attacks," Tuchel said. "It was very challenging physically and mentally. We are the team with the most minutes in Europe." Tuchel has won the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup in his reign, but he is yet to lead Chelsea to a domestic trophy. With three consortiums in the running to buy Chelsea following the British government's sanctions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich after the invasion of Ukraine, the Blues could have a new owner by the time they return to Wembley. Beating Palace keeps them in contention to end a troubled season with silverware, although Liverpool, who beat Premier League leaders Manchester City 3-2 in Saturday's semi-final, will provide far tougher opposition. The Reds have already beaten Chelsea in the League Cup final on penalties this season and Tuchel knows how tough it will be to avenge that loss. "We will be well prepared because we play against one of the best teams in the world. They are in outstanding form. It will be another hard fight," he said. Story continues "I don't care about the trophies they try to win. We were unlucky to lose in the shoot-out in the League Cup. "We will try to make it hard for them. It is unbelievably difficult to beat them. But that is what a cup final is about. We need everything at the top level." Palace boss Patrick Vieira added: "In the first half we frustrated them a lot. Against these teams it is about taking your chances. We didn't and they did." - Patient Chelsea - Faced with a Palace side that were tigerish in the tackle and well-drilled in their low defensive block, Chelsea found it hard to impose themselves. It took Tuchel's men 25 minutes to muster a chance and even then Kai Havertz's looping header was easy for Palace keeper Jack Butland. They lost Mateo Kovacic to an injury moments later, with Loftus-Cheek introduced against the team he once played for on loan. Palace were nearly rewarded for their gritty display just before half-time. Cheikhou Kouyate's drive from the edge of the area was pushed out by Edouard Mendy and Joachim Andersen slammed the rebound against the post from close range. Chelsea had more possession in the second half, although Kouyate went close again, heading narrowly wide from Eberechi Eze's corner. To their credit, Chelsea never lost their patience and they finally took the lead from just their second shot on target in the 65th minute. Loftus-Cheek picked out Havertz in the Palace area and the German clipped a pass back to the midfielder, who slammed a superb strike past Butland from 12 yards. Chelsea had a spring in their step at last and Mount finished Palace off in the 76th minute, taking Timo Werner's pass in his stride before slotting home. smg/dj BEIJING (Reuters) -China Eastern Airlines has started putting its Boeing 737-800 jetliners back in use for commercial flights less than a month since a crash killed 132 people and led the company to ground 223 of the aircraft, the carrier said on Sunday. The airline said it had conducted systematic tests, structural checkups and verified airworthiness data for each of the aircraft, and that test flights would be carried out on all planes before they resumed commercial services. Boeing 737-800 planes with registration numbers close to the one that crashed on March 21 are still undergoing maintenance checks and evaluation, the company told Reuters in a statement. Flightradar24 data showed earlier in the day that China Eastern flight MU5843, operated by a three-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft, took off from the southwestern city of Kunming at 09:58 a.m. (0158 GMT) on Sunday and landed at 11:03 a.m. in Chengdu, also in southwestern China. That aircraft, which completed a test flight on Saturday, later returned back to Kunming, according to Flightradar24. Another Boeing 737-800 jet conducted a test flight early on Sunday in Shanghai, where China Eastern is based, Flightradar24 data showed. On March 21, flight MU5735, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in the mountains of Guangxi and killed 123 passengers and nine crew members in mainland China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years. China has retrieved both of the black boxes and said it would submit a preliminary report to the U.N. aviation agency ICAO within 30 days of the event. (Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Helen Popper) China Eastern Airlines resumed flying Boeing 737-800 aircraft on Sunday, flight tracking data showed, just weeks after it grounded 223 planes over a crash that killed 132 people. Flight MU5843, operating the 800 variant of the 737, departed the southwestern city of Kunming at 9:58 am local time (0158 GMT) and landed in Chengdu at 11:03 am, according to Flightradar.com. The three-year-old jet later returned to Kunming from Chengdu, with further flights scheduled for Tuesday. Flight MU5735 -- a 737-800 -- was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it nosedived into a mountainside, disintegrating on impact. The jet dropped 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) in just over a minute. The velocity of the impact left twisted metal and passengers' belongings scattered across a vast swathe of forest. The cause of the disaster, China's deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years, is not yet known. The accident caused China Eastern to ground all of its 737-800s for safety checks as aviation authorities vowed an extensive two-week inspection of China's vast passenger fleet. Authorities have retrieved both black boxes from the downed jet, which are currently being analysed at an American lab with the help of investigators from the United States government. A preliminary investigation report would be completed within 30 days of the crash, the government previously said. China Eastern's resumption of 737-800 flights on Sunday came as Boeing awaits approval to resume operation of the 737's MAX variant in China, the last major market yet to give the green light. The 737 MAX was temporarily grounded worldwide following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people in 2018 and 2019. lxc/qan A Chinese airline has resumed commercial flights on Boeing 737-800 jets, the same model that crashed last month killing all 132 passengers and crew members on board. In a statement on Sunday, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) said it has conducted numerous systematic tests to resume commercial flights on the Boeing model. Data from Flightradar24 showed that a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 jet took off from the southwestern city of Kunming Sunday morning and landed in Chengdu a little less than two hours later, Reuters reported. The data tracker also noted that the aircraft also had two test flights in the past few days. The China-based airline grounded up to 200 scheduled flights on on the jetliners after Flight 5735 crashed in the Guangxi region of the country on March 21, Bloomberg News reported. Investigators have recovered the two black boxes from the flight and have sent the items to the U.S. to determine what went wrong with the ill-fated flight. Boeing said in a statement to Reuters that 737-800 planes with registration plates close to those of the crashed airliner are still going through further testing and evaluation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Daily Beast Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Carabinieri MIlano/FindMadeline.comJust a few days shy of what would be Madeleine McCanns 19th birthday, a break in the case points to everyones worst fears: that the young Briton was abducted, sold and killed by a pedophile sex ring that worked in and around the Portuguese resort town where she disappeared 15 years ago.Thousands of tips and hundreds of sightings over the years led to dead ends until Christian Bruckner was officially named a The Carnival Horizon cruise ship is seen moored in the Port of Miami on August 1, 2021. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images) A passenger jumped from a Carnival Cruise on Saturday, about 55 miles from Port Canaveral in Florida. The Coast Guard is leading the search for the 43-year-old man. This is the second time this year that a passenger jumped overboard on a Carnival cruise. A search is underway for a passenger who jumped overboard from a Carnival Cruise early Saturday. The 43-year-old man went overboard from the Mardi Gras ship as it returned to Port Canaveral in Florida from a voyage through the Caribbean, according to the company. The man has not yet been identified. "The ship's crew participated in search and rescue efforts until the ship was released by the US Coast Guard, which continues the search. The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest's family. Mardi Gras departed on her next cruise as scheduled," a Carnival spokesperson said in a statement to Insider. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family," the cruise line added. The incident is the second this year in which a passenger has jumped from a Carnival ship. In February, a woman jumped from the 10th floor of Carnival's Valor ship during a trip to Mexico. The search effort was called off after 14 hours. Read the original article on Business Insider A total of six space flight missions will be carried out in 2022, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said at a news conference on Sunday. China will launch the Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft in May, said Hao Chun, director of the office, adding that the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft will be launched in June, with three taikonauts in the core module and stationed in orbit for six months. The Wentian lab module will dock with the Tianhe core module in July. The Mengtian lab module will be docked with the core module in October to complete the in-orbit construction of China's space station. Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft will follow. The Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, with another three taikonauts, will be stationed in orbit for six months. Another official said in the briefing that COVID-19's impact on the construction of China's space station has been minimized and basically under control. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Sunday said millions of vaccine doses will expire if Congress does not pass additional COVID-19 funding. We are going to lose millions of doses of vaccine that will expire, Coons told moderator Margaret Brennan on CBSs Face the Nation when asked if vaccines will go bad should Congress not approve more funds. I think we should treat this as emergency spending. But frankly, well negotiate what we have to in order to secure a chance to move forward and not waste the vital vaccines America has already purchased, he added. The comments come as the Senate is embroiled in a battle over COVID-19 funding. A bipartisan group of senators announced earlier this month that they had reached a deal for a $10 billion COVID-19 deal, but some Republicans are now demanding a vote be held for an amendment to reinstate Title 42 in exchange for their support for the funding. The Biden administration earlier this month rescinded Title 42, a controversial Trump-era policy that allowed for the expulsion of migrants at the border and blocked them from seeking asylum. Congress, however, is currently on recess. Pressed by Brennan about the characterization of the funding, Coons on Sunday said the U.S. can and should justify this additional spending as critical for our national security, or as teaching our values, showing to each other the best in the human spirit and the most central tenants of the faith that inspires so many Americans. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The island-city of Key West off the southern tip of Florida invites visitors to stroll slowly, enjoy turquoise waters and take in the sunset. But according to some residents, that idyllic peace is endangered by lumbering, tourist-filled cruise ships. The huge vessels bring thousands of visitors every day to the small city of 26,000 inhabitants, whose quaint, often pastel-colored Victorian homes line leafy, walkable streets. Following a drawn-out local battle, the cruise tourist numbers are now down, but many residents say more still needs to be done. While many businesses depend on the tourist throngs, residents such as Arlo Haskell find the ships to be a nuisance and believe they cause environmental harm. As a result, he founded the Safer Cleaner Ships non-profit. "These cruise ships are an extraction industry that is profiting off of the beauty in Key West while harming that beauty and degrading the experience for everyone else," Haskell said. In 2020, his association put forth three local referendums: one to limit the size of cruise ships, another to allow no more than 1,500 people a day to disembark and a third to be able to prohibit boats that do the most damage to the environment. Video: Cruise ships return to Australia after two-year COVID ban The three proposals, each approved by between 60 to 80 percent of voters, were ratified by the city council. It was a victory for Haskell or so he thought. Then in June 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law suspending the measures, arguing that voters could not meddle in matters of maritime trade. Local businesses, including ones also owned by the owner of Pier B a huge beneficiary of the cruise ships as one of the city's main docking locations had donated almost $1 million to a political campaign committee supporting the governor, according to the Miami Herald. - Public docks closed - Relying on a bit of unexpected economic data, Safer Cleaner Ships returned to battle following DeSantis' move. Story continues The info showed that cruise ship suspensions during the pandemic did not sink local finances. To the contrary, in 2021, the city collected 25 percent more sales taxes than in 2019, before Covid. Hotels and restaurants seem to have taken advantage of the fact that Florida promoted its open businesses in the middle of the pandemic while other states imposed rules and closings. The city administration last month decided that since Key West cannot limit the number of cruise ships, it would close its two public docks. Now cruises can only park at private Pier B, which welcomes only one cruise ship per day. The era of two to three ships arriving daily is over. The move has been a blow to some businesses. Although cruise tourists spend only a few hours in the city and usually eat before disembarking generating little income for restaurants and hotels they do buy souvenirs and snacks. The visitors support the likes of tchotchke shops, ice cream parlors and tourist destinations, such as the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum where the US writer lived between 1931 and 1939, according to Mayor Teri Johnston. - Finding balance - One morning this week, the streets of Key West were nearly deserted. Vanessa Wilder manned her downtown bike rental stand, waiting for the first passengers to disembark from a newly arrived cruise. "The main shops and the bars down here, we thrive off of these cruise ships," she said. "If we didn't have them, a lot of businesses around here would have to shut." Despite his victories, Haskell maintains that things should move one step further, with cruise ships at the private dock not allowed to exceed a size specified by residents. The boats, according to Haskell "do tremendous damage to our ecosystem" by clouding the water, which endangers the survival of corals. But Scott Atwell, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Key West, said the evidence wasn't so clear. "We do not have specific studies on whether the cruise ship turbidity is any different than natural turbidity and whether turbidity from the ships' channel reaches our coral reefs in a detrimental way," he said. In the meantime, Key West's city council has decided to monitor water quality and also support coral restoration under an initiative that charges a fee to Pier B for disembarking passengers. "We don't want to get rid of the cruise ships but bring them into a moderate level so that we have good economic conditions and we also have good quality of life for our residents," Johnston, the mayor, said. gma/bfm/caw A black rat, also known as a ship rat, next to the Ma'gan Michael B ship Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (L), R. Levinson (R) Scientists from the University of Haifa, Israel, have been studying the wreck of the Ma'agan Mikhael B ship. Bodies of dead rats aboard the ship have given researchers clues as to where the ship came from. Carvings on the ship also show who may have worked aboard over 1,400 years ago. Rat skeletons found on the ancient wreck of a cargo ship that sunk off the coast of Israel are providing valuable new historical insights, according to researchers from the University of Haifa. Skeletons of dead rats on the ship labeled the Ma'gan Mikhael B, dated to between 648 and 740 C.E., have helped the team learn more about the life of the vessel that once sailed the Mediterranean. Speaking to Insider, Sierra Harding, a zooarchaeologist on the project, said the remains are the oldest and only direct evidence of a ship rat infestation on an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean. Remains of rats found aboard the Ma'gan Michael B ship A. Efremov She explained some of the remains are of black rats, a species that traveled with traders to the Middle East from South Asia and India more than 2,000 years ago. However, using dental morphology, they discovered that other rats were "exotic to the area." Preliminary findings show that they could have originated from Tunisia or Corsica in the central Mediterranean. "If it's confirmed that some of these rats were actually from as far away as the central Mediterranean islands what this really means is that there was a lot more communication, shipping, exchange, and trade happening during this period that is primarily depicted as just army and naval battles," she said. Clues to the ship's diverse crew An impressive array of preserved artifacts discovered on the sunken ship has helped fill in the picture of life aboard the ancient trading vessel. A 2020 preliminary report from the University of Haifa team found "the largest maritime cargo assemblage of Byzantine and Early Islamic ceramics discovered along the Israeli coast to date." It revealed the 82-foot-long vessel had a cargo of walnuts from Turkey and sauce made from fish from the Sea of Galilee. Story continues The study also provides clues to the ship's diverse crew, with Christian crosses, Muslim blessings (for example, the word "Bismillah," meaning in the name of God), and Greek and Arabic letters carved into the walls, Harding told Insider. No human remains have been found aboard the wreck, indicating the crew made it ashore when the ship ran aground a short distance from the coast. An aerial view of the excavation on the Ma'gan Michael B ship R. Levinson When the ship sunk off the coast of Israel, it was immediately covered with up to seven feet of sand, helping to preserve its secrets, said Harding. The study is being led by an international team of researchers, including Harding, Dr. Ardern Hulme-Beaman from the University of Liverpool, Dr. Nimrod Marom from the University of Haifa, and Professor Deborah Cvikel from the University of Haifa is the Principal Investigator on the study. Read the original article on Business Insider STORY: Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee who is Black, was killed in a Grand Rapids neighborhood during a routine traffic stop after he struggled with the officer over a stun gun. The officer has not been publicly identified. The protests remained peaceful as demonstrators chanted and waved signs. The protests came as the family of Lyoya demanded that authorities dismiss the officer from the force and file criminal charges against him. Lyoya, who was driving with a front seat passenger on April 4, was pulled over after the officer ran the car's license plate and discovered it did not match the vehicle. He exited the vehicle and the officer sought to detain him. A short foot chase followed and ended on the lawn of a home where Lyoya attempted to block the officer from using his Taser, video footage shows. The two had fell to the ground when the officer drew his firearm and fired one shot in the back of his head, video footage shows. The officer, who has not been charged, is on paid leave and under investigation by the Michigan State Police. A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss charges against Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby after her lawyers argued that the prosecutor on her case has a racist and vindictive agenda against her. Mosby is facing federal perjury and false mortgage application charges. Her lawyers argued that Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo Wise has an affinity for targeting Black officials and personal animosity against Mosby, according to reports. Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby is scheduled to go trial on Sept. 19 after a federal judge denied her motion on April 14 to dismiss federal perjury and other fraud charges against her. (Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images) The legal team demanded that Wise be removed from the case or the case be dismissed altogether because of a lack of specific evidence against Mosby. U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby rejected the arguments on April 14. According to reports, the judge said Mosby failed to meet the legal standard for the charges to be dropped or Wise removed from the case. The arguments, she said, were a difference of opinion. According to Mosbys January indictment, she claimed she faced financial hardship because of the COVID-19 to make two early withdrawals from her retirement savings account, which totals $90,000, an exemption authorized under the CARES Act. However, the indictment says that Mosby received her full gross salary of nearly $248,000 for the year. Federal prosecutors also said Mosby failed to acknowledge she had unpaid federal taxes and a lien on mortgage applications for two home purchases in Florida. She also said one of the properties would be a second home but had already made an agreement with a property management company to rent the home, according to the indictment. Mosbys husband was not charged. Mosbys lead attorney A. Scott Bolden said that the actions did not constitute mortgage fraud because the management company had to get her approval before renting the home. Griggsby said Bolden failed to prove Wise had a racially motivated grudge against his client or had a pattern of prosecuting Black officials, according to reports. Are you aware of any evidence that shows Mr. Wise has prosecuted someone because of their race? Black official or not? Griggsby asked Bolden. Story continues I am not, Bolden said. Wise said Mosby utterly failed to prove her claims. He accused Mosby and her attorney of creating a victim fantasy to deflect from her conduct. Wise also said the allegations of racial animus-based prosecution is a political ploy similar to former President Donald Trumps unfounded claims during the 2020 presidential election. Its all a plan to delegitimize anyone who has the temerity to question her behavior, Wise said in court. Its just like what Trump did. After the hearing, Bolden told reporters he was more disappointed than surprised with Griggsbys decision, but the ruling did not seem to detour Mosby or her legal team, according to reports. The case is scheduled for trial on Sept. 19. Im going to fight, and Im going to prevail, like I always do, Mosby told reporters outside of the courthouse. The judges ruling came the same day Mosby announced her plan to run for reelection. She released a video touting her track record as a states attorney with soundbites from Kayne Wests Jesus Walks, but it was deleted from YouTube and replaced with a toned-down announcement video. We just filed for our official candidacy for state attorney for Baltimore city. Game on, Mosby said. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte attending the Easter Sunday service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle - Antony Jones/GC Images The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge led the Royal charge at Windsor Castle for the traditional Easter Mattins service, alongside their two elder children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. It is the first time the couple have taken their children to the annual service at St Georges Chapel, which has not taken place since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. The Queen, who turns 96 on Thursday, did not attend this mornings service, as she continues to suffer with mobility issues. She will instead mark the event at the private chapel at Windsor. The service falls on the one-year anniversary of the Duke of Edinburghs funeral, which took place at the same chapel on April 17, 2021. The Cambridges all wore varying shades of blue for the event - Antony Jones/GC Images The Cambridges say goodbye to the Right Revd David Conner as they leave the service at Windsor Castle - Andrew Matthews/Getty Images Her Majesty also pulled out of last weeks traditional Maundy Thursday service, for the first time since 1970. It comes amid reports that the public should no longer expect to see the Queen at public engagements, as palace aides said that instead her attendance would only be confirmed on the day of an event. If she is present, she will be accompanied by another member of the royal family. She admitted in a video call earlier this month that Covid had left her feeling very tired and exhausted" after testing positive for the virus in late February. The Cambridges, who have been enjoying a family skiing holiday in France during the school break, all wore varying shades of blue for the service. Princess Charlotte, six, donned a pale blue floral dress with matching tights, while Prince George, eight, wore a suit and tie. Prince Louis, who turns four next Saturday, stayed at home. Prince Louis did not join the rest of the family for the service at St George's Chapel - Andrew Matthews/AFP via Getty Images Princess Charlotte, six, wore a pale blue floral dress for the service - Antony Jones/GC Images The Earl and Countess of Wessex also attended, with their children, Lady Louise, 18, and James, Viscount Severn, 14, as did Zara and Mike Tindall, with their elder daughter Mia, eight. Peter Phillips and his two children, Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, were accompanied by Princess Eugenie. There was no sign of the Duke of York - who lives with his former wife, the Duchess of York, just a stone's throw away on the Windsor estate - after his high profile role at a service of thanksgiving for the Duke of Edinburgh last month proved controversial. Story continues The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were not present, as they are understood to be in Scotland. The last Easter Mattins service to be held at Windsor took place on the Queens 93rd birthday, April 21 2019. Then, Her Majesty was accompanied by a plethora of royals including the Duke of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Five men accused of stomping an El Paso strip club bouncer were arrested in a city-wide operation last week, authorities said. The men were taken into custody over several days by the police Gang Unit and SWAT team, police officials said. The men are accused of stealing the bouncer's wallet and AirPods headphones while assaulting him on March 19 at Jaguars strip club, 11377 Gateway East Blvd. Violent crime: El Paso police arrest 2nd man in roadway shooting after dispute at Jaguars strip club Treavon Rashad Wilkins More: El Paso police arrest 2 in connection with stabbing of bar worker in Five Points Gary Lawrence, 30, who was working security, was escorting patrons out of the club when he was assaulted by five men, police said. Lawrence was struck in back of head and pummeled and stomped while on the ground, Assistant District Attorney Adam Chevrier said at teleconference bond hearing for one of the suspects last week. Hernando Richardo Alvarez Police officials said that gang investigators arrested: Treavon Rashad Wilkins, 34, on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity-robbery with a bond set at $75,000 and possession of more than five pounds of marijuana, bond set at $10,000. Hernando Richardo Alvarez, 32, charge of engaging in organized criminal activity-robbery, bond set at $50,000. Russell Rice Russell Rice, 31, charge of engaging in organized criminal activity-robbery, bond set at $75,000. Renwick Darnell Peoples, 31, charge of robbery. He was released Wednesday on a $20,000 bond. Renwick Darnell Peoples Jamal Marquail Sutton, 29, charge of robbery and possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. He was released Wednesday on a $20,750 bond. Wilkins, Alvarez and Rice on Sunday remained held at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown. All five are listed by police as residing in Northeast El Paso. Jamal Marquail Sutton Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter. Homicides 2022: 19-year-old murder suspect arrested driving slain man's car, El Paso police say Courts: Ex-Fort Bliss soldier convicted of photographing toddler in child porn case gets prison This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso police arrest 5 accused of stomping Jaguars strip club bouncer "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below." Keeping with tradition, many members of the Royal Family came together to attend Easter church service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Sunday! While the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, opted for a solid blue dress, her husband's cousin,Princess Eugenie, decided to go a little bolder for the celebration. Photo credit: Antony Jones - Getty Images Eugenie, who walked with her cousin Peter Phillips and his two daughters Savannah and Isla, stunned in a calf-length Peter Pilotto dress. She paired the floral look with an Emily-London headpiece, nude Gianvito Rossi pumps and a nude M2Malletier purse. Photo credit: ANDREW MATTHEWS - Getty Images Photo credit: Antony Jones - Getty Images Photo credit: Antony Jones - Getty Images Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images Naturally, once people got a glimpse of her outfit, they took to social media to praise the lovely spring choice. "Looks beautiful," one person wrote on Instagram. "Princess Eugenie looked beautiful today," another person wrote on Twitter. "Love her dress!!" said another on Instagram. Noticeably absent from the service was Queen Elizabeth, who has scaled back her public appearances lately. Prince Charles and Camilla also were not there, however they did attend Royal Maundy Service at St. George's Chapel on April 14. Video: Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's relationship timeline Eugenie's husband Jack Brooksbank and their son, August, also stayed back, as did her sister, Princess Beatrice. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently in the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, of which Harry is the founder. Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images You Might Also Like Charlie Sprinkman traveled to 42 of the 50 states for work as a representative of an organic beverage company in 2019 and kept Googling queer hangouts here when he would arrive in a new town. But he would often come up empty. I couldnt find a resource for it, Sprinkman, 25, said of a centralized directory of LGBTQ-owned businesses. Charlie Sprinkman, creator of Everywhere Is Queer. (Katie Hope / The Wild Within Us) Then, in the summer of 2021, he was a counselor at a queer leadership camp for 12- to 18-year-olds outside Los Angeles, and he said being surrounded by 100 LGBTQ people for 11 days was euphoric. I was like, How do I create this space? Maybe not as grand as a camp, but like a space where people can feel this energy and not be judged for who they are, said Sprinkman, who currently lives in Bend, Oregon, and works in customer service. On the long drive back from the camp to his then-home in Colorado, Sprinkman said the phrase Everywhere is queer came to his mind. A few months later, in January of this year, it became the name of his LLC. Everywhere Is Queer consists of both a website that houses a worldwide map of LGBTQ-owned businesses and an Instagram page that shines a spotlight on some of these companies. Three months after the launch, the map has more than 500 businesses listed, and the Instagram page has nearly 5,000 followers. The Everywhere Is Queer map. (Everywhere Is Queer / Google maps) Businesses include retailers like Housewife Skateboards in Los Angeles, coffee shops like Lussi Brown Coffee Bar in Lexington, Kentucky, and lodging like Hotel Perruquet in the Italian Alps. Sprinkman said the project is personal for him, not just as a queer traveler but as someone who didnt know of any LGBTQ-friendly spaces in his small suburban hometown about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. I didnt have any out cousins, aunts, uncles, anyone as like an influence, so I didnt really have a space as a child to find queer spaces around my hometown, he said. As I was building Everywhere Is Queer, I was thinking about youth, my hometown, trying to find and build spaces for them to just, even if theyre not out, just sit in a queer-owned coffee shop and just see queer people. You know, that subconscious layer of just like seeing queer people is what I hope Everywhere Is Queer will provide for so many. Story continues Charlotte Tegen So far, Sprinkman said most of the LGBTQ-owned businesses on the map are concentrated in the U.S., and that there are only four states that dont have an LGBTQ-owned business listed yet. He said there are also businesses listed in Germany, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Mexico. Anyone can add a business to the map by going to Everywhere Is Queers website and filling out an online form. One business owner listed on the map said she has seen more queer people come into her restaurants. Mel McMillan is the owner of Sammich in Oregon, which sells sandwiches made with house-smoked meats. Both of her Sammich locations, in Portland and Ashland, are listed on the map, as is her food truck, also in Portland. If you Google lesbian meat maker, youll get a real touch of whats going on with me, McMillan said. (Its true: An article about her is the first thing that comes up in the search results for that phrase.) McMillan, 39, said that one of the things she loves about Everywhere Is Queer is that its bringing together queer people from different generations. Last month, Sprinkman and McMillan invited about 20 people to Sammichs Portland location. The first thing that I thought was so cool about this was its bridging the gap between older queers and younger queers, McMillan said. That was really cool, because there were 20-somethings and 40-somethings, and theres not even a place really for that either. Sprinkman said hes also building a job board that allows businesses that are on the map to share job opportunities. I also have been searching for a queer-owned business job board, and I cannot find one, so were building one, he said. In the future, he said, he hopes to build an app to house the map and travel around to visit many of the LGBTQ-owned places listed. I would love to hit the road and visit and really hear the authentic stories of these queer-owned businesses, he said, adding that uplifting the voices of queer business owners is a dream of his. He said he also hopes that it helps LGBTQ travelers feel safer and some have told him that it already has. Hes received hundreds of messages from people who have thanked him for filling a void. States across the U.S. have a variety of laws regarding whether businesses can refuse service to LGBTQ people. Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., have laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, such as businesses, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit think tank. Eight states interpret their laws to protect LGBTQ people or provide partial protection. The remaining 21 states and five territories dont provide any protection based on LGBTQ status. As of this month, the map has been viewed more than 100,000 times, and Sprinkman doesnt make any money off it. Im building this just out of my own little queer heart, he said. He hopes that the map can ultimately just help people find the spaces that allow them to be themselves. I hope that a queer-owned business that was maybe unknown before can provide a space and a little bit more confidence, less judgment for anyone thats struggling with figuring out their most authentic self, Sprinkman said. Were always constantly on a journey, all of us. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. Related: A Fort Myers doctor is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in Virginia to two counts of child pornography charges. While Dr. David Lapides waits to hear from a Charlottesville Circuit Court judge on May 17 how long hell spend in jail for possession, reproduction, distribution, solicitation, and facilitation of child pornography, his Florida medical license got hit with an emergency suspension order by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado. Lapides online Florida Department of Health license profile says hes been licensed in Florida since Sept. 24, 2020 and his license address is that of Virtual Neurology in Fort Myers. Lapides is also licensed in Virginia, where the board certified neurologist is affiliated with the University of Virginia Medical Center. A report from Charlottesvilles The Daily Progress says prosecuting attorneys said a report from the Kik messaging application about two videos with sexually abused children ignited the investigation of Lapides. Kik has shown up in many child pornography cases over the last several years. The 2024 Republican shadow primary is ramping up. The once-quiet strategizing and networking by a handful of prospective contenders for the next GOP presidential nomination has grown louder in recent weeks, as would-be hopefuls like former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo begin to more aggressively flex their political muscles. None are openly running for the White House just yet, but Republican observers and strategists say that their intentions are becoming clearer by the day. Still, theres a long way to go before the 2024 nominating contest begins in earnest, and any potential contender still faces a key hurdle: former President Trump, who is himself considering another run for office. The invisible primary is real, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former adviser to Sen. Marco Rubios (R-Fla.) 2016 presidential campaign. I think the anticipation is that [President] Biden might not run again or if he does, hell be really vulnerable. There are a lot of people who are very excited to run in 2024 and are doing everything they can now to be ready. The starting gun goes off after the midterms. Once we get past November, its all about running for president, Conant added. Even before the midterm elections, however, there are signs that the 2024 campaign is intensifying. Pence has ramped up his public schedule, traveling to Ukraine last month amid the Russian invasion. And just this week, the former vice president delivered a speech at the University of Virginia, where he teased a potential run for the White House. Ill keep you posted, he told students when asked whether he would seek the presidency in 2024. Pence is far from the only prospective candidate signaling interest in a potential White House campaign. Haley is slated to return to Iowa this summer to attend the Dubuque Regional Reception hosted by the state GOP, putting her back in the crucial first-in-the-nation caucus state. Story continues Pompeo, meanwhile, is set to release a new book this fall detailing his tenure in the Trump administration. He also recently suggested in an interview with Fox News that his future political ambitions including a possible presidential run arent contingent on what Trump ultimately decides to do in 2024. The Pompeos have always used the simple fact of, do you believe this is the moment where you think you can best serve America this is the place you can have the most impact, he said. Thats going to be how we make our decision in the end. Its the right way to think about someone who puts themselves forward to the people of the United States to run for office, whether its president or back in home-state Kansas. For would-be candidates like Pence, Haley and Pompeo all three of whom are former Trump administration officials the apparent early moves may be born at least somewhat out of necessity, one Republican strategist and presidential campaign veteran said. None of the three are currently serving in public office, making it more difficult to stay in the spotlight as they plot their political futures. There are the former Trump officials who are working very hard to stay relevant without office, so you see them writing books, traveling, going on Fox News as much as they can, because they have to work harder to position themselves for a potential run, the strategist said. Running for president unless you come to the race with fame or fortune, you have to spend a lot of time building an organization to sustain a run. Other prospective White House hopefuls who are current officeholders arent facing the same kind of pressure, said Keith Naughton, a veteran Republican strategist. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), for instance, can use his own 2022 reelection bid as a cover while leaning on the power of his office to stake out key political positions and grow his reputation. DeSantis is in a perfect position, Naughton, who is an opinion contributor for The Hill, said. He can do policy things, he can make pronouncements and dismiss any national talk because hes running for reelection. He gets a free pass through November. Theres also Trump himself, who has repeatedly hinted at a 2024 comeback bid and has ramped up his own public schedule with a series of campaign-style rallies in key battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina and, later this month, Ohio. He has also begun sending signals to would-be challengers in the next GOP presidential primary, telling The Washington Post in a recent interview that, should he run for president again, other prospective candidates should stay back. If I ran, I cant imagine theyd want to run, Trump said. Some out of loyalty would have had a hard time running. I think that most of those people [are] there because of me. For the field of potential Republican presidential hopefuls, the possibility of another Trump campaign puts them in a difficult position. Brazenly laying the groundwork for White House campaigns could open them up to criticism from the former president, who remains the most influential and popular Republican in the country. While some would-be candidates, including Haley, have said that they would support Trump as the next Republican nominee should he run again, others, like Pompeo and Pence, have made no such commitment, putting them at risk of drawing the former presidents ire before the 2024 nominating contest begins in earnest. One Republican strategist with deep experience in presidential primaries acknowledged that some prospective candidates appear to be more brazenly positioning themselves ahead of 2024, but added that they would be wise to tread lightly in their approach. I suspect that some people are going to enter the race but have to be very careful about giving him some space until he decides, the strategist said, referring to Trump. I think theyre probably betting that what he does wont matter as much here in another year or two. But for now, hes still Donald Trump. Hes got a lot of power. On the other hand, Conant, the strategist and former Rubio adviser, said that anyone interested in running for the White House doesnt have the luxury of time, given the logistical and political hurdles of building out a presidential campaign. Every candidate is, on the macro level, trying to raise their profile, distinguish themselves on some key issues. And then at the micro level, start building a team, making friends, winning over donors, Conant said. I think a lot of it is already happening. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. MIAMI (AP) Bryce Harper doubled in two runs, walked twice and stole home, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 10-3 Saturday night. Alec Bohm had two hits and three RBIs, and Nick Castellanos added two singles and an RBI for the Phillies, who snapped a four-game losing skid. A night after going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position, Philadelphia finished 7 for 12. There are days where youre not going to look very well offensively no matter who you have in the lineup, Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. There are just those days. Eventually, these guys are going to get going and when they do you can have outbursts like today. Were too good not to get going. Phillies starter Ranger Suarez overcame a difficult season debut and threw five innings of two-run ball. Suarez (1-0) allowed six hits, struck out four and walked three after he failed to complete three innings in a three-run, five-hit outing against the New York Mets on Monday. That was my goal today, to get to five innings and give the team a chance to win the game, Suarez said through a translator. My plan was to attack hitters and try to be sharp. Two-run doubles from Harper and Johan Camargo keyed a six-run second that chased Miami starter Trevor Rogers. Bohm also hit an RBI single and Matt Vierling had a run-scoring double in the inning. A finalist for 2020 NL Rookie of the Year, Bohm has seen his playing time at third base diminish recently with Camargo getting most of the starts. Bohm was the designated hitter Saturday. Im not trying to worry whether Im starting or coming off the bench, Bohm said. Im here to put together good at bats and help the team win. Rogers (0-2) allowed seven runs and four hits, struck out three and walked four in 1 2/3 innings. Miamis representative in the 2021 All-Star Game, Rogers lost his seventh straight decision and remains winless since June 10. The left-handers ERA increased to 12.15 and he believes he might be tipping off his pitches. Story continues Its a possibility, Rogers said. Definitely have to look at that (Sunday). There could be something. The Phillies made Rogers throw 40 pitches in the first inning for a quick 2-0 lead. Rogers allowed one-out walks to Rhys Hoskins and Harper and a single to Castellanos single before Bohms sacrifice fly to center scored Hoskins. Harper stole home after Castellanos got caught in a rundown while attempting to steal second. Obviously, theyve got a good hitting club and we give them a lot of credit, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of the Phillies lineup. They did a nice job laying off (Rogers) changeup today or split or whatever they call it. You know, well get back to work and be better next time out. Miamis free agent acquisitions Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia hit their first homers with their new club. Soler connected off Suarez with a two-run shot in the fifth, and Garcia hit a solo blast against reliever Bailey Falter in the eighth. TAKE IT FROM THE TOP J.T. Realmuto went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts while leading off Saturday, an unusual spot for the Phillies catcher since he joined the Phillies but not with his previous club. The former Marlin led off 41 times during his five seasons in Miami. HEAT AT THE BALLPARK Before he tends to more pressing matters, Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem was among the crowd of 13,412. The Heat open their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks Sunday in Miami. TRAINERS ROOM Phillies: IF Jean Segura (left hand soreness) missed his third straight game. Marlins: 1B Garrett Cooper was removed after the third inning because of left elbow contusion. UP NEXT RHP Zack Wheeler (0-1, 1.93) will start the series finale for the Phillies on Sunday and the Marlins will counter with RHP Elieser Hernandez (0-1, 7.71). ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Miami Township Police Department is partnered with a local business for an Easter Autism Awareness Fund-Jump event Sunday. >> Easter 2022: Which grocery stores are open on Easter? During the event more than $1,000 was raised for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, according to a social media post. The police department said officers were present from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. to join for the cause. Professional humanitarian aid workers in war-torn places like Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria and South Sudan do some of the most dangerous jobs in the world. You might imagine them as people who parachute into battlefields or places wrecked by disasters. However, the vast majority are local residents of countries and communities in crisis. For the last 15 years, I have been conducting ethnographic research in several Ethiopian communities experiencing conflicts and other crises, including hundreds of detailed interviews and observations. As I explain in my recently published book on the politics and inequities of global humanitarian work, local aid workers around the world face two major challenges. First, they are not just accidental casualties in conflicts. Instead, local aid workers are increasingly the strategic targets of attack for military forces. Second, despite the dangers inherent in their jobs and compared with their international or expatriate colleagues working in cities and headquarters offices far from where crises unfold they earn less money, have less job security and have far fewer benefits such as life insurance. Aid work can be deadly Almost 95% of the attacks on aid workers from 2010 to 2019 were on local or national staff. Only three of the total 129 aid workers who died on the job in 2021 were stationed in foreign countries. The rest were locals. The numbers of aid workers hurt or killed on duty continues to rise every year. Ethiopia was the worlds deadliest country for aid workers in 2021. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, which tracks these deaths, at least 19 aid workers from that country died in 2021. The New York Times reported in March 2022 that three aid workers with Doctors Without Borders, two who were Ethiopian and one who was Spanish, were attacked and killed by Ethiopian soldiers on June 24, 2021. The Ethiopian government subsequently called the account baseless. One reason why local relief workers face so much danger is that targeting aid workers has become a key part of war strategies in Ethiopia, Syria and now also in Ukraine. Story continues Attacks on people who provide assistance does not simply endanger the aid workers. It can terrorize and kill much larger numbers of people. Attacks on health care providers, for example, can rob thousands of patients of their life-saving medical care. Attacks on aid workers distributing food and water imperils thousands more. The role of international law Targeting aid workers violates International Humanitarian Law, a body of laws that govern the conduct of war. After World War II, most countries, including Russia, Ethiopia, Syria and the United States, ratified the Geneva Conventions. These laws outline the responsibilities national governments have to protect the lives and dignity of both combatants and civilians during conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross, a global nongovernmental organization that drafted the Geneva Conventions, is tasked with defining and executing these laws, as well as providing additional forms of humanitarian assistance. The Additional Protocol I, added to the Geneva Conventions in 1977, spells out specific responsibilities governments have to protect aid workers. However, these international laws lack effective enforcement mechanisms. Without clear consequences or meaningful deterrence, I expect attacks on aid workers to continue to harm and kill humanitarian workers. Equity and workers rights Aid workers are beginning to demand changes, such as stronger job security, more legal recourse in labor cases that involve exploitation, injury or abuse, and more equitable compensation in light of the risks inherent in their profession. Organizing and demanding these changes is a challenge, however. Humanitarian organizations are both geographically dispersed and diverse, with different types of employers such as nongovernmental, governmental and United Nations organizations all over the world. Even so, aid agencies like Doctors without Borders, Oxfam and others are calling for more meaningful reforms. They are embracing the localization of aid or making greater investments in locally led humanitarian action. Calls to decolonize aid by dismantling racist and discriminatory structures and norms rooted in colonialism and imperialism are also growing. However, my research suggests that these reforms require additional attention to the way aid workers especially local and national staff are targeted in contemporary conflicts. Local aid workers also need stronger security, more consistent rights, and better and more equitable compensation and benefits across different countries and organizations. Unprotected and undervalued One afternoon in the Ethiopian city of Jigjiga, in August 2018, I interviewed the head of emergency programs at a U.N. relief agencys local office. He was a Somali-Ethiopian man I call Farah to maintain his anonymity. Recent conflicts had resulted in several attacks on convoys delivering food and teams of health workers. When we met, Farah was frustrated. He had just been demoted and stripped of his leadership role despite his success managing teams of mobile health workers and a growing portfolio of emergency health programs. Vaccination rates had increased and rates of malnutrition had declined on his watch even in communities beset by conflict, droughts, displacement and distrust in governmental authorities. [Youre smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversations authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter.] The U.N. had brought in an international expert, Farah said, to take his place. The new guy had to learn everything, internally and externally, like the culture, the history, etc. You have to introduce the new person to all the external partners, he said, before taking out his cellphone and scrolling through hundreds of contacts. They ranged from local politicians to health workers to religious leaders in drought-hit villages hundreds of miles away. Its your relationships with all these different people that is so important, he continued. You have to be able to react and help correct the new coordinator when they dont understand something. As my book details, Farahs leadership, networks and experience had been key, so far, to keeping his teams safe. Like Farah, local aid workers in Ethiopia are essential to making international relief operations work and to managing the risks aid work entails. But at the same time, Farah and others like him continue to lack job security as well as equitable compensation and adequate security. He was valued for his localness and his knowledge of Somalis, but not his additional transferable skills in leadership and diplomacy, as well as personnel, logistics and risk management. Farahs contract ended the week after we met. Most international humanitarian organizations like Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF have already agreed to uphold a set of professional standards for relief operations, such as how much water and food per person must be provided daily. Based on my research, I believe that standards for safety, security, monetary compensation and benefits for staff are necessary as well, and that these standards could be developed in a similar way. Aid workers like Farah, and so many thousands of others who put their lives on the line every day, deserve better. This article was updated on April 6, 2022, to correct details on the three Doctors Without Borders aid workers who were killed in Ethiopia. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Lauren Carruth, American University School of International Service. Read more: Inherited diseases of the eye account for at least 2 million cases of blindness worldwide. A few hundred genes that cause eye disease have been identified, but in many cases the cause is unknown because not all eye disease genes have been identified. As a result, genetic testing is only able to determine the mutation responsible for blindness in only 50 to 75 percent of blind children and young adults. As an eye doctor and researcher, I am frustrated at the lack of treatments for my patients with genetic forms of blindness such as retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease and age-related macular degeneration. To address this problem, my lab launched a study of genes required for normal eye formation and function. We discovered 347 genes that, if mutated, cause blindness in laboratory mice. Of these, 261 had never been linked to vision loss before our study, which we published recently in the journal Communications Biology. Knockout mice help identify more blindness genes Researchers first identified eye disease genes in the late 1980s by studying families in the United States with inherited forms of retinitis pigmentosa, a disease of retinal cells called rod photoreceptors in children and young adults, which leads to eventual blindness. Since then, more and more families have been studied to add to the list of blinding mutations in people. To figure out which genes cause blindness, we took advantage of something called knockout technology. Researchers engineer a knockout mouse by deleting both copies of any single gene. This effectively deletes it from the mouses genome. Abnormalities result, and they provide clues as to the function of the knocked out gene. The mouse genome is similar to that of humans and contains roughly 22,000-25,000 genes. So far, scientists around the world have knocked out about about 7,000 genes in mice, and the process of studying these mice is ongoing. The invention of knockout mouse technology in the 1990s led to the identification of eye disease genes by studying the eyes of mice with targeted deletions. The International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC), which consists of more than a dozen mouse biology centers across North America, Europe and Asia, aims to create a knockout mouse for every gene in the mouse genome. The IMPC has created and carefully examined over 4,364 knockout mice. Story continues By analyzing the recorded data from the mouse eye exams at all IMPC centers across the globe, my colleagues and I found that 347 of these knockout mice, each one representing a single deleted gene, had eye abnormalities as determined by trained ophthalmic experts. The abnormalities sometimes involved the anterior structures of the eye, such as the eyelids, cornea and lens, and sometime posterior structures, such as the retina and optic nerve. Testing mouse eye disease genes in humans Since the mouse and human genomes are similar, its highly likely that these newly identified genes, if mutated, also cause human eye diseases. The next step is to study these newly implicated mouse genes in blind human patients. Specifically, we will analyze the genomes of patients whose prior genetic testing could not link their condition to one of the previously known eye disease genes. The addition of hundreds of new eye disease genes in this IMPC study will help eye doctors like me around the world provide more precise genetic diagnoses to our patients. To validate these genes in humans, we plan to create a panel of these new 261 genes that can be scanned for mutations. Furthermore, the knockout mice themselves will serve as publicly available research models for the newly discovered eye disease genes. All of these knockout mice are available to all researchers and can be ordered from the IMPC repository for additional scientific studies and therapeutic discoveries. These mouse models can be used to test new medications, gene therapies and stem cell approaches. Knockout mice teach us about the genetics The scientific discoveries of the IMPC are quickly advancing our understanding of the thousands of genes and molecules that underlie many human disease processes. In each organ system of the body, researchers are finding many genes that have never been linked with disease. The results of the IMPC project, including the eye disease genes, could advance the diagnostic capability, and identify new targets for novel therapies. I hope that eye doctors at major universities and eye centers will cross reference our list of 261 new eye disease genes from mice with the genetic sequence of their human patients in whom they found no mutation that causes disease. We hope our list of genes will guide our colleagues to the genetic culprit in many cases and provide both a specific diagnosis and a path forward toward eventual treatment for those families afflicted with inherited forms of blindness. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Ala Moshiri, University of California, Davis. Read more: Ala Moshiri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. A woman who didnt even know her husband had landed in jail learned he died there not from jail officials but through a Star-Telegram story. Its reprehensible, and similar stories of families looking for answers and finding few raise alarm bells yet again about prisoner deaths at the Tarrant County Jail. It is hard enough to be a family member of an incarcerated person who died in custody, but when loved ones cannot find out how their family member died because jail officials are secretive or delay, thats wrong. Some policies need to change. Prisoner deaths are unusually high in the Tarrant County Jail. Forty people have died there since 2016, including 17 in 2020 and 12 in 2021; two have died so far this year. That number far outweighs other large Texas counties jails. The Dallas County jail saw eight deaths in 2020 and nine in 2021, and that jail houses about 1,600 more inmates. Of the 40 deaths, officials say, COVID-19 claimed nine prisoners. Three were ruled as suicides, and one prisoner killed his own cellmate. Seventeen prisoners died from health issues they had before they were imprisoned, and those are considered natural deaths. Tarrant County has to overturn every stone to figure out if theres a systemic problem and, if so, how to address it. Nothing should escape scrutiny, especially staffing levels, training, procedures and leadership. Two years ago, Sheriff Bill Waybourn said hed been looking for technology to improve inmate monitoring. Is it up and running yet, and is it effective? Inmates with pre-existing health conditions should not be kept in regular jail cells with healthy inmates. So why were they? Waybourn, through his staff, declined to answer our questions. The Texas Rangers usually handle inmate deaths, but answers have been sparse now for the last couple years. Its time for county commissioners to dig deeper. Discovering information about the cause of death of a prisoner appears to be no small task. When the Star-Telegrams Nichole Manna tried to examine deaths going back just six years, it required significant sleuthing and resources that average families especially in the throes of grief probably dont have. Story continues Manna found that when some prisoners die, their loved ones are not immediately informed. After many months, they still dont know the cause of death. When family members have pressed the jail for answers, especially regarding deaths that seem suspicious, their requests for public records have been delayed or denied for months or years. There is no reason for a taxpayer-funded jail to be this secretive or for the information flow to be this clogged. Did police, deputies or jailers violate protocols or use excessive force? Did staff neglect to monitor an inmate with medical problems, mental illness or a risk of suicide? These are questions families have a right to ask. Families have a right to know in a timely manner both the death of a loved one in jail and the cause of death. Texas law dictates that authorities can withhold any information related to the death of an inmate if they consider the case to be under investigation. Of course, an investigation should not be undermined, but in the case of the man who died after being beaten by jailers, family members say they were never even notified that he was hospitalized. That hardly seems ethical, even if its technically within the bounds of the law. There must be a way to tweak that policy to better serve family members. Remember, someone processed into the jail isnt yet guilty in the eyes of the law. The sheriffs department, through no fault of its own, deals with a disproportionate number of people with mental illness, addiction and often years of under-treated health problems. But if the state takes someone into custody, it has the obligation to ensure their safety. Its time for Waybourn and staff to be more transparent and for county commissioners to demand answers and public accountability. Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images On April 17, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stepped out for Easter Sunday service in classic spring colors, and they were joined by little Prince George, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 6. Kate Middleton's fitted coat dress adorably matched the robin's egg blue of her daughter's frock. The coast dress featured an open collar and cinched belt, creating an elegant silhouette, and she carried a clutch in the same color. Her headpiece and heels were in a slightly darker blue. Photo credit: Antony Jones - Getty Images Charlotte wore a floral patterned dress with a Peter Pan collar, knit sky blue stockings, a navy blue cardigan, and Mary Jane flats. Her dad and brother were both wearing matching navy blue suits as well. Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images Service is held at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, and is attended by various members of the royal family. This was the first Easter church outing for George and Charlotte, though 4-year-old Prince Louis was not in attendance. The Cambridges have been bringing George in particular to more official events as he learns his role in the family. Also at St. George's were Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, as well as his wife Sophie and their children. Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew, was there, too. Easter Sunday service did not see Queen Elizabeth. The 96-year-old monarch is staying home after recovering from some health issues, including a bout with COVID-19, though she may be visited by her family after the service. She was visited this week by her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. It was the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have returned to the UK after leaving their positions as working royals and moving to California. From there, the couple left for the Netherlands and the Invictus Games. You Might Also Like Customers shop in a store of French cosmetics company L'Occitane (AFP via Getty Images) French beauty brand LOccitane has U-turned on its decision to continue trading in Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine and will close all shops in the country. Just two days ago, the cosmetics firm told the BBC it would not close its stores and cease online sales in Russia because it could not guarantee that our 700 employees in Russia will not face retaliation. But on Friday evening, LOccitane issued a statement confirming its decision to shut Russian operations following approval by its board of directors. The statement said: Given the enormous human suffering being caused by escalating military action in Ukraine and to protect our employees worldwide from potential public aggression, we have decided to close our own stores and e-commerce websites in Russia. According to the companys latest annual report, there are 112 LOccitane stores in Russia. Its sales in the country topped 42 million in the year to 31 March 2021. The U-turn comes after customers vowed not to shop at LOccitane when it initially refused to close its stores in Russia. Hundreds of people took to Twitter to express their disappointment in the beauty firm. LOccitane, Ive been using your lavender hand cream for YEARS. But Ill happily switch if youre really staying in Russia! one person wrote. Another said: I love your products and buy them regularly, but I wont be purchasing anymore. Ive been a loyal customer for 10-years, to what I thought was a responsible, ethical business. Your @UNICEF Solidarity hand cream is hardly compatible with your choice to be one of the last businesses to refuse to leave Russia. It goes against everything you said you stood for Marc Hitchens. GrowingBrands.co.uk (@marchitchens) April 11, 2022 A third added: Your U-turn comes too late for me. You only did it because you were losing customers left, right and centre not because it was humane and right thing to do. Ill never shop with you again. Story continues Previously, French president Emmanuel Macron said it was up to companies to decide whether they wanted to stay in Russia but added that there was a reputational risk if they choose to continue trading there. According to an analysis by Yale University, more than 750 companies and brands have ceased operations in Russia since it invaded Ukraine on 24 February. The firms that have pulled out of the country include fashion brands such as LVMH, which owns Kenzo, Givenchy and Christian Dior, as well as Hermes, Chanel and Gucci. Beauty retailers that have closed Russian stores include the Estee Lauder Companies, LOreal and Sephora. Hainan island sits off the coast of Guangdong to China's southwest. It is known for its tropical resorts, beaches, and mountainous terrain, which has made it a favorite destination for mainland tourists, especially when international travel is limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the island is not just a fanciful place to visit; it is also significant for China's economic and national development now that it has gained free trade port status. After the launch of the island's free trade port initiative, 36 project deals valued at up to $2 billion were signed on the island. These were from a variety of sectors, including modern logistics, biomedicine, high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, offshore trade, business aviation, modern finance, and high-tech agriculture, and involve many foreign investors. In conjunction with this, the island has also received considerable retail investment over the past year, with duty-free sales in the city having increased 73% year on year since 2021. As a tropical and mountainous region populated by 10 million people, Hainan province is small in scale compared to other areas of China. Its geography makes it unsuitable for urban manufacturing and supply chain-related businesses, which have steered the densely populated industrial regions of the country to rapid growth, or fueled other forms of labor-intensive work. However, geographical conditions also make it suitable for tourism and service-related industries. This means Hainan requires a different growth strategy to China as a whole, and this is precisely why a unique development plan has been laid out. This plan involves establishing Hainan as one of the critical hubs for tourism, retail, finance, and free trade in China. In creating a free port, Hainan's location, facing Southeast Asia, allows it to be a convenient and pivotal point for the import of tariff-free foreign goods into China, a key aspect of the country's integration into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and other agreements. The swift and cheap access to foreign imported goods the free port establishes, combined with dynamic tourism promotion, subsequently lay the foundations for a booming retail environment on the island. Domestic and foreign tourists will be able to visit Hainan and buy goods of all kinds, given that it has been fashioned into a transit hub for luxury retail and tourism. This coincides with the expansion of the Haikou Meilan International Airport, which recently opened a second terminal designed to pivot the island to a crossroads for travel throughout Southeast Asia and the wider region. These unique and favorable business conditions provide an opportunity for capital and financial firms to invest. This is significant not just for China itself, but Asia as a whole. In every capacity, Hainan's economy is being refashioned to integrate itself with a broader geographic area and to transform it into a hub and a gateway to China as well as the countries around it. This shows how China tailors its economic development strategies not only to the conditions of specific regions, but also in the view of globalization, or a "community of a shared future for mankind." Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. MYKULYCHI, Ukraine (AP) On a quiet street lined with walnut trees was a cemetery with four bodies that hadn't yet found a home. All were victims of Russian soldiers in this village outside Ukraines capital, Kyiv. Their temporary caskets were together in a grave. Volunteers dug them up one by one on Sunday two weeks after the soldiers disappeared. This spring is a grim season of planting and replanting in towns and villages around Kyiv. Bodies given hurried graves amid the Russian occupation are now being retrieved for investigations into possible war crimes. More than 900 civilian victims have been found so far. All four bodies here were killed on the same street, on the same day. Thats according to the local man who provided their caskets. He bent and kissed the cemeterys wrought-iron crosses as he walked to the makeshift grave. The volunteers tried digging with shovels, then gave up and called an excavator. As they waited, they recounted their work secretly burying bodies during the monthlong Russian occupation, then retrieving them. One young man recalled being discovered by soldiers who pointed guns at him and told him Dont look up as he dug a grave. Video: Zelensky presents awards to Ukraine servicemen The excavator arrived, rumbling past the cemeterys wooden outhouse. Soon there was the smell of fresh earth, and the murmur, There they are. A woman appeared, crying. Ira Slepchenko was the wife of one man buried here. No one told her he was being dug up now. The wife of another victim arrived. Valya Naumenko peered into the grave, then hugged Ira. Dont collapse, she said. I need you to be OK. The two couples lived next to each other. On the final day before the Russians left the village, soldiers knocked at one home. Valyas husband, Pavlo Ivanyuk, opened the door. The soldiers took him to the garage and shot him in the head, apparently without any explanation. Then the soldiers shouted, Is anyone else here? Story continues Iras husband, Sasha Nedolezhko, heard the gunshot. But he thought the soldiers would search the homes if no one answered. He opened the door and the soldiers shot him too. The mens caskets were lifted out with the others, then pried open. The four bodies, wrapped in blankets, were placed in body bags. The lace-edged white lining of each casket was stained red where the head had been. Ira watched from afar, smoking, but stood by the empty caskets as the others left. All this land is in blood, and it will take years to recover, she said. She had known her husband was here. Nine days after his temporary burial, she came to the cemetery scattered with picnic tables, following the local custom of spending time with the dead. She brought coffee and cookies. I want this war to end as soon as possible, she said. The other bodies were a teacher and a local man who lived alone. No one came for them on Sunday. In the house next to the cemetery, 66-year-old Valya Voronets cooked homegrown potatoes in a wood-warmed room, still getting by without water, electricity or gas. A small radio played, but not for long because the news gets too depressing. A plate of freshly cut radishes rested near the window. A Russian soldier once came running and pointed his gun at her husband after spotting him climbing onto the roof to get a cellphone signal. Are you going to kill an old man? 65-year-old Myhailo Scherbakov replied. Not all the Russians were like that. Voronets said she cried together with another soldier, barely 21. Youre too young, she told him. Another soldier told her they didnt want to fight. Still, she feared them all. But she offered them milk from her only cow. I felt sorry for them in these conditions, she said. And if youre nice to them, maybe they wont kill you. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Both a federal judge and the top Republican on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot have now reached the same stark conclusion: There is evidence to suggest Donald Trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election could be a crime. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said last weekend that her panel had compiled enough facts to refer Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, while U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote last month that Trump and others undertook a coup in search of a legal theory. Neither has the power to bring charges against the former president. Thats up to Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose focus to date has largely been on the people who stormed the Capitol in a violent effort to keep Trump in power. Trump denies any wrongdoing, and his allies contend that Cheney has lost credibility as any sort of fair broker. Pointing to Cheneys persistent criticism of Trump, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, told NBC News: I couldnt see the point in it other than that she was angry and bitter. Video: New texts show GOP lawmakers attempt to steal 2020 election But amid reports of a split within the House Jan. 6 panel over whether to make a direct case to Garland that he needs to target Trump, the members seem wholly unified when it comes to another point: There might well be another attempted coup in 2024, and Jan. 6 supplied the blueprint for pulling it off. That fear is helping to shape the committee's plans for hearings, slated to start next month. Our focus is showing the country how close we came to losing our democracy, and why were not out of the woods, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House committee, told NBC News. Donald Trump supporters storm the Capitol building (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file) Members plan to hold public hearings that will lay out the evidence theyve gathered and describe a multi-pronged effort to disenfranchise voters by handing the losing presidential candidate a second term. The committees main audience will be the general public; another is Garland. But to the extent that people watching from home are alarmed by what they learn, the hope is that it could pique Congress interest and give fresh incentive to rewrite the 19th- century law that controls the process used to tabulate presidential elections. After watching 2020 unfold, some elected officials and election experts fear the Electoral Count Act could be exploited in ways that might give Trump or someone else a victory in 2024, whether they win enough votes or not. No laws even need be broken. Story continues A lot of what we saw in 2020 and the aftermath of the election was testing the waters to see where there are weaknesses in the system of laws that govern us, Arizonas Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, told NBC News. If there is no accountability and tightening up of these laws, we are at risk of these things happening again, added Hobbs, who is now running for governor. Fake electors One focus of the Jan. 6 panel is alternate, or what critics call fake, electors, who surfaced in the last presidential election. Dozens of people from five swing states that President Joe Biden won signed documents purporting to be duly elected and qualified electors and declaring that Trump was the victor. (In two other states, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, the documents included caveats saying their legitimacy depended on whether Trump was ultimately found to be the winner). The slates were sent to Washington, where Trump loyalists prepared to use them to his advantage. A memo written by John Eastman, an attorney who was advising Trump at the time, spelled out several scenarios in which Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the count, could recognize the rival slates of pro-Trump electors, triggering a chain of events that ended with Trump winning. To Trumps dismay, Pence didnt go along. He wound up certifying Bidens victory. The idea was to try to negate and nullify the Electoral College votes by getting the vice president to proclaim these new powers and then to exercise those powers by asserting that there was controversy and uncertainty at the state level and a disputed Electoral College situation, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D.-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 committee, told NBC News. There was not. Even stalwart Trump supporters in Congress were leery of relying on alternate electors whose candidate Trump didnt actually win. In a series of text messages published Friday by CNN, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows three days before the insurrection: Id love to be proven wrong about my concerns. But I really think this could all backfire badly unless we have legislatures submitting (T)rump slates (based on a conclusion this was the proper result under states law). The committee did not comment on the text messages. Lee Lonsberry, a spokesperson for Lee, said: "The text messages tell the same story Sen. Lee told from the floor of the Senate the day he voted to certify the election results of each and every state in the nation." Both the Jan. 6 committee and the Justice Department are examining how these slates of Trump electors came into being. On Thursday, the committee heard eight hours of testimony from Stephen Miller, a top Trump White House adviser, who talked publicly about the alternate electors in December on the day they were gathering. Millers appearance before the committee presumably gave members a chance to probe how the Trump forces believed Bidens victory could be undone. Committee aides have also flown to Arizona and spoken to Hobbs about other efforts to change the results in her state, she said. One of the two sets of pro-Trump alternate electors purporting to represent Arizona used the official state seal in the documents forwarded to Washington, giving them a patina of legitimacy. Its important to understand how they essentially got recruited to do this, Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., who serves on the Jan. 6 panel, said of the alternate electors. Were they recruited? Were they pressured? Where did the direction come from to go out to the states, find these people, and get them to sign their names? State officials are also trying to get answers. Hector Balderas, the attorney general in New Mexico, said he is part of a task force investigating the alternate electors along with his counterparts in other states. Dana Nessel, the Michigan attorney general, told NBC News: If we dont hold people accountable there is literally nothing to stop them from doing this again, because there will have been no repercussions for it. (Republican officials, Trump allies and attorneys for some of the electors have said that they were looking to ensure that Trump votes would be counted in case he was eventually deemed the winner in those states). A danger is that more groups may come forward in the future and misrepresent themselves as the actual electors when in fact their candidate lost. There is no guarantee that a bogus set of electors would be thrown out in later elections. All of which suggests an urgent need to overhaul the Electoral Count Act, some lawmakers and former officials said. 'Shadow of the threat' Greg Jacob, former legal counsel to Pence, was with him in the Capitol on Jan. 6 when rioters stormed the building and called for the vice president to be hanged. He balked at the strategy Eastman laid out in his memo and traded heated messages with him when the Capitol was overrun, according to emails released by the committee in a court filing last month. Until the Electoral Count Act is brought into full conformity with the framers design, every presidential election will take place in the shadow of the threat of possible attempts in the January 6 (congressional) joint session to reverse the outcome of the election, Jacob told NBC News. Donald Trump supporters storm the Capitol (Brent Stirton / Getty Images file) Congress is trying to strengthen the law, though with little to show for its work. For much of the past year, Democratic lawmakers who control both houses focused instead on broader election reform aimed at expanding voting rights. That initiative collapsed. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has at times portrayed the parallel effort to revise the Electoral Count Act as an unwanted distraction. There were a number of parties and nefarious actors back in 2020 that tried to weaponize the Electoral Count Act in ways that were deeply problematic, Rep. Joe Neguse, D., Colo., who was a House prosecutor in Trumps second impeachment trial, told NBC News. It appears one component of that was this notion of fake electors being sent from the states, so I think its an area that we have to reform, and we have very little time to do so. What seems most likely to pass, if anything, are a few fixes for which there is a broad consensus. Congress may clarify that the vice president plays merely a ceremonial role when its time to count the electoral votes and cannot, as Trump argued, unilaterally reject the outcome in certain states. Lawmakers may also raise the threshold so that it takes more than a single member of the House and Senate to object to a states electoral votes and thus delay the formal certification of the incoming presidents victory. One solution that election experts have proposed is giving the courts the final say if theres any dispute about which slate of electors should be counted. That way, in an era of extreme partisanship, members of Congress and governors arent the ones settling disputes about who gets to be president. The most important question is how do we ensure there is no political actor in Congress or state government that can elevate those fake electors into something that might actually get counted, said Matthew Seligman, a Yale Law School fellow who has been advising Congress on how best to revamp the Electoral Count Act, according to a Senate aide. And, unfortunately, thats exactly what the law permits. Whether the law gets changed in time for the next presidential election is by no means certain. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is part of a bipartisan group of senators working to revamp the Electoral Count Act. Its not clear that the negotiations will result in passage of a bill, she told NBC News. First of all, the group that has been working on it has to come to some agreement. And then we have to get agreement from the leadership on both sides. I do see it as a problem, Shaheen said of the alternate electors. Whether we can get agreement on how to address it remains to be seen. Apr. 16STARKVILLE It's a cloudy, rainy day at Dudy Noble Field as Mississippi State looks to complete a series sweep against Auburn. If there is a game, Cade Smith is taking the mound for State while MSU's offense looks to stay hot. Follow along for live updates below, in our Facebook group or on Twitter. Weather delay There is no start time set for today's game. The original 3 p.m. first pitch is out of the picture, and it appears a 4 p.m. start is as well. A tentative start time has been set for 5 p.m. First inning Cade Smith works around an early jam. He forced a pair of fly balls to right which won't get very far tonight. Two guys reach base for State, but a fielder's choice and strikeout keep MSU from getting a run across. Second inning Smith works around a one-out walk. The aforementioned difficulty to hit one out to right does not apply to Hunter Hines. It's 1-0 MSU. Kellum Clark makes it 2-0 with a shot the opposite way. Third inning It's a loud third out, but an out nonetheless. Auburn strands a pair on the bases. Luke Hancock is thrown out at third to end the frame trying to advance from first on a Logan Tanner single. Still 2-0 MSU. Fourth inning Smith, with the help of nice catches from Clark and Kamren James, works around a one-out single. Clark is stranded at second after a two-out double. Fifth inning Quick inning for Smith who sends Auburn down in order. Nothing going for MSU. Sixth inning Scott Foxhall works his magic again. Smith worked himself into a jam with the first two hitters reaching base. Foxhall went out to talk to Smith, and the MSU starter worked around the jam without allowing a run. That'll likely do it for Smith after 104 pitches. Bulldogs go down in order. Seventh inning Jackson Fristoe is in to pitch. Auburn has its first run off a one-out double. Some miscommunication between Lane Forsythe and Slate Alford allows a ball to get through the infield and bring the tying run home. Story continues Fristoe gets out of the jam before Auburn can get any further damage. Game is tied at two. State strands another pair of runners. Eighth inning After a leadoff single and sacrifice bunt allowed, Fristoe's night is done. Pico Kohn comes in. Auburn has the lead on an RBI single. Kohn fends off any further damage. Auburn leads 3-2. State goes down in order. STEFAN KRAJISNIK is the Mississippi State athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at stefan.krajisnik@djournal.com. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday suggested that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if the U.S. provided weapons to Kyiv sooner. This is going to get stronger and rougher and what really needs to happen is, Ukraine is not asking for American men and women to fight, all theyre asking for is the weapons to defend themselves, McCarthy told Fox News chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel on Fox News Sunday. If we would have taken those actions earlier instead of waiting till after Russia invaded, they probably never wouldve invaded had we done that sooner, he added. He later said sending weapons to Ukraine earlier could have saved thousands of lives. Ukraine was craving the ability to defend themselves. Had we moved the weapons to Ukraine earlier, that they could defend themselves, it would have saved thousands of lives and probably the decision of Putin not to enter, McCarthy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The claim came in the seventh week of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. The Biden administration has provided Ukraine with more than $3.2 billion in security assistance, which includes $2.6 billion since the invasion began. That aid has included anti-tank weapons, unmanned drones, small arms, ammunition and defense equipment. McCarthy on Sunday also took aim at the administration for rejecting Polands proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to a U.S. air base in Germany, which would then to go Ukraine to help their forces fight Russia. The Pentagon ultimately said the proposal was not tenable. The president denied Ukraine and denied Poland for providing MiGs to Ukraine to protect themselves on a flyover. All of that is a wrong action going forward, McCarthy said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A new ban on no knock warrants in Minneapolis, enacted in the wake of Amir Lockes death, is being called one of the strongest of its kind in the nation. The policy, which took effect April 8, no longer allows the Minneapolis Police Department to apply for or execute warrants without knocking and making their presence known first. It mandates that officers repeatedly knock, announce themselves and wait at least 20 seconds during the day or 30 seconds at night before entering. Locke, a 22-year-old Black man who was an aspiring musician, was killed when SWAT officers conducted a no knock warrant in the early morning hours of Feb. 2 at a Minneapolis apartment. The officers found him on a couch covered in a blanket with a gun in his hand. An officer shot him three times. Fury followed when it emerged that Locke was not the subject named in the warrant. Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on April 6 announced no charges would be filed in Lockes death, but admitted Locke might still be alive if it wasnt for the raid. Amir Locke is a victim. This tragedy may not have occurred absent the no-knock warrant used in this case, they said in a joint statement. The rallying cry at protests end 'no knocks' now! is now cemented as policy. People gather outside the Hennepin County Government Center (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images file) However, with the new regulations police can forgo announcing under exigent circumstances: to prevent harm, provide emergency aid, prevent destruction of evidence (excluding narcotics) and prevent escape of a suspect. Similar exigent circumstances are standard in other city and state policies. Accountability is built into the policy, too. It will create an online dashboard to track forced entries by the department, and there will be an independent review of high-risk and nighttime warrants immediately afterward. Minneapolis is joining 21 cities and 29 states that have legislation or policies restricting no knocks, according to Campaign Zero, a police reform group that helped Minneapolis create the new policy. Story continues Five states Connecticut, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia have banned them altogether. Katie Ryan, chief of staff for Campaign Zero, called Minneapolis move a huge victory. I think this is one of the most forward-thinking, most restrictive policies for search warrants in the nation, she said. If this policy was in place in Lockes case, he would still be alive, "because they were at his house at night," she added. "They either would have been there during the day, they would have waited 20 to 30 seconds, they maybe wouldnt have been there in the first place, because they would have had to make sure that the individual they were seeking was home, and they werent, she said. Ryan said the policy has a really tight definition of exigent circumstances to prevent warrants from escalating without urgent need and includes a more robust warrant application process to determine risk. DeRay Mckesson, co-founder of Campaign Zero, emphasizes how crucial wait times are in serving warrants, especially as Locke was killed within seconds of the raid. Louisville waits 15 seconds, Maine and Maryland 20 seconds, Minneapolis is 20 seconds in the day, 30 seconds at night there is no other place in the country, city or state that has 30 seconds at all. What they did has literally not been done, Mckesson said. He said this policy is crucial because it regulates how all search warrants are performed to prevent knock-and-announce warrants from turning into quick knocks. He pointed to the case of Breonna Taylor, the Black EMT who was killed during a raid in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2020. Police had gotten a no knock warrant but claimed they executed it as a knock-and-announce because they knocked and yelled before entering her apartment. The reason why the change in Minneapolis is actually so big, the real way to do this anywhere is to actually restrict the execution of all search warrants so that neither can turn into raids, McKesson said. Image: (Minneapolis Police Department via AP) But not everyone is on board. Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, the spokesperson for the National Police Association, warned that the ban could restrict law enforcements ability to proactively stop crime and conduct appropriate investigations. Waiting 20 to 30 seconds is a long time for someone to not just run out the back door, but to get a firearm to start shooting through the door, she said. Remember, police officer murders are on the rise. In 2021, 61 officers died from felonious assaults by firearm, a 36 percent jump from 2020, the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum reported. She explained no knocks are extremely rare and typically require multiple layers of authorization, including by a judge. However, Minneapolis was using the raids quite frequently. In 2020, Mayor Jacob Frey said the citys police department executed an average of 139 no knock warrants a year. In the Locke case, Brantner Smith noted the subject of the warrant was Locke's cousin Mekhi Camden Speed, who was 17 at the time and wanted in a homicide investigation in the January murder of Otis Elder. At the time, Speed had been on probation for another shooting, and he had violated his probation terms. Brantner Smith said a no knock was used because Mr. Speed was a convicted, violent criminal who should have been in jail and the warrant was for the safety of officers. The biggest lesson learned in this situation is not lets not do no-knock warrants, she said. The problem is a lax criminal justice system. 'No knocks' are deadly on both sides of the door No knock warrants were born under President Richard Nixon in the 1970s as part of the war on drugs, said Rachel Moran, an associate professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law who focuses on police accountability. You can think of police bursting into the home of purported drug dealers and snatching up the drugs before the dealer has the time to flush it down the toilet, she said. Their use was popularized with the militarization of police, Moran said. However, no knock warrants were thrust under a harsh spotlight after Taylors death. Theyve always been dangerous. 'No knock' warrants are too dangerous to justify their use, Moran said. There is a lack of comprehensive data and oversight documenting such warrants and their impacts, but a New York Times study found that from 2010 to 2016, 94 people died during such operations. Eighty-one were civilians and 13 were law enforcement officers. No knocks are also used in a racially disparate manner, Moran said. Minnesota state officials mandated law enforcement agencies to report how often they use no knocks last year. Data from Sept. 1, 2021, to Feb. 2 show that of the 94 warrant subjects whose race were reported, 70 percent were Black, the Minnesota Post reported. Alternatives to 'no knocks' Minneapolis is often compared to its twin city, St. Paul, which hasnt carried out a no knock warrant since 2016, St. Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders told NBC News. The decision was made in the interest of safety for everyone involved, Linders said. Rather than force the issue, well use time, distance and cover to achieve the desired outcome. For example, our SWAT team will establish a perimeter and call out people inside the home, apartment, building, etc. If we reach a point where its necessary to go in to look for a suspect, well send in a robot or canine first, whenever possible, he said, adding, So far, it seems to be working well for us. In Louisville, Breonnas Law was passed in June 2020, banning no knock warrants and requiring any Louisville Metro Police Department or Metro law enforcement to knock and wait a minimum of 15 seconds for a response. The state restricted their use in April. In 2020, St. Louis passed an ordinance to ban no knocks for drug cases, and San Antonio's police chief said he banned the practice for officers. In September, the Justice Department placed new limits on "no-knock" warrants to situations where an agent has grounds to believe knocking and announcing would create an imminent threat of physical violence to the agent and/or another person. Still a ways to go Still, Minneapolis policy could go further. One way is a longer waiting period and the other, more importantly perhaps, I would have recommended that they ban nighttime entries, Moran said. Does this prevent a tragedy like what happened to Amir Locke? It makes it less likely. I dont know if that would have saved his life. I hope so, but Im not sure. Johnathon McClellan, president of the Minnesota Justice Coalition, said the new policy is too little, too late, especially after Frey had proposed prior policies that claimed to ban no knocks, but didnt. We hope that it prevents the next Amir Locke. I think that the community is skeptical, he said. Hes pushing for the state Legislature to pass a bill on no knock warrants, proposed in February in the wake of Lockes death that awaits a final vote on the House floor. Amir Locke was not the subject of a warrant, McClellan said. Amir was a child still trying to figure out his trajectory in life. Amir Locke could have been any one of us. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA As the holiday weekend wraps up, we've rounded up all the stories you may have missed Saturday and Sunday to prepare you for Monday. But before we jump into Northern California's top stories, Golden State residents should know that any potential COVID-19 vaccine mandates for California students were just taken off the table for at least a year. Sen. Richard Pan shelved his bill that would have required children ages 0 to 17 to be vaccinated to attend school in person. Then, the California Department of Public Health announced plans to delay Gov. Gavin Newsom's less strict mandate until July 1, 2023. Read more about that here. From a 19-year-old who was found alive in Utah after he disappeared from California three years ago to a juvenile who was arrested in connection with a shooting death in Concord here are some of the stories you missed over Easter weekend. Juvenile Arrested In Concord Shooting Death A juvenile was arrested in connection with the shooting death of a man Saturday morning at the corner of Meadow Lane and Johnson Drive. CA Teen Found In Utah 3 Years After Disappearing: Report A 19-year-old was found sleeping in a Utah gas station parking lot three years after he went missing in California. SF Brothers Convicted In 2014 Stabbing Death Two brothers have been convicted in the 2014 stabbing death of 20-year-old Ronnie Goodman, Jr. Man Shot At, Stabbed After Fight At Pleasanton Home The Pleasanton Police Department said a man was shot at and stabbed in the neck after a fight that began at a residence Friday night. Bay Area Easter Events Still On Despite Rain Saturday will see rain in the morning, but the rain is tapering off and there is only a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. SF Contributors To City's Annual 1906 Earthquake Commemoration A former mayor and other dignitaries will be on hand Saturday to honor three longtime contributors to the city's annual commemoration. Story continues San Mateo Man Arrested In Connection With Exposing Himself A Daly City man has been arrested in connection with exposing himself to a ride share driver on Wednesday. Palo Alto Police Investigate Armed Robbery Police in Palo Alto are investigating an armed robbery in which two suspects robbed a man at gunpoint Friday. Instacart, Lyft Back In California Political Spotlight The ripple effects of Proposition 22 are still reverberating in California labor politics and could rear up in this years election. Gimme Shelter: What If California Put Affordable Housing On Golf Courses? California has reached a broad consensus that it needs more affordable housing. The disputes arise over where that housing should go. Income Tax Deadline: What Last-Minute CA Filers Need to Know Californians have three extra days to file their tax returns this year and those who have filed are, on average, receiving larger refunds. Rare Pink Moon Rises Over CA's Easter Weekend The "pink moon" was set to rise over the Golden State during the holiday weekend, following the bloom of pink wildflowers in North America. This article originally appeared on the Walnut Creek Patch It concerns me that the imaginative aspect of acting seems to be underestimated at the moment (Independent Talent) Quite extreme. These are the words Monica Dolan chooses to describe the characters she plays. In Appropriate Adult, she quivered, spat, seethed and raged as serial killer Rose West. Therapy comedy Hang Ups saw her portray a breathless woman called Alison Jones who, for 20 years, has been unable to shake the emotional shock of losing her idol Princess Diana. And in BBC parody W1A, her Welsh, gloom-ridden comms officer Tracey Pritchard spoke almost exclusively in these sentence constructions: Im not being funny or anything, but and Ive got a bad feeling about this Dolans chameleon-like ability to slip into the skin of so many different people real and fictional has given her a reputation among critics and audiences as one of Britains best character actors. But shed never use those words herself. I find character actor quite an old-fashioned term, she says. Im not fond of it. It comes with the notion of people blowing their nose too often or having a funny limp. She laughs, softly. Characters are just characters and sometimes they say a lot and do a lot and sometimes they dont. Its never a term Id apply to myself, or to other actors. It sort of implies that you play smaller roles, but, well, it changes all the time. It does. Dolan was nominated for a Bafta for her performance as Jeremy Thorpes stoic second wife Marion in A Very English Scandal, despite only being introduced at the end of the series. She was equally brilliant in the lead part of an introverted librarian spending the holidays with her heavy-metal-loving teenage son in 2019 indie film Days of the Bagnold Summer. In the 53-year-olds latest role, she is playing a real (and quite extreme) person: Anne Darwin in The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. The ITV drama tells the true story of John Darwin (played with wicked relish by Eddie Marsan), a former science teacher from Hartlepool who, with the help of his wife Anne, faked his own death to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy. The couple pretended to the world that John had gone off in his canoe one windy day in March 2002 and never returned. He was declared missing, presumed dead. They lied to their two sons, who grieved the father they thought theyd lost forever. In 2007, John got bored of hiding and turned up at a police station in London, claiming he had amnesia and couldnt remember a thing from the past five years. The story blew up, and John was soon dubbed the back-from-the-dead canoeist. But his and Annes deceit came back to haunt them just days later, when a Cheshire housewife found a photo online of the couple smiling at an estate agents office in Panama, taken in 2006 the year before hed handed himself in. There are so many parts of the story that wouldnt make it out of the development room if they werent true, says Dolan over video call from her home in Hammersmith, dressed crisply in a champagne cream blouse and gold necklace. I thought Anne would be a very interesting character to play, because, what makes somebody do that? Dolan was not able to meet Anne ahead of playing her Anne didnt want to but Thief is very sympathetic to her. Dolans Anne narrates the series, and is depicted as a victim of Johns coercion and bullying. While hes in hiding, enjoying a full English at a hotel, shes at home sobbing, her house full of police. When she tries to resist his mad plan, he tells her she has to go along with it because otherwise shell end up alone. No ones queuing up to marry a woman like you, Anne, he says. Later, she realises: For my entire adult life Ive just been extension of him, really. Well, not even that, just nothing. They had met at school and shed been his ever since. Story continues The show, like ITVs coughing-major drama Quiz and Skys offbeat true-crime series Landscapers, brings to light the quirks of everyday Brits to show how they got themselves into extraordinary situations. The aesthetic is floral wallpaper and stained cardigans. Rainy days and whistling kettles. Dolan plays Anne with her signature skittishness: the smarting, the flared nostrils, the trembling bottom lip and the wobbling chin we are so familiar with now. But the only mannerism I have seen in her characters that occurs when she is being herself, is a sort of squinting she does at the ceiling, as she tries to find the right words or remember a particular part. In Annes narration in Thief, when she is found guilty of six counts of fraud and nine of money laundering, before being sentenced to six and a half years in prison, she says: It was three months longer than John got, but then, I was their mother. I think most people felt I got what I deserved. Its a startling moment. Even though John is depicted as the driving force behind the lies, and he left his sons seemingly without a second thought while betraying them tore Anne apart, in the end it was her failure as a mother that was the most unforgivable crime. Society expects a lot of women and usually theyre right to, because were pretty caring Dolan says. We have certain ideas of motherhood, dont we? And what we expect of mothers and how we idealise them. Woe betide a mother who falls short. Theres a lot of pressure on parents. Off to sunny Panama: Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan in Thief (ITV) Dolan says it was not important to her that Thief looks kindly on Anne if anything, she was concerned about letting her off the hook too much and pushed for more scenes that showed her repeatedly lying. I wasnt interested in doing something where we see her as a little bunny who didnt know what she was doing or wasnt culpable in any way, she says. Im never concerned if someones sympathetic or not. The exciting thing to me and Im quite a nosy person, or curious rather is how people behave. If you try to find the reasons why people do things and go from there, then the audience will see that and either feel sympathy or not. Dolan has made a name for herself playing characters who many would find extremely difficult to sympathise with, or who are utterly reviled serial killer Rose West being the most notorious. Dolan won a Bafta for her frightening portrayal of the woman who collaborated with her husband Fred in the torture and murder of young women and children. One critic said of her performance: Dolan appears to have been possessed, against her will even. Its extraordinary acting, both convincing and terrifying. If Dolans approach is to try to get to the root of why people do awful things, what was Wests reason? Sometimes theyre quite basic, and with her, the motivation was sex and trying to stay alive with a husband like that. Rosemary West was the only person who Fred met at a bus stop that he didnt kill, and she somehow managed to make their relationship dynamic and survive it and create a way to live within it, and to enjoy that relationship, I guess. Murderous marriage: Dominic West and Monica Dolan as Fred and Rose West in Appropriate Adult (ITV/Shutterstock) West served most of her life sentence in Durhams Low Newton prison, where Anne Darwin did her time. The eerie coincidence makes Dolan smile. Chris [Lang, screenwriter] was teasing me, saying we could have a scene where I play both of them, because apparently they bumped into each other in the gym, she says. What was quite interesting to me was that in Annes book [Out of My Depth], she says, Oh my God, I was in prison and there were dreadful people like Rosemary West there. Its almost as if wrong isnt wrong if its done by nice people like her. When Dolan was playing West, her friends and family would ask lots of questions about her research at first, before finding it too much to hear. It got to a point where people would go, Oh, actually, no thanks, says Dolan. How did she cope with holding all the grim details in her mind? It did creep into my nightmares. I remember waking up and having pictures of the victims in my head. Dolan dives headfirst into her characters. For West, she went to the killers solicitor and got a transcript of the entire trial. She read Brian Masterss study of Wests sexual obsession, She Must Have Known, and raided through her own mothers collection of NHS glasses to find the perfect pair of specs. They hardly come off. Theyre as much of a fixture as Wests thick, clinging fringe and hard stare. When Dolan performed a new monologue for Alan Bennetts Talking Heads at the Bridge Theatre, she started learning her lines for the part of a bereaved woman the very day she found out her brother had died from Covid. And for W1A, according to her co-star Sarah Parrish, Dolan stayed Welsh for the part of Tracey from the read-through right through to the end of the shoot. She kept her northeast accent the whole way through making Thief, too. Im not being funny or anything, but: Monica Dolan and Hugh Bonneville in W1A (BBC) What does she think of the recent reports of American actors staying in character for nine months, or not talking to each other because their characters dont get on? I think thats ridiculous, she says. Think of how many relationships youre capable of holding in your head at once. Also, your character isnt in a situation where theyre queuing up for their lunch or getting dressed or being in a Winnebago, getting notes. Thats happening to you. You have to be outside it as well, otherwise you cant talk about whats going on. Laughing, she adds that if she and her Thief co-star Marsan were to go method, hed be telling me what to do all the time. It concerns me at the moment that a lot of the imaginative aspect of acting seems to be underestimated, and experience whether youve experienced x, y or z in real life seems to be given more weight. I think imagination is an actors most useful tool and truth and authenticity are different things. Truth is more important. She shrugs. Its too tiring to stay in character all the time, anyway. The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe begins on ITV at 9pm on Sunday 17 April President Joe Biden. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Biden last April asked the Education Department to write a memo on his ability to nix student debt. Documents in October disclosed the memo had existed since April 2021 but had yet to be released. Lawmakers have urged Biden to release the memo to provide certainty on broad student-debt relief. On April 1, 2021, President Joe Biden asked the Education Department to prepare a memo on his legal ability to cancel student debt. On November 1, Insider received redacted documents from the Debt Collective the nation's first debtor's union that showed the memo had existed since April 5, 2021, and circulated among White House leadership that same day. Now, a year after the memo's creation and two extensions of the student-loan-payment pause later, borrowers and lawmakers want answers. "While I welcome the extension of the student loan moratorium, I continue to believe that we owe it to the 43 million Americans with student loan debt to fully cancel that debt," Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said in a statement to Insider. "Unfortunately, a year after it was promised, we have yet to see the memo the administration promised on student debt cancellation." When Biden was on the campaign trail, his intentions for handling the $1.7 trillion student-debt crisis seemed clear. He pledged to voters he would approve $10,000 in student-loan forgiveness for each federal borrower and said it would be a top priority for him in reforming long-broken loan-forgiveness programs. While he has taken steps on the latter, the former remains unfulfilled, and borrowers and lawmakers are growing frustrated as Biden stalls on a promise many voters are relying on. In October, before the release of the redacted documents, Omar led her Democratic colleagues in giving the president a two-week deadline to deliver the memo. In January, she joined 84 of her colleagues in pushing for not only the release of the memo but also an extension of the pause on student-loan payments, which Biden ended up implementing last week through August 31. Story continues But it's been over a year, and Omar told Insider it was long past time for Biden to be transparent with his voters. "When leaders of the Progressive Caucus and I met with the President earlier this month, we stressed the importance of not just suspending, but cancelling student debt," Omar said. "The President has the full authority to cancel this debt," she added, "and we hope he will do so." When Insider reached out for comment, a spokesperson replied: "The Department of Education continues to assess its options for implementing broad debt cancellation by executive action." The White House has 'chosen to sit on their hands while families suffer financially' While the vast majority of the student-debt memo was redacted before Insider received it, the documents did disclose some information regarding the communication process within the administration surrounding the creation of the memo. For example, an Education Department official wrote that based on internal emails in April 2021, the department would "likely be preparing an updated version of the memo prepared in February," which suggested the administration could have been sitting on a memo even longer. A redacted memo on student-debt cancellation from the Education Department on April 5, 2021. The Debt Collective Braxton Brewington, the press secretary for the Debt Collective, told Insider at the time that choosing not to release the memo was a "political decision," and he reiterated that sentiment in a statement this month. "A year has passed since the White House was informed of their authority to widely cancel student debt and yet they've chosen to sit on their hands while families suffer financially," Brewington said. "It's clear the hold-up on student debt cancelation isn't due to faulty legal analysis, but rather a lack of political will which makes even less sense as the majority of Americans support student debt cancelation. It's time for Biden to take action." Following Biden's fourth extension of the student-loan-payment pause last week, Insider reported that neither Democratic nor Republican lawmakers were satisfied with the relief. While the GOP wanted broad relief to end, Democrats wanted even more relief, saying that if Biden could keep extending the pause, there's no reason he could not cancel student debt and make permanent reforms to the student-loan industry. It's unclear whether more relief will come for student-loan borrowers once September rolls around. "Glad to see the President extend the moratorium on student loans," Omar wrote on Twitter. "Once this extension expires he should extend it again. And then after that, again. And then again, and again...actually you know what, why don't we just cancel it?" Read the original article on Business Insider Apr. 17More than a year after Maine's county governments and largest cities received $191 million in federal pandemic relief, much of the money remains unspent, even as they prepare for a second cash injection. The money, from the American Rescue Plan Act approved in March 2021, was intended to help local governments confront the pandemic, assist struggling businesses and workers, and replace lost government revenue. But as the public health threat and risk of severe economic recession fade, many local governments are choosing instead to invest the federal windfall on long-term investments. Many officials describe ARPA funding as a one-time opportunity to make improvements that will last generations. As a result, some governments especially Maine's county administrations are deliberately sitting on tens of millions of dollars and making spending decisions gradually. "Just because money is not committed doesn't mean we are not vetting and reviewing plans," said Allen Sicard, chairman of the York County Board of Commissioners. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a game changer. We want to use it judicially, and we think we are." Local governments have until the end of 2024 to make spending commitments but don't have to use all the money until 2027. To date, York County has committed nearly $10 million out of an expected payment totaling $40 million. More than $2.7 million went to premium pay for corrections officers and $1.5 million to creating a teen center in a renovated Biddeford church and $1.8 million for a coastal dredging vessel. Contemplated projects include a substance abuse rehabilitation center and first responder training center near the county jail and affordable housing in Sanford. County officials don't want to spend the money to subsidize daily operating costs, even though some people suggested divvying it up among the 29 communities in the county. "We wanted to make an impact," Sicard said. "An impact that would last for generations on projects that would not otherwise have been done." Story continues Local government funding from ARPA was delivered directly to county governments and "entitlement" communities large cities that ordinarily manage federal grant money. More than 400 smaller towns and cities were given much smaller amounts as a pass-through from the state. Half the money was awarded last May, with a second payment due the same time this year. Counties and major cities in Maine are expected to receive $382 million in total. Maine counties received about $130 million and have so far dedicated just about $47 million, a third of that early funding. Nearly all county and city governments spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on premium pay for county employees who worked through the pandemic. Premium or hazard pay was clearly approved under early spending rules from the U.S. Treasury Department. But after that, many county governments put off making major spending decisions. Franklin, Oxford and Piscataquis counties said a bulk of ARPA money will be spent to upgrade outdated emergency communications equipment. Penobscot County, due to receive $29 million, the third-highest total, delayed most spending until public input could be gathered. Most of the money will be provided through grants to local organizations and municipalities. The same goes for Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, where more than half their ARPA funding will be distributed through awards to nonprofits and others. Sagadahoc County, due to receive about $7 million, initially started a local grant process, but basic priorities, such as a $1 million courthouse roof replacement, took precedence, said Interim County Administrator Amber Jones. Shifting spending guidance from the federal government complicated the county's deliberations, Jones said. Early rules made it appear that there were strict limits on how the relief money could be spent. In the latest, final rule, Treasury made spending more flexible. Now, local governments may use up to $10 million more than most Maine county governments will receive as "revenue replacement" that can be spent on a broad range of government services. "We as a county were evaluating the projects through the interim rules and whether (they) met the federal guidelines," Jones said. "The final rule basically said, 'Do what you need to do.' Anything could almost be justified through loss of revenue." The experience of Maine counties is similar to those in the rest of the country, said Eli Byerly Duke, a senior research assistant at The Brookings Institution. The nonprofit research center, based in Washington, D.C., is tracking spending across local governments. To date, 104 county governments have committed $5.7 billion, less than a third of the relief funding, according to its tracker. "Maine counties are not alone in not having allotted a lot of the money yet," Byerly Duke said. "It is a lot of money, and they haven't even received all of it yet." Some spending of relief dollars has raised eyebrows, such as a hotel in Florida, a ballpark renovation in New York, and tourism marketing and golf course irrigation in Colorado. Those projects have been criticized for falling outside the original rationale for the funding, to confront and recover from the pandemic. There are examples of questionable spending, but overall governments have put the money where it was supposed to go, Byerly Duke said. "Really, on the whole, most places are spending the money how it was intended to address the pandemic and fuel the recovery," he said. Portland, due to receive the state's second-biggest ARPA award of $42 million, plans to use one-third of its funding to cover revenue shortfalls until 2025. It's the only municipality to use that much for revenue replacement. "We have so much diversity in our revenue streams, there were many that were impacted by COVID," said the city's finance director, Brendan O'Connell. Parking fees, cruise ship payments, and earnings from event venues and recreational programs pay more than half the city's yearly operating budget. "We are one of the few places in northern New England where more than 50 percent of our revenue doesn't come from property taxes," O'Connell said. "The plan that we developed in last year's budget is that we will reduce our reliance on ARPA funding in our operating budget as revenues bounce back." Portland plans to spend the remainder of its funding like many other communities on infrastructure and community projects aimed at long-term benefits. The city pledged more than $14 million to 19 projects, including almost $3.8 million to replace the 60-year old Kiwanis public pool in the Riverside neighborhood, $3.5 million to the city's new homeless service center and $1 million each for housing and child care programs. Other communities spread a wide net for spending. South Portland used $1.7 million to fund existing capital expenses, including new Tasers, radios and other equipment for police. The city's biggest commitment is a $6.5 million grant program. City councilors are in the process of reviewing 18 applications totaling $12.6 million covering issues such as sewer and water infrastructure, housing and broadband internet. The Auburn City Council last week approved its two biggest commitments $3 million for an expansion of the Police Activities League youth program and $1.5 million for a new firetruck. It earlier pledged $1.4 million to a new Museum L-A, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars for energy efficiency rebates, fiber-optic internet expansion and $565,000 in premium pay for city employees. Mayor Jason Levesque said some of the city's remaining money about $4 million could be spent to incentivize market-rate housing in the city to jumpstart its future tax base. "We are not using this to do budget offset," Levesque said. "Even though that is allowed, we don't need to. We are taking a very smart, business approach to the investment of this capital." Across the Androscoggin River, Lewiston officials took a different approach. About a month after receiving its money last spring, the City Council approved a spending plan that allocated more than $19 million about 90 percent of its entire $20.6 million payment to install a drinking water line from the Lake Auburn reservoir and build new storage tanks at the sewage treatment plant to handle stormwater pollution. "By the time we were ready to accept the grant, we pretty much knew how we were going to use the money," said City Administrator Heather Hunter. Water and sewer projects from the beginning have been fully approved uses of the funds under federal rules, compared to more "creative" uses for the money, she said. Spending federal funds instead of borrowing for the projects can save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payments, she added. "If we get audited, I would rather not be in a position that our projects didn't fit the regulations like we thought they did." she said. Out of the 25 city and county governments that received direct ARPA payments, just two have not spent anything to date. In Knox County, decisions to spend $7.7 million have been held up in a long finance process that includes both commissioners and a county budget committee. Funding items up for discussion include more than $1 million in premium pay, $4.1 million for affordable housing, $1.2 million for a health clinic expansion and $300,000 for a motor craft requested by the sheriff's office. "We have had five meetings with at least two more meetings scheduled," County Administrator Andrew Hart said in an email. Bangor hasn't even made it that far. Bangor leaders saw no pressing need to spend its $20.5 million disbursement immediately and wanted to wait for the final Treasury rule and go through the normal budget process, City Manager Debbie Laurie said. "While it may appear we are slow to spend, I would say we are being strategic," Laurie said. "This is a huge, huge opportunity for us. We want to demonstrate to those who voted for this the significant investments in our community that will provide benefits for decades to come." RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images If youre thinking of giving up a bad habit, the cost can sometimes be reason enough to quit. Giving up smoking, cutting out fast food and limiting the number of nights you go out for drinks can add quite a few dollars to your bank account. If you need a little more motivation, lets break down how much nixing your bad habits can save you. Tips: 5 Best Foods To Buy in Bulk at Costco This Spring Also See: 50 Ways Youre Throwing Money Away Quitting Smoking Say you smoke a pack a day. According to the American Lung Association, giving up smoking cold turkey can save you between $1,380 and $2,540 a year. And thats just the cost of cigarettes themselves. Because of the effects smoking can have on your health, you might be making more trips to the doctor due to your habit. Smoking can compromise the immune system, so you could get sick more often the more you smoke. Going to the doctor can cost around $68 a visit, even with insurance. Screenings for lung cancer can cost $300. If tests were to find evidence of cancer, treating the disease can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000. By giving up smoking, youre saving money you used to spend on cigarettes, plus the potential medical costs smoking can bring. Gambling Less When in Vegas, you might be feeling adventurous and throw a few dollars down at a blackjack table. If you find yourself doing those more than once or twice a year, you might be developing a very costly gambling habit. More for You: The Complete Guide to Saving and Investing If you play slots twice a week, you could be spending up to $18,720 in a year. The cost of gambling can be $0.95 to $165 per hour, depending on how much youre betting. Reducing your gambling habit can put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket that you could invest in the stock market. Even when the market goes down, theres the inevitability that it will go back up, unlike when you lose at the casino. Not Skipping Your Oil Change You know youre supposed to get your oil changed every 3,000 miles or so, but youve let it slip to 6,000 and now its at 10,000 and your car seems fine. Is it really worth it to pay to get an oil change regularly? Story continues Though you maybe can push it past 3,000 miles, you really shouldnt press your luck that much. Leaving old oil in your car can wreak havoc on your engine, leading to warped parts, blown head gaskets and complete engine failure. More Financial Literacy: The Complete Guide to Spending The cost to repair a warped part can be $500. A blown head gasket can cost between $1,500 and $2,000, and a new engine costs around $4,000. A typical oil change might cost you $100, so its best to just do the oil change and forgo any more costly problems. Cutting Out Fast Food Its fine to eat fast food every once in a while, but the problem becomes when you depend on it. For example, if youre going to McDonalds for lunch and dinner, the cost can really add up. Say you get a Big Mac meal (with fries and a drink) for lunch and crispy chicken sandwich meal for dinner. That costs $15.48 for both meals. If you did that five days a week, thats $77.40 a week. That would cost you more than $4,000 a year. Going Out for Drinks Less Having a drink with dinner, even if you do it every night, isnt the thing thats digging into your wallet. Its going out nightly for drinks, especially when youre drinking cocktails or top-shelf liquor. Even beer and wine are marked up from buying them at a store, so you can expect to pay premium prices. Consider that your average bar tab for two drinks and tip is $30. If you do that five times a week, thats $150 a week and $7,800 a year. Cutting back the number of nights you go out for drinking can save you thousands a year. You also can stick to buying booze from the store, which will cost you markedly less than ordering a drink at a bar. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much You Can Save by Cutting Out Smoking, Fast Food and Other Bad Habits Flash A vaccine cold storage facility sponsored by China's Sinovac has started construction this week, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt said in a statement on Saturday. With the support of the Chinese biopharmaceutical company, the advanced facility will boost Egypt's vaccine storage capacity, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang told a ceremony for the project on Thursday. The facility, which will cover an area of 2,800 square meters with a storage capacity of 150 million doses once finished, will also help Egypt achieve the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of its population by mid-2022, according to the Chinese ambassador. Liao said this is another historic moment for the fruitful China-Egypt cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic, and China will continue to strengthen healthcare cooperation with Egypt and make contributions to the wellbeing of the Egyptian people. During the ceremony, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypt's higher education and scientific research minister and acting health minister, expressed heartfelt thanks to the Chinese government and people for their long-term support and assistance to Egypt's healthcare development. Ghaffar said the new cold storage facility will enhance Egypt's capacity for localized vaccine production, storage and distribution, and help Egypt become a vaccine center in Africa and the Middle East. Families of detained Myanmar protesters had their hopes dashed Sunday after political prisoners were not included in some 1,600 people released by the junta to mark the Buddhist new year. The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government was ousted last year in a military coup, which sparked huge protests and a deadly crackdown. State television announced that 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreigners, had been "pardoned" and will be released to mark the new year -- an annual tradition that last year saw 23,000 prisoners freed. A prisoner released from Yangon's Insein prison told AFP that "political cases and protesters were not among those released", with authorities only freeing criminals. Crowds in front of the prison slowly left on Sunday afternoon. More than 100 people had gathered hoping to be reunited with loved ones, AFP correspondents said. Among them was a woman waiting for her 19-year-old nephew, sentenced to three years imprisonment for incitement against the military. "He was young, and he may have some feeling to fight," she said, declining to give her name. "I wish all young children will be released including my nephew. They all were innocent." Aye Myint, whose 19-year-old daughter was serving three years on a political charge, had hoped she would be released. "Now, she has been more than one year in prison," Aye Myint said. - Subdued holiday - At around midday, a prison officer confirmed that "about 160 prisoners including six women prisoners" had been released from Insein, without giving more details. There was no mention of the Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former Suu Kyi advisor who was arrested shortly after the coup. He is currently on trial for allegedly breaching the official secrets act, which carries a maximum 14-year jail sentence. The exact details of his alleged offence have not been made public, though state television has said he had access to "secret state financial information" and had tried to flee Myanmar. Story continues The country typically grants an annual amnesty to thousands of prisoners to mark the Buddhist New Year, usually a joyous holiday celebrated in many parts with water fights. But this year, with the bloody military crackdown on dissent, the streets in many major cities have been silent as people protest junta rule. bur-rma/rbu/qan Shanelle Jenkins learned her husband died by reading the newspaper. Officials with the Texas Rangers are investigating the death of Robert Geron Miller, 38, who was arrested Wednesday on eight misdemeanor warrants and accused of damaging the rear passenger door of a Fort Worth police car, read the story on Aug. 3, 2019, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It explained that Miller was at the jail when he was pepper sprayed by deputies and then taken to John Peter Smith Hospital. Few other details were known. As Jenkins held her phone and read the story over and over, she began to think it was a hoax. No one notified me that he was dead, she said. She didnt even know he was in jail. The Star-Telegram sought to examine the circumstances of the 40 people who are known to have died in the Tarrant County jail since 2016, when Sheriff Bill Waybourn was first elected. The majority of these deaths have been since 2020. Most of the deaths, like in other jails across the country, are from natural causes or illnesses such as heart disease. During the pandemic, at least nine people died from COVID-19. Other in-custody deaths have raised questions among families of the inmates who are suspicious about the circumstances or simply want to know what happened. Did police, deputies or jailers violate protocols or use excessive force? Did staff neglect to monitor an inmate with medical problems, mental illness or a risk of suicide? Forty people are known to have died in the Tarrant County jail, right, since 2016, when Sheriff Bill Waybourn was first elected. For those families, getting answers isnt easy. Some havent been able to obtain basic information from the jail about how and why someone died in custody. Their requests for public records have been delayed or denied for months or years; under Texas law, authorities can withhold that information if they consider the case to be under investigation. The family of a man who was beaten by jailers told the Star-Telegram they were never notified that he was hospitalized. Krishnaveni Gundu, co-founder and executive director of the Texas Jail Project, said the public has a right to know whats happening in their county jails, and that officials should be transparent when a death occurs. She called it a problem across the state. Story continues At the very least, we have the right to know about our loved ones, Gundu said. It comes down to a fundamental issue of trust. The less transparent an elected official is, the more trust deficit s/he/they create. Especially when the said officials sole mandate is public safety and upholding law and order. In the case of Millers 2019 death, which was hours after his arrest, his wife and her lawyer only weeks ago received the first basic information about what happened from the Sheriffs Office. The lawyer, David Henderson of Dallas, had filed multiple record requests for the information. The requests were appealed to the state attorney general. The Attorney Generals Office ultimately decided the sheriff must release the jailers reports, though the Sheriffs Office has declined to provide body camera and other video footage that could show what happened. Shanelle Jenkins husband, Robert Geron Miller, 38, died while in custody at the Tarrant County Jail in 2019. At the time of his death she was unaware he was even arrested and found out by reading an article in the newspaper. The Texas Rangers, which investigates all in-custody deaths, also denied Millers familys requests for information. The Rangers did provide an outline of its Miller investigation to at least two news outlets, including the Star-Telegram. The agencies dont want to share the information that they are required by law to share and have previously shared with other organizations, said Henderson, who is representing Jenkins in an effort to bring a federal civil rights lawsuit against Waybourn for wrongful death. This all started because Mrs. Jenkins just wants to know what happened to her husband, so that she can have some peace of mind. Pepper sprayed 3 times while face down Millers wife and her attorneys have not been able to receive copies of the Texas Rangers investigation from DPS, but the agency sent a 10-page copy to the Star-Telegram and the New York Times. The attorneys eventually received copies from the New York Times after an editor released them on Twitter in December. After almost three years of trying to get documents from the Sheriffs Office, Henderson received five pages of narratives from five jailers who witnessed what happened or saw Miller afterward. Ranger C.H. McDonald was the lead Rangers investigator in Millers death, as he was in at least 20 other Tarrant County jail deaths. McDonald and another detective interviewed four jailers who said that Miller was uncooperative during the booking process on July 31, 2019. It began when police were sent to the 900 block of East 12th Street, behind the Central Station train stop, regarding a man who was possibly homeless. When the officers talked with Miller just after 10 a.m., they found that he had eight misdemeanor warrants for his arrest, according to a Fort Worth police report. Miller told the officers that he wanted to pack up his campsite before leaving. They told him no. The officers wrote in their report that Miller became agitated and that he spat and kicked in the back of the patrol car. Miller said repeatedly, Let me out I want my stuff and I hate the police on the way to the jail, the officers noted. A photograph of Robert Miller, provided by his wife, Shanelle Jenkins. Miller got to the jail around 2:15 p.m. after being held at the police department and going to court, according to his autopsy. McDonalds report says Miller tried to headbutt one of the jailers. However, that jailer wrote that Miller turned as if he was going to hit me with his head. A witness wrote in a third report that Miller made an aggressive move. Another attorney at Hendersons law firm pointed out that theres a discrepancy between how McDonalds report and the jailers notes described what happened. It could be resolved if the jail released video footage, the attorney said. The reports match up for the rest of the narrative. Miller was taken to the ground, McDonald wrote. The jailer added that Miller was face down and wouldnt comply with demands to stop moving his arms. While face down, Miller was pepper sprayed three times by two jailers, the TCSO reports say. Miller was taken to a decontamination shower for 10 minutes. A four-sentence medical report says that Miller complained about knee pain, but no injury was seen. It said that Miller also complained of chest pain, but the jailer who wrote it noted that Miller was able to speak without shortness of breath. Miller was not treated beyond the decontamination shower because he was uncooperative, according to the TCSO report. After the booking process, Miller refused to walk and had to be carried, face down, into his cell, McDonalds report says. At 3 p.m., Miller was seen in his cell splashing toilet water on his face. Asked if he needed medical attention, Miller said no, the reports say. Miller was found without a pulse 22 minutes later. He died the next day in John Peter Smith Hospitals intensive care unit. No one told his wife. Why did this happen to us? Jenkins asked. Its not the best feeling in the world knowing you could get arrested for something so small and it costs your entire life. You lose everything and it affects families. The investigation was closed after the medical examiner ruled that Millers death was caused by a sickle cell crisis. Oxygen was not being delivered to his body. His toxicology report was negative except for medications given to him at the hospital. In a 2021 investigation by the New York Times, reporters found that in the last 25 years, the genetic trait was tied to 47 in-custody deaths. One in 13 Black Americans carries the sick cell trait, but experts say its almost always benign. The Times reported that in about two-thirds of the 47 deaths, the person who died had been forcefully restrained by the authorities, pepper-sprayed or shocked with stun guns. Transparency The Tarrant County Jail has faced questions over transparency before. In June 2020, after three deaths and the quiet birth of a baby, at least two Tarrant County commissioners admonished the sheriff for not notifying the Commissioners Court about the events. After that, Waybourns office issued news releases and Facebook posts when people died in jail. Those notifications have mostly stopped since 2021. When a reporter asked about a death that happened in February, a sheriffs representative said the office wouldnt release information because it happened two days earlier. Two other families have told the Star-Telegram that they found the lack of transparency from the jail troublesome. Ashley Watson said she learned through a Star-Telegram story that her brother was badly beaten and hospitalized. Another family said they were notified of their loved ones death but werent given any information about what happened to him. I went to the chaplain, the administration and left a voicemail for medical, Watson said last year. Both of them told us that its not up to them to inform the family of any issues in the jail and thats frustrating. What if he was more seriously hurt? At the time, a jail official told the family that the office doesnt release information on inmate conditions due to privacy issues. Family notifications would need to be made by a doctor. The wife of Timothy Rasor, who died in the jail in 2021, told the Star-Telegram that even though she was notified about his death, she was unable to get information from the jail about what happened. Timothy Rasor died after having a medical emergency inside the Tarrant County jail in 2021. After the newspaper published a story about Rasors death in March 2021 that highlighted his familys questions, they were invited into the jail to watch video of his last moments, his stepdaughter said. Gundu, of the Texas Jail Project, said theres an easy solution for transparency complaints. Release all of the information to the family so they have some recourse, she said, adding that jail leaders should also issue public statements when someone dies in custody. The Harris County Jail does that, she said. If the sheriff cant keep people in his own custody alive and safe, how can we expect him to keep folks out in the community safe? Gundu said. And when his office actively suppresses information about a death in their own custody, its one of the most corrosive ways of creating trust deficit with the very community that put him in power. With limited or no information about the circumstances of a jail death, a family may find they have few options to pursue legal challenges. Jenkins has sought a federal civil rights lawsuit over Millers death. Based on what little information they had, Jenkins and Henderson, her lawyer, moved forward with a lawsuit before they received a copy of the Rangers report from the New York Times. Wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of a death. Without information to support their claims, the county moved to have the lawsuit dismissed. In their rebuttal, Henderson asked for Judge Reed OConnor to intervene and hold the state and sheriff to the public records law. Henderson outlined what the Rangers report said, using it to bolster their claims of a wrongful death. OConnor ruled it was too late. The judge also denied a motion to amend Jenkins original complaint, which would have allowed her to add new information into her lawsuit. In the end, OConnor accepted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Jenkins has appealed. Other deaths Of the at least 40 deaths in Tarrant County Jail since 2016, about 76% occurred since the beginning of 2020. Seventeen people died in 2020, 12 died in 2021 and two have died this year. In comparison, eight people died in the Dallas County jail in 2020 and nine in 2021. The Dallas jail has a higher average population (5,390) than Tarrants (3,792). The Star-Telegram tried to examine all the deaths in the jail since 2016, which required going through several channels to compile the information. The newspaper requested all in-custody death investigations from the Texas Rangers and received copies of 27 investigations. Other information came from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Of the 40 deaths, COVID-19 is to blame for nine. Three were ruled as suicides. One man was killed by his cellmate in 2018. Seventeen deaths were ruled to be natural causes. They stemmed from health issues the inmates had prior to incarceration, such as high blood pressure, cancer, HIV or kidney failure. One person died of a drug overdose. Two people died after what jailers said were falls. Two people died because they didnt have enough fluid in their bodies. Autopsies are still pending in the remaining cases. At the Tarrant County Jail, three other people who died were, like Miller, accused of misdemeanor crimes. Most people were pretrial inmates or were jailed for violating their probation or parole. One woman was waiting to be transferred to a mental health facility when she died. Struggling with closure Jenkins said her relationship with Miller included some major bumps in the road, but they always moved forward with love. The couple met in Chicago in 2005. Miller lived in Fort Worth and traveled to the Windy City to meet with Jenkins over the course of several years. Finally, her love for Miller was enough to move her to Texas, where they married and lived with Millers father. Miller struggled with his mental health and found himself in and out of custody on a string of misdemeanor charges. There were often times, more recently, that he slept away from their home. The last time he was jailed was in 2016. Between his arrests, he tried to keep himself busy with day labor jobs. Shanelle Jenkins husband, Robert Geron Miller, 38, died while in custody at the Tarrant County Jail in 2019. He said it kept him occupied and it kept things different, Jenkins said. Despite his struggles, Jenkins said, her husband kept an upbeat attitude. Jenkins visibly held back her emotions while talking about her husbands death. She smiled when she was asked what Miller was like. Hes just like, a wonderful person to be around, she said. He made me laugh all the time. And we tried to do the best we could together as a couple, no matter the circumstances. New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Sunday said that social media companies must step up to identify users that talk about violence online, adding that there is a corporate responsibility when we are watching hate brew online. During an appearance on ABCs This Week, Adams, alongside NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, discussed accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James who was known to have posted remarks online that suggested violent acts. In the interview, Adams said social media must identify users that are talking about violence, adding that there is artificial intelligence that could identify those users. New York City Mayor Eric Adams tells @GStephanopoulos that social media must step up to help identify those talking about violence online. There's a corporate responsibility when we are watching hate brew online. https://t.co/JFKFesymqz pic.twitter.com/JF8O6XFArx This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 17, 2022 Adams also expressed concerns for drill music, a genre in hip-hop, and specifically criticized those that talk about inflicting violence on rival gangs. When asked by host George Stephanopoulos if trains need a larger police presence, Sewell said that NYC subway personnel have had enhanced patrols since January, adding that crime in the subway is below pre-COVID numbers. Were surging more officers into the subway system. We recognize that people need to see a visible presence of police in the subway, and were endeavoring to make sure that that happens, she said. We're surging more officers into the subway system. We recognize that people need to see a visible presence of police in the subway, and we're endeavoring to make sure that that happens, NYC Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell tells @GStephanopoulos. https://t.co/AGDOPt78Sq pic.twitter.com/SBT58xFswL This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 17, 2022 Sewell also said in the interview that she believes James turned himself in to the police because we were closing in around him, adding that the eyes and ears of our incredible New Yorkers were key factors in the investigation. Alleged subway shooter turning himself in is evidence that we were closing in around him" with help from "the eyes and ears of our incredible New Yorkers," NYC Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell tells @GStephanopoulos. https://t.co/5QKyx3FzOF pic.twitter.com/f6MokK34AE This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 17, 2022 For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Ukrayinska Pravda Iryna Balachuk - Monday, 9 May 2022, 08:50 In an attempt to avoid taking part in hostilities in Zaporizhzhia Region, Russian soldiers have shelled 20 of their own vehicles. Source: Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration on Telegram Quote from Zaporizhzhia Military Administration: "According to local residents, Russian troops have shelled 20 of their own vehicles in Polohy in order to avoid going to the front line; they blamed the shelling on [Ukrainian] resistance fighters in the temporar ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan fired off a sharp warning Sunday to Afghanistan's hard-line religious rulers to stop sheltering homegrown Pakistani Taliban militants who have staged increasingly deadly attacks against the countrys military. The warning followed Afghan reports that Pakistani aircraft late Friday carried out bombing raids in Afghanistans eastern Khost and Kunar provinces, killing civilians. Pakistan has so far refused to comment on the Afghan allegations, instead accusing the Afghan Taliban of doing nothing to stop attacks against Pakistan by militants in Afghanistan. "Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan," said the Foreign Ministry statement that was unusually harsh in its language. Pakistan was often accused of harboring Afghanistan's Taliban fighters before they swept to power last August as America ended its 20-year war. Since their takeover, Islamabad has led the way in pressing the world to engage with the religiously driven Afghan government. It's not clear, however, whether Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will be as supportive of the Afghan Taliban as was his predecessor Imran Khan, a cricket star turned conservative Islamist leader, who was ousted last weekend in a politically tumultuous no-confidence vote. On Saturday the Taliban Foreign Ministry called in Pakistan's ambassador to complain of civilians killed in the bombing raids it said happened late Friday, killing refugees in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar and Khost provinces. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Pakistan not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues and not repeat the same mistake again otherwise it will have bad consequences. He did not elaborate on the consequences or the numbers of people killed. Afghanistan's largest news channel, TOLO News, showed images of children's bodies it said were killed in the airstrike. The same channel showed protests by hundreds of residents of eastern Khost province condemning Pakistan and shouting anti-Pakistan slogans. Story continues Pakistan has not confirmed any attack on Afghanistan and Sunday's statement slams the Taliban rulers for doing too little to stop Pakistani Taliban militants using its territory to attack Pakistan. In the last few days, incidents along Pak - Afghan Border have significantly increased, wherein, Pakistani security forces are being targeted from across the border, said the Pakistani statement. Last week, seven Pakistani military personnel were killed in an ambush near the border later claimed by Pakistani Taliban known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Militant attacks in Pakistan have been accelerating since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. The attacks have been claimed either by the Pakistani Taliban or by an Islamic State group affiliate, also headquartered in Afghanistan, but against whom the Taliban have been fighting. By late March this year, Pakistan had seen 52 attacks by militants, compared to 35 in the same period last year, according to Amir Rana, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, an independent think tank that monitors militant activity in Pakistan. The attacks have also gotten deadlier. So far this year in Pakistan, 155 people have been killed in such attacks, compared to 68 last year. The border between the two countries, known as the Durrand Line, runs the length of the 2,670 kilometer (1,660-mile) dividing line. The Durrand line runs through the region's ethnic Pashtun population, often dividing tribes and families between the two countries. Established by the British in the 19th century, successive Afghan rulers have refused to recognize it as the official border, laying claim instead to Pakistani territory known as Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province where ethnic Pashtuns dominate. Since taking power, Afghanistan's Taliban have clashed on several occasions with Pakistan over a border fence Islamabad is building . ___ Associated Press writer Tameem Akhgar in Islamabad contributed to this report. Oxygen Single mother Kelli Underwood survived brain tumors, divorce, and depression, but an ill-fated love triangle would be the death of her. Underwood was born and raised in Mesquite, Texas, just east of Dallas. She married young but it wouldnt last, nor would her second marriage. As a single mother of three, she struggled to balance work and family. When it came down to it she was always a very positive person. Anybody that met her said that her smile would light up a room. Thats just the type of Pittsburgh police are investigating after a tragic mass shooting early Easter Sunday in the East Allegheny neighborhood of the North Side. Police said that 11 people were shot, two were killed, and five others had other related injuries such as broken bones while attempting to escape the shooting. PHOTOS: At least 11 shot in Easter Sunday shooting in North Side neighborhood The shooting happened during a large party at the Airbnb with as many as 200 people in attendance, police said. They said that many of the people there were underage. This is a developing story. We have multiple crews working every angle of this story. Check back often for updates. Mass Shooting Coverage: PHOTOS: Pittsburgh Mass Shooting: At least 11 shot in Easter Sunday shooting in North Side neighborhood Shocking video shows moments shots were fired during Pittsburgh mass shooting Police were called to Pittsburgh Airbnb for noise complaint 90 minutes before Sundays mass shooting Pittsburgh police chief confirms AR-15 style weapon used in Airbnb mass shooting Woodland Hills School District superintendent remembers student killed in Pittsburgh mass shooting Pittsburgh Police interviewing witnesses, including party host, in Airbnb mass shooting Pittsburgh Public Schools operating on modified lockdown Monday after Pittsburgh mass shooting It was rapid fire: Witnesses react to Pittsburgh mass shooting Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey reacts to the North Side mass shooting: 11 shot, 2 dead, 5 other injuries Hear the first responder radio transmissions as the Pittsburgh mass shooting was happening Family staying at Airbnb below Pittsburgh mass shooting left an hour before shots fired Its been a heavy couple of days: Violence prevention meeting addresses Pittsburgh mass shooting The Shooting Pittsburgh police say they received multiple ShotSpotter alerts just after 12:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Suismon Street. When police arrived in the area, more shots were being fired and several young people were running on foot and leaving in cars from an Airbnb property at Suismon Street and Madison Avenue. Story continues Police say a large party was happening at the Airbnb with as many as 200 people in attendance. Police say many of the attendees were underage. This is the @Airbnb that the shooting occurred. Broken windows and shattered glass litter Suismon Street. #WPXI pic.twitter.com/odO692s40I Gigi (@wpxigigi) April 17, 2022 As many as 50 shots were fired inside the house and around 50 more shots were fired outside the house, police say. Many people who jumped from windows suffered broken bones, cuts, and other minor injuries. Several shooting victims arrived at various hospitals inside and outside the city by private means, police say. Ten people were confirmed shot and two male juveniles have died. Police say there were at least eight different crime scenes related to this incident Some images of the aftermath of last nights party that turned deadly pic.twitter.com/riRDcWk7hh Gigi (@wpxigigi) April 17, 2022 Detectives are speaking with witnesses and reviewing available video footage of the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Pittsburgh Police Major Crimes at 412-323-7161. What we know about the victims Pittsburgh police say 11 people were shot, 2 were killed, and 5 others sustained injuries such as broken bones while attempting to escape the shooting. Many people who jumped from windows suffered broken bones, cuts, and other minor injuries. Related >>> Two 17-year-old boys killed in Pittsburgh mass shooting identified Several shooting victims arrived at various hospitals inside and outside the city by private means, police say. Two teens who were killed in the shooting were identified as 17-year-old Jaiden Brown and 17-year-old Mathew Steffy-Ross. Who is responsible? Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said that he believes there were multiple shooters in a mass shooting at an Airbnb in a North Side neighborhood. In a press conference, Chief Schubert said there were different types of shell casings discovered at the scene, leading police to believe there were multiple people who exchanged gunfire. The search for whoever is responsible continues. How you can help the investigation Pittsburgh police is encouraging anyone with information, photos or videos to come forward to catch the person or persons involved. A link has been set up for anyone with videos or photos that could assist police with the investigation. Click here if you have something you believe might help police. Airbnbs response Airbnb has issued a statement following a mass shooting at one of their rental properties on the North Side of Pittsburgh. Related >> Airbnb issues statement, lifetime ban for renter of Pittsburgh home where mass shooting took place In an email to Channel 11, Airbnb issued the following statement: We share the Pittsburgh communitys outrage regarding this tragic gun violence. Our hearts go out to all who were impacted -- including loved ones of those who lost their lives, injured victims and neighbors. Airbnb strictly bans parties, and we condemn the behavior that is alleged to have prompted this criminal gun violence. The booking guest has been issued a lifetime ban from Airbnb and we will be considering all legal options to hold this person accountable. We have reached out to the Pittsburgh Police Department as well as Mayor Gaineys team to offer our support for their investigations, and we hope the people responsible for this bloodshed will be found quickly. Airbnb told Channel 11 that this was an unauthorized party that was thrown without the knowledge or consent of the host. The host of the property clearly had rules that stated No parties allowed, any evidence of parties will result in a $500 fee. and please respect the noise curfew 10pm-7am, according to Airbnb. Airbnb also said that users must be at least 18-years-old to have an account with them. It was rapid fire: Witnesses react to the shooting I mean it was rapid fire. It wasnt just a little bit of fire. [It was like], Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, said Leonard Verdetto, who watched the 1:30 a.m. shooting from his home across the street. We looked out the window and people were running out the door and screaming, yelling, crying, he said. According to police, 11 young partygoers were shot and two were killed. Five others were injured trying to get away. Related >>> It was rapid fire: Witnesses react to Pittsburgh mass shooting Youre in that second floor and you have to make a decision like, Im going to jump out of a second-floor window and break through glass and stuff like that. Thats just a really scary situation, said Mitchell Wilston, who lives down the street and captured video of the tragedy from his home surveillance camera. On the video, you can see the crowd scatter when the shooting starts. One victim even used Wilstons car for support. It looked like someone ran this way and then leaned up against the back of our car, and it was just blood everywhere, he said. Verdetto used to own the bar across the street from the home that operates as an Airbnb and still lives behind the bar. He saw the crowd of 200 young people lining up to get into the rental home hours before the shooting. The line was still going and going and going and I said, I dont know how the hell theyre going to get all those people in there, he said. Wilston said the home has been an Airbnb for about two years. Its never been disruptive or an issue or anything like that, he said. Theres never been ragers there or anything like that. TRENDING NOW: Lucky Charms potential link to illnesses probed by FDA, General Mills Pennsylvanians react to Gov. Wolfs stimulus check proposal Medical mystery: Kids contracting hepatitis with no known cause, liver damage in US, Europe VIDEO: Man in custody after allegedly carjacking two people at Penn Hills GetGo DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts SELLERSBURG, Indiana An investigation is underway after a child's body was found in a heavily wooded area of Washington County on Saturday night. An area resident reportedly found the body of a Black male child near a roadway in a heavily wooded area of eastern Washington County about 7:30 p.m. and contacted authorities. Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office and detectives from the Indiana State Police branch in Sellersburg later arrived to investigate. Sgt. Cary Huls, Indiana State Police Post 45, said ISP is checking to see if any missing children have been reported. "Someone out there knows something," he said. "They might think, well I haven't seen so-and-so in a couple days and I'm getting odd answers from the people who were supposed to care for him. Someone knows something, and we want that person to call." Investigators have not released a time or cause of death. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. Officials say the child is believed to be between the ages of 5 and 8 years old, is approximately 4 feet tall, has a slim build and a short haircut. Investigators believe the child's death occurred sometime within the past week. Anyone with information about the child's possible identity is asked to call Detective Matt Busick at 812-248-4374 or 1-800-872-6743. Features reporter Dahlia Ghabour covers food, dining trends and restaurants in the Louisville area. Send tips on new places or story ideas to dghabour@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @dghabour. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: ISP investigating after child's body found in rural Washington County You are here: World Flash The Russian national flag is projected on the Kremlin wall. /Xinhua The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that 13 top officials of Britain, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have been barred from entering Russia. "This step was taken as a response to London's unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy," the ministry said in a statement. British Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace are also blacklisted among others. The ministry said the entry ban will be expanded in the near future to more British politicians and parliamentarians who pursue an anti-Russian policy. CHICAGO By Fourth of July, Illinois drivers likely will be greeted at the gas pump by 4-by-8-inch signs informing them that as they fill their tanks, theyre actually saving money, courtesy of their elected leaders in Springfield. Legislation pushed through in the closing hours of the General Assemblys truncated spring session this month freezes a scheduled hike in the states gas tax for six months. The measure, now awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzkers signature, includes a stipulation that every gas station in the state post a notice informing drivers about the gas tax freeze. That requirement, laid out in a single paragraph in the Democrats 923-page election-year tax relief plan, has gas station owners grumbling and Republicans howling. Democrats have responded by calling their GOP colleagues hypocrites because their party pushed a similar election-year proposal two decades ago. The fact that the law requires gas stations to pay for the signs or be fined and that the placards be in place when the hike would have taken effect on July 1, as the state budget year begins and just days after the June 28 primary, has emboldened critics to say the effort is little more than the latest example of old-school, gas-pump politics. But Democrats, who correctly note that while Republicans complained they nevertheless voted for the measure, are defending the sign requirement. In addition to the gas-tax freeze, the $1.8 billion package approved by lawmakers in the early morning hours April 9 also includes a one-year suspension of the 1% sales tax on groceries, direct payments to taxpayers and a property tax rebate. Democratic lawmakers say the package is a sharing of the wealth with residents who are struggling with record inflation as the state enjoys its strongest financial performance in decades. We want our citizens to know that Illinois government is on the mend, were in the best fiscal health in a generation, and weve done this for them, sponsoring state Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat, said when the plan was debated on the House floor in the middle of the night on the final day of the legislative session. Story continues Still, none of the Democratic leaders who negotiated the proposal neither Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch of Hillside nor Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park would claim credit for the gas pump sticker requirement that was included in the final package. The state gas tax, currently 39.2 cents per gallon, is set to increase by 2.4 cents on July 1, according to the state Department of Revenue. But with Pritzkers signature, that bump will be pushed off until Jan. 1, with the exact amount to be determined by where inflation stands at the end of September. Drivers will be hit with another increase on July 1, 2023. Consumers across the state need to realize: The states going to get their money, said Josh Sharp, CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association. Theyre not putting this off indefinitely or forever. Theyre just putting it off until after an election. The association, which represents gas station owners, has threatened to file a lawsuit over the sticker requirement, arguing that it violates businesses free-speech rights. Our members just do not like being told that they have to engage in and participate in speech that they dont want to have anything to do with, Sharp said. The state of Illinois doesnt get to tell our members what they have to say at the pump. Thats not their job, and doing so, we feel, is unconstitutional. Once the measure becomes law, gas stations who fail to post the notice would be subject to a fine of $500 per day. Sharp and other critics note that Pritzker and the Democratic-controlled legislature didnt require service stations to post a notice at the pump when they doubled the gas tax to 38 cents per gallon in 2019 and tied future increases to the rate of inflation. The extra revenue is being used to fund road and bridge upgrades through Pritzkers $45 billion Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program another theme voters will be hearing a lot about this year. Gas station owners arent the only ones griping. Republican lawmakers, who voted for the plan stickers and all to avoid going on the record against tax breaks, say the savings will be paltry. A driver who fills up a 15-gallon tank each week, for example, would save less than $10 over six months. Whats more, they argue the mandate for gas stations to post the notice smacks of electioneering. That sounds like something that somebody would do that pushes the line on campaign ethics, retiring GOP Rep. Mark Batinick of Plainfield said during the House debate. Republicans already are making it a campaign issue, with both the state GOP and one of the partys governor candidates referencing the stickers in fundraising emails in recent days. The Democrats response? We got the idea from your side of the aisle. In 2000, Republican Gov. George Ryan called lawmakers back to Springfield to address skyrocketing gas prices. Along with GOP Senate President James Pate Philip of Wood Dale, Ryan pushed a plan to suspend the state sales tax on gasoline, then 5%, for six months. At the time, gas in the Chicago area was averaging above $2 per gallon more than $3.30 per gallon in todays dollars, still well below the average of nearly $4.46 cents per gallon as of Wednesday. While 2000 wasnt a year for statewide elections, it was a presidential election year and the GOP-backed plan required gas stations to place a sign on their pumps informing those at the pump about the tax freeze. It was sold as a way to make sure the temporary tax savings, estimated at about 10 cents per gallon, was passed along to consumers rather than pocketed by businesses. The GOP proposal, which like this years plan was approved on overwhelming bipartisan votes in the House and Senate, was characterized by one of its few opponents, Chicago Democrat and then-House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, as the incumbent reelection plan of the year 2000. I would urge you all to take a careful look at the policy, not the political implications, Currie said before the House voted to approve the plan on a 106-5 vote. The handful of Democrats who opposed the plan included then-House Speaker Michael Madigan and then-Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Chicago Democrat who now serves in the Senate and voted in favor of this years plan. They raised concerns that it would put a strain on other areas of the state budget. A spokeswoman for Feigenholtz did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier in the week, a Pritzker spokeswoman said it was Republicans, not Democrats, who are playing politics with the price at the pump. Alongside Democrats in the General Assembly, we will continue to put working families first, no matter how much Republicans want to manufacture phony political complaints, Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said in a statement. Informing people of the gas tax relief mirrors the same exact effort that Republicans made in 2000. Two decades ago, a lobbyist for the industry hailed the move to freeze the sales tax on gas as the greatest thing since canned beer and didnt oppose placing the stickers at the pump. In fact, when the tax holiday ended at the start of 2001, the trade group sent out its own stickers to members, pointing the finger at Springfield for the price increase. This time around, station owners supported a stalled Republican proposal to permanently cap the 6.25% sales tax on gas a separate charge levied in addition to the gas tax at 18 cents per gallon. The industry also argues that its being treated differently than other businesses whose customers will enjoy tax breaks as a result of the Democrats plan. Supermarkets will be required, to the extent feasible, to print a notice on their receipts that the 1% sales tax on groceries has been waived for one year. If it cant be printed on the receipt, then the retailer shall post the statement on a sign that is clearly visible to customers. But unlike gas stations, grocery stores wont face a fine if they fail to comply. The disparate treatment of different retailers is all about politics, said Sharp, of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association. I think that theres several legislators and constitutional officers that are very scared of wearing the jacket heading into the election season for high gas prices, Sharp said. And they should be scared. Theyre the ones that doubled the gas tax just in 2019. Three rivals of Philippine presidential candidate Leni Robredo refused to back her campaign Sunday, dousing speculation they would withdraw from the race to improve her chances of defeating the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Voter surveys show Robredo is a distant second behind Marcos Jr, but a recent bump in the polls and huge crowds at her rallies have raised hopes among her fervent fans that the campaign is gaining traction. There has been speculation that worse performing candidates were considering pulling out and endorsing Robredo -- the incumbent vice president and only woman in the race -- to ensure Marcos Jr was defeated in the May 9 elections. The latest Pulse Asia Research survey showed Robredo on 24 percent with Marcos Jr on 56 percent. But in a vitriolic press conference on Sunday, Francisco Domagoso, Panfilo Lacson and Norberto Gonzales -- who are on single digits or less -- accused Robredo of trying to get them to withdraw and strip them of support. "Each of us will continue with our respective presidential campaigns," Domagoso, a celebrity mayor, told reporters at a luxury hotel in Manila. "I'm calling for Leni to withdraw because whatever you're doing is not effective against Marcos." Analysts said it was not clear how many votes Robredo would gain from their exit in the raucous democracy where voter decisions were driven by personality rather than ideology. But their backing would have energised her campaign, said Cleve Arguelles, an assistant lecturer in political science at De La Salle University in Manila. "It would send a really strong signal to the other campaign that she has gained a new momentum," he told AFP. - 'Bluster and falsehood' - There are no runoffs in Philippine presidential elections, with the victor only required to win more votes than everyone else. Lacson accused Robredo of "lying", claiming she had previously told him that she would not run for president. He also alleged she had exaggerated the crowd size at a recent rally. Story continues "You deceive once, you deceive twice, you will deceive all the time," he said. Domagoso, the top second preference for president in the Pulse Asia survey, said the polls were "polluted" and questioned their accuracy. The candidates said rival Manny Pacquiao, who was not at the gathering, was also on board with their decision. A member of Pacquiao's team tweeted the boxing legend would "never" quit the presidential contest. Robredo's spokesman Barry Gutierrez accused the three candidates of "theatrics" and asserting their positions through "bluster and falsehood". He did not respond to AFP's question about whether Robredo's team had asked the candidates to pull out. Political analyst Tony La Vina said their decision to stay the course could actually help Robredo. "They take more votes away from Marcos than they do from Robredo," he told AFP. More than 18,000 posts are up for grabs in the national elections, from president all the way down to town councillor. Robredo, who narrowly defeated Marcos Jr in the 2016 vice-presidential race, reluctantly entered the contest following pressure from supporters and opposition groups. Marcos Jr has been boosted by a formidable alliance with first daughter and vice-presidential candidate Sara Duterte and a massive misinformation effort on social media. cgm-rbl/amj/jfx Pressure is mounting for President Biden to visit Ukraine after his administration said it is considering sending a senior official to the embattled country. The U.S. has ramped up lethal military aid as Russia looks to focus its efforts in eastern Ukraine and finally seize Mariupol, which is under siege by Moscow after weeks of attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday both expressed an interest in having Biden visit Ukraine; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the war-torn country earlier this month. Zelensky told CNNs State of the Union that he expects the U.S. leader will do so. I think he will. And I think he but its not I mean, its his decision, of course. And about the safety situation, it depends. I mean that. But I think I think hes the leader of the United States, and thats why he should come here to see, Zelensky said. Kuleba said a visit from Biden would be an important message of support for us during an interview with CBSs Face the Nation, and he noted that a meeting between the two presidents could pave the way for new supplies, weapons and discussions on a possible political settlement to end the conflict. But the Biden administration has indicated sending Biden to Ukraine is not on the table. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Pod Save America this week that Biden is ready to go to Ukraine but that we are not sending the president to Ukraine. So no, that is not in the plans for the president of the United States, Psaki said. We should all be maybe relieved about that. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the latest comments from Ukrainian leaders. The calls for Biden to visit Ukraine are coming in the seventh week of Russias invasion. Russia has taken control of some areas of the country, but its offensive has stalled in a number of regions because of staunch opposition from Ukrainian forces. Story continues Zelensky told CNN on Sunday that Ukraine believes it has lost between 2,500 and 3,000 members of the military since the conflict began. He also said roughly 10,000 individuals have been injured. Russia now appears to be focusing its efforts on eastern Ukraine and Mariupol, after withdrawing troops from around Kyiv. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan earlier this month said the administration believed Russia was revisiting its war aims and repositioning its forces to focus on operations in eastern and southern Ukraine. Kuleba appeared to confirm that outlook on Sunday, telling CBS that he expects heavy fighting to intensify in the eastern Donbas region in the coming weeks. He also said Russia will attempt to finish with Mariupol. These are my expectations, he said. And, of course, missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine seem to continue. Though the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $2.6 billion in security assistance since the invasion began, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Sunday told ABCs This Week that Kyiv needs more sanctions, ammunition and money to protect itself and European democracy. For protection of our country, for protection for the European democratic democracy, we need more sanctions from our West partners. We need more ammunition to protect our country and the European borders. We need more finances to support our people, our refugees, our internally displaced persons, to save our economy for future recovery I hope in nearest time because we are absolutely prepared for this fight for this Russian attacks, Shmyhal said. Despite the expectation that fighting will intensify in the east, Ukraine is refusing to cede territory to put an end to the conflict with Russia. Zelensky told CNN on Sunday that Ukraine is not going to give up its own land. In the centuries-old history of Ukraine, there is the story that Ukraine has either taken some territory or needs to give up some territory. Ukraine and the people of our state are absolutely clear. We dont want anyone elses territory, and we are not going to give up our own, the president said. As the conflict drags on, evidence of Russian war crimes is mounting. Biden upped the pressure this week when he said Russian President Vladimir Putin is committing a genocide. An International Criminal Court prosecutor is already investigating allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in any parts of Ukraine by any individuals. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the first European Union leader to meet with Putin since the start of the conflict, told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that Putin said he will cooperate with an international investigation of war crimes committed but noted that he doesnt trust the Western world. Nehammer also told the network that he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war with Ukraine. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Reuters Videos STORY: Afghanistan's Taliban government ordered women on Saturday to cover their faces in publicA return to a signature policy of their past hardline rule and an escalation of restrictions that are causing anger at home and abroad.A decree from the group's supreme leader said that if a woman did not cover her face outside her home, her father or closest male relative could face potential imprisonment or firing from state jobs.The group says the ideal face covering is the all-encompassing blue burqa, which was obligatory for women in public during the Taliban's previous 1996-2001 rule.Most women in Afghanistan wear a headscarf for religious reasons. But many in urban areas such as Kabul do not cover their faces.The Taliban has faced intense criticism from Western governments but also from some religious scholars and Islamic nations, for limiting women's rights including keeping girls' high schools closed.Nazar Qasemzada, a burqa seller in Kabul, requested that the Taliban be kind to their nation since the Afghan people have suffered a lot in the past 40 years.The U.S. and others have cut development aid and sanctioned the banking system, pushing Afghanistan towards economic ruin.The Taliban claims it has changed since its last rule.However, in recent months, it has brought in regulations limiting women's movement without a male chaperone and banning men and women from visiting parks together. A gun. RonBailey/iStock As gun violence soars across the nation, many states are making it far easier to buy and carry concealed weapons. Here's everything you need to know: What has changed? A growing number of states have passed laws authorizing citizens to carry weapons in public without a license. In 2011, only a single state, Vermont, allowed "permitless carry." But as of last month, when Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, and Alabama passed such laws, 25 states do. Eleven of those states passed their laws within the past year. It's part of an aggressive effort to roll back state gun restrictions; at the same time, congressional Republicans have blocked all efforts to expand federal gun-safety laws. The removal of restrictions comes at a time when gun violence in the U.S. is surging. Gun purchases hit a record 22.8 million sales in 2020 and in the same year, gun-related deaths reached a new high, at more than 45,000. National statistics for 2021 aren't yet compiled, but many cities have reported even worse numbers for gun violence. What do permitless carry laws do? They allow any citizen over 18 or 21, depending on the state, to carry a concealed weapon with no requirements for licensing or training. Until Texas did away with licensing last year, anyone who wanted to carry a concealed handgun in public had to undergo a background check, fingerprinting, training, a written exam, and a shooting test. In Ohio, applicants had to undergo a background check and take an eight-hour class in gun safety. Now to walk into a bar, restaurant, store, or other place with a gun, "you don't have to know how to turn on the safety, how to carry your weapon, or even which end of the gun goes 'bang,'" said Gary Wolske, president of the state's largest police union. Last year some 2,000 applicants were denied permits after background checks, he said; all of them are now free to carry concealed firearms. Right-to-carry laws don't eliminate the background checks federal law requires of those buying guns from licensed dealers. But many sales, such as those at gun shows or from person to person, are not subject to such checks. Story continues Why are these laws passing? Advocates say regulations such as mandatory training unfairly infringe on the Second Amendment's guarantee that citizens can carry guns for self-protection. For many, "constitutional carry" is the favored term. "The Constitution should be our carry permit," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said last month, as he signed Georgia's law. But gun-control advocates say allowing unregulated carry of concealed weapons endangers police and the public, and there are statistics to back that up. One study found that gun homicides in Wisconsin rose by a third after a right-to-carry law was passed in 2011. In Missouri, gun homicides rose by 47 percent and gun suicides by 24 percent after the state repealed its licensing law, according to a study in the American Journal of Public Health. Law enforcement agencies strongly oppose permitless carry, and a national Quinnipiac survey in 2019 found that 77 percent of Americans including 68 percent of gun owners back mandatory gun licensing. So why eliminate permits? It's another product of the country's intensely polarized politics, which discourages common-sense compromise and rewards extremist views. The National Rifle Association has lobbied to eliminate permits for years; when the Georgia law passed last month, NRA president Wayne LaPierre said it was "the result of decades of hard work." The NRA's efforts were aided by a sharp anti-regulatory shift among Republicans, who increasingly oppose any gun restrictions as unconstitutional. To demonstrate their unwavering support for the Second Amendment to conservative voters, Republican candidates have sought to outdo one another in proposing free-carry laws, with many states legalizing weapons in schools, houses of worship, and public transportation. Such laws, said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, are a way of saying, "'I'm as far right as I can go.'" Meanwhile, gun-control advocates are watching with alarm a pending Supreme Court case that they fear will weaken state controls on firearms even further. What is that case about? It's based on a lawsuit brought by two men denied carry permits by New York state, which requires applicants to offer "proper cause" for why they need to carry a gun in public for self-defense. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates their Second Amendment rights and questioning during oral arguments last November gave strong indications that the court's six conservative justices agreed. If New York's law is struck down, the state will be required to dramatically expand the number of permits it grants, as would other restrictive states such as California and Massachusetts. In New York City, one of many U.S. cities that's seen surging numbers of gun crimes over the past two years, that would bring a predictable result, said Iesha Sekou, an anti-violence activist in Harlem. "We're going to see more of young people's bodies bleeding out on concrete," she said. Ghost guns: A growing problem As the nation's police grapple with a surge in gun violence, they face a new enemy: "ghost guns." These are largely unregulated weapons built out of parts ordered online or made using 3D printers, and they lack serial numbers and can evade metal detectors. For those legally prohibited from owning guns, "they're a dream come true," said John Feinblatt of Everytown for Gun Safety. Police are finding them and confiscating them in increasing numbers. In California over the past 18 months, police officials said, ghost guns accounted for 25 to 50 percent of firearms found at crime scenes. The vast majority of suspects caught with them had been legally prohibited from having guns. This week President Biden announced new rules, a year in the making, that hold gun kits to the same regulations as regular guns, requiring manufacturers to add serial numbers and commercial sellers to be licensed and run background checks on buyers. Calling ghost guns "the weapons of choice for many criminals," Biden said those who make them can "expect federal prosecution." The rule goes into effect in 120 days but is likely to be the target of lawsuits from gun advocates. This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here. You may also like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stops secondary inspections at border after striking deals with 4 Mexican governors Zelensky says repeating his requests to world leaders makes him 'feel like Bill Murray' in Groundhog Day Biden administration grants temporary protection to immigrants who fled war-torn Cameroon The McBride Fire that ripped through Ruidoso left this home on McBride Drive in ruins on April 14, 2022, All that was left of the two-story house are smoldering remains. LAS CRUCES - In this weeks episode, were talking about the recent wildfires that have plagued the residents in and around Ruidoso, in the Lincoln National Forest. The McBride Fire, which ignited on a windy Tuesday afternoon near Ruidoso's middle school, has since destroyed more than 200 homes most notably in Gavilan Canyon and claimed the lives of two people. And, as of Friday morning, the fire remained 0% contained despite favorable weather conditions Thursday. That had improved to 56% by Sunday morning. We're joined by Las Cruces Sun-News reporter Justin Garcia, who covers breaking news and public safety for the newspaper, as well as Alexander Meditz, a Ruidoso resident who was forced to evacuate and later returned to the fire-zone to help other residents. Alexander's home was spared. Some of his neighbors weren't nearly as fortunate. Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Listen: Ruidoso wildfires destroy homes, lives Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters The dawn deadline Russia gave determined Ukrainian soldiers to surrender and lay down their weapons in Mariupol passed without incident on Sunday morning, as Vladimir Putins increasingly sloppy troops closed in on the strategic port city. Russias defense ministry, still reeling from the loss of 8th Army Major General Vladimir Frolov in combat on Saturday, was just as determined, threatening to eliminate any Ukrainian and foreign troops trying to hold on to the battered city. Russia has made considerable gains on the city after spending weeks trying to wipe it off the map. Western intelligence officials said it could fall to Russia soon, providing a key land bridge between Crimea and the eastern separatist regions it so desperately wants to take. Putins Hunted Me Down All Over the World President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his fighters had only a small part of the city under their control. The situation is very difficult in Mariupol, he said overnight Sunday, according to CNN. Our soldiers are blocked, the wounded are blocked. There is a humanitarian crisis Nevertheless, the guys are defending themselves. Russia warned in a statement Sunday that there were up to 400 foreign mercenaries who joined the Ukrainian forces huddling inside a steel plant, including many Europeans and Canadians who had come to support Ukrainian troops. In case of further resistance, all of them will be eliminated, the statement said. Further north, heavy bombardment on Ukraines second city Kharkiv killed and injured dozens of emergency workers and civilians, according to CNN which cited Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleg Sinegubov. They are currently receiving treatment in the hospital. Sineguboy wrote on Telegram. Thirty-one people were injured in Russian shelling, including four children. He also wrote that Russian forces were using aerial bombardment, after being pushed back on land. The enemy cannot approach Kharkiv as our armed forces are holding strong positions and are even advancing in some directions, he said. Therefore, Russians resort to shameful shelling of residential neighborhoods. Story continues Bolstered by the gains in Mariupol and undeterred by the losses, Russian troops renewed efforts on Kyiv early Sunday, striking Brovary to the east. On Saturday, attacks on strategic targets further west in largely untouched Lviv also signaled that the war is at a turning point. Citing the Institute for the Study of War, the Washington Post reported Sunday that Russian troops were likely setting conditions for a larger-scale, better-coordinated offensive. Simply put, the worst may be yet to come. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. STORY: Deripaska, founder of Russian aluminum giant Rusal RUAL.MM, has been sanctioned by the United States, European Union and Britain. He has previously called for peace. A Reuters witness saw the 73-meter (239.5 foot) yacht Clio arrive off the coast of Gocek in the Aegean coastal province of Mugla on Saturday. The Cayman Islands-flagged vessel remains in a bay off Gocek. The arrival of Clio in Turkish waters comes after two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who made a surprise appearance at Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul this month, docked in Turkish ports. World governments are seeking to isolate President Vladimir Putin and his allies over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation." NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, has good ties with both and mediates in the conflict. It has supported Kyiv, but also opposed sanctions on Moscow, including measures against Russian billionaires. Ankara relies heavily on Russian energy imports and tourists and has emerged as a safe haven for Russians fleeing sanctions, and many have invested in Turkish property. The moment Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian filmmakers Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov knew they had to leave Moscow. "We were the next on the list," the couple told AFP in their borrowed flat in Rehovot, a quiet Israeli city 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Tel Aviv. Once you're on the list of alleged "foreign agents", you face a life of "self-censorship or, sooner or later, prison", said Bogolyubov, who directed the German-financed 2019 documentary "Town of Glory". The film portrays President Vladimir Putin's use of references related to the fight against Nazi Germany to establish his authority in Russian villages. As its international isolation has deepened, Moscow has come to view all movies made with foreign financing with suspicion, including documentaries, and the couple said theirs was no exception. "Over the past few years, we felt threatened. In the past few months in particular, people were spying on us and taking photographs on our film sets," Shishova-Bogolyubova said. The couple decided to continue working in Russia but, taking advantage of their Jewish ancestry, they obtained Israeli citizenship just in case. Israel's Law of Return gives the right of citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, a criterion that tens of thousands in both Russia and Ukraine meet. - Opposition to war - Since Russian troops invaded on February 24, nearly 24,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel, some but not all taking advantage of the law, according to immigration ministry figures. They have been joined by around 10,000 Russians, an Israeli immigration official told AFP. "Most of those are young graduates, from the urban middle class," the official said, asking not to be identified. Like the Bogolyubovs, Moscow-born linguist Olga Romanova had prepared for the day when she no longer felt safe in Russia. She applied for an Israeli passport after Putin's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Story continues "I always thought that one day I would join my children in Israel, but it was then that I realised that things were going wrong in Russia," the 69-year told AFP in her son's house outside Jerusalem surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren. When the invasion started on the morning of February 24, "it was proof that I needed to leave as quickly as possible. "The war in Ukraine is incompatible with my way of thinking and my moral values. It makes me sick," she said, fighting back the tears. - New home or stopover? - The wave of immigration from Ukraine and Russia over the past seven weeks is the largest Israel has seen since the early 1990s when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted hundreds of thousands to seek a new life on the shores of the Mediterranean. "Here, we feel safe and we can sleep peacefully once more," said Shishova-Bogolyubova. "My four-year-old daughter, who is diabetic, is completely taken care of. "But we don't know if we will stay -- that depends on our work. Right now, we just want to live for the moment and recover from our emotions. Afterwards, we will see." Sergey, a violinist who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym for fear of retribution, left Moscow for Israel with his pianist wife and three young children but expects to move on. "I don't know if we'll stay here. We'll probably go somewhere else," he said. Even for those who qualify for citizenship, Israel can be a terra incognita for new arrivals and nostalgia for Russia is never far below the surface. Romanova, the linguist, found space in her 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of luggage for just two books, one an academic work, the other a novel by famed Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov which always accompanies her on her travels. "I lost my country. It was stolen from me. It was taken by Putin and those KGB thugs," she said wistfully. dms/gl/alv/kir/dv Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Alex Brandon/Associated Press A journalist for Chinese state-run media criticized Sen. Lindsey Graham on Twitter. Graham responded, saying the journalist was a "mouthpiece" for the Chinese Communist Party. The journalist, Chen Weihua, has previously sent critical tweets about US lawmakers. Sen. Lindsey Graham said being called a "clown" is "high praise," at least when it comes from a journalist who works for state-run media in China. Graham made the comment in response to a critical tweet sent by Chen Weihua, the European Union bureau chief for China Daily, an English-language newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party. In response to a tweet about turbulence between Beijing and Graham, Chen said the South Carolina senator is a "clown" and that it was "puzzling" he is still in the "limelight" in US politics. Graham retweeted him and wrote: "Speaking of clowns and jokeshave you heard the one where the Chinese Communist Party said China had nothing to do with starting Covid? Or how about the one about the Uigher population being given government sponsored 'vacations' and not being put in concentration camps?" "Coming from a mouthpiece of the CCP, being called a "clown" is high praise indeed," Graham continued. Chen's initial tweet was sent in response to a Reuters story about China conducting military drills around Taiwan after Graham and other US lawmakers met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. Chen has gained attention in the past for going after US politicians on Twitter. In 2020, he called Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee "the most racist and ignorant US Senator I have seen" and "a lifetime bitch" for a comment she made about China. There's even an Instagram account called "Victims of Chen Weihua" that shares screenshots of critical or trolling tweets sent by Chen. It's unclear who runs the account. Representatives for Graham did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Over 12,000 children aged 5-11 given Covid-19 vaccine Vietnam on Sunday administered additional 182,326 doses of Covid-19 vaccine including 12,414 doses given to children aged 5-11, according to the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry's report, the number of new Covid-19 infections continued to drop with 14,730 cases recorded today, down 3,744 cases from the previous day. Most of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 60 out of 63 localities in the country with five localities seeing the highest numbers including Hanoi (1,253), Yen Bai (801), Quang Ninh (778), Phu Tho (749), and Nghe An (746). As of Sunday evening, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 10,432,617. The country now stands 12th among 225 countries and territories worldwide in the number of infections. Some localities that have recorded the highest number of patients include Hanoi (1,533,658), HCM City (606,626), Nghe An (475,974), Binh Duong (382,676), and Bac Giang (380,351). On April 17, an additional 5,472 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to 8,936,846. On Sunday evening, a further 10 deaths related to Covid-19 were announced, bringing the total number of fatalities in Vietnam to 42,944. The high fatalities were reported in some localities including Kien Giang (4), Ben Tre (3), Binh Phuoc (1), Can Tho (1), and Dong Thap (1). Vietnam on April 16 administered 182,326 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, raising the total number of doses given to local people to over 209.48 million. Flash The Smithsonian's National Zoo marked on Saturday an important milestone in its giant panda program and partnership with China to conserve the unique species. Visitors enjoyed watching male cub Xiao Qi Ji and his mother Mei Xiang devouring frozen treats from an outdoor yard at the zoo's famed giant panda habitat in the morning, as well as male adult Tian Tian receiving his ice cake with lunch at noon. The "eating shows" were part of the zoo's "Pandaversary Party" in celebration of the giant panda program's 50th anniversary and decades of China-U.S. collaboration in saving the bears from extinction. Partygoers also had the opportunity to taste giant panda-shaped "Baozi" buns, try Chinese calligraphy, and watch lion dance performances and the world premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary "The Miracle Panda." Chinese Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang and members of the embassy toured the giant panda habitat on Saturday morning, accompanied by Director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo Brandie Smith. Qin made a brief remark, saying that over the past 50 years, China and the United States have worked together and achieved a lot in the conservation of giant pandas, which are no longer an endangered species. In a tweet later, the Chinese ambassador wrote that it was "a heart-melting experience" visiting the zoo in northwest Washington, D.C. and seeing up close the three charismatic bears living there. "Look forward to greater success in China-US cooperation on giant #panda conservation," he added. Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and historian, tweeted that he remembers standing in line at the National Zoo to "see the famous pandas, whose presence in Washington marked a significant moment in science, culture, and diplomacy." In 1972, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai gifted two giant pandas to the United States as a gesture of goodwill following then U.S. President Richard Nixon's groundbreaking trip to China. The Nixons selected the Smithsonian's National Zoo as female Ling-Ling and male Hsing-Hsing's home in the United States. The chubby bears from China with distinctive black-and-white markings arrived in Washington D.C. on April 16, 1972. Several days later, then first lady Patricia Nixon formally welcomed the giant panda pair to the zoo, who were the top attractions there until they passed away separately in the 1990s. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian came to the U.S. capital in December 2000. Xiao Qi Ji -- which means "Little Miracle" in Chinese -- was born to Mei Xiang during the summer of 2020, who was artificially inseminated earlier that year using frozen semen from Tian Tian. Senior curator of mammals Bryan Amaral told Xinhua on Saturday that all the three giant pandas are in good health. Native to southwest China, the giant panda is one of the most beloved animals in the world and has come to symbolize vulnerable species. About 1,864 giant pandas live in their native habitat, while another 600 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world. NBC Easter is here and Saturday Night Live was in the mood for rebirth this weekend. Following a cold-open greeting from Bowen Yangs Easter Bunny, the show gave several cast members a chance to present their best impressions and share their hopes for the spring season. First up was Kate McKinnons Dr. Anthony Fauci, who warned viewers that like Jesus COVID-19 numbers have risen again. He then added, If youre vaccinated, youre going to be fine. And if youre not vaccinated, Im not supposed to say this, but I honestly dont care what happens to you. Next came Cecily Strongs Marjorie Taylor Greene, who appeared with a chocolate rifle to explain that she has been aggressively wishing her Jewish and Muslim colleagues Happy Easter all week. Now Im worried about Easter, she continued. Between the pastels and the jellybeans, this holiday has gotten a little too LGBQRST for me. And there is nothing gay about Easter, a day when a bunch of male priests worship a shirtless guy with great abs, then talk about wanting to eat his body. Thats straight stuff! So Happy Easter and God bless RussiaI mean, America, she concluded. But kinda both, right? SNLs Michael Che and Colin Jost Brutally Roast Elon Musk Then, after messages from Chris Redds Mayor Eric Adams, Mikey Days Elon Musk, Chloe Finemans Britney Spears and Kyle Mooney, who introduced himself as Jesus before revealing that he was actually Jared Leto, James Austin Johnsons Donald Trump showed up just before Yang had a chance to say Live from New York, its Saturday night! I was told we were doing Easter wishes and I was not given my turn, Trump said. This is very, very unfair. Another example of how whites are being treated horribly in this country. After ranting incoherently for a few minutes, the former president reminded Americans that he once said COVID would be over by Easter: I just didnt say which one. For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast. Story continues Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Laila Dalton protests at her reinstatement rally April 6 outside the Starbucks store she was fired from. Laila Dalton A Phoenix Starbucks store is facing a federal complaint for retaliation against unionizing employees. Laila Dalton and Alyssa Sanchez both say they were retaliated against for supporting the union. The results of the store's union vote should be known by the end of the month. Employees at a Starbucks in Arizona, who began unionizing earlier this year, allege the coffee giant has engaged in a pattern of retaliation for organizing leaving workers with cut hours, threats and harassment, and the loss of their jobs. While waiting for a hearing regarding a complaint they filed with the National Labor Relations Board about the poor treatment, employees who remain at the store say working conditions inside are getting worse. "Things have really started to shift and change and now I'm at the point where like, this job is causing my mental health to be at such a low point. I think the lowest it's ever been in my entire life," Tyler Gillette, a Starbucks employee of two and a half years, told Insider. Gillette is an experienced training barista who worked at several locations before helping to open the Scottsdale & Mayo location in Phoenix, Arizona, last year. Gillette, as well as three other current and former employees of the location, said a change in management at the end of 2021 signaled a shift in working conditions. The once warm and friendly environment turned cold and rigid. Suddenly, scheduling accommodations were denied, requests for days off were left pending, and management began "cracking down" on every little rule. Several employees, inspired by unionization at Starbucks locations in Buffalo, began to discuss organizing their store earlier this year. Laila Dalton, a 19-year-old former barista at the Phoenix store, is a vocal advocate of unionizing at her location but says retaliation began almost immediately after beginning to publicly organize and eventually led to her being fired. Story continues "After I handed out the ballot cards, on my next shift I was punished, basically for wanting to start a union and create a better work environment so we can all have a voice," Dalton told Insider. The harassment increased one coworker said Dalton had "a target on her back" with Dalton, a supervisor on the floor with no extensive history of disciplinary action, being written up for infractions like wearing headphones after closing, "improper call outs" for absences while in the hospital and after her aunt died, and recording the meetings where she said she was harassed to tears. Signs held by Starbucks union supporters as they protest for Laila Dalton's reinstatement April 6. Laila Dalton Federal union-busting complaints Dalton, as well as Gillette and their coworkers Alyssa Sanchez and Bill Whitmire, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on January 26, alleging Starbucks had violated federal law by retaliating against union supporters. In its March 29 response to the complaint, Starbucks denied all allegations of retaliation made by employees of the Arizona store. Starbucks Workers United, a growing union effort that began with Buffalo, New York, Starbucks employees, has filed more than 20 complaints alleging similar retaliation directed toward union supporters. As union efforts have gained steam at Starbucks locations nationwide with multiple stores voting unanimously to unionize the coffee company has faced increasing reports and formal complaints regarding union-busting tactics and retaliation. In Memphis, Tennessee, seven would-be union workers were fired for what Starbucks called "safety" reasons after they invited press to a closed store to discuss their efforts. In Buffalo, at least two stores that attempted to unionize were closed entirely, which Starbucks said was a coincidence. At the store in Phoenix, two union organizers are facing cut hours, one had her hours cut down until she had to find a new job, and Dalton was fired in what she calls "100% retaliation" for organizing. Dalton's firing was not included in the original complaint of retaliation. A Starbucks spokesperson told Insider: "Any partner's interest in a union does not exempt them from the standards we've always held. We will continue enforcing our policies consistently for all partners. And any claims of anti-union activity are categorically false." "We are 100% committed to following the NLRB process," the spokesperson added. Starbucks prepares for union fight For its part, Starbucks appears to be preparing for increased union activity. The coffee chain recently hired a new strategy chief as unionization efforts ramp up across the US and on Wednesday began advertising for an in-house lawyer with experience in 'strike contingency planning.' In an April 4 Town Hall meeting, his first since returning to Starbucks as CEO and the same day Dalton was fired, Howard Schultz said the company was being "assaulted in many ways by the threat of unionization." While Dalton remains active in trying to organize the Phoenix store and hopes to be reinstated following the results of the NLRB hearing on June 14, she says workers who remain at the store have been telling her how much worse work has been since the union effort has gained more attention. "Everyone is texting me, keeping me in the loop. And I mean it sounds like they're really trying to intimidate them," Dalton told Insider. "They're starting to take people one by one, starting to ask them if they have any questions about why I got fired, or any questions about how to vote, on how to vote on the ballot." A reinstatement rally Sanchez left Starbucks after her managers declined to accommodate her schedule, which she said was directly related to organizing. While she didn't want to leave her position and was never officially fired, she said her hours were cut until she couldn't afford to continue working with the company and found a new job. Whitmire, a supervisor and union committee member, remains at the Phoenix location but says the store environment has become hostile and his hours are being cut down from full-time to part-time. Gillette told Insider the company appears to be doing something similar to them. Both employees previously had consistent schedules of over 30 hours to make ends meet. Since publicly supporting the union, both have had their hours cut nearly in half. "I'm at the point where I have to for my own well being I have to really consider quitting, which is exactly what they want and they've done this to so many other people; pushed them to the point where it's like, for their livelihood and for their sanity, they have to quit. We have to quit," Gillette said. Starbucks union supporters protest for Laila Dalton's reinstatement on April 6. Laila Dalton In addition to the cut hours, Gillette who is transgender and autistic said they are now also facing increased harassment about their gender and disability since publicly supporting the union. Coworkers and managers now consistently misgender them and they said they were forced to take a two-week leave of absence until they could get medical documentation that said they were cleared to work after requesting accommodations to make their shifts more comfortable. "It's causing my mental health to really suffer. It's messing with my livelihood. I wasn't able to pay rent this month. So now if I don't figure something out by the end of this month, I'm gonna be homeless because Starbucks is royally screwing me over," Gillette said. At the Arizona location, despite the impacts of the managerial crackdown on former and current staff, union support has been increasing. Employees and regular customers of the store held a reinstatement rally on behalf of Dalton on April 6 and the remaining workers are holding an official union vote this week. Ballots are due April 19 and the store should know if its union efforts were successful within two weeks after that. "They could try this on me. I'm not scared. I still have a smile on my face. I still know that I will be back and I am confident about this election because it doesn't really matter what management does," Dalton said. "We have such a great team and we love each other so much." Read the original article on Business Insider Michelle Goldberg Americas attempt to vaccinate the world against COVID is about to come to an end. We are at a point now where without additional funding we are going to have to start winding down our programming, said Jeremy Konyndyk, the leader of the United States Agency for International Developments COVID-19 task force. Such funding does not appear to be forthcoming. Our gruesomely dysfunctional politics are going to lead to more illness and death across the globe and were increasing the odds that a new viral mutation will once again upend American life. If it does, we might call it the filibuster variant. Even for a body as broken and ineffectual as Congress, this level of self-sabotage is hard to fathom. The biggest risk we face domestically and globally is more new variants, said Konyndyk. Such variants, he said, are most likely to emerge in chronically immunocompromised populations, including people living with diseases like HIV and tuberculosis; because they have trouble clearing the coronavirus, it lingers and has more opportunities to evolve. Part of the blame for this dilemma lies with House Democrats. Far more belongs to Senate Republicans. The Democrats miscalculated last month when, amid internal dissension, they stripped a $15.6 billion COVID aid package from the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill. Senate Republicans had insisted that the COVID aid come from money that was already appropriated but unspent. So congressional leaders devised a scheme drawing $7 billion from funds that had been set aside for state and local governments in last years American Rescue Plan. House Democrats as well as governors in both parties had good reason to object, because state and local lawmakers had made their budgets with that money in mind. Twenty states got their American Rescue Plan money all at once, but in the remaining 30 states it was supposed to come in two tranches. Those states were suddenly looking at substantial budget cuts. Story continues A bunch of House members said no, were not going to vote to cut our own state budgets and have to go home and explain why weve cut these budgets, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. After a revolt among her own members, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to pull the COVID aid from the omnibus bill. But if House Democrats thought they would get another chance to negotiate international COVID funds, they underestimated the nihilism of the Republican Party. Because of the filibuster, Senate Democrats need 10 Republicans to support a stand-alone COVID bill, and Republicans are balking at more money for international COVID programs. Im frankly struggling, Chris Coons, a Democratic senator known for his commitment to bipartisanship, said of trying to negotiate an agreement. He describes a basic disagreement between the caucuses over the threat posed by COVID. A number of his Republican colleagues, said Coons, have told him, Were done with this pandemic. Since they are largely indifferent to whether additional COVID funding passes, some Republicans have used it as leverage in their demand for tougher border policies. They are holding up authorization of any more COVID aid unless the administration reinstates Title 42, a policy adopted in 2020 to rapidly expel migrants without letting them apply for asylum, all in the name of protecting public health. The USAID funding is not fungible the agency cant simply transfer resources from other programs to keep its vaccine program going, or to start providing antivirals like Paxlovid. As a last-ditch measure, Coons tried to get Republicans to agree to give the agency emergency authority to move its own money around to address the pandemic, but he couldnt get enough of them onboard. As a result of this intransigence, many of the vaccine doses America already donated could go to waste. At this point, theres no longer a global vaccine shortage the problem is that many countries lack the infrastructure required to transport and administer them. The impasse in the Senate, Coons said, means we arent delivering millions of vaccine shots that we have already paid for. Coons holds out hope that there could be a breakthrough in the Senate in three or four weeks, after it returns from recess. But its not easy to restart programs once they have been stopped, and in the meantime, we are pointlessly imperiling both our own health and the health of people all over the planet. Theres also a political cost to abandoning the rest of the world on COVID. At a time of renewed great-power competition, Americas effective vaccines could give us a diplomatic advantage. Last year, said Coons, both Russia and China made big fanfares about delivering planeloads of vaccines to dozens of countries in the developing world. Those vaccines are ineffective against omicron. Our vaccines are effective. Our Congress, unfortunately, is not. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Political games withhold global COVID aid and ensure new crisis If climate change were a disaster film, it would likely be accused of being too over-the-top: wildfires reducing entire towns to ashes, hurricanes swamping cities, droughts draining lakes and withering fields, and raging oceans redrawing the very maps of our coasts. And now, many cities and states are asking, who's going to pay for all of this? "This is real; we're on the front line of climate change right here in Charleston," said John Tecklenburg, the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina. The city's been battered by an endless parade of floods due to sea level rise. Some desperate homeowners have resorted to raising their homes by several feet. "In the next 50 years we'll see another two to three feet of sea level rise," Tecklenburg said. "The water is our greatest asset; it has also become our biggest challenge." So, the city is raising large parts of its existing sea wall, and the Army Corps of Engineers says Charleston should build another eight miles of wall. The city expects an estimated $3 billion in climate change-related costs. Charleston, S.C., expects to spend an estimated $3 billion to bolster the city's defense against rising sea levels. / Credit: CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy asked, "Can you raise taxes high enough to cover these costs?" "It's like any big project; you gotta look under every rock," Tecklenburg replied. Underneath one of those rocks are the fossil fuel companies. Study after study has shown the companies' carbon emissions from oil, coal and gas are major contributors to climate change. Charleston is one of more than two dozen cities, counties and states that are suing these companies (including ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and ConocoPhillips). More than two dozen U.S. cities, counties and states are suing fossil fuel companies over their role in the increasing hazards of climate change. / Credit: CBS News Tecklenburg said, "I feel if you've contributed to the problem, that you should contribute to the solution." "So, in some ways, it is a bit of a money grab?" asked Tracy. "Well, to the extent that they participated in what created this need; it's a money grab because there's some responsibility for what happened." Story continues The suits are modeled after the "Big Tobacco" cases of the 1990s, and accuse the companies and industry groups of making false and misleading claims about climate change. One of a series of 1991 newspaper ads from the Information Council for the Environment, an energy industry group. Internal documents said the goal of their advertising campaign was to William Tong, attorney general of Connecticut, said, "I'm suing ExxonMobil because they lied to us." Tong is suing ExxonMobil under the state's consumer protection laws. He said internal company research done by Exxon and Mobil (which used to be separate companies) shows they were aware of the dangers of climate change since at least the 1980s. "There's a study from, I think, 1982 in which they produce a chart that shows, as the levels of carbon dioxide rise, the temperature of our atmosphere will rise," said Tong. "And that chart is almost exactly right." And the suit also cites a 1988 internal draft memo from an Exxon spokesperson advising the company "emphasize the uncertainty" of climate science. "This is a strategy document from ExxonMobil that basically says, 'Let's lie. Let's say the science is not clear. Let's downplay the fact of climate change,'" Tong said. He points to ads that look like editorials from ExxonMobil, as well as their executives' own words, including the 1996 statement by Lee Raymond (then the CEO of Exxon) that "the scientific evidence remains inconclusive as to whether human activities affect the global climate." Tracy asked, "Some of these internal memos from the company acknowledge uncertainty about this. Does that strengthen the company's argument that this was not settled science?" "No, it doesn't," Tong replied. "Because the fact is, that they knew with a fair degree of certainty that there could be serious catastrophic effects from the continued use of fossil fuels. The fact that scientists have questions about their data is unremarkable; that's what scientists do." "So, your argument is, even if they didn't know everything, they knew enough?" "That's right." ExxonMobil, which is named in all 24 of these lawsuits, says, "The claims are baseless and without merit." In total, the cases accuse more than 40 fossil fuel companies of a disinformation campaign. Some point to a 1992 video, backed primarily by the coal industry, promoting the benefits of pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In it, Dr. Sherwood Idso states, "A doubling of the CO2 content of the atmosphere will produce a tremendous greening of Planet Earth." And an on-camera host declares, "As more and more scientists are confirming, our world is deficient in carbon dioxide." To watch "The Greening of Planet Earth," a 1992 video produced by the Western Fuels Association, click on the player below: "CBS Sunday Morning" reached out to several of the companies. Some responded, writing they are working to combat climate change. In addition, ExxonMobil and Shell said these lawsuits do nothing to advance that goal. Phil Goldberg, an attorney with the Manufacturers' Accountability Project (a group helping the fossil fuel industry push back against these lawsuits), told Tracy, "Fighting climate change requires policymaking, not lawsuits." Tracy asked, "The attorneys in some of these cases, though, would say that what they're doing is trying to hold these companies liable for deception. Is that fair?" "This is not an issue of who knew what or when, or who said what and when," Goldberg replied. "The federal government has had the very same information that they're saying that the energy companies had going back to the 1960s and '70s and '80s. The question is, what we're gonna do about it today?" Richard Lazarus, who teaches environmental law at Harvard, said, "The scope of the problem is one that requires really a national approach. Cities and counties and states are being the ones left with the problem when the federal government doesn't step up to the plate." Lazarus said even if the cities and states prove the fossil fuel companies deceived the public about climate change, it doesn't necessarily mean they will win: "They've done a really good job of showing that the oil and gas industry, I think, engaged in fraudulent activity. The challenge will be causation, to prove that their fraudulent behavior is what prevented the United States from passing the laws we needed to reduce those greenhouse gas emissions." So far, the industry has filed a series of motions, slowing down the cases. Charleston, South Carolina is bracing for a long and uncertain legal battle. Tracy asked Mayor John Tecklenburg, "If you're not successful with this lawsuit, what does that mean for what you're trying to do here?" "We're gonna find a way to fund the improvements that we need," he replied. "But I bet you've heard the phrase, 'Hope is not a strategy'?" Tecklenburg laughed: "Hope springs eternal, right?" But in the meantime, the water keeps rising. READ AN EXCERPT: "The Rule of Five," on arguing climate change before the Supreme Court For more info: Mayor John Tecklenburg, Charleston, South CarolinaWilliam Tong, Attorney General of ConnecticutManufacturers' Accountability Project"The Rule of Five: Making Climate History at the Supreme Court" by Richard J. Lazarus (Harvard University Press), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon and IndieboundRichard Lazarus, Harvard Law School Story produced by Dustin Stephens. Editor: Ed Givnish. Nature: Great horned owl chick Multilingualist to the max An Easter prayer, for peace A man arrested following Saturday's South Carolina mall shooting in which nine people were wounded had opened fire in self-defense in a confrontation with other shooters, his lawyer said Sunday. The man, identified as 22-year-old Jewayne Price, has been released under house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor after a judge set a $25,000 surety bond. Police booked Price on suspicion of unlawful possession of a pistol after questioning him, the Columbia Police Department said. While police have not formally alleged he was a shooter Saturday, he was barred by Bond Court at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center Sunday from contacting victims of the attack, Columbia police said on Twitter. Video: South Carolina mall shooting leaves 12 injured Price was one of three detained as "people of interest" for questioning, Columbia Police Chief W. H. Skip Holbrook said Saturday. The two others weren't involved and were released, police said in a statement released overnight. Investigators believe a fight between people who knew one another led to the gunfire, and that "at least three suspects displayed firearms inside the mall," according to the statement. The chief said Saturday that preliminary information leads detectives to believe at least two people opened fire. The number of shooters, however, was yet to be officially determined. According to coverage from NBC affiliate WIS, counsel for the defense J. Todd Rutherford said outside the detention center in Columbia on Sunday that his client opened fire in self-defense after two people connected to Facebook threats against him started shooting first. "It was unprovoked by him," Rutherford said, according to the station. "He called the police, turned himself in, turned over the firearm that was used in this, and gave a statement to the Columbia Police Department. That is why he got a $25,000 bond. The defendant has cooperated with police, he said. The weapon in question is legally registered to Price, but the attorney said he did not have a concealed weapon permit for carrying it in his clothing in public. Story continues Rutherford is also a state representative from Columbia, a Democrat who is one of multiple sponsors of a bill that could reduce penalties for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit from a minimum fine of $1,000, along with a maximum sentence of a year behind bars, to a $200 fine on first offense. Even as President Joe Biden last week announced tougher gun regulations in the wake of multiple mass shootings, a movement to make it easier for Americans to carry weapons openly or concealed has swept states with Republicans in key positions of power. Just like other states, South Carolina has seen a rash of multiple-victim shootings, sometimes with multiple shooters, in recent years. On Sunday, the Richland County Sheriff's Department, which polices the county that includes Columbia, said Price had been charged in the 2018 with "accessory before the fact" in connection with the murder that year of 17-year-old Amon Rice. The disposition of that case was not revealed by the department Older remarks by Sheriff Leon Lott suggested that Price, presumed innocent, was part of a catch and release system of justice in a state otherwise notorious for its tough-on-crime politics. The remarks were included in the departments Sunday statement on Price. At a 2018 press conference announcing the arrest of 21 of 22 suspects in the church-adjacent shootout between rival groups of high schoolers that ended with Rice dead and another victim injured, Lott described the prosecution as a landmark. This is the largest case that weve ever done in Richmond County thats involved a shooting where we were able to identify everybody that was involved in it, the sheriff said at the time. He blamed teenage drama for the violence that authorities said started with an altercation on a local high school campus and ended with both sides agreeing to meet outside a church for a confrontation. In the aftermath, investigators counted seven guns and 58 rounds fired at the scene, Lott said in 2018. This time it wasnt a fistfight. It was a gunfight, he said. While investigators at the time were unable to determine who fatally shot Rice, the sheriff alleged that many of the defendants had opened fire and thus should be held accountable for the teens death. At the press conference, he did not name Price as one of them. Rutherford, did not immediately respond to a request for his response to the gun allegation or the 2018 charge of accessory before the fact. The shooting Saturday at Columbiana Centre injured 14 people nine with gunshots and five who were hurt while fleeing. Before he revised the numbers, Holbrook initially said 10 people were struck by gunfire, two of whom were critically injured, and that two others were injured while fleeing. In addition to the nine people with gunshot wounds, other people suffered broken bones, lacerations and a head injury that was suffered while fleeing, police said Saturday night. The victims are ages 15 to 73. All of the injured had been treated and released except a 73-year-old woman, who remained hospitalized, Columbia police said Saturday night. South Carolina has had a number of mass shootings over the weekend. Early Sunday, at least nine people were injured in a shooting at a club in Hampton County. The State Law Enforcement Division, or SLED, said in an email that no deaths were reported in the Easter morning shooting in Hampton County. No information was immediately available about the severity of the injuries. SLED said it was asked to investigate by the Hampton County Sheriffs Office. In January the gun violence-prevention group Moms Demand Action said rising firearms-enabled crime across the nation correlated to skyrocketing gun sales during the pandemic as well as to the relaxation of regulations, supported by the gun industry, in statehouses like South Carolinas. The nonprofit, which says the state has the seventh-highest rate of gun homicide in the country, said in its January statement, Communities across South Carolina are suffering from the impacts of gun violence. The state last year enacted a law that allows gun owners with a concealed weapon permit to also open carry their firearm in public. Second Amendment advocates have long argued that communities are safer when more good citizens are armed. Roger Stone meets with his longtime friend Donald Trump at the former presidents Mar-a-Lago resort (Twitter - Zachary Petrizzo) Donald Trump reunited with his longtime confidante and Republican operative Roger Stone at Mar-a-Lago this weekend - who wasted no time in getting into grievances. Mr Stone posted a video on Rumble, a conservative social media site, and other platforms on Saturday showing him embracing the former president at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida. In the video, Mr Trump is seen recognising Mr Stone and embracing him. Roger, my man! I didnt even see you. How could I not see my Roger, Mr Trump says. Mr Stone responds: God Bless You, while Mr Trump follows up, by saying: I hope youre doing well, is everything OK? Ron DeSantis is a piece of s***, Mr Stone then replies, before the video clip ends. No other context was given for the video clip, so it is unclear as to why Mr Stone insulted the Florida governor. The Independent has contacted a representative for Mr Stone for comment. Mr Stone is currently being investigated by the House select committee on January 6th. The committee has issued him with a subpoena to obtain his testimony and communications history from that day. The longtime Trump ally was involved in promotion of Stop the Steal rallies held in Washington DC on the day of the attack on the US Capitol. He was previously pardoned by Mr Trump for lying to investigators in Special Counsel Robert Muellers probe of the 2016 Trump campaigns alleged ties to Russia. Mr Stone has not been accused of any crime or wrongdoing regarding January 6th. Floridas Governor Ron DeSantis is seen by many as a rising star in the Republican Party and a potential rival of Mr Trump in the 2024 Republican field for the presidency. Neither has openly stated an intent to run, though Mr Trump has hinted that he will weigh his options in the months ahead and make a decision after the 2022 midterm elections. Mr Trump remains top of the GOP primary field in polling of prospective 2024 candidates among Republican voters. However Mr DeSantis is seen as a top choice should he decline to run. Story continues Both Mr Trump and the GOP governor have publicly denied any trace of a feud and dismissed reports of such as attempts by the news media to divide Republicans. "Ron has been very good. He's been a friend of mine for a long time. It's totally fake news," Mr Trump told Fox News in January. "I have a very good relationship with Ron and intend to have it for a long time," he added. Mr DeSantiss rejection of Covid-19 guidelines and support of attacks on critical race theory, a bogeyman on the right that has led to efforts to ban all discussion of racism in some US schools, have earned him the respect of GOP voters in Florida. The first-term governor is currently mounting a formidable reelection campaign. Last week his campaign announced that it had raised $100 million so far, a staggering figure that has dwarfedthe total haul of the three Democrats vying for their partys nomination against him. It also outstrips the total spent by former GOP governor and now-senator, Rick Scott, in his 2010 bid for office or reelection campaign in 2014. The governors spokesperson did not immediately return The Independents request for comment on Mr Stones video. The Church of England's most senior cleric, Justin Welby, on Sunday criticised the British government's plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda to process their claims. The scheme has sparked outrage and widespread criticism from human rights organisations and even the UN. And Welby, who as the Archbishop of Canterbury is the Church of England's highest-ranking cleric, added his voice to the dissent in his Easter Day address. While "the details are for politics and politicians", Welby suggested that sending asylum-seekers overseas posed "serious ethical questions". "The principle must stand the judgement of God and it cannot," Welby said. A country like Britain informed by Christian values cannot "sub-contract out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well like Rwanda," the church leader continued. It "is the opposite of the nature of God". When unveiling the policy last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had already suggested there could be legal challenges to the plans. But the interior ministry, or Home Office, which is in charge of implementing the policy, argued that Britain's current system was "broken" and pointed to unprecedented global migratory pressures. - 'Whatever it takes' - Johnson has pledged to do "whatever it takes" to ensure the plans work -- but the UN refugee agency UNHCR condemned the scheme as an "egregious breach of international law". According to an exchange of letters published by the Home Office, the ministry's top civil servant, Matthew Rycroft, stressed on the eve of the announcement his doubts about both the expected "deterrent effect" of the scheme and its cost. But Home Secretary Priti Patel said it would be "imprudent" to delay a measure that "we believe will reduce illegal migration, save lives, and ultimately break the business model of the smuggling gangs". Story continues According to Rwanda, the British government will fund the deal by up to 120 million pounds ($157 million, 144 million euros) and migrants would be "integrated into communities across the country". "I recognise your assessment on the immediate value for money aspect of this proposal. However, I note that without action, costs will continue to rise, lives will continue to be lost," Patel added in the letter. British media from the left-leaning Guardian to the conservative Daily Telegraph on Saturday warned the policy could spark a "mutiny" among civil servants tasked with making the scheme operational. For Tahsin Tarek, a 25-year-old glazier from Arbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, who is saving up to finance a new trip to Europe, the British announcement is a game changer. "(I) will think about another country," he told AFP on Saturday. "To live here and endure the difficulties here is better than living in Rwanda. "I don't think anyone will accept this decision and go live there. If they give the refugees a choice between being expelled to Rwanda or their country, they will choose their own country." bur-spe/gw/har (Reuters) - Russia is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance, even as Moscows operational focus has shifted to the east of its neighbouring country, British military intelligence said on Sunday. Russian forces were continuing to redeploy combat and support equipment from Belarus towards eastern Ukraine, including to locations close to Kharkiv and Severodonetsk, the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin. Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country where Russia plans to renew its offensive activity, the bulletin added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. (Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Remaining Ukrainian forces in the southern port of Mariupol are still fighting and continue to defy a Russian demand that they surrender, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday. "The city still has not fallen," Shmyhal told ABC's "This Week" program, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continue to control some parts of the city. "So there is no whole control" of Mariupol by Russian forces, Shmyhal said. Shmyhal said that he and Ukrainian finance officials will seek more financial assistance this week during International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington. "We need more money for executing of our humanitarian and social obligations," Shmyhal said. "Now, only half of our economy is working. So we ask for financial support." Shmyhal added that Ukraine is currently running a budget deficit of about $5 billion per month. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Michael Anthony Jimenez is escorted out of the 140th District Court on Monday after pleading guilty to murder in the November 2018 stabbing death of Cristino Gil Ortiz III. The sister of a slain veteran told her brother's killer on Thursday that he showed no regard for human life when he stabbed her brother multiple times, rolled his body in bedding and left him to rot for months in his apartment. Monica Ortiz and her father, Cristino Gil Ortiz Jr., traveled from Albuquerque to confront 41-year-old Michael Jimenez, who pleaded guilty on Monday in the 140th District Court to a count of murder in connection with the November 2018 stabbing death of Cristino Gil Ortiz III. Ortiz was found dead in his residence at the Lakeview Apartment complex on Feb. 1, 2018 according to A-J archives. However, police officials said Ortiz had likely been dead for months. In exchange for his plea, Jimenez was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He faced five years to life in prison. "We're very happy with the result, so is the victims' family," said prosecutor Barron Slack. "I have no concern that he will be released (on parole) on that kind of number, especially at his age." Jimenez has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since June 25, 2019. He was initially considered a person of interest in Ortiz's death and his image was circulated by police on Feb. 10, 2019. Slack praised the work of the Lubbock Police Department's Identification Unit for its work in finding the evidence that linked Jimenez to the case. "At the outset of that investigation we didn't have a suspect immediately outstanding," he said. "So it was crime scene work and fingerprints and DNA things like that that led investigators to know who they needed to be talking to to obtain the confession that they obtained. " Jimenez was arrested four months later in Abilene on unrelated charges, including public intoxication, according to the warrant. Lubbock investigators traveled to Abilene, where they found Jimenez at a respite center there. During an interview with investigators, Jimenez admitted to killing Ortiz, saying he stabbed him multiple times after the two got into an argument because Jimenez missed a day of work. Story continues He said Ortiz invited him to live with him at his apartment. While living with Ortiz, Jimenez got a job through a temp agency to help pay rent. On Nov. 20, while the two were drinking at Ortiz's apartment, Jimenez said Ortiz began insulting him for not working. The argument escalated into a shoving match then a fistfight, with Jimenez saying he bested Ortiz, the warrant states. Jimenez reportedly told investigators Ortiz grabbed a knife from the kitchen and he grabbed one as well and stabbed Ortiz first. He said he was still upset with Ortiz so he stabbed the man multiple times. Jimenez reportedly said he wasn't injured during the fight, the warrant states. He said he wrapped Ortiz's body in a sheet and hid it under a bed. He cleaned up the blood with bleach and ammonia then drank a few beers and watched TV, the warrant states. He said he left the apartment a day later and disposed of the knives, the cleaning materials, his bloody clothing and Ortiz's property. A month later, a Vetstar representative went to Ortiz's apartment to check on him but never found him and did not find anything amiss, according to a police report. In February, the representative returned to the apartment suspecting Ortiz moved out because the utilities were disconnected in January for nonpayment. This time, he smelled an odor he thought was sour milk but couldn't find any spoiled food. He called police after tracing the source of the odor to a bed, under which he found rolled up bedding he believed to contain a dead body, the report states. Slack said evidence collected during the investigation did not appear to support Jimenez's self defense claims. He said investigators didn't find any evidence of defensive wounds on Jimenez. "We only know what the defendant claims to have led up to it," he said. "So I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that and obviously we can't ask the deceased." Under the law, Jimenez will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence. However, Slack said offenders convicted of crimes such as murder typically are not granted parole when they reach eligibility. "We see people doing approximately 85-90 percent of these numbers, which is far more than any likely chance of survival for him," Slack said. Monica Ortiz described her brother as a loving and caring person. She said after serving in the Army, her brother worked as a correctional officer in New Mexico. However, an attack at the prison drove him to alcoholism. Ultimately, she said her brother spent several years drifting from New Mexico to California to Texas, where in Lubbock he was given a chance to turn his life around a few months before his death. VetStar, the veterans services division of StarCare Specialty Health System, provided Ortiz with an apartment, which he shared with Jimenez, whom he met at the Salvation Army. "He saw a lot of himself in you and wanted to help you out," Monica Ortiz told Jimenez. She d told Jimenez he repaid her brother's kindness by killing him and "discarding him under the bed like a piece of trash." This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Veteran's sister confronts brother's killer in Lubbock Court Chances are you know someone who has experienced sexual violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will experience sexual assault, calling it a serious public health problem and its one that disproportionately affects Native American communities. Native American women are raped at more than twice the rate of any other race, but they are least likely to report due to cultural taboos and legal loopholes that make it impossible for tribal courts to prosecute non-Native offenders. The freedom to speak openly and honestly about their experiences is a critical element to survivors healing process. As a community, we also need to do much better in terms of medical care for sexual assault survivors. There is specific training available for nurses and nursing students, enabling them to become a certified sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE). SANE nurses meet with victims of sexual assault and abuse to conduct a thorough forensic exam, as well as provide expert testimony in court when needed. There is currently an emergency shortage of SANE nurses to adequately support our states prevalence of sexual assault. According to the Oklahoma Health Department, the rate of rape (or attempted rape) reported by Oklahoma women to law enforcement is 35-45% higher than the national average. And it has been for a decade. Out of the 77 counties in Oklahoma, only 32 less than half have SANE nurse programs. In Pottawatomie County, where the Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) is located, there are only two SANE nurses to serve 73,000 residents. This is simply unacceptable. We need to do better for the vulnerable members of our community. CPNs House of Hope, which supports domestic violence victims, is partnering with local colleges to provide this vital training. Pottawatomie County nurses and nursing students are invited to take part in a series of training sessions to learn the role of a SANE nurse and steps to SANE certification. Story continues If you are in the nursing profession or are studying to become a nurse, I urge you to take part. Sexual assault survivors throughout Oklahoma deserve better. You can be the catalyst to providing hope and healing. Kayla Woody Kayla Woody is a domestic violence prevention specialist at Citizen Potawatomi Nations House of Hope, a program that offers free assistance to Native or non-Native individuals who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viewpoint: Shortage of sexual assault nurses in Oklahoma unacceptable After two years of virtual Easter celebrations, the White House on Monday will open its gates to children once again to participate in one of its longest traditions, the White House Easter Egg Roll. This year's events, themed "EGGucation" by first lady Jill Biden, include the egg roll, an egg hunt and a number of performances and educational activities. The White House estimates roughly 30,000 people, including thousands of military families, will be in attendance. The history of the White House's Easter Monday Egg Roll is storied, dating back to the 19th century. Here's everything you need to know about the annual tradition. The first Easter Egg Roll Washingtonians used to celebrate Easter Monday on the west grounds of the U.S. Capitol, where children would gather to roll brightly dyed hard-boiled eggs down the lawn with spoons, according to the White House Historical Association. But by 1876, members of Congress became concerned that the yearly ruckus might damage the landscape. So, in a move as hard-boiled as the children's eggs, Congress voted to restrict public use of its grounds. The bill was passed into law on April 29, 1876, and effectively banned future egg rolling at the Capitol. The next year, Easter festivities were rained out. However, in 1878, a "group of bold children" lobbied President Rutherford B. Hayes to allow them to play their egg-rolling games on the White House's lawn. Hayes obliged, and thus began the tradition that still exists today Easter Egg Rolls throughout the years The White House has hardly skipped an annual Easter Monday Egg Roll since. Egg roll receptions became customary after a group of egg rollers strode into the East Room in 1885 with hopes of being received by President Grover Cleveland. He was "charmed," White House archives say, and made presidential appearances a more frequent addition to the day's events Four years later, President Benjamin Harrison added music to the occasion, soliciting a performance by the U.S. Marine Band, led by John Philip Sousa. Story continues Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Easter games, held on the White House South Lawn, had only been canceled during the two World Wars, according to the Washington Post. In 1918, in announcing wartime food restrictions, District of Columbia food administrator Charles Wilson asserted that nothing that is an article of diet should be destroyed." The destruction of eggs was prohibited, and thus, the Egg Roll was canceled. The festivities returned in 1921, and between 50,000 to 60,000 children participated. First lady Florence Harding reportedly dyed the eggs herself using the "good old-fashioned method of wrapping them in gaily-printed calico," the Washington Post wrote in 1921. World War II prevented Egg Rolls from 1943 to 1945, and both food conservation and construction stopped the celebrations from 1946 to 1952, according to White House archives. President Dwight D. Eisenhower picked up the torch, reinstating the tradition in 1953. The Nixons launched a number of White House Easter Egg Roll traditions that remain in place today. In 1969, a staffer for first lady Pat Nixon donned a white jumpsuit and Peter Rabbit mask and shook the hands of participating children. That became the first official appearance of the White House Easter Bunny, now a quintessential attendee of the annual event. The Nixons are also credited with organizing the first Egg Roll race in 1974, after which winners received a Nixon ball point pen. First lady Nancy Reagan leads a group of cartoon characters to the South Lawn of the White House Monday for the annual Easter Egg Roll, April 20, 1981. The Reagans in 1981 became the first presidential couple to host a hunt for wooden eggs, each of which bore the signatures of famous people, according to White House records. Since then, wooden eggs have become the official keepsake of the yearly Easter event. The senior Bushes hosted an egg hunt in 1989 comprised of 5,000 real eggs, colored and hard-boiled, and 23,000 wooden eggs. President Clinton poses with the Easter Bunny at the start of the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 13, 1998, at the White House. The White House chef has dyed 7,200 hard-boiled eggs for the annual traditional event that dates back to 1878. The 1998 Egg Roll launched the tradition into the future as the first time the festivities were broadcast live on the internet, White House archives show. Tickets still weren't distributed online until 2009, when President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted their first Easter Monday Egg Roll. The Obamas Egg Rolls consisted of healthy snack-making, shooting hoops and "celebrity" appearances of characters like Spider-Man, Cookie Monster from "Sesame Street" and minions from the animated movie Despicable Me. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted three Easter Egg Rolls before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, forcing the White House to cancel the event. In 2020, Trump offered an Easter Blessing and called on the nation to come together in support of first responders, calling the virus an "invisible enemy." The Biden administration held a virtual Easter egg hunt in 2021, as the pandemic continued to rage on into its first year in office. Monday's festivities mark the first event since before the pandemic took hold. President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and the Easter Bunny wave from the White House balcony on Easter Monday during what would have been the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll, which was canceled due to Covid-19, on the South Lawn, April 5, 2021. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House Easter Egg Roll, past and present Police are looking for a man they described as armed and dangerous after the killing of a 22-year-old woman in Wiggins. The Wiggins Police Department posted on Facebook early Sunday morning that they are investigating the death of the victim, and Zavaga Oryan Wilson is wanted on a murder charge. Police did not give any other details about the killing in the post. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Wilson should contact Wiggins police at 601-928-5444 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898. Tips can be submitted online at www.mscoastcrimestoppers.com. Miya Ponsetto, the California woman who wrongly accused a Black teenager of stealing her cellphone in New York City, has pleaded guilty to a hate crime charge, NBC News reports. Ponsetto, nicknamed SoHo Karen, was caught on video in 2020 when she tackled and shouted at Keyon Harrold Jr. after accusing him of stealing her iPhone in the lobby of Arlo Soho, an upscale boutique hotel. Harrold, who was 14 at the time, was staying at the hotel with his father, Keyon Harrold, a jazz musician. Ponsetto, who is white, later found out that she had left her phone in an Uber vehicle. Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behavior, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement on Monday. As a Black man, I have personally experienced racial profiling countless times in my life and I sympathize with the young man victimized in this incident. This plea, according to Bragg, ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur. Ponsetto, 23, has admitted to unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime. However, she can plead again and have the charge reduced to misdemeanor aggravated harassment if she doesnt cause any other trouble for two years. Ben Crump, who is representing Harrold, said its highly disappointing that Ponsetto will receive only probation. We wont change the culture until we hold people accountable for their outrageously bad behavior, the attorney said in a statement. Ponsettos attorney, Paul DEmilia, said the 23-year-old has shown remorse for the incident. We are pleased that todays proceeding brought this unfortunate misunderstanding closer to a final resolution, DEmilia said in a statement. Miya Ponsetto has been leading an exemplary life since this incident with the young man close to a year and a half ago. According to DEmilia, Ponsetto hopes the victim accepts her regrets and apology for her behavior that evening, and that all involved can move forward. As Blavity previously reported, Ponsetto spoke with CBS This Mornings Gayle King in 2021 and defended herself. I wasnt racial profiling whatsoever, she said. Im Puerto Rican. Im, like, a woman of color. The exterior of Gravity Diagnostics in Convington, Kentucky where Kevin Berling was hired as a lab technician (Google Streetview) A worker has won a $450,000 compensation case after colleagues went against his wishes and threw him an office birthday party, setting off his anxiety and ultimately leading to him losing his job. Kevin Berling was hired as a lab technician at Gravity Diagnostics in Covington, Kentucky, in 2018. According to his lawyers, he had asked the company to avoid its typical birthday celebration when his came around, due to concerns it would trigger his anxiety disorders. According to his complaint against the company, the office manager forgot about Mr Berlings request, and planned his office birthday party in August 2019. The employee was left overwhelmed and had to leave the celebration to spend lunch hour in his car, according to the filing. After the party incident, management held a meeting with Mr Berling about what had happened, setting off another anxiety attack. A few days later he was fired, with managers citing concerns about his perceived anger and potential to become violent. The firing meant Mr Berling missed out on the companys rapid growth during the Covid pandemic, where some employees saw raises as much as 300 per cent, his lawyers said. On Friday, a jury unanimously awarded Mr Berling a $450,000 judgment against the company, finding that he was entitled to $120,000 in lost wages and benefits, $30,000 in future wages, and $300,000 for past, present and future mental pain and suffering, mental anguish, embarrassment, humiliation, mortification, and loss of self-esteem, according to court documents. The company could still appeal the decision. The Independent has reached out to Gravity Diagnostics for comment. "This may sound cliche to say that the money was really secondary in this thing, Tony Bucher, the former employees lawyer, told Local12. It was a big step for someone who doesnt like that kind of attention to stand up in front of 12 jurors and stand up for himself." The attorney said that the company had misinterpreted the situation, and that Mr Berling was doing what he needed to calm himself down and was not being violent. "They started giving him a pretty hard time for his response to the birthday celebration, actually accusing him of stealing his co-workers joy, Mr Bucher added. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine's financial stability and the country's post-war reconstruction. "Discussed with IMF Managing Director Georgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine's financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have clear plans for now, as well as a vision of prospects. Im sure cooperation between the IMF & Ukraine will continue to be fruitful," Zelenskiy said in a tweet. Georgieva confirmed the call in a tweet later in the day. "Thank you," she wrote, addressing Zelenskiy's twitter handle, "for the very good call today." She wrote support is "essential to lay the foundations for rebuilding a modern competitive #Ukraine" Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier he will attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington this week and will seek more financial assistance for Ukraine. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Aurora Ellis) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a CNN interview that he was shocked almost beyond words by a heartbreaking video of a mother identifying her son's body. During the interview, which aired Sunday, the CNN anchor, Jake Tapper, played a video of a Ukrainian woman collapsing into tears after she had seen the body of her son in a well. "What is it like for you, as the president of this country, to see those videos to hear the crying of the moms?" "This is the most horrifying thing I have seen in my life," Zelensky replied. "I look at this first of all as a father. It hurts so, so much. It's a tragedy. It is suffering. I won't be able to imagine the scale of suffering of these people, of this woman. It is a family's tragedy. It is a disaster. It is the dreams and life you've just lost. We live for our kids, that's true. Kids are the best we were given by God." "This is the most horrifying thing I have seen in my life." Ukrainian President Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa opens up about the emotional toll of the war in an exclusive interview with CNN's @jaketapper in Kyiv. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/iCIChcSyyA State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 17, 2022 Zelensky told CNN that he finds he has to separate his government role from his personal life while watching videos like this. "It is a great pain for me. I can't watch it as a father, only because all you want after this is for revenge and to kill. I have to watch it as the president of the state where a lot of people have died and lost their loved ones," he said, stressing that he needs to push for peace to end the suffering. "We all have to do our best for the war to not be endless. The longer it is, the more we would lose. All these losses will be just like that one." Story continues According to the Daily Beast, the woman had just identified her young son in the village of Buzova, near Kyiv. The outskirts of the Ukrainian capital have been the site of atrocities found in the wake of Russian military withdrawal from the area. Journalists and other observers saw bodies strewn on the side of roads in suburbs like Bucha, some with their hands tied behind their backs. Ukrainian police say they have found over 900 civilian bodies in the region. (Russia denies responsibility, although some of the Kremlin's claims have been disproved by satellite and other evidence.) A Ukrainian mother reacts after the body of her son was discovered in a manhole at a gas station on the outskirts of the village of Buzova, west of Kyiv, on April 10. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) But with once-thriving Ukrainian cities like Mariupol besieged by Russians and reduced to rubble, Zelensky noted that it's impossible to get a full assessment of the casualties so far in the war, which Russia launched in February. More than 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced because of the violence, and more than 4 million of them have fled the country, according to the United Nations. "Russia calls it a 'military operation' and not a 'war.' But look what happened in Bucha. It's clear that is not even a war; it's a genocide," Zelensky said. "They just kill people not soldiers, people. They just shot people in the streets. People riding bicycles, taking the bus, or just walking down the street. There were corpses lining the streets. These were corpses lining the streets. These were not soldiers; they were civilians. They bound their hands. They forced children to watch as they raped their mothers. Then they threw them in a well, or in mass graves. Children. Adults. The elderly." CNN Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a CNN interview that he not only wants President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine to witness the destruction caused by invading Russian forces, but that he believes Biden will personally make his way to Kyiv soon. Speaking to CNN anchor Jake Tapper in a conversation that aired on Sunday morning, the Ukrainian leader also declared that Ukraine will not give up any eastern territory to Russia as a condition to end the war, adding that the country is prepared to fight the Russian military to keep Donbas. This is why it is very important for us to not allow them, to stand our ground, because this battle it can influence the course of the whole war, Zelensky stated, noting that Ukraine cannot trust that Moscow wouldn't once again try to capture Kyiv if it successfully takes over Donbas. With Russias unprovoked war now over 50 days old, the Ukrainian president expressed gratitude for the amount of military aid and assistance that the United States has provided his country. At the same time, while saying he was happy at the additional funding Biden approved last week, Zelensky said we need more and it needs to come fast. He further took swipes at what he felt was empty rhetoric coming from other world leaders, taking issue with the fact that few other countries have offered money or weaponry to aid in the war effort. I dont believe the world, after weve seen whats going on in Ukraine, Zelensky said. I dont believe in this feeling that we should believe, some countries or some leaders. We dont believe the words. After the escalation of Russia, we dont believe our neighbors. Zelensky then explained that he recently told French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been engaging Russian President Vladimir Putin in diplomatic talks, that he needs to come to Ukraine to witness first-hand the atrocities committed by Russian forces. Do you want President Biden to come here? Tapper asked. Story continues Yes, Zelensky responded. Are there any plans for him to come? the State of the Union host pressed. I think he will, the Ukrainian leader answered. You think he will? Tapper wondered. I think he will, Zelensky affirmed. But its his decision, of course, and about the safety situation, it depends. But I think hes the leader of the United States, and thats why he should come here to see. Following British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons surprise visit to Kyiv last weekend, which featured Johnson and Zelensky walking the streets of the Ukrainian capital together, Biden seemingly expressed a desire to personally visit Ukraine himself. The administration, meanwhile, is reportedly having discussions on sending a high-ranking official to Kyiv. And while Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are unlikely to make the trip at this point, the White House is considering Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pay a visit. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A heavily damaged building is seen in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 13, 2022. AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov, File Zelenskyy said negotiations could end if Russian forces kill Ukraine's remaining defenders in Mariupol. The Ukrainian president said the conditions in Mariupol are "inhuman" after weeks of fighting in the city. Russia on Sunday called on Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol to put down their arms, per the WSJ. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that negotiations could end if Russian military forces kill Ukraine's remaining defenders in Mariupol, according to The Guardian. "The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol what they are doing now can put an end to any format of negotiations. I think it is their big mistake to say that they really want to end the war," he told Ukrainian media during an interview. He stated that the conditions in Mariupol are "just inhuman" after weeks of Ukrainians fighting back against Moscow and said that Russia "is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there." Russia on Sunday called on Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol to put down their arms, according to The Wall Street Journal. Zelenskyy said that his country would not be keen on negotiating with Russia if the country continued to mercilessly attack civilians and soldiers. "The stronger we are, the better the outcome of these talks will be. The more Borodyanka-like cases appear, there will be no chance that negotiations will be held actually," he said, referencing a town northwest of Kyiv that was ravaged by weeks of Russian occupation. Zelenskyy last week said that the terror unleashed in Borodyanka was "much more horrific" than even the grisly deaths in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where mass civilian killings were discovered after the departure of Russian forces. There is already information that the number of victims of the occupiers may be even higher in Borodyanka and some other liberated cities," the Ukrainian leader said earlier this month. He continued: "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." Story continues Zelenskyy on Saturday said that there needed to be a discussion about Crimea and the Donbas region between Ukraine and Russia but shared that talks would not be easy since Moscow has its sights on seizing part of the country's land. "I think we need to talk about it," he said of the status of the aforementioned regions. "And find a model that may not give an answer to what to do with it today, but it will definitely allow everyone to become sober. ... When the fighting is over and the war is over, we can think of diplomacy." Zelenskyy then discussed the strains of negotiating the end of an ongoing conflict. "They want to resolve issues diplomatically when there is a war. This is very difficult. And that's why they want to take away some of our territory, to occupy more to put pressure," he said. He added: "And why do we meet? Why should I meet if they want to occupy the whole territory?" The Russian defense ministry on Saturday said that save Ukrainian fighters who have continued to fight for the area, "the entire urban area of Mariupol is completely cleared." Pavlo Kiryienka, the governor of the Donetsk region, said during a Friday appearance on CNN that the port city "has been wiped off the face of the earth by the Russian Federation." "The enemy cannot seize Mariupol. The enemy may seize the land that Mariupol used to stand on, but the city of Mariupol is no more," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Sentences are a Rorschach test for how people define justice. Take Emily Hernandez. The Sullivan woman was just 21 when she stormed the U.S. Capitol along with her uncle, William Bill Merry, and his friend, Paul Scott Westover, during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Hernandez famously held up a piece of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis broken name plate on the damning day in American history. On Monday, a federal judge sentenced Hernandez to 30 days in jail for the misdemeanor of entering and remaining in a restricted public building. Merry and Westover each received 45-day sentences for similar misdemeanors. Are those sentences fair? That depends on through which lens you view justice. I once wrote about a woman named Brooke Bergen, for instance, who lived in Salem, Missouri, not all that far from where Hernandez lives, and she served a year in the county jail for stealing an $8 tube of mascara. Then she got out of jail and was threatened with even more time if she didnt pay a $15,000 bill for her jail time. That didnt seem very just. There are those who will believe Hernandez and many of the other insurrectionists have been treated with kid gloves. Count among them the family of Victoria Wilson, the 32-year-old mother of two who was killed in a highway crash for which Hernandez is charged with driving the wrong way on Interstate 44. In that case, Hernandez has been charged with two felony counts of driving while intoxicated. Shell likely face much more than a 30-day sentence if found guilty. After the deadly crash, Wilsons mother, Tonie Donaldson, was unhappy that Hernandez was not already in jail for her alleged role in the insurrection. Hernandez was originally charged by federal prosecutors with five different misdemeanors. Why is she still out? Donaldson asked after her daughter was killed. With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street? A reader of mine asked a similar question in an email just a week ago. He wondered why Hernandez wasnt jailed immediately after the alleged DWI, as he had been decades ago for a similar offense but where nobody died. Its a common question that misunderstands the purpose of bail, which, when applied properly, is not intended to punish people pretrial but simply ensure that they show up to their next court date or, in some circumstances, keep the community safe from potentially violent criminals. I generally find myself on the opposite side of the question, asking why certain people are locked up before theyve been convicted. My reader 34 years sober now, he tells me shouldnt have been locked up either, all those years ago. In a touch of irony, perhaps, thats been the sentiment expressed by folks on the right side of the political spectrum who post-insurrection found some of their loved ones or friends or allies, like the so-called QAnon Shaman for instance, held in jail before their trials or guilty pleas in some of the more violent cases from the Jan. 6 attack on the nation. Welcome to the cause of criminal justice reform. Therein lies the key to the Rorschach test. Its human nature to sympathize with those with whom we share a common bond. Its fair to say those who believe that former President Donald Trump and his followers were right to stage a coup against the nation likely believe Hernandez should spend no time in jail or prison. The rest of us are wondering when Trump and the other elected officials who enabled the insurrection will pay a price. The ink blot shows what we want to see. Thats likely the case in another high-profile case heard in court this week: In a settlement with Alan Pratzel, the states chief disciplinary counsel, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner agreed that she had violated legal ethics rules in her prosecution of former Gov. Eric Greitens. After being originally charged by Pratzel with multiple ethics violations that could have led her to be disbarred, Gardner will likely receive the legal equivalent of a slap on the wrist. If the Missouri Supreme Court agrees with the reprimand against Gardner, a Democrat, it will be the same level of punishment issued a few years ago to Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd, a Republican who is the former chairman of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. Despite a primary challenge, Zahnd won his next election. Those whose minds were made up about Gardner long ago will lament that the reprimand wasnt more severe. Gardners attorney, Mike Downey, called the resolution pending further court action serious but fair. A good settlement to a case leaves no one happy but everyone recognizing they benefited from it, he told reporters. Justice, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder. It seems that no one who visits the gift shop at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital is a stranger to Marilyn Newland, whether fellow volunteer, employee, visitor or patient. According to Marilyn, everyone has a story, and she relishes the opportunity to hear them. Before coming to Methodist Jennie Ed, Marilyn worked at the Fill and Food Convenience Stores for 18 years. After leaving Fill and Food, Marilyn worked for Hershey Chocolate until retirement. It was during her years of employment that she realized she loved meeting and talking to new people. Marilyn was married to her husband, Dan, for 50 years. She and Dan have three children: Todd and wife Sally, Scott and wife Tricia, and Shannon and husband Patrick Halsted. She also enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren. In addition to owning an apartment complex, Marilyn and Dan purchased a lake home in Sunrise Beach, Missouri, at the Lake of the Ozarks. This is, according to Marilyn, her happy place. Marilyn started volunteering after she retired, as she found she needed something to keep her busy and focused. In addition to her time spent in the gift shop, she is a member of the Hospital Auxiliary, serving VP-Administrative and Family Services, and is finishing her sixth year on that committee. Marilyn is also a 30-year cancer survivor, and finds she has a special place in her heart for anyone who is facing this traumatic time in their own lives. Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital provides Marilyn an opportunity to provide support for cancer patients through its Spirit of Courage event. More on that at jehfoundation.com If you enjoy meeting new people, making friends, and have a desire to be helpful, please consider volunteering. You may contact Volunteer Services, at 712-396-6040. The hospital is currently recruiting to fill volunteer positions. Jennie Edmundson Hospital Morocco has strongly condemned the raid of Israeli occupation forces on Al Aqsa Mosque, the closing of its gates and the attack against unarmed worshipers in the mosque compound, leaving many injured. This blatant aggression and methodical provocation during the holy month of Ramadan against the sanctity of the mosque and its place in the heart of the Islamic Ummah will only fuel feelings of hatred and extremism and destroy the chances of reviving the peace process in the region, said Moroccan Foreign ministry in a statement. Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI chairs the Al Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), calls on the United Nations and the international community to intervene urgently to put an end to these violations and assaults against the defenseless Palestinian people and its sacred values, added the statement. The statement said that upon the Sovereigns instructions, Moroccos condemnation and denunciation were communicated directly to the head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. The OIC has also condemned the Israelis incursion into the sacred mosque and their assault on worshippers, saying this dangerous escalation is an affront to the feelings of the entire Muslim Ummah and a blatant violation of international resolutions and instruments. The Islamic Organization held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the fallout of such daily crimes and offenses against the Palestinian people, their territories and sanctuaries. The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners will conduct two interviews for the open Lincoln County highway superintendent position on Monday. Brian Glos will interview at 9:30 a.m. followed by Jason Schultz at 10:20 a.m. The board will consider action following the interviews. The regular meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Room at the Lincoln County Courthouse, 301 N. Jeffers St. At 9:20 a.m., the board will consider appointing a representative to Sandhills Resource, Conservation, and Development Council and payment of 2022 dues. The commissioners will also consider Lincoln County Department of Roads asphalt overlay projects for 2022 at 9:25 a.m. The commissioners will: Consider approval of the county treasurer report on personal and real property taxes that are uncollectible and need to be stricken per Nebraska state statute. Consider authorizing the chairman to sign the nationwide Click It or Ticket grant request for the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office. SUTHERLAND The Sutherland Village Board hopes to raise funds for infrastructure improvements and economic development with a 1.5% sales tax that will be on the May primary ballot. Voters would need to approve three propositions for the funds to be collected and used. This is a community sales tax inside village limits, village board Chairperson Kim Backer said. Backer spoke with The Telegraph about the proposal, along with Vice Chair Sam Haworth and Gene and Linda Tacey from the villages Growth Committee. The group emphasized the propositions were absolutely not an additional property tax. When Ive talked to some people theyve said, well, I dont need another tax on my house, Backer said. Ive explained that its not on their property, its on the things they buy. Gene Tacey said surrounding communities including North Platte, Paxton and Ogallala all have a local sales tax in place. Some people say I dont want to pay another 1.5% to shop here, he said. I say, if you shop in North Platte or Ogallala, youre paying it there. Proposition 1, should it pass, would establish an economic development program for the village, funded by half of the 1% requested in Proposition 2. The 1% sales tax in Proposition 2 would be used to raise funds for infrastructure improvements, with half going to the economic development program should Proposition 1 be approved by voters. Should Proposition 1 not pass, then the entire 1% of Proposition 2 would go toward infrastructure and other projects, and the economic development program would not be formed. Proposition 3 is an additional 0.5% that would go toward infrastructure and various other projects. The economic development program could provide funds for direct loans or grants for fixed assets or working capital for expanding businesses, Gene Tacey said. It could be used for grants for public works improvements such as streets, water system, sewer system, grants or loans for job training. The group said other possible uses of the economic development funds could be used to create jobs, attract new capital investment and provide economic diversification to ensure economic stability. Tacey said the economic development committee would work separately to do all the leg work, but the final say would still be with the village board. Some cities have done a lot of improvement with their downtown areas, he said. Paxton did a lot with their city streets after they passed this. He said Albion is probably the shining example of what can be done. It wasnt just the sales tax, the community itself, combined with (the sales tax), did a ton of stuff up there, he said. Its an impressive community. Backer said it will take years to build the fund and do improvements. This isnt just going to happen overnight, Backer said. Haworth said from his point of view, the village would realize revenue from people who dont live in Sutherland. We have a big rodeo every year. We have several track meets, and I know that the downtown stores get visited during the track meets, Haworth said. We have a swimming pool and a downtown store that draws people from Wallace, Wauneta, Mullen, Thedford, who come to town. Without the sales tax, the village coffers dont get revenue from the influx of visitors. The only benefit we realize from the rodeo is exposure, but the village itself does not realize any revenue from people coming to town and using our streets and visiting our stores, Haworth said. We would like to get in on that. Another aspect of development that needs to be addressed is the lack of housing in town, Linda Tacey said. Affordable housing needs to get better, she said. If were going to develop and get bigger, where are they going to go? Possible projects in Sutherland could include street repairs, a sidewalk along Highway 30 end to end, construction of moderate-income housing and downtown revitalization. Were just putting a Band-Aid on (our streets) at the moment with overlaying them, Backer said. We need to get them down to a good base and put a good foundation on them, and we dont have the money. Thats what were hoping to do with the sales tax is to raise the money. Backer said the streets overall are in good shape, but some are not. Probably the biggest issue is going to be our concrete streets, Gene Tacey said. The concrete street in front of our school is really old, and its so cracked and deteriorated that its got to be done, Backer said. Linda Tacey said the sewer and water systems need to be evaluated as well. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ReportLinker Major players in the electric vehicles batteries market are Panasonic Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Beijing Pride New Energy Battery Technology Co. Ltd, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, BYD Company Ltd, Daimler AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, SAMSUNG SDI CO, Tianneng Power International Co. New York, March 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Electric Vehicle (EV) Batteries Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06247509/?utm_source=GNW Ltd, and Johnson Controls. The global EV batteries market is expected grow from $23.74 billion in 2021 to $25.43 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%. The growth is mainly due to the companies resuming their operations and adapting to the new normal while recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $33.26 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.9%. The electric vehicles batteries market consists of sales of electric vehicles batteries.Electric vehicles batteries are used to power the electronic vehicles and are rechargeable in nature. These batteries support the clean energy initiative as they dont emit any harmful gases which causes damage to the environment. The main types of battery used in electric vehicles are lithium-ion, lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, sodium-ion and others.The lithium-ion are used in electric vehicles for safer and more stable movement than liquid li-ion batteries. The electric vehicles batteries are used two types of vehicles such as passenger and commercial vehicles and available in two types of propulsion such as battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the electric vehicles batteries market in 2021.Western Europe was the second-largest region in the electric vehicles batteries market. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. Advances in electric vehicles (EV) batteries and their associated technologies are attracting the interests of individuals to purchase EVs, contributing to the growth of the EV batteries.Recent advancements such as lithium-ion batteries, fast charging, and better mileage have helped the electric cars become more passenger-friendly. According to the United States Department of Energy, the range of average electric car have increased from 73 miles in 2011 to 400 miles in 2021.Moreover, the technological developments are contributing to reduced prices of the electronic batteries. According to the Bloomberg report, battery prices that were above USD 1,100 in 2010 have fallen by 87% to $156 per kilowatt-hour in 2019 and is likely to decline to $100 per kilowatt-hour by the end of 2023. Therefore, the advances in electronic battery and its associated technologies increase the vehicles mileage and draws more customers driving the electronic battery market. The extraction of raw materials like lithium cobalt used in the electric vehicle battery has a harmful effect on the environment and governments impose restriction on mining the raw materials, hindering the growth of the market.The extraction process of one ton of lithium requires 50,000 gallons of water. Lithium mining has resulted in consumption of 65% water of the Salar de Atacama region, Chile, which has led to water shortages in Chile, South America along with severe toxic spills.As the demand upsurges, the mining activity also rises with increasing damage to the environment and will force the governments to enforce stringent regulation to curb the negative effects which would increase the production cost. Therefore, the harmful effect of electric vehicle batteries on the environment is expected to be a hindrance to the electric vehicle battery market over the coming years. The charging of Electric vehicle batteries using Vehicle to grid technology is expected to gain traction in EV batteries Market.Vehicle to grid technology is a Bi-directional charging system technology in which plug-in electric vehicles like battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV) or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) batteries can communicate with the power grid for either returning electricity to the grid, to homes during the peak times or increase their charging rate to discharge and charge the battery accordingly. For instance, in January 2021, FCA along with Engie EPS and Terna has launched the first phase of a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot project in Turin, Italy, to test potential connections of the companys vehicles to the grid. Thus, Vehicle to grid technology is anticipated to be a major trend in the electric battery market. In May 2019, Tesla, the American based clean energy and electric vehicle company have acquired San-Diego based batteries and ultra-capacitor maker Maxwell technologies for $235.0 million. This Deal gives Tesla access to the patented technology of Maxwell - the dry cathode technology, which would allow Tesla to develop its own set of battery cells with high density and durability. Maxwell technologies are considered to be the pioneers in the area of super capacitors, their dry battery electrode technology is projected to improve the battery energy capacity by 50.0%, which in effect will double the battery life. The countries covered in the electric vehicles batteries market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06247509/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 The new statewide driver license system, announced by Gov. Kay Ivey on Feb. 4, will call for the shutting down of all Driver License Offices statewide, including the office in Opelika, from Monday until the planned reopening date of Tuesday, April 26. The new system, known as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Driver License System, or LEADS, will replace a decades-old system in order to reduce wait times. LEADS will allow individuals to pre-apply for their first Alabama Driver License prior to visiting a local office. There are a variety of services that were going to be offering online April 26 that we currently dont offer, said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Opelika office. For example, you wont have to physically come into a drivers license office to get your license reinstated [and] commercial drivers can upload medical cards. LEADS is expanding online services to allow citizens to update their addresses, view Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) Hazmat background checks, and issue duplicate licenses to eligible foreign nationals. As far as the in-person experience, we are going to be putting in new hardware, Burkett said. It is really integrating can systems that our drivers license specialist managers and examiners currently utilize. The new systems in place will have one interface instead of swapping between multiple systems to do various things so it should make their job more efficient. During this transition, data received from 1970 and on will be converted into LEADS during this time. All ALEA Driver License offices will be closed to the public, starting April 18, for the new system to be installed. Online services will also not be available during that time. County offices will remain open but only for revenue and probate services. ALEA examiners will also still administer Class D and CDL Road Skills Test, but participants will not receive a copy of their license until offices reopen. "This bullshit about the predators being the ones who get canceled is a cute idea, but not true," says comic Rebecca Corry, whose story has come back into focus in light of Louis C.K.'s shocking Grammy win. https://t.co/xeHguNlvUM Variety (@Variety) April 17, 2022 After Louis C.K. won a Grammy earlier this month despite being 'cancelled', comedian Rebecca Corry has been flooded with interview requests.Corry was one of several women who spoke up about being sexually harassed by C.K. in a 2017 New York Times investigation piece. Besides that and writing a 2018 Vulture essay about the matter, Corry has kept relatively quiet and dismissed press inquires, not even mentioning it in her stand up.However even before C.K.'s recent Grammy win, Corry had decided that it was perhaps time to address it in her comedy routine. She's been trying out material about it, in hopes that it could lead to a tour or a special. Corry isn't too optimistic about it though, as she sees herself as the "real recipient" of cancel culture."Why am I constantly being asked to speak on cancel culture, the joke that is the #metoo movement and C.K. every time hes in the news cycle? I dont care what that guy does, and of course cancel culture is real. Im living proof. The moment I was sexually harassed at my job, I was canceled. Thats how it works, kids. And referring to me as a victim, accuser, silence breaker or one of five women has grown tiresome and is now intolerable." Corry doesn't regret speaking out but says the damage done to her didn't start with the 2017 New York Times story, but in 2005 when she turned down C.K.'s request to masturbate in front of her on set of a Fox pilot. Corry was a co-writer, co-producer and co-star on the project and had significant agency, but was still objected to the harassment."This bullshit about the predators being the ones who get canceled is a cute idea but not true. They dont get canceled, they just get an adult time out. Their behavior is interrupted momentarily, but fear not, they have hardcore fans, millions of dollars and will always hold the power. The people who get canceled are the ones whose lives and careers have been fucked with, and mine has.I am an actress, writer and comedian and have been for 31 years. I have a career, credits and talent. I didnt run away and hide for a decade when things got hard like (Dave) Chappelle did. I stayed and have never stopped doing stand-up comedy and creating and never will. Ive done my time and paid my dues and then some."Corry says even her dog charity - Stand Up for Pits - has been affected by the ordeal."One worth mentioning is a club owner who didnt allow my charity events for dogs back at his clubs which I sold out all of but one because he said I 'threw my dirty tampons all over the green room.' He also said one of his club managers said I was 'difficult because I wanted everything to be perfect.'I said, 'Im sorry, what are you saying?' And he repeated it. I said, 'Im not sure my brain can handle what youre saying.' And he was like, 'Yeah. I mean, I dont know if its true or not.' I was livid and later sent him an email that said, 'Please let whatever manager who said the tampon thing about me to stop. If I find out from anyone that kind of defamation is being said about me, it will be a problem.' To which he replied, 'You can count on my sealing this up, but I would expect the same in return.' Think about that. This club owner actually told me that he expected the same (silence) in return, which is grotesque and mind-numbing, to say the least."While Corry says she can't prove she's blacklisted, she claims to "feel and see it"."Being on the 'one of five women' list absolutely affects potential opportunities and makes the Hollywood lemmings want to distance themselves from me. Im currently pitching two shows, and while I know how hard it is to sell a show, being on the 'list' is not helping. Certain people wont touch it because of their past or current affiliations. I also wont work with assholes, so the playing field is narrow. But Im lucky to have the best agent on the planet and we arent giving up."And while Corry is now implementing her experience into her set, don't bank on it revolving around it entirely."My life and experiences are so much more than this gross debacle." Some have criticized the lofty pledges as a means of appeasing shareholders, but new policies could make the transition inevitable, whether the companies are ready or not. Big Tech has been at the forefront of the corporate green energy push for years, and now its doubling down on its ambitious carbon goals. Google aims to have carbon-free data centers by 2030, but are these grandiose corporate carbon-cutting policies by major corporations all theyre made out to be? With a long history of greenwashing across several of these companies, how likely is it for them to achieve their climate goals over the coming decades? Google plans to use 100 percent carbon-free energy in its data centers by 2030. This would be a huge feat considering it used 15.5 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2020. The company expects to buy this clean energy from the grid, improving efficiency across its operations to support the aim. But this is just the latest in a long line of companies making ambitious carbon-cutting pledges, alongside aims by national governments to reduce their carbon footprints in line with climate change policies. Companies are feeling increasing pressure both from new policies coming into force across several countries by the end of the decade and from their consumers, who now expect major corporations to improve their environmental practices. In 2021, Microsoft also made a pledge to make its data centers carbon-free by 2030. Chief environmental officer at Microsoft Lucas Joppa said Moving forward we will be innovating our energy purchasing contracting to help bring more zero-carbon energy onto the grid and move more high carbon intensity energy off the grid, helping to rebalance the carbon intensity of any grid on which we operate. Earlier that year, 50 major corporations announced plans to become carbon-neutral by 2040, including Amazon, Walmart, General Motors, and FedEx. Companies are aiming high, wanting to achieve net-zero a decade or more earlier than stipulated in the Paris Agreement. FedExs chief sustainability officer, Mitch Jackson, stated We talk to our customers pretty much each and every day about these issues. And Sustainability is not a discretionary thing anymore. I think its really become central to a lot of the considerations in thinking, he said. Related: Russias War Highlights The Dangers Of Resource-Dependence This begs the question, are major companies making these plans because of mounting public pressure, regardless of whether theyre ready to do so? Of course, its a step in the right direction, with many big corporations acting faster on their climate change targets. But is much of this simply greenwashing, hoping that theyll achieve these ambitious targets with no real understanding of how to do so? As experts aptly remind these corporations, 2050 is closer than it appears, and many are aiming for even earlier. Studies across several major companies show that many are still on track to go beyond their carbon budgets the total level of emissions they can release while keeping on track for 1.5C of warming over the next six years. Many companies worldwide continue to fail to disclose their environmental impact and climate change actions transparently, making tracking progress extremely difficult. In addition, while many companies have made ambitious, sweeping climate targets, many do not have interim targets. Without these, it is difficult to measure progress, and several are likely to fail unless they establish clear guidelines for climate progress over the coming decades. Many seem to be adopting a wait-and-see approach, intending to meet these carbon-cutting goals but without any clear strategy to do so. Climate pledges from major companies repeatedly fall short, according to environmental groups. In February, an analysis of 25 of the worlds largest companies, by Carbon Market Watch, showed that they avoid meaningful and immediate greenhouse gas emissions cuts. Many of these companies are using false or misleading carbon-cutting announcements. The report shows many of the top 25 are exaggerating their climate action through greenwashing tricks, using loopholes and omitting data. While some are indeed aiming to dramatically cut their emissions by a set date, it does not mean they are taking meaningful actions to reduce their CO2 at present. By addressing climate change, companies keep their customers happy. But this may actually be a way of putting environmental action on the backburner while appeasing their consumers expectations. One promising development is that 338 large companies with science-based pledges decreased their combined emissions by 25 percent between 2015 and 2019, according to an SBTi analysis. Oslo-based climate analyst Ketan Joshi explains companies are increasingly starting to understand that theyre losing their grip on the public relations hit of announcing a climate ambition and then doing nothing about it. So, are the ambitious climate targets being announced by major corporations all just talk? While some are taking significant steps to address their downfalls and cut carbon emissions, others seem to be leaving it for a later day. Without clear strategies to meet interim climate targets before D-day, many companies are likely to fall short of their climate pledges. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Depending on how Chinas COVID situation develops, and whether the EU decides to fully sanction Russian oil, OPEC could potentially revise its production growth agreement. The IEA and OPEC have both revised their oil demand projections, hinting that prices could see a meaningful decline in the coming months. This week saw some good news finally for oil consumers. Both OPEC and the International Energy Agency revised down their demand projections, suggesting that prices finally had some meaningful downward potential. But OPEC stands ready to change track. "Severe new lockdown measures amid surging Covid cases in China have led to a downward revision in our expectations for global oil demand in 2Q22 and for the year as a whole," the IEA wrote in its latest Oil Market Report this week. The agency also noted that OECD members consumed less oil than previously expected, which led the IEA to revise down its demand outlook for the year by 260,000 bpd from last month's OMR to a total 99.4 million bpd. At the same time, the agency cited stable and significant production additions during the first quarter of the year, noting that it was led by non-OPEC producers. Whenever a production increase is led by non-OPEC producers, it's worth watching OPEC even more closely than usual for its response. This response has yet to come, but the cartel itself is also revising down its outlook for demand for this year. And it is revising it down by a lot more than the IEA. Global oil demand was going to be 480,000 bpd lower than previously expected, OPEC said in the latest edition of its Monthly Oil Market Report. The cartel cited slower economic growth because of the war in Ukraine as one reason for the revision, and Covid-related lockdowns in China as another. As for supply, the IEA seems to be perfectly calm. After sounding the alarm about the potential loss of 3 million bpd of Russian oil exports because of Western sanctions, the agency now said that the coordinated release of a total 240 million barrels of crude, of which 180 million bpd to be released by the United States, would offset the effect of lost Russian supply. It seems that the IEA is assuming that the loss of Russian supply will be temporaryjust as the effect of the reserve release will only last for as long as the release lasts, if not less. And OPEC may yet serve a nasty surprise to IEA members ready to tap their own strategic reserves to normalize benchmark prices. Related: Permian Could See Production Surge As New Permits Reach All-Time High Earlier this month, OPEC met with European Union representatives only to tell them that it would not be stepping in to help if Russian oil exports were completely shut off. "We could potentially see the loss of more than 7 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil and other liquids exports, resulting from current and future sanctions or other voluntary actions. Considering the current demand outlook, it would be nearly impossible to replace a loss in volumes of this magnitude," said the secretary-general of the cartel, Mohammed Barkindo. Yet with demand forecasts being revised, OPEC might just decide to revise its production plans as well. With millions of Russian oil out of the (official) picture and a very slim chance of Iranian barrels coming back for the time being, it's up to OPEC and the U.S. to fill the gap. If, that is, they want to. U.S. producers seem to be warming up to the idea of boosting production, with prices so high their profit margins are fat enough to motivate more drilling. OPEC, meanwhile, boosted its production by just 67,000 bpd last month. That was because some OPEC members saw a decline instead of growth in their oil production, but Saudi Arabia notably undershot its production quota. At the same time, OPEC revised upward its forecast for U.S. oil production for this year, and history shows that when U.S. oil production grows, OPEC is not one happy cartel and takes steps to counter that growth. Now, with this production growth expectation coupled with expectations of slower demand growth, OPEC's reaction may only be a matter of time. As for the nature of the potential reaction, it is not difficult to guess it. Right now, OPEC is selling its oil at prices last seen years ago. Buyers have few alternatives amid Western sanctions on Russia and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran. It's a sellers' market. Yet news of the resurgence of Covid in China has prompted suspicion that the market is about to flip. After all, China is the world's top importer in terms of absolute volumes, and imports are already down palpably because of the lockdowns. If China needs less oil, less oil should be made available. Europe seems to be shaping up as a bigger client for OPEC oil right now, but it would be a temporary thing as the EU tries to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons by replacing them with hydrocarbons from elsewhere. Europe is not a long-term growth market for OPEC oil and as such, is, to put it bluntly, not an important market for the cartel. That's especially true of the two OPEC producers that have the spare capacity to boost their output considerably. So, if bearish expectations for oil continue to intensify, depending on how the coronavirus spread develops in China and what EU does about Russian oil, we may well see OPEC revise its production growth agreement with Russia and the rest of its OPEC+ partners before this year's end. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The odds of a new nuclear deal with Iran are shrinking. The ongoing discussions, which have been lauded several times by participants to have almost reached a solution, are still hanging like a boxer on the ropes. While the knockout blow hasn't yet been landed, Tehrans hope to get the U.S. and its European partners to sign a deal with regard to the global oil supply deficit is increasingly unrealistic. The current discussions are hitting a brick wall as the Iranian position on several key issues is preventing a breakthrough. Since the latest negotiations started over a year ago, Tehran has been actively engaged in finding new ways to get its hands on nuclear weapons technology. The new hardline government of president Raisi, backed fully by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the extremist military force ruling Iran, is not willing to back down at all. A new agreement according to Iran, cant be signed if sanctions are not removed on the IRGC. The latter is a no-go area at present for U.S. president Biden, as he does not have enough support to put this through Congress. Removing the IRGC from the list of terrorist organizations is not just being opposed by a majority of US Democrats and Republicans in the House but also in the Senate. At the same time, Biden needs to get the backing of outside parties too, especially the Arab Gulf states, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but also Egypt and Israel. Arabs and Israelis are even openly discussing a military anti-Iran alliance, which could be used as a geopolitical counterweight against any pro-Iranian US or European moves. Related: Yergin: Europe Gears Up To Sanctions Russian Energy Supplies During an unprecedented Arab Israeli meeting in the Negev, Israel, UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, have been discussing possible strategies to counter Iranian influence in the region. The outcome is not clear, but Israeli and Arab military analysts have been hinting at a military alliance. Iranian officials have already conceded a possible defeat, as one stated this week that the agreement is in the emergency room. The JCPOA discussions at present in Vienna, but also in the backrooms of Western and Iranian governments, were an almost impossible venture from the start. As former U.S. President Trumps move to leave the JCPOA agreement already clearly reflected, the current agreement is built on a weak basis, not including much stricter limits on Irans nuclear program, but also not taking into account the growing capabilities of Irans missile developments, and its continuing support for anti-Western or anti-Arab proxy forces, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis and the Shia militias in Iraq. All have been involved in military or terrorist actions against Western targets or Arab infrastructure. The continuing direct support of Iran for Russias military aggression in Ukraine is also not being accounted for. Without addressing the future role of Iran in the Middle East, no real nuclear deal can be signed. For Iran, the opportunity to take advantage of the crisis in energy markets, due to US-EU sanctions on Russia, is lost. For the Raisi government, the main powers are Russia (Syria, Iraq, Libya) and China. The latter is the largest economic partner of the regime in Tehran, investing around $26.5 billion in 2020. At the same time, China is propping up the Iranian regime, representing almost all of Irans oil exports at present. A recent report stated that Tehran exports around 829,260 bpd of oil to China via a so-called ghost armada. Since the inauguration of U.S. president Biden, Iran has sold around $22 billion worth of crude to Beijing. Washington-based critics are blaming Bidens rather weak sanctions implementation regime for the continuation of these clandestine oil exports. For Tehran, the current flexibility in Washington is a welcome present as Iran still receives around its hard-needed billions to prop up its own economy and strengthen its proxies. The U.S. State Department has admitted that China is importing illegal Iranian oil, but refuted claims that US sanctions are weak or not working at all. Related: How Egypt Could Become A Critical Energy Hub For Tehran, the only hope at present is that some European governments have weak knees and will go for a deal on their own. A total blockade of Russian oil and gas is a nightmare scenario for European economies. Some analysts are expecting that a lasting energy shortfall in European markets could be a catalyst for an Iran-EU deal. If the energy crisis on the European continent worsens, some European countries will be willing to break out of the current U.S.-EU cooperation fold. In a move to benefit from the increased demand for non-Russian crude, Tehran has raised its crude oil selling prices (OSPs) for Asian buyers. The NIOC indicated that all three grades of Iranian oil namely Light, Heavy, and Forouzan, will see price hikes. May OSPs for Iranian Light to Asia stand at $9.2 per barrel above the Oman/Dubai average, while Iranian Heavy and Forouzan grades are set at $7.95 and $8.05 above the benchmark. It seems that Iranian oil analysts are taking into account the growing demand for Iranian crude even before possible oil sanctions are being put in place on Russia. By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) China said its military staged exercises Friday to reinforce its threat to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, as U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan made a pointed and public declaration of their support for the self-governing island democracy while issuing a warning to China. The six lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday morning and were also scheduled to meet with the islands defense minister. The military drills conducted by the Peoples Liberation Armys Eastern Theater Command in areas opposite Taiwan were a countermeasure to the recent negative actions of the U.S., including the visit of a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. China would continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhao added. China is against any official exchanges between Taiwans government and other foreign governments because it claims Taiwan is part of its national territory and not an independent country. China and Taiwan split after a civil war in 1949. The Eastern Theater Command described the exercises in a statement as a necessary action based on the present security situation in the Taiwan Strait and the need to safeguard national sovereignty. Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory. There is no room for any foreign interference on the Taiwan issue, the statement said. As part of the delegation of visiting U.S. lawmakers, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey gave a speech Friday praising Taiwan's democracy and its global status as a manufacturer of semi-conductor chips used in everything from cars to smartphones, and warned of consequences if that status were jeopardized. It is a country of global significance, of global consequence, of global impact, and therefore it should be understood the security of Taiwan has a global impact for those who would wish it ill, said Menendez, the head of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, in a speech at Taiwan's Presidential Office. He emphasized that we seek no conflict with China as I believe Taiwan seeks no conflict with China. The delegation, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also includes Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Sen. Robert Portman of Ohio, Sen. Benjamin Sasse of Nebraska and Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas. Tsai said she welcomed their visit and hoped it would help to further deepen US-Taiwan cooperation. Russias invasion of Ukraine has proven that democracies must bolster their alliances and collectively we can defend ourselves from the threats posed by authoritarian nations that seek to disrupt regional peace, said Tsai. The U.S. is the democratic island's biggest unofficial ally and has stepped up weapons sales to Taiwan in past years. By law, the U.S. is bound to help Taiwan with arms that are defensive in nature. However, the question of whether the U.S. would intervene in the case of a military invasion by China remains open. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Omaha Public Library (OPL) wants to help readers find new books or at least books new to them. Every month in this space, OPL employees will recommend reading based on different writing genres, themes or styles. Dia is a celebration every day of children, families and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. OPL staff selected some titles that emphasize the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Learn more about Dia and find these titles and more at one of OPLs 12 locations or omahalibrary.org. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines: Set in 1940s Louisiana, this is a compelling and moving book about a Black schoolteacher who begins to educate Jefferson, a young man sentenced to death row. Jill Anderson, library specialist at Charles B. Washington Branch A Perfect Day by Remy Charlip: This book is a sweet and simple celebration of a childs day with a caregiver, full of soft, lush illustrations of the joy, creativity, and love they share. Molly Gurnicz, youth services specialist at Benson Branch Sing with Me/Canta Conmigo! by Jose-Luis Orozco: This is a book you can sing! In this story, you follow the main characters as you read or sing traditional childrens songs in both English and Spanish, making this a fun book to share with family. Janeth Hernandez Islas, youth services librarian at Willa Cather Branch A Song of Frutas by Margarita Engle: A Song of Frutas is a fun new picture book that uses Spanglish (the intermixing of Spanish and English) to tell the story of a young girl who loves to visit her Abuelo in Mexico, and help him sing his frutas song to sell fruit from his fruit stand. Johnna Bierman, youth services specialist at A.V. Sorensen Branch Thank you, Omu! by Oge Mora: It has a unique art style and touching story about sharing with your neighbors. Mora is an excellent new author and illustrator that has won countless awards with this debut picture book. Bierman Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty: This is the delightful story of a family attempting to finish some chores before Grandma visits; the only problem is that the cat keeps scrambling up the list! This book is great for prompting little ones and checking their knowledge of the world: Would you really mow the carpet? Would you mop a baby? Jay Lowe, youth services specialist Milton R. Abrahams Branch Are You Eating Candy Without Me? by Draga Jenny Malesevic: This book asks an important question on the minds of every kid: what is it that parents do all day? Could it possibly be fun things?! Thats not fair at all! Featuring a diverse cast of families, this book is sure to be a favorite. Lowe Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Pena: This book stars the precocious Milo as he and his sister take the subway to visit their currently incarcerated mom. On the bus, he meets all sorts of strangers and draws what he thinks their lives might be like. The problem is that we can never tell who people are or what they are going through at a glance. A great book for both showcasing stories often hidden and acknowledging bias at an early age. Lowe Dear Librarian by Lydia M. Sigwarth: A young girl finds a safe place in the library and forms a special bond with a librarian while her family experiences homelessness. This story is based on the authors youth. Nancy Novotny, youth & family services manager at Omaha Public Library The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: This is a gentle, endearing graphic novel about a Vietnamese-American family finding ways to communicate through their cultural and linguistic barriers, with the help of a rich tradition of Vietnamese fairy tales. Elly Roberts, youth services specialist at Saddlebrook Branch Seasons no longer just describe weather patterns, but also color palettes. House of Colour West Omaha, led by Darcie Zauha with her associate Kirsten Hilt, is using winter, spring, summer and autumn palettes to highlight clients features and make them feel more confident. Their process uses color theory to draw attention to natural features by identifying a persons natural warm or cool tones, and how muted or vibrant colors draw attention to their face. Zauha said she and Hilt are not the color police trying to control what people wear. They trying to make their clients feel like the best version of themselves and even teach them how to wear colors not in their season. Its not about the color. Its about what the color is doing to your face, Zauha said. Their process is not just about putting colors on a client and saying they look good, its a science, Zauha said. The analysis is based on the findings of 20th century artist Johannes Itten. Itten was interested in categorizing color. He worked at the Bauhaus School of Art in Germany and used color theories to develop the idea of identifying four types of people with color and the 12-point color wheel. House of Colour is a European franchise, but has been in the United States since 2010. There are 20 franchises in Nebraska including six in Omaha, Zauha said. Zauha said clients arrive with their natural hair color and no makeup. The consultation begins with a brief history and lesson about Ittens color theory. Clients are seating in natural lighting with a white sheet over their body and their hair covered. Staff start by laying cool and warm drapes across the clients shoulders next to their face to determine if they naturally have warm tones or cool tones, which then narrows their seasons from four to two. Winter and summer pallets are for people with naturally cool, bluish undertones, and summer and autumn for warm and yellow. Once the tones are established, they start laying drapes of clear and muted colors on their clients shoulders to determine which colors look best and which season they are, Zauha said. Each season has 36 colors identified that look good on a persons skin tone and with their features. Those specific colors represent 2.5 million colors that look amazing on a person in that certain season. Zauha said some colors look better in smaller doses. However, when a color highlight features and draws attention to the eyes, it is considered a wow color, meaning that person can wear that color over 100% of their body and their features will be highlighted best, said Zauha. Once clients see their colors and features highlighted, they turn them back away from the mirror and begin teaching them a 90-second makeup routine. They help clients identify primer, mineral powder, bronzer, illuminator, blush, lipstick and mascara. Each season has three points of red for lipstick. These three colors will look great with any color within your season, Hilt said. You dont need very many products when they are the perfect color for you, Hilt said. After the makeup, they turn you around to see the before-and-after difference. Hilt said she normally sees big smiles and happy tears, and Zauha said, Wow, is usually the first response she hears. Often the people they see are entering a new stage of life or recently went through a transition and want their outer confidence to match their new mindset. They really start to see themselves differently. They walk out a much different, more confident person, Hilt said. Zauha and Hilt see about 10 to 15 clients a week. A color consultation costs between $235 and $265. Both Hilt and Zauha are already booked through June. Zauha got her colors done in 2012 in Oakland, Nebraska, with some friends and said she loved the process. She ended up having her immediate family get their colors done as well. Then in 2019, she wanted to explore a new career, and her family supported her idea to have a House of Colour franchise in West Omaha. Hilt got her colors done by Zauha in 2019. She was pregnant and said she often felt forgettable and disappeared into the background. In her wow colors, she said she felt memorable, confident and more like her true self. She took her mother-in-law, who had just finished breast cancer treatment, to Zauha to get her colors done. Hilt said it was amazing to see her experience her own beauty again, and it inspired her to help people through House of Colour. In July 2021, she joined Zauhas franchise. We both really at our core, really enjoy helping people and being in a little bit of a creative space where we are helping people see themselves in a way that they didnt before, Zauha said. At the end of the appointment, clients leave with a fabric swatch fan, a book about their season and any makeup bought at the appointment. Plus, they receive follow-up emails and an invitation in the private Facebook group where Zauha and Hilt share tips and tricks about shopping and wearing different seasons. Clients also leave with a challenge: They are asked to separate their closets, organize it by their colors and only wear their season for two weeks. It helps clients learn their colors and understand the tools they now have, Hilt said. It takes probably three years to transform a closet , Zauha said. Its not something that you can just flip a switch and just go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. After a persons colors are done, there are a few additional steps they can take. House of Colour also offers more makeup tutorials, closet edits and style consultations. All which makes shopping easier, Zauha said. Becca Page got her colors done a year ago and her style done two months ago. She said she gained more confidence, felt more like herself and now dresses in a way that reflects her extroverted personality. Page said Zauha taught her how to own the room and dress how she feels. The process is awesome, she said. Ive saved so much money now that like I know I shouldnt be buying like black jeans or a black top, knowing that this color looks good on me. Or, if Im about to go into a big meeting, knowing that I need to put my big earrings on with my red lipstick because Im going to take up more space doing that. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea on Friday celebrated the milestone birth anniversary of its late founder with a mass dance, fireworks and calls for stronger loyalty to his grandson and current leader Kim Jong Un, but there was no word on an expected military parade amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program. The 110th birthday of Kim Il Sung comes after North Korea conducted a spate of weapons tests in recent months, including its first full-range intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017. Experts say North Korea aims to expand its arsenal and ramp up pressure on the United States while nuclear diplomacy is stalled. Lets work harder in devotion to our respected comrade Kim Jong Un and on that path ultimately realize the dreams of our great president (Kim Il Sung) to build a powerful socialist state, the Norths state-run website Uriminzokkiri said in a commentary. Kim Il Sungs birthday is the most important national holiday in North Korea, where the Kim family has ruled under a strong personality cult since the nations founding in 1948. Kim Jong Un became a third-generation leader after his father Kim Jong Il died in late 2011. Kim Jong Un has pushed to advance his nuclear weapons while simultaneously reviving the economy. But a mix of pandemic border closures, U.S.-led sanctions and his own mismanagement have caused a massive economic blow in whats become the toughest moment of his decade in power. On Friday, residents of Pyongyang, the capital, bowed and laid bouquets of flowers near the bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. State TV later showed thousands of young people men dressed in Western-style white shirts and women in colorful traditional Korean garb dancing in a Pyongyang plaza as fireworks launched from a nearby river bank lit up the night sky. The dancers circled a group of performers who held up yellow flowers to form the symbol of the Workers Party of Korea - a hammer, brush and sickle. North Korea often marks key state anniversaries with huge military parades featuring newly built missiles, especially during anniversaries that end in zero and five. Commercial satellites earlier indicated an apparent rehearsal for a military parade, such as people assembled in formation at the Pyongyang plaza, where such events were held in the past. After North Koreas ICBM test last month, South Korean and U.S. officials said Pyongyang could soon launch fresh provocations like an additional ICBM test, a rocket to put a spy satellite into orbit, or even a nuclear bomb test that would be the seventh of its kind. South Koreas military said recently it detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground that it partially dismantled before it entered now-dormant nuclear talks with the United States in 2018. I think theyll carry out a nuclear test once it finishes restoring its nuclear testing facility, said analyst Moon Seong Mook with the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. There is no reason for them to bring back its testing ground if they dont plan to use them for a bomb test. Sung Kim, the top U.S. official on North Korea, is to visit South Korea next week for talks on the international communitys response to the Norths recent missile tests. North Korea has recently resumed its trademark harsh rhetoric against its rivals. One of its international affairs commentators labeled President Joe Biden as an old man in senility, while Kims powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, called South Koreas defense minister a scum-like guy and threatened to annihilate South Korea with nuclear strikes. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Russia renews strikes on Ukraine capital, hits other cities KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia has resumed scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond after warning that it planned to step up missile strikes on the capital. Saturday's strikes are a reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite a pivot toward a new offensive in the east. Moscow says the renewed attacks targeted Ukrainian military sites. But each day brings more civilian victims of a war that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old sons body. The teenager and at least eight other people died after rockets hit a residential area of the northeast city of Kharkiv. US Army using lessons from Ukraine war to aid own training FORT IRWIN, Calif. (AP) U.S. Army trainers are using lessons learned from the Russian war against Ukraine as they prepare soldiers for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China. The role-players in this months exercise at a training center in California's Mojave Desert speak Russian and the enemy force is using a steady stream of social media posts to make false accusations against the American brigade preparing to attack. In the coming weeks, the planned training scenario for the next brigade coming in will focus on how to battle an enemy willing to destroy a city with rocket and missile fire in order to conquer it. 'Magic mushrooms' for therapy? Vets help sway conservatives SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The medicinal use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is making inroads in U.S. states as military veterans advocate for the therapeutic value of psychedelic drugs, including in conservative states like Utah, Texas and Oklahoma. At least four states have approved studying their medicinal properties in the last two years and several U.S. cities have also decriminalized so-called magic mushrooms. Oregon is the first, and so far only, state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient found in certain mushrooms. But studying them has gotten approval not only in blue states like Hawaii, Connecticut and Maryland but also GOP-led Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma, where the state House passed a bill this year. 12 injured in shooting at South Carolina mall; 3 detained COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the shooting victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out. Johnson said people were screaming and knocking over tables as they fled. DA: 3 of 6 dead in Sacramento shootout were in gang dispute SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Newly filed court documents in a deadly downtown Sacramento shooting reveal that three of the six who died were involved in the gang dispute that led to the massive shootout. At least one of them fired a weapon while another boasted before the killing about shooting rival members. The information was contained in documents filed Friday by the Sacramento County District Attorney's office. Court documents say suspect Smiley Martin and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi posted on social media earlier in the day that they wanted to shoot rival gang members. The Sacramento Bee was first to report on the filings. The April 3 shootout wounded a dozen others. Unrest sparked by far-right demos continues in Sweden HELSINKI (AP) Unrest has broken out in southern Sweden despite police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was planning to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration scheduled there by the Danish right-wing party Stram Kurs party was moved to the nearby city of Malmo. Up to 100 mostly young people threw stones, set cars, tires and dustbins on fire, and put up a barrier fence that obstructed traffic, Swedish police said. The situation had calmed down in Landskrona by late Saturday but remains tense. Crews fight New Mexico fires as some evacuations lift RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) Authorities have lifted some evacuation orders for a southern New Mexico mountain community hit by wildfire. Firefighters are working Saturday to contain a wind-driven blaze that killed two people and destroyed over 200 homes. A Village of Ruidoso spokesperson said about 60% of the estimated 4,500 people who were told to evacuate since the fire started Tuesday were allowed to return home late Friday. Evacuation estimates were previously reported to be around 5,000 people. Specific numbers werent immediately available. Fire incident commander Dave Bales said crews on Saturday worked to put out hot spots and clear lines along the fires perimeter to keep the fire from spreading. Suit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate PHILADELPHIA (AP) Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn Philadelphias renewed indoor mask mandate scheduled to be enforced beginning Monday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. Philadelphia earlier this week became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections. Attorney Thomas W. King III said the citys emergency order went against Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and imposed a renegade standard." The Philadelphia mayors office declined comment but said courts have ruled that the city has both the legal authority and requisite flexibility" to take steps to control COVID-19 spread. WNBA players say life in Russia was lucrative but lonely For WNBA players, spending the offseason by competing in Russia can be lucrative, with some earning more money than they make back home. But they also describe the loneliness of being away from family and friends, of struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, and of living in a place with little sunlight in winter and temperatures well below freezing. Brittney Griner is one of those athletes who went to Russia to earn extra money. But the experience has turned into a prolonged nightmare after she was arrested in February by police who reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She is awaiting trial on charges that could bring a prison term. Art Rupe, pioneering record executive, dead at 104 NEW YORK (AP) A pioneering record executive who helped launch the careers of Little Richard and Sam Cooke has died. Art Rupe died Friday at his Santa Barbara, California, home at the age of 104. Rupe was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native was a contemporary of Jerry Wexler, Leonard Chess and other businessmen-producers who helped bring Black music to a general audience. He founded Specialty Records in Los Angeles in 1946 and worked on such early rock classics as Little Richard's Tutti Frutti" and Lloyd Price's Lawdy Miss Clawdy. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol defy surrender-or-die demand KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian fighters holed up in a steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol have ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from the Russians and continue to hold out against the capture of the strategically vital port. Mariupol has been the site of a merciless, 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin. Its fall would be Moscows biggest victory of the war yet and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. US rocked by 3 mass shootings during Easter weekend; 2 dead HAMPTON, S.C. (AP) The lawyer for a man arrested in connection with a mass shooting at a South Carolina mall tells news outlets his client fired in self-defense. Attorney Todd Rutherford represents Jewayne Price, who currently faces a charge of illegally carrying a pistol. A judge said Sunday that Price could be released on house arrest with a $25,000 surety bond. Saturdays shooting in Columbia was one of two Easter weekend shootings in South Carolina with multiple victims, and one of three in the nation. Nine people were hurt early Sunday in a Hampton County, South Carolina, nightclub shooting. Gunfire at a Pittsburgh party caused multiple injuries and killed two minors. Shanghai quarantine: 24-hour lights, no hot showers BEIJING (AP) Thousands of people in Shanghai who test positive for the coronavirus but have few or no symptoms are being ordered into quarantine centers in exhibition halls and other buildings. The move is part of official efforts to contain China's biggest coronavirus outbreak since the 2-year-old pandemic began. Most of Shanghai was shut down starting March 28 after case numbers soared. The biggest quarantine center is in the National Exhibition and Convention Center, which has beds for 50,000 people. One resident says lights there are left on all night, making it hard to sleep, and she has yet to find a hot shower. Tesla stockholders ask judge to silence Musk in fraud case DETROIT (AP) A group of Tesla shareholders suing CEO Elon Musk over some 2018 tweets about taking the company private is asking a federal judge to order Musk to stop commenting on the case. The lawyers also say the judge in the case has ruled that Musks tweets about having funding secured to take Tesla private were false. They allege that the tweets manipulated Tesla's stock price and cost them money. Musk said Thursday that he had the money to take Tesla private, and he agreed to settle only because bankers told him he had to or they would stop lending money. But the stockholders' lawyers say Musk is trying to influence potential jurors. Musk's lawyer says he truthfully tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private and could have done it. Wisconsin Democrats aim to beat Sen. Ron Johnson, but how? CAMBRIDGE, Wis. (AP) A crowded field of Democrats is trying to figure out a winning strategy to unseat Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in Wisconsin in November. It's one of a handful of competitive Senate races this election year and could help decide Senate control. Johnson was elected as a fiscal conservative, but in the past two years he has staked out some anti-science positions in the pandemic. And he's embraced conspiracy theories surrounding Donald Trump's 2020 defeat. Wisconsin's lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes, leads the Democratic field in early polls, money and endorsements. Top rivals include Alex Lasry, an executive with the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, and Sarah Godlewski, the state treasurer. There's optimism among Democrats that Johnson is more vulnerable now than ever. 2 minors dead, 8 wounded in shooting at Pittsburgh party PITTSBURGH (AP) Authorities say shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh left two 17-year-olds dead and at least eight more people wounded. The shooting happened at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday as hundreds of people had gathered at a short-term rental home. Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert says the vast majority of them were underage. Two male gunshot victims died and eight others were wounded by gunfire. Others were hurt trying to flee, including two who broke bones while jumping out the building's windows. No arrests were immediately reported. Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, and potentially back and forth. Ski resorts cheer as spring storm dumps snow in California SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A spring storm brought several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada and rain to parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, with more stormy weather expected this week. The seven-day snow total topped 3 feet in some mountain areas as of Saturday. Mammoth Mountain in the eastern Sierra reported a foot of fresh snow. The resort has said it would remain open to skiing and snowboarding until Memorial Day. Parts of Northern California including the Bay Area could see pockets of rain for several days. Clashes erupt again near flashpoint Jerusalem holy site JERUSALEM (AP) Palestinian medical officials say 17 people have been wounded in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem. The unrest erupted Sunday after Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to secure the spot for Jewish visitors. The site is the third holiest in Islam and the holiest for Jews, and it is often a flashpoint for violence. Police say visits by Jews are routine and accused Palestinians of stockpiling stones in anticipation of violence. But this year, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the weeklong Jewish Passover are occurring at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to Jerusalem. Clashes erupted on Friday after police said Palestinians threw rocks at an adjacent Jewish holy site. 'This land is in blood': A Ukraine village digs up the dead MYKULYCHI, Ukraine (AP) On a quiet street lined with walnut trees was a cemetery with four bodies that had not yet found a home. All were victims of Russian soldiers in this village outside Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Their temporary caskets were together in a grave. Volunteers dug them up one by one on Sunday two weeks after the soldiers disappeared. This spring is a grim season of planting and replanting in towns and villages around Kyiv. Bodies given hurried graves amid the Russian occupation are now being retrieved for investigations into possible war crimes. More than 900 civilian victims have been found so far. Tax Day laggards: Consider filing for extension if in a rush WASHINGTON (AP) Millions of Americans wait until the last minute to file their taxes, and this year is no exception. Monday is Tax Day the federal deadline for individual tax filing and payments. The IRS will receive tens of millions of last-minute filings electronically and through paper forms. Nina Tross at the National Society of Tax Professionals says if people havent filed their taxes by now, theyre better off filing an extension. But she says many people dont realize that filing an extension has zero effect, so long as people are paid up on their income taxes by Tax Day. She adds that people are better off extending than amending. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. BLOOMINGTON Three faithful businesswomen were feeling very blessed this Easter holiday. Polly Schill, Danielle Salz and Laura Burke are the owners of the Serendipity Mercantile, 902 IAA Drive, which opened April 1. Schill said theyre an upscale, secondhand nonprofit boutique that tithes revenues weekly to area nonprofits. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Salz, who hails from the Minonk area, added they wont be limited to organizations in just the Twin Cities. Beneficiaries for the past two weeks included the Pregnancy Resource Center and The Baby Fold, according to Schill, who said up next is Marcfirst. Since opening, Schill said customer traffic has been consistent and their Facebook page has exploded. She also said theyll be asking people what nonprofits theyre passionate about, to help build their ongoing list of charitable organizations. Schill said shes an entrepreneur who sold her last business, The Next Up Dance Studio, right before the COVID-19 lockdowns hit. Her director has since kept the studio alive after taking over ownership. She said during the pandemic, she was looking for another business to invest in or buy. Schill said she and Salz started praying and meeting together weekly or every other week to see what the Lord would have next, and she knew I wanted to invest in a business. Salz then showed her to a Peoria Heights ministry called Helping Hands, which Schill said they later modeled their mission after. Burke connected with the other two around January through a mutual friend, knowing she was trying to start a coffee business. But that didnt come together. When she heard our mission to give back to the local community, (Burke) jumped on board, said Schill. Burke, who has a background in elementary education, said she still works at Eastview Christian Church part time. It's really fun to be able to still minister in a different way in the shop, she said. Whats driving them on their charitable mission, Schill said: It's definitely our Christian faith to be able to give from what the Lord's given us out to others, and especially supporting our local community while doing that. Providence exchange A sign by the cash register explains the boutiques calling and namesake. Quoting Bible verse James 1:17, it states: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. It really fits the mission of the store: having people come in and find something beautiful, something unexpected, said Schill. But they cant do it all on their own. Salz said theyll eventually be seeking volunteers to help deliver or sort items, and Schill said they need donations of furniture or home decor items to stock. Anything they cant take theyll pass on to another nonprofit, Salz said. Burke said they really want things to be affordable, adding that a lot of boutiques have a higher price point. Salz said they have products starting at $1. Also found at the store are kitchenware, clothing, womens accessories, books and art. And they feature Central Illinois vendors, such as plants by Rooted Studios in downtown Bloomington, Saturday Morning Tea Co. blends and Faire Coffee Productions. Schill is the behind-the-scenes brains of the operation, taking care of paperwork and legal issues. Salz and Burke are the curators, with Burke noting her counterpart has good ideas on how to make things look upscale. Additionally, Salz brings her past experience of running a vendor store in Pontiac. Future business plans of the trio include holding online auctions with an affordable starting point, going to pop-up markets, or even holding one in their parking lot. Burke said they also want to use the space to welcome people in need of prayer or some encouragement. Theyve had a few of those encounters already, she added. They think theyre just buying something, but really the heart behind it is to love on people, she said. Schill said while their mission goes back to being generous with what the Lord has given us, they dont want to glorify themselves in any way. But we really want to give back to Him for what He has given us, she said. Those interested in giving back can call or text the store at 309-323-0163, or email info@serendipitymercantile.org. Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, on Good Morning Ghana (GMG), there was a head-scratching exchange between the host, Randy Abbey, and Dr. Kabiru Mahama, an advisor in the Vice Presidents Office, over taxes that President Akufo-Addos government have either reduced or abolished since 2017. You will recall that in his recent lecture on the state of the economy, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, affirmed the Governments record in fulfilment of its promise to shift the focus of fiscal policy from taxation to production. In his speech, the Vice President listed eighteen (18) instances of tax reduction or abolishment, the majority of which were implemented in the first year of President Akufo-Addos government. Before President Akufo-Addos government was elected, there was, among several others, the introduction of; 1. 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on financial services 2. 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on imported medicines, 3. 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on domestic airline tickets, and 4. An increase in the Flat VAT Rate from 3% to 15% These were all separate taxes, imposed on different products and services. We specified the taxes we intend to reduce or abolish in our 2016 Manifesto, including the four listed above, and we went ahead and abolished them when elected. Ordinarily, this should not have been a matter for debate, seeing as these are matters of public record as seen in the extracts from our 2016 Manifesto, our inaugural 2017 Budget and the Vice Presidents recent speech in Table 1 below: Table 1 Tax Reduction and Abolishment Under President Akufo-Addo 1. Abolished the 5% VAT/NHIL on Real Estate sales. 2. Abolished 17.5% VAT/NHIL on selected imported medicines, that are not produced locally. 3. Abolished the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on financial services. 4. Abolished import duty on the importation of spare parts. 5. Abolished 1% special import levy. 6. Abolished 17.5% VAT on domestic airline tickets. 7. Abolished Levies imposed on Kayayei by local authorities. 8. Reduced import duty for some goods and vehicles. 9. Abolished excise duty on petroleum. 10. Provided full corporate tax deduction for private universities who plough back 100% of profits into the university. 11. Reduced National Electrification Scheme Levy from 5% to 3%. 12. Reduced Public Lighting Levy from 5% to 2%. 13. Reduced special petroleum tax rate from 17.5% to 13% and introduced specific rates. 14. Replaced the 17.5 VAT/NHIL rate with a flat rate of 3 % for traders. 15. Granted Capital Gains Tax Exemption on stocks traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange or publicly held securities approved by the SEC. 16. Abolished the income tax on mutual fund and unit trust schemes. 17. Abolished income tax on REIT. 18. Reduced withholding tax for gold exporters from 3% to 1%. Of the 18 taxes listed as having been reduced or abolished by the Vice President 13 of them, or 72%, were implemented in the very first year of President AkufoAddos first term. This, more than any in our history, is the largest roll-back of taxes by any government, not only in its first year but over its entire tenure! While not exhaustive, this is also evidence that even in the first year, the government went over and above the tax reforms it proposed before coming into office. Randy Abbey seems to be confused about the nature of taxes, how they are imposed and collected, and their impact. The key ingredients of taxes are the product or service the tax is imposed on, the tax rate, and the tax incidence, i.e., the distribution of the tax burden along the production-to-consumption chain (who pays and what proportion). By itself, the generic descriptors of taxes, such as Value Added Tax (VAT), are of less importance as the coverage, rate, and incidence. How these three are combined and implemented as tax measures determines whether it supports or hinders the productive, real sector of the economy. The more the number of tax items, the higher the rates, and the higher the share of burden on the productive sectors, the less supportive and the more the hindrances to growth and vice versa. The tax regime before 2017 were obviously not supportive of production, given the number, the high rates, and the excessive burden on businesses and industries. The results is reflected in the performance of the productive sectors and the economy overall. On the other hand, the results from 2017, until CoVID-19 struck in 2020, is a clear manifestation that the prevailing tax policies supported growth of the productive sectors as well as the economy writ large (See Figures 1 & Table 2). As the Vice President stated at the lecture, changing the structure of our economy is a major pre-occupation of the government and will take time. Our continuing commitment to doing so is evidenced by our production-supportive tax policies as well as investment in the real sector through programmes and initiatives like One District, One Factory, the Strategic Industry Initiatives covering the Automotive and Pharmaceuticals sectors, and Planting for Food and Jobs among others. Randys boisterous proposition might make for good political soundbite, but it flies in the face of the basic principles of taxation. GMG remains an influential platform for informed debate on public policy and it is my hope that Randy will take the next available opportunity to correct his clearly mistaken view in light of this brief. Author, Evron R. Hughes (Economic Advisor and Director, External Economic Relations at the Vice Presidents office.) 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 Traders at this year's Kwahu Easter celebrations are hopeful of cashing-in after a two-year absence. The festival returned this year after the lifting of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and like many revellers, traders have also flocked the Kwahu Traditional Area to cash-in. At the Obomeng Street Carnival last Friday, several pop-up establishments, stands and stages occupied the one-kilometre street with several brands going head to attract the eyes, ears, hearts and spending power of revellers. The Carnival took place on a one-kilometre stretch of road from Obomeng CHPS Compound to the Nana W. Kumnipa Road. Noise Cost was not a factor in branding pop-up stages for many brands with AirtelTigo, MTN, Accra Brewery Limited, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited and Itel Ghana going-up against pop-up parlours, food spots and existing local spots such as the Level 3 nightclub. If the clash of colours was not disorienting enough, the different music blaring from giant speakers dotted on the street added to the chaos with patrons struggling to hear each other over the noise. A female disc jockey who gave her name as DJ Ama told Graphic Online that every company wanted to draw the crowd to their stage, so she expected the battle of sounds to continue till the end of the festivities on Monday. Surge in food prices Another feature of the festival, was the high cost of food at the carnival grounds and also at Mpraeso, Obomeng and Abetifi. At the carnival grounds, rice dishes such as a jollof, plain rice, waakye and fried rice started from GH25 while instant noodles were going for GH15 and cat fish was being sold for GH50. Operators of an instant noodles stand told Graphic Online that they came all the way from Accra to cash-in on the festivities. They said their business was thriving, although they expected sales to pick-up over the weekend. Patrons Given the tightly-packed nature of the establishments and a lack of star performers, most patrons at the carnival were moving from end-to-end of the street sampling wares. They said, they were looking forward to seeing star performers such as Kofi Kinaata, Kuami Eugene and Black Sherif during the festival. Source: Graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Four gunmen stormed a church and opened fire on worshippers during an Easter service Saturday dawn, local police have confirmed. The incident occured at the Heaven Embassy Chapel International located in the Atwima Kwanwoma District town of Afrancho near the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi. A patrol team from the Foase District rushed to the scene following a distress call but the assailants could not be traced. One witness told dailymailgh.com that the four armed men shouted in a local language asking the whereabouts of the Head Pastor before shooting indiscriminately at the worshippers. We were observing our worship session when the masked men surfaced. Two of them who wielded locally-made guns shot sporadically at the congregation and we had to take cover. Five of the victims including three children survived with gunshot wounds. We have suspended church service for now as we await further directives from our Head Pastor, the witness said. A police report revealed that some of the congregants were robbed of their phones and an unspecified amount of cash. Four of the wounded victims, including children aged between 10 and and 13 years are receiving treatment at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. A fifth victim was however on admission at the Foase Health Center, according to the report. The police at the Foase District have commenced investigations into the incident. Source: dailymailghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The US has agreed to sell military equipment worth $997m (763m) to Nigeria, including 12 attack helicopters and numerous Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets. The equipment had been requested by Nigeria, and would help to improve security in Sub-Saharan Africa in line with US foreign policy goals and shared security objectives, a statement from the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. The US also said Nigeria will have no difficulty in acquiring the weapons, but the process is expected to take at least five years. It will include training Nigerian military personnel on how to use the equipment and on human rights, to avoid harming civilians. Nigeria is struggling to tackle violence by extremist groups such as Boko Haram and the so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), as well as worsening attacks by armed criminal gangs who carry out killings and kidnappings for ransom. This is the second major arms sale to Nigeria by the US in five years. The US had previously rejected Nigeria's request for military equipment due to human rights concerns during the administration of Barack Obama. But in 2017 the Trump administration agreed to sell 12 Super Tucano planes to Nigeria, which were delivered last year. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The first asylum seekers could be flown to Rwanda from the UK within weeks, the government has said. It follows the announcement of a pilot that will see people sent to the east African country to claim asylum there. That scheme will initially focus on single men crossing the Channel in boats or lorries from France. The prime minister said it would "save countless lives" and break the business model of traffickers, but campaigners have called the plan "inhumane". Two more migrant crossings were recorded on Friday morning despite thick fog, the BBC's Simon Jones said. Andrew Griffith MP - director of the No 10 policy unit - said the new scheme would not require new legislation and could be implemented under "existing conventions". He told BBC Newsnight it could therefore be launched "in weeks or a small number of months". He added that, if the flow of illegal migration could be stopped, it would leave "lots of capacity for the very generous safe and legal routes" into the UK. The Rwanda scheme is part of a broader strategy to reduce the number of people entering the UK by crossing the Channel in small boats. The Royal Navy has taken operational command of the Channel from UK Border Force in an effort to detect every boat headed to the UK. Some 562 people on 14 boats made the journey on the day the new scheme was announced, according to the Ministry of Defence. No one making the crossing is believed to have arrived on UK soil "on their own terms", it added. Last year, 28,526 people made the crossing, up from 8,404 in 2020. Tony Smith, former director-general of UK Border Force, said it could be weeks before it became clear if the "radical" new scheme was feasible. He told BBC Breakfast the government was likely to face a legal challenge when people are put on aircraft bound for Rwanda. "But then I'm not sure what the answer is to stopping the boats because if we don't do something, then more people are going to drown," he said, adding the UK was potentially facing its biggest asylum intake ever. In a speech on Thursday, Boris Johnson said the agreement with Rwanda would provide "safe and legal routes for asylum". "Economic migrants taking advantage of the asylum system will not get to stay in the UK, while those with genuine need will be properly protected," he said. He said the scheme would cover anyone who had arrived in the UK illegally since the start of this year. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some 40 people are feared dead on the Volta Lake after a boat carrying them capsized due to a storm. The boat was travelling across the Lake from Tongor-Dzemeni in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region to Havorkope in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District of the Eastern Region, when it encountered the storm leading to the accident. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nii Charles Otoo Quaye, the South Dayi District Police Commander, confirmed the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) but said the unfortunate incident occurred outside his jurisdiction. Mr John Kofi Abbery, an elder at Tongor-Dzemeni, who visited the scene immediately after the incident, said close to 30 bodies were retrieved from the river at the time of his visit and that most of the victims were women and some students travelling to their parents for the Easter break. If you are not a man you can't see the bodies, they are many. This is painful, he said. Miss Golo Doh Benedicta, a 16-year-old survivor, who spoke to the GNA via phone from Havorkope, said the incident occurred at about 1600 to 1700 hours on Thursday, April 14. She said the outboard motor of the boat went off and water began to enter when the storm hit. Some of us were shouting, others were crying, wailing and calling for help from God because we saw the boat was sinking, she said, describing the incident as horrific. She said she jumped onto one of the boards of the boat and was floating on the surface of the water before another boat came to her rescue and some other passengers. The boat was carrying fertilizers and drinks among other goods, she said, adding; I survived by grace, I really saw my death, I couldn't do anything. I was afraid and crying but I thank God for saving my life. Mr Mawuta Kpetigo, a teacher at Havorkope, who also confirmed the incident, said search operations were ongoing to retrieve the rest of the bodies. My elder sister is also among the victims, but her body hasnt been found yet, so we are still looking for her and other bodies, he said. More than distraught 500 members of the community were gathered at the shore while the search continued, Mr Kpetigo said. Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, Founder of Perez Chapel International has reacted to the demise of the son of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills. The founder of Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC, formerly Lighthouse Chapel International) lost his son, David on Friday, April 15, 2022, after a short illness. It is with deep regret and great sorrow that we announce the sudden passing away of David Heward-Mills, after a short illness. David was the first son of our Founder and Presiding Bishop a statement from the church indicated. He reportedly died in the United State of America at age 31. In a social media post, Agyinasare said: "On behalf of Perez Chapel International and the Agyinasare family, I extend my condolences to Bishop Dag & Lady Rev. Heward-Mills, their family, and the entire UD-OLGC. It is a sad day for all of us. May God strengthen and keep the family in this difficult time. Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain 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 Christians have been charged to value the resurrection of Jesus Christ as it is the foundation of Christianity. In a sermon to climax the Easter Convention at Zenu Lazio Park in Ashaiman, the Reverend Aaron Yaw Kyei, the District Pastor of the Church of Pentecost, Ashaiman Lebanon District urged believers to make the resurrection of Christ a topmost priority in their Christian lives. "Our foundation as Christians is based upon the resurrection of Christ because through this particular incident, we have received forgiveness of sin, justification, reconciliation, peace, joy, happiness, and victory," he said. If Christ was not able to resurrect after the crucifixion, Christians would have been false witnesses, lacked hope, and direction, and would perish forever. The resurrection was central and paramount to the faith of Christians, hence, the need not to take it for granted, he said. He said, "While the early disciples were unlearned men, even they knew that dead people stay dead. So, imagine their astonishment when they witnessed the risen Lord standing before them three days after he had risen from the dead." The District Pastor stated that Christs resurrection stands as a giant exclamation point that separates Jesus Christ from all other mortals, adding that the resurrection did not only prove that there was life after death, or that Jesus is God, but the resurrection also announced the beginning of a kingdom, which would live forever to glorify God. "When Jesus died on the cross, He didnt take the place of Christians, but the place of sinners. He came as mans substitute. The whole world has been saved from the punishment of sin, but Gods interest wasnt just to save man from the punishment of sin but to save man from the life and nature of sin, he indicated. He said Jesus Christ is unique and exceptional, therefore, He must be worshipped truthfully, righteously, and religiously as His resurrection has brought a new form of newness to the world. He noted that Easter reminds Christians never to lose faith in God for it may take some time but God will never leave prayers unanswered hence all one needed to do was to; "Place your trust in Him and watch Him work wonders in your life." "What better sacrifice can one talk of than when our Lord himself laid down his entire life in suffering to save us from our sins, let us praise and thank our Lord for his loving blessings. I wish each and everyone a blessed Easter," he added. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr. Godwin Kwame Dadzawa, District Chief Executive of South Dayi in the Volta Region says the Assembly is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that persons with disability (PWDs) have access to opportunities to reach their potential. He said the Assembly was making every conscious effort to create an enabling environment that worked for all including PWDs so they could explore their potential and contribute to societal development. Mr. Dadzawa said these at Kpeve when the Assembly presented some items to persons living with disabilities in the area to help them establish their businesses to earn a decent living. The items which included 10 deep freezers, two fufu pounding machines and two cassava graters were aimed to empower the beneficiaries economically and improve their wellbeing. The items were funded from the three percent of the assembly's share of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) allocated to PWDs. The Assembly also presented 31 wheelchairs to the PWDs which were donated by the World Bank through the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled. Reverend Mrs. Emma Adom, Director of Social Welfare and Community Development, said the disability fund aimed to reduce poverty among the PWDs. She entreated the beneficiaries to ensure proper maintenance of the items and put them to effective use to achieve their intended purpose. Madam Adom disclosed that the Assembly through the Department paid medical bills for some PWDs and provided support to some students living with disabilities in the district. The Director said the Department would continue to positively touch the lives of PWDs and urged parents and guardians of disadvantaged children to desist from hiding them. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has urged Members of Parliament (MPs) to be Road and COVID-19 safety ambassadors during the Easter season. In a speech read on his behalf before the House went on a recess by Mr Andrew Amoako Assiamah, Second Deputy Speaker, he noted that MPs were in a special place to contribute towards preventing road accidents and an upsurge in COVID-19 cases throughout the festivities. Let me also draw your attention to the fact that this period is usually characterized by so much insecurity across the length and breadth of the country. "It is a time when many road accidents also occur. I, therefore, advise that you take a paramount interest in your safety on our roads. Drive cautiously and keep safe at every material moment as the house needs every one of you back safe," he said. The Speaker also encouraged commuters on the various roads to be protective of their lives, and the lives of other road users. He said: "Road accidents aside, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, it is expected that many recreational centres will again see the gathering of thousands, particularly our beaches. Let us advise our constituents to endeavour to keep themselves safe during this season." In a related development, the Ghana Police Service in a statement on Thursday announced that it was working to enforce holistic security measures during the Easter festivities. It said: "Stringent measures have been put in place to provide security coverage across the country for the 2022 Easter Celebrations. All Regional Commands, with the support of the National Operations, the MTTD and the Police Intelligence Directorate are working to ensure that all persons who travel for the celebrations do so in safety," said. The statement added that it would also ensure that all events organised in various communities were secured and incident-free. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Stan Dogbe, a former aide to Former President John Dramani Mahama, has expressed discontent about the governments defence to the erratic power supply the country is experiencing. In recent times, there have been intermittent power outages in certain parts of the country with a section of the public suggesting that the erratic supply of power, popularly referred to as dumsor, has resurfaced. In line with our projected demand and the prudent management of the Energy sector, the Ministry of Energy is confident that there is no way that this country will go back to the dark days of dumsor a press statement dated April 7, 2022, issued by the Public Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Energy said. Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has also been making some rebuttals. On April 13, he acknowledged the inconvenience caused while offering explanations and assurances. A couple of days ago, we had the Aboadze Switch Yard burnt and has led to a lot of intermittent power curtailment in parts of Western Region, Central Region, and even the Greater Accra Region. Because what GRIDCo is doing is to put all the networks in a circuit such that energy can be wheeled wherever with automatic metres. But that also meant that they will increasingly have trip-offs if the load imbalance is unfavourable to the system. So, the system decides to shut itself down to prevent machine and equipment damages. So, its true that parts of the country are experiencing intermittent power surges because of a combination of factors, which are the works that we are doing and the light going off by itself. But in a social media post, Sunday, Stan Dogbe described as lies the governments claim that dumsor is not back. A livid Dogbe wrote: Despite the lies by government officials, DUMSOR is not only increasing the already high cost of running businesses in Ghana, but is killing especially small businesses. Thats why it is annoying hearing Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah and Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh lie to Ghanaians that there is no DUMSOR. This morning they will go stand in front of their churches and worship God, yet wont speak the truth. It is sickening the rate at which long periods of unplanned power cuts continue to affect businesses and increasing the cost of running same. I keep repeating that governance must be taken seriously and the thinking by Akufo-Addo and his administration that they can do just anything and lie to the people is a danger; the people will continue to lose faith and trust in the politician. Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NDCs Sylvester Mensah wants the Supreme Court to consider holding public hearings to explain some of its judgments to the public. His call for the public lecture comes after the Apex Court ruling on Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson, who was on April 13 injuncted by a 5 2 decision of the Justice Dotse-led court barred from holding himself out as a lawmaker. Reacting to the ruling on his Facebook post, Sly Mensah as affectionately called in politics called for an explanation. Has the law lost common sense in the Assin North case? he questioned Adding that, Perhaps the time has come for the Supreme Court to hold public fora, just like the Executive and the Legislature, to explain the wisdom in some of its judgements that have attracted significant public interest and social commentary in recent times. Background In July 2021, a High Court in Cape Coast nullified the election of the Assin North MP, after it found that he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls. Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency, filed the petition in court and later initiated another action at the Supreme Court to enforce the High Court's decision. He urged the Court to prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP. On Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled on the issue by barring the Assin North MP from performing any Parliamentary duty. This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/france 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 General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, John Boadu has revealed that President Akufo-Addo is bent on handing over power to a Presidential candidate of the NPP in 2025. John Boadu, whiles speaking at a news conference in Kumasi earlier this week (April 13) quoted the President as saying he (Akufo-Addo) believed handing over to an NPP candidate was not far fetched but that it will require unity of purpose. According to a Daily Guide newspaper report, Boadu told the conference that Akufo-Addo had disclosed his 'dream' at a National Executive Committee meeting on April 12. If we adhere to my wise counsel and remain united as one elephant family with a common destiny, definitely we shall win the elections and I, Nana Akufo-Addo, will hand over political power to another competent NPP person in 2024, the President purportedly said. The NPP members should remain steadfast and united around the sterling leadership of the government which is steering the country through these difficult times, he added. The party can only realise its ambition of retaining political power in 2024 when the party members eschew all forms of bickering, antagonism and all other things that tend to divide us. Akufo-Addo's second and final term in office will expire after the 2024 General Elections when a new president is elected. While he has promised to respect the presidential term limits when his time is up, the President has also stated on multiple occasions that he desires to handover to a President-elect from the NPP stock. That aspiration ties into the NPP's 'Break The Eight' campaign that aims at winning a third consecutive election, a feat that will be the first under the 1992 Constitution. Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Veteran journalist and respected pollster, Ben Ephson has stated that whenever a by-election is held in the Assin North constituency, it will be a test of popularity between the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). Ephson, who is publisher of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper told Accra-based Asaase Radio that either party that wins the seat will flaunt the victory as a sign of their popularity over the other. He believes that flowing from the outcome of the 2020 parliamentary polls, the election when it is held will be a closely contested one. The NDC will view it as a test of their popularity and itll also be viewed as a test of the governments popularity. So, the NPP lost the seat and I think that Gyakye won because of the fathers popularity. Now, if theres a by-election and Gyakye decides to contest and NDC wins it, theyll say its a continuation of their strength and maybe a reflection of the government. I think that if the NPP wins the by-election, they will have more political advantage that if you say were not doing well, weve taken a seat, weve won, Ephson told Asaase Newss Caleb Ahinakwah. I think that one of the principles of the 2020 [general] elections has been that or it tells you that the Ghanaian voter has matured and the swing voters are a lot. So, the by-election itself will be interesting and will have a lot of political fall-outs, he said. The possibility of a by-election in the constituency was triggered by a Supreme Court injunction that barred NDCs James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself out as a lawmaker until a case against the propriety of his candidature is determined. Ephson is on record to have said last year that in the case of a by-election, the NPP will win the seat. Background In July 2021, a High Court in Cape Coast nullified the election of the Assin North MP, after it found that he owed allegiance to Canada at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls. Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency, filed the petition in court and later initiated another action at the Supreme Court to enforce the High Court's decision. He urged the Court to prevent a further breach of the constitution by restraining the MP. On Wednesday, April 13, the Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision ruled on the issue by barring the Assin North MP from performing any Parliamentary duty. This is until the determination of the substantive case filed against him at the Supreme Court. Source: Ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament(MP) for Dome Kwabenya Sarah Adwoa Safo has pleaded with her constituents to forgive her long absence from the constituency. Adwoa Safo as she is affectionately called has been out of the country for a long time; a move which has been condemned by even members of her political party. Its not clear what is keeping the vibrant Parliamentarian out of the country. But in an interaction she had with her followers on social media, Adwoa Safo asked for forgiveness and promised she was going to be back in the country very soon to help push government business and also help develop her constituency. Adwoa Safo disclosed that things are happening to her that she has no control over but is of the firm belief that with time, things will get better. She said Hey Eben, its never been my intention to stay away from my people for so long. Just that, sometimes in life, things happen that we have no control over. As you know, in my first two terms as MP, at no point in time did I stay away from my duties and responsibilities as MP and Minister. "So do find a place in your heart to forgive me as my constituent. Even in my absence, I have been constantly in touch with the appropriate authorities to ensure that whatever development deserving of our Constituency is done. "I am aware that the Atomic-Pillar 2 Road has been completed, the dualization of the Atomic Junction-Atomic Roundabout is ongoing, several interial roads in Taifa (around the market) are being worked on, Ashongman Estate roads have been completed with asphalting works ongoing, the Bank of Ghana Road works is also currently ongoing, the Agbogba-Abokobi link Road was also just recently sealed and works on the Abokobi town Roads are also to begin in the earnest. The Dome Kwabenya Member of Parliament called on members of the New Patriotic Party not to refer to her as a traitor when they have not heard her side of the story. Source: mynewsgh.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah has been at the receiving end of backlash after his comment on the Judiciary. Mr Kan Dapaah speaking at a sensitization workshop on the national security strategy for judges of the superior courts said: injustice occasioned as a result of the absence of an effective justice delivery system or delayed justice or biased justice is certainly a threat to national security. Indeed, when injustice abounds, particularly in situations where the bench, which is considered the final arbiter of disputes, is deemed biased, citizens tend to take the law into their own hands most times without recourse to the established systems of justice delivery, he said. If the interpretation of the law is tilted in our favour all the time, people will start accusing the judiciary and will not have the confidence that they need he added. Frank Davies question This has, however, generated controversy. According to NPPs head of Legal Committee, Frank Davies Justices or judges of our courts do not dispense justice in tandem with whichever political party holds the reins of government. So this business tilting interpretation in favour of uswho determines who has tilted the interpretation of the law? Ayikoi Otoo's take The Former Attorney General in reaction said even though the perception of bias exists, the judges have taken an oath to do justice to all manner of persons without fear or favour. Im sorry to say that, I dont think he sought legal advice, because the judges have taken an oath to do justice to all manner of persons without fear or favour, ill-will and affection. He was saying that if someone brings a bad case, the Supreme Court must give a decision to favour that person merely because every time ruling for you will make people feel there is something wrong? he quizzed. However, Sam Pee Yaley, a lawyer and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes Frank Davies and Ayikoi Otoo have no right to criticise the National Security Minister. Contributing to a panel discussion on UTV's Adekye Nsroma, the former High Commissioner to India said the only one to call the Minister to order is President Akufo-Addo. "These are not just mere claims...if people lose confidence in the judiciary, it has dire consequences. As a lawyer, I take Kan Dapaah's statement very serious...he's a member of government; he's not the government's lawyer or attorney, he is just the National Security Minister and I'm sure he's been briefing the President and so if he's made a comment which you feel is bad, all you need to do is to invite him to a cabinet meeting for him to explain himself or the threat we're facing as a country so that we can take the necessary steps..." he said Adding "if he's said something which is not right, it is the President who must query him and not Frank Davies or Ayikoi Otoo" Listen to Sam Pee Yaley in the video below Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned space mission is seen after landing at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Saturday, April 16, 2022. Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months aboard China's newest space station in the longest crewed mission to date for its ambitious space program. Credit: Peng Yuan/Xinhua via AP China will launch three more astronauts to its newest space station in June after the latest crew returned this weekend following a six-month stay in orbit, an official said Sunday. The crew of the Shenzhou 14 capsule will spend six months on the Tiangong to add two modules to the station, Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, told a news conference. China's ambitious space program launched its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, landed robot rovers on the moon in 2013, and on Mars last year. Officials have discussed a possible crewed mission to the moon. The core module of the Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, was launched in April 2021. Plans call for completing construction this year. The Wentian module will be launched in July and the Mengtian module in October, Hao said. Near the end of the Shenzhou 14 crew's mission, three more astronauts will be launched aboard Shenzhou 15 for a six-month stay, Hao said. He added that the two crews would overlap for three to five days, marking the first time the station has six people aboard. On Saturday, the crew of Shenzhou 13 landed in the Gobi desert in the northern region of Inner Mongolia. During the mission, astronaut Wang Yaping carried out the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman. Wang, commander Zhai Zhigang and crewmate Ye Guangfu also beamed back physics lessons for high school students. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, China on Oct. 16, 2021, shows three Chinese astronauts, from left, Ye Guangfu, Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping waving after entering the space station core module Tianhe. Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday, April 16, 2022, after six months aboard China's newest space station in the longest crewed mission to date for its ambitious space program. Credit: Tian Dingyu/Xinhua via AP, File In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu sits outside return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 manned space mission after landing at the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Saturday, April 16, 2022. Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months aboard China's newest space station in the longest crewed mission to date for its ambitious space program. Credit: Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP China was the third nation to launch an astronaut into space on its own after the former Soviet Union and the United States. Tiangong is China's third space station following predecessors launched in 2011 and 2016. The government announced in 2020 that China's first reusable spacecraft had landed following a test flight but no photos or details have been released. China is excluded from the International Space Station due to U.S. unease that its space program is run by the ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army. Explore further Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth after six months in space 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered mammals in the world -- this photo was taken during a research expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies (NOAA permit 25740-01). After many hours scouring Cape Cod Bay and a few false alarms, those aboard the Research Vessel Shearwater on a bright April day make their first sighting: three North Atlantic right whales, including a rare mother-calf pair. The captain cuts the engines and a trio of marine biologists spring into action, rapidly snapping photos and noting markings that can be used to identify individual animals and track injuriesa vital part of conservation efforts for a species believed to have 336 members. While the whaling that drove them to near-extinction has long been banned, unintended collisions with ships and entanglements with fishing gear are today the main threats for Eubalaena glacialis, one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Approaching 60 feet in length and weighing over 70 tons, the North Atlantic right whale is the third largest whale in existence. Their life spans are similar to humans, with individuals living up to a century. "Unfortunately, since 2010, their population has been decreasing," explains Christy Hudak, the leader of the Center for Coastal Studies' expedition that set off from Provincetown, a historic New England fishing village that is today popular for whale watching and gay tourism. "We're trying to spread the word regarding these amazing creatures and just how a key species they are in the circle of life." During a right whale research expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies (NOAA permit 25740-01) in Cape Cod Bay, a rare mother-calf pair was spotted. The CCS crew coordinates with an aerial survey plane, while a vessel from another research group flies mini-drones equipped with cameras over the whales as part of a study on the impact of rope entanglements on their growth rate. Despite strict ship speed limits of 10 knots in some protected areas, and new rules brought in by authorities to limit the number of ropes between buoys to crab and lobster traps on the seafloor, conservationists worry it's not enough. The problems are compounded by climate change: as the waters of the North Atlantic warm, a tiny oil-rich crustacean called Calanus finmarchicus that is the whales' main food resource is becoming more scarce in their habitat, which stretches from Florida to Canada. Cape Cod Bay isn't warming as fast as the whales' more northern waters in the Gulf of Maine, and as a result, it is here, in their traditional feeding and nursing grounds, that the marine giants are now more commonly spotted. Apart from photography and detailed note-taking, the crew also carry out plankton surveys: casting nets and using water pumps to take samples at various depths for lab analysis. Knowledge of the composition and density of these zooplankton helps scientists predict peak whale arrivals and departures. Sara Pokelwaldt, 23, photographs a right whale during a research expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies (NOAA permit 25740-01) in Cape Cod Bay. The 'right' whale to hunt Right whales were the favored prey of commercial hunters for more than a millenniumby the Vikings, Basques, English, Dutch and finally Americanswho sought their blubber for whale oil and their baleen plates, which they use to filter their food, as a strong, flexible material used in the pre-plastic era. According to David Laist, an author of a book on the species, their numbers prior to commercial whaling ranged up to 20,000, but by the early 20th century, the species was decimated. There was just one reliable sighting anywhere in the North Atlantic between the mid-1920s to 1950, Laist writes. "The early whalers thought of them as the correct whale to catch because they were so valuable, great thick layers of blubber that produced oil that was used in lamps," CCS founder Charles "Stormy" Mayo says, explaining the name. A baby boom in the 2000s led to a recent peak of more than 483 animals by 2010, but numbers are once more in declineand in 2017, the species was rocked by a mass-die off due to a shift to new foraging grounds. Intern Emily Patrick, 22, uses a special net to sample plankton and zooplankton during the expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies (NOAA permit 25740-01). "Fourteen right whales died in a very short period, because they moved into an area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that was not previously known and was not managed," he said. That move due to declining prey abundance elsewhere appears to have been caused by climate change, and left the whales highly vulnerable to the collisions and ropes that kill them. And since the population is already so depleted, even a few deaths are enough to trigger a downward spiral, said Mayo, who was part of the first team to disentangle a whale in 1984. Mayo's own father had hunted pilot whales, and their family has lived in the area since the 1600s. The whales' calving rate in its southern waters is also down. While three years is considered a normal interval between births, the current average is three to six years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The stressors placed on femalesincluding non-fatal rope entanglements and ocean noise from human activitiesare thought to be behind the steep decline. Marine biologist Christy Hudak, 46, uses binoculars to look for whales on the expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies (NOAA permit 25740-01) in Cape Cod Bay. Playful calf, and a whale party Right whales are distinguished by their stocky, black appearance with no dorsal fins, as well as heads adorned with knobby patches of rough skin called callosities, which are colored white from the tiny "whale lice" (cyamids) that cling to their hosts in what is thought to be a symbiotic relationship. Following tips relayed by their colleagues in the air, the R/V Shearwater finds more right whales including a playful calf copying its mother, and a huddle that biologists call a surface active groupan opportunity to socialize. The whales "are getting together, rolling around touching each other. The main part of it is to mate, but also just to interact with other right whales. It's not always about sex," Hudak says. Back on land, Hudak says she was encouraged by what she saw over the day: a total of 10 right whales, two mother-calf pairs, and the social group, the "piece de resistance." The long term future of the species is far from assured, but there is hope. Charles "Stormy" Mayo's family has lived in the area since the 1600s; the founder of the Center for Coastal Studies was part of the first team to disentangle a whale. Technologies are being tested to reduce entanglementsfrom weak rope that breaks more easily, to ropeless fishing traps that use floats triggered by remote control to ascend by themselves. Other ideas include deploying more acoustic monitoring devices on buoys to track the whales' movements better, and quickly respond with ship speed limits in those areas. Also vital, said Hudak, is increasing public awareness and desire to protect the creatures. The ship's spotter Sarah Pokelwaldt, a recent graduate doing an internship with CCS, said she was blown away by what for her was her first encounter with calves. "Being able to see the babies shows a lot of promise for the work that we do. It's really fulfilling to see," she said. Explore further Endangered whale gives birth while entangled in fishing rope 2022 AFP FORT EDWARD A Ballston Spa man was sentenced to one year in jail for driving drunk and without a license last August. Nicholas H. Geraghty was arrested on Aug. 19 just before 3 a.m. in the parking lot of the McDonalds in Greenwich. He was driving a pickup truck with no license plates. The trooper could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Geraghtys breath, police said. Field sobriety tests showed signs that Geraghty was impaired. Geraghty refused to provide a breath sample to determine his blood alcohol concentration, police said. He also had a revoked drivers license. He was charged with a felony count of driving while intoxicated because he has a previous conviction within 10 years. Geraghty pleaded guilty in Washington County Court to felony DWI-previous conviction and was sentenced on April 8. A shortage of child care providers is preventing parents from returning to the workforce as commerce inches its way back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic. In Warren County, there are only enough child care providers to fill 13% of the need for services, and in Washington County only enough to fill 7% of the need, according to the Southern Adirondack Childcare Network. It is very frustrating for the parents, said Lynn Sickles, executive director of the network, an agency that coordinates child care training, licensing, development and policy in Warren and Washington counties. Its very frustrating on our end to not be able to fulfill one of our greatest missions, which is to help people find child care. It also is frustrating for employers that have labor shortages. Women cant return to work if they dont have child care, said Michael Bittel, president and chief executive officer of Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce. A recent study concluded the child care shortage increased costs by $3 billion for businesses in New York because of employee turnover and employee absences associated with parents not having child care, said Liza Ochsendorf, director of Warren County Employment & Training. Help is on the way, with an influx of new child care funding in the state budget, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed on April 9, as well as recent federal funding for child care development. Its not a panacea, but the funding will stabilize the local child care situation and establish momentum for growth of the industry. Money doesnt solve everything, but it does help, Ochsendorf said, in a telephone interview. A long-standing local shortage of child care was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The child care supply was already dwindling before the pandemic began, Sickles said in a March 21 Zoom presentation to the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce. And with the major loss of providers during the pandemic, the child care industry is in serious crisis. There are 1,179 fewer slots with licensed child care providers in Warren and Washington counties than before the pandemic, a decrease of 42%, Sickles said, in a telephone interview. Much of the decrease is in home-based child care. The statistic does not include the recent closing of Its A Kidz World child care center on Broad Street in Glens Falls, and it does not include licensed child care providers that have openings but are not accepting new children because of concern about coronavirus. A shortage of child care workers is another factor, as many leave the field, or choose not to take jobs in it, because of low wages and limited benefits. The average child care worker earns about $29,000 annually, among the lowest wages for any job. So thats a huge barrier, Sickles said. Its an industry where the law of supply and demand does not apply. Unlike the gasoline, grocery and building supply industries, providers cant simply raise prices to provide an essential service. Providers can only charge what parents can afford, Sickles said. State funding doubles Thats why new child care funding in the state budget is so essential, said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake. The budget allocates $7 billion for child care over four years, nearly doubling the previous state support for child care. Of that, $343 million will be distributed in grants to stabilize child care services, with an emphasis on increasing employee salaries and fringe benefits. Provisions include increasing the income threshold for parents to be eligible for state subsidies of child care costs from 200% to 300% of poverty level, with the new maximum eligible income level of $82,250 for a family of four. Through our investments, well be able to open the door to child care for over half the young people in New York, and thats spectacular, Hochul said, at a news conference, posted on YouTube, when the budget passed. The increase in eligibility is particularly beneficial because it will provide subsidies to parents previously caught in that middle gap between the poor and the wealthy, Sickles said. Going to 300% is going to expand access for many parents, she said. Separately from the state budget, Hochul announced April 11 that the state will distribute $70 million in federal COVID-19 relief economic stimulus funding to new child care centers and programs opening in underserved communities known as child care deserts, with a May 19 deadline to apply for grants. A number of communities in Warren and Washington counties qualify for the child care desert designation. The hope is that with this influx of dollars that there will be a new interest in opening child care centers, Sickles said. On March 9, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, announced $205,000 in federal funding to Warren County Employment and Training to assist with opening new child care services in Warren and Saratoga counties. The funding is expected to be available for distribution in the summer months, Ochsendorf said. Advocates are taking a two-pronged approach to gain public and private support. Southern Adirondack Childcare Network is establishing the Warren County Childcare Sustainability Fund, a vehicle for local businesses to contribute toward grants for child care providers. A committee of public officials and private business leaders will review grant applications on an ongoing basis. We want to sustain this fund long term, so that we can support the childcare businesses, Ochsendorf said. Advocates also are recruiting business owners as volunteer mentors in financial literacy and business methods, encouraging businesses to offer child care providers discounts on purchases such as snacks and cleaning supplies, and promoting general appreciation of child care providers. Our agency feels like they are very undervalued as to their importance to the community, Sickles said. For information about how to find, offer or support child care services, contact Southern Adirondcack Childcare Network at 518-798-7972. Maury Thompson covered local government and politics for The Post-Star for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He continues to follow regional politics as a freelance writer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 From The Post-Star in 1972: Rotarian Anthony John Jr., a well-known area chef, crafted an ice sculpture and Rotarian Edward Smith prepared floral arrangements for the Glens Falls Rotary Clubs 50th anniversary dinner April 21 at The Queensbury Hotel. Over two hundred Rotarians and their wives, from Glens Falls and the surrounding area, will fill the main ballroom of the hotel for the clubs Golden Anniversary, The Post-Star reported on April 19. Nearly 250 people attended, including visiting Rotarians from Northville, South Glens Falls, Hudson Falls and Ballston Spa, The Post-Star reported on April 22. John Allen, senior staff editor of Readers Digest, was keynote speaker. Coincidentally, Readers Digest was also celebrating its 50th anniversary year. Allen urged Rotarians to make a commitment to achieving a loving attitude to each other as a contrast to a selfish society. People should stop thinking in stereotype fashion, he said. Weather: A freak windstorm (at Fort Edward) yesterday afternoon lifted a fish shanty and dropped it on a fence 80 feet away. The eight-by-eight-foot structure was made of quarter-inch plywood and had a tin roof. April 27 On stage: Glens Falls High School 1966 graduate Gini Eastwood was set to perform the lead role in the new Broadway rock opera Hard Job Being God, opening May 15 at Edison Theatre in New York City. Eastwood was expected to appear on television on the Today Show and Dick Cavett Show to promote the musical. April 27 Quarter-century: The 80-member Bolton School Band dedicated the selection Let There Be Music at its spring concert to director Fred Dorr in honor of his 25th anniversary as band director. The band also presented Dorr with a plaque. May 1 Royalty: Andrea Dickinson and Patrick Benway were elected queen and king of the Hudson Falls High School Junior Prom. May 1 At the movies: The Godfather was set to open April 27 at Cinema I in Queensbury. April 25 Politics: Peter Fiore, the longest-serving and oldest member of the Warren County Republican Committee, died at age 81. Fiore, who operated a grocery store at the corner of Lawrence and Walnut streets, represented the Glens Falls 1st Ward on the county Republican Committee for 50 years. His name was long synonymous with East End development. Through his continuing efforts, much of the business of the citys eastern section was realized, The Post-Star reported. April 27 Editorial: The Rotary motto, He profits most who serves best, has been observed to the fullest by the Glens Falls club during its past 50 years of service. We salute the Rotary Club of Glens Falls on its Golden Anniversary today, and commend the members for their justifiable pride. The club has on its roster the most representative citizens of the community in the business and the professions, men of high ideals, good faith and concern for their fellow men. It is our hope that residents of the Glens Falls area will take due notice of the clubs proud record and join in our salute to the men of Rotary. April 21 Maury Thompson was a Post-Star reporter for 21 years before he retired in 2017. He now is a freelance history writer and documentary film producer who routinely researches historic newspapers of the region. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Approached by an old patient while shopping in Market 32 last week, I fumbled for her name even though I had known her well. I guessed wrong. Correcting me, she asked had I had COVID-19? I said no, that I was fully vaccinated and boosted. She said, well, she had been, too, and yet she had still gotten a mild case some seven weeks before. Expressing sympathy, I asked how she was doing. Then she launched into her list of persistent symptoms the unexplained waves of fatigue, the palpitations, especially the cloudy mind. These were making her life miserable could I tell her when she would be better? I regretted I could not. But, trying to be re-assuring, I told her the symptoms would eventually fade. I also told her I sure hoped I wouldnt get it, as bad as my memory for names already is. She laughed, graciously. Regrettably, a large percentage of those who develop an infection with SARS-CoV-2 go on to have so-called long-haul COVID-19. Many questions have been asked about this entity. There are very few answers. Here I will explain what little we do seem to know, and I will make best guesses at other things. What is long-haul COVID-19? Symptoms that come with a COVID-19 infection, like cough, shortness of breath, waves of fatigue, insomnia, loss of smell, inability to think clearly, etc., usually just gradually fade away before a month is up. Sometimes they linger longer, sometimes much longer. When does a patient become a long-hauler? Actually, experts have not yet completely agreed, but most would accept four weeks as the line between usual and long. How often does it happen? Here again there is as yet no clear agreement. That is because patients may have only mild long-lasting symptoms, such as chronic fatigue or brain fog, and they may not even report them. The careful studies that exist in the scientific literature are not of mild cases but of severe ones. Those studies indicate long-haul symptoms occur in roughly 1 of 10 patients following a proven infection. However, some rehabilitation experts who are developing specialized ways to help these folks are being flooded with patients. They think the entity is much more common, affecting perhaps 1 of 3. Whether its 10% or 33%, its a huge number of debilitated folks, given that we have reported over 80 million infections in the U.S. alone, over 500 million in the world. And the pandemic is far from over. What kind of person is likely to get it? More older folks become long-haulers, but youngsters are not exempt. Middle-age women appear to be more at risk for the condition than are men. Although it is more common after a severe initial case, persistent symptoms may occur after a mild one. Furthermore, although the risk is cut in more than half by vaccination, symptoms may go on to persist even after a full series and boosting as with my former patient. So there is no predicting who will be victimized. Why does it happen? Well, we dont yet know the process. However, some very interesting studies are starting to shed a bit of light. Knowing that some of you out there may be suffering, and recognizing that having a mechanistic view of this bizarre entity may help you, let me piece some stuff together. I will try to avoid getting into the weeds too much, but boy, it is complicated! The first thing to know is that the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles within a cell causes it to be damaged and maybe to be destroyed. This occurs at first in the cells lining the nose and throat where the virus originally enters the body. A sick cell releases the new viral particles made inside of it into the tissue juices around. So the virus spreads to neighboring cells. With their remaining strength, injured cells also release counter-attacking chemicals. These include histamine, prostaglandins and so-called cytokines, all of which are designed to mobilize the bodys inflammatory response to try to kill the invading virus. They do that by calling in front-line defenders that include non-specific antibodies and white blood cells like monocytes and lymphocytes. The chemicals also cause blood vessels to widen up, broadening the access roads for the troops to enter into infected tissues. Ingenious. But the proliferating virus continues to infect cell after cell, first in the nose and throat, maybe down into the lungs. Or the virus might drop into the bloodstream, where it can infect the cells lining blood vessels. More about that in a bit. It is a war not unlike in Ukraine, where vast numbers of nasty invaders attack to take over the country, while the valiant defenders hurl themselves against the viral hoards with the courage that can only arise if the stakes include losing the homeland. Often, the defenders are able to hold the line of the initial infection in the respiratory tree, then can turn the tables and drive the invaders out a mild case. This is especially true if the defenses have been prepared in advance with weapons that are targeted specifically against the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-created antibodies and immune cells that are like missiles specifically made to take out tanks. Unless they are so prepared, and especially if they are weak to start with, the defenders may be overwhelmed early, and the homeland will fall in the primary attack. Or, even if they can push the invader back in the respiratory battlefield, viral particles can sneak around the defenses, perhaps to attack fiercely somewhere else. In the body, the viral invaders can travel by blood vessels, either free-floating or hitching a ride on a host cell. Once traveling, they can circulate all over the body and can set up infections in the lining cells of those vessels (remember them?) in all sorts of distant territories. Kyiv has been defended, but an even more viscous attack is coming in Eastern Ukraine. In those distant territories, the war becomes complicated. With damage to blood vessel cells, small blood clots will form, clots which can interfere with the delivery of oxygen to local tissues. If this happens in the lungs, oxygen may not easily get from airways into the blood. Shortness of breath will follow, and all the body may suffer. If in the heart, oxygen-deprived heart cells will sicken and create erratic rhythms, or the heart may fail entirely. If in the brain, brain cells may die, and the fog will descend. This kind of damage will linger for a long time. What if you have it? Whatever is going on, long-haul COVID-19 can be seriously debilitating and heaven-knows depressing. Have you had an initial attack and now, at least a month later, still have some of the following symptoms? Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath or lingering cough Fatigue that may come in waves that are often triggered by exertion Palpitations that can come out if the blue Various unexplained pains in joints, muscles, chest or abdomen Feelings of pins and needles, like your nerves have fallen asleep Brain fog If so, you may be a long-hauler. What should you know? Happily, there are increasing numbers of rehabilitation clinics specializing in treatment for the condition. The two closest to us in Glens Falls are the Albany Medical Centers Post-COVID Care Center (https://www.amc.edu/patient/services/pulmonary_medicine/post-covid-care-clinic.cfm) and the Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospitals Long-Haul COVID Program in Schenectady (https://www.sphp.com/health-and-wellness/covid-19-care-and-treatment). They have increasingly sophisticated programs that can really help. Ask your physician if you might qualify for a referral. But remember: all those symptoms just listed could be caused by something else, so you may need to be tested for a variety of other illnesses first. Finally I would be remiss if I didnt emphasize this. To minimize the risk of becoming seriously ill or of becoming a long-hauler, you should be as well defended as possible. Vaccines do exactly that; please get yourself fully vaccinated and boosted. And of course, try to avoid catching the virus in the first place: be sensible about masking and social distancing. The virus is not gone, no matter how much we wish it was. Now, if you have gotten to this point in the essay, you may be feeling fatigued or even foggy. Me too. Its not the long-haul thing, just long-wind. So I will quit. But a personal thought before I do. You know, at my age I fear long-haul COVID-19 more than death. If I couldnt enjoy the coming springtime, if I couldnt remember my grandchilds name or have enough energy to cuddle him . Thank the stars, I still can do those things. But first a little nap. Please be well, and wise too. Richard Leach, M.D., is a retired internist, infectious disease consultant and travel and tropical medicine specialist. He practiced in Glens Falls for 35 years, also serving as Glens Falls Hospitals infection control officer and hospital epidemiologist. ATLANTIC CITY Despite casino revenue showing signs of recovery from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industrys workforce is still lagging as the busy season quickly approaches and properties scramble to fill positions. As of February, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Employment Report shows casinos still have not returned to pre-pandemic employment levels with potentially thousands of positions still unfilled, said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City casino industry. Persisting low staffing levels coupled with the anticipation of a strong summer season will present a particular challenge for hiring managers as they seek to fill gaps with seasonal staff, she said. This might be an even greater challenge than usual given that the war in Ukraine and lingering pandemic concerns could impact the return of some foreign workers using the J-1 visa program. Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and of the Casino Association of New Jersey, estimates there are 2,000 full- and part-time casino jobs open right now in the city, where the overall workforce of 22,000 is down from 49,000 in 2003. In addition to properties holding individual job fairs, a new Stockton summer internship program is hoping to help address current and future labor shortage issues in the industry and around the city. The Stockton Atlantic City Summer Experience allows students to live on the schools city campus on the Boardwalk for free during the summer. They work for one of the premiere resort businesses, earn wages and gain valuable job experience. Also students take a four-credit course on workforce readiness, including mentoring sessions. Murphy touts new wind, cannabis industries to NJ Chamber of Commerce ATLANTIC CITY Gov. Phil Murphy told the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday that t Our provost, Leamor Kahanov, and I envisioned this first summer pilot program to attract 40 students for the initial cohort for the program, said Brian K. Jackson, chief operating officer of Stocktons Atlantic City campus. As of today, we have 622 Stockton students complete the interest form to participate in the program. The program offers positions in various departments, including IT, finance, marketing and human resources. Each position comes with a set of criteria associated with the major. We meet individually with each of the partners to present to them our vision for the program, and we got feedback from them as well, Jackson said. We encouraged them to open up opportunities that (are) front face and behind-the-scenes positions; those are critically important to the operation. They have been very generous about offering those jobs. The program is expected to be a positive for the industry, said Bob Ellis, vice president of human resources at Hard Rock. Last week, the property had a mixer for about 100 Stockton students associated with the program. So far Hard Rock has hired 24 Stockton students for the program. When I was younger I never thought of this industry, Ellis said. Having the students come here, it exposes them to the business and could attract them to the business. Nongaming businesses involved in the internship program include AtlantiCare, The Claridge Hotel, FantaSea Resorts and Steel Pier. If casinos are unable to fill their open positions, there could be economic impacts. Properties might not be able to open all their hotel rooms or all their craps or roulette tables. Restaurants that used to serve 700 tables a night may only be able to make 300 available, executives said. Atlantic City casino workers feel smoking ban is in reach Atlantic City casino workers feel they are closer than ever to getting a law passed that would ban smoking in the gambling halls. Tuesday was the 16th anniversary of a New Jersey law that banned smoking almost everywhere indoors, except in casinos. About 250 casino workers held a rally in a waterfront park to call on the state Legislature to pass a bill that already has many co-sponsors in both parties. The casino industry and the main casino workers labor union oppose the bill, saying it will lead to job losses and revenue declines. No vote has yet been scheduled. Coming out of COVID, especially last year after the restrictions were lifted, the workforce supply just has not been available, Lupo said. Its been difficult for all of us to find enough people. I certainly know after meeting with everyone last week that every property is hiring. Last week, Ocean Casino Resort held a job fair to help fill positions for summer. Hard Rock has one scheduled for Wednesday. The job fair is the perfect opportunity for those looking for work, because its all in one stop, said Lori Yeager, senior vice president of human resources at Ocean. Potential employees come to the fair, fill out required paperwork, can be hired on the spot and are given dates for orientation. They get to go home and tell their family they got a job at Ocean, Yeager said. Rosita Morales, 33, of Atlantic City, a mother of three young girls, came to the fair looking for a full-time security position. Shes worked at Resorts Casino Hotel for three years as a line cook and just recently had a security job at Hard Rock. Rockin J Ranch brings cowboy lifestyle to South Jersey The ranch held an open house Saturday to mark the start of operations. Hundreds of visitors She heard Ocean paid well and was looking for a fresh start. As long as I can find a job and support my kids hopefully Ill leave with a job, Morales said. Bill Huynh, 26, of Atlantic City, was applying for a cashier or front desk position at Ocean after seeing the job fair announcement online. He currently works at a tax center in Atlantic City, but after seeing Ocean was hiring, he thought why not give it a shot. With a lot of local businesses shutting down in the wake of the pandemic, its been tough finding a job in Atlantic City, Huynh said. He figured hed apply for a casino job since both of his parents have worked at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. If you cant get something at the casino, youre out of luck, Huynh said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Nicholas Huba: 609-272-7046 nhuba@pressofac.com Twitter @acpresshuba Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nicholas Huba Sports Editor Started working in newsrooms when I was 17 years old. Spent 15 years working for Gannett New Jersey before coming to The Press of Atlantic City in April 2015. Follow Nicholas Huba Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today WILDWOOD As a senior in high school, Susan Negersmith brought her little sister everywhere. She was old enough to drive, but her half-sister Emily was not yet old enough to walk. She had a jeep. She got us matching shoes and sweatshirts. People thought I was her daughter, not her sister, Emily said. Emily Negersmith is grown now, working in finance and living on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. Her older sister is now just a memory. The family has a few photos and a diary Susan barely used, and three decades of work to find answers to how she died on a visit from Carmel, New York, to Wildwood over Memorial Day weekend in 1990. At that time, Jerry Rosado would have been 30. Now 62, and said to be in poor health, he is in the Cape May County jail awaiting a detention hearing Friday, charged with the sexual assault of Susan Negersmith. The Cape May County Prosecutors Office announced the arrest April 8. The arrest comes after decades of investigation and constant efforts by her family members to keep her name in headlines and on the minds of investigators. After countless hours of interviews and appeals to the FBI and Interpol, it was a sample of DNA taken from Susan Negersmiths body that led to the arrest. After 32 years, Millville man accused of attacking Susan Negersmith WILDWOOD Almost 32 years after Susan Negersmith was found dead on a Memorial Day weekend i Kent Negersmith, Susan and Emilys father, continued to push the investigation, even as his health failed. He died in 2016, without any answers. As her fathers health deteriorated, Emily took up the work. I grew up my entire life with Susans investigation being a daily topic of conversation. Susan was always on his mind. The investigation was always on his mind, Emily said this week. In 2018, she traveled to Cape May County to meet with Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland to discuss the potential for a new avenue of investigation, something called genetic genealogy analysis. Emily said her father had long been convinced DNA evidence would ultimately unlock the mystery. It was just a matter of time before the technology caught up, she said. The DNA sample had been uploaded to state and national police databases for years. But like fingerprints, the DNA information would only find a match if a sample was in the system. Clearly, this one was not. Valiantes have more questions than answers in daughter Tiffany's death MAYS LANDING All of her friends and family have moved on with their lives while Tiffany Va According to details released by the Prosecutors Office, the sample was also compared to the DNA of multiple suspects over the years, without success. Investigators needed to widen the search. A technique created to help people find family members turned out to be the answer. CeCe Moore, the chief genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs in Reston, Virginia, said she developed the technique to help people who were adopted find their biological parents. It also could be used to identify someone with amnesia, or potentially to connect someone who was separated from their family in a traumatic event. It was for anyone who didnt know their true genetic heritage and wanted to find out, she said. Moore and her team use DNA to discover relationships between individuals, finding out with confidence whether someone is a cousin, a sibling, a parent or other relative. Eventually, law enforcement began to reach out about cold cases, such as the Negersmith case. The method, and similar ones, have led to arrests in high-profile cases throughout the country. On May 1, 2018, Cape May County officials brought the Negersmith case to Moore. Family still holds out hope on 25 anniversary of death WILDWOOD It has been 25 years since the death of Susan Negersmith, a 20-year-old bubbly wom This was a case I was very proud of. I was inspired by the family and by the detectives, Moore said. They never gave up. They never forgot about Susan or her family. They were really heroic. While Moore said she could outline the methods used in genetic genealogy analysis, she emphasized she could not speak specifically about the Negersmith investigation. Sutherland also offered general comments, but would not go into specifics about a case that has not yet been tried. While police databases will have a limited number of DNA samples, civilian databases will have many, many more, mostly from people who have never been accused of a crime or involved in an investigation. By discovering people who are related to the person who left genetic material at a crime scene, Moore can begin to build a family tree. The largest databases, companies such as Ancestry.com, 23andMe or My Heritage, have terms of service that prevent samples from being used in criminal investigations. There are other sites, including GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, in which users can opt in to allow information to be used in investigations. Using this information, the researchers are able to compile a list of relatives of a person whose DNA sample was found at a crime scene. They can identify common grandparents and parse other details from the genetic record. Negersmith family finds new champion in pursuit of justice Emily Negersmith grew up with only the reflected memory of her older sister, a 20-year-old f Its like a puzzle youre trying to fill in piece by piece by piece, Moore said. While police use 20 identifiable genetic markers, Moore uses about 850,000, she said. The information can even begin to develop a potential description of a suspect, she said, including genetically determined traits like eye color and hair color. But that is not enough to narrow the search. From there on, Im in public records. Im doing genealogy records, newspaper clippings, even social media postings, Moore said. The idea is to give officers as short a list as possible. That information is not enough for an arrest. It isnt enough for a search warrant to take a DNA sample. It just gives police someone to look at in the investigation. Its really the beginning of their investigation, to determine if the name provided is a suspect, Moore said. It still has to be treated the same way as if someone called in to Crime Stoppers. Rosado, who appears to have worked in a family painting business, is a match for the DNA recovered from Negersmiths body, according to the Prosecutors Office. He was not charged in connection to her death, only in her sexual assault. NEGERSMITH CASE RULED A HOMICIDE Susan Negersmith, after five-and-a-half years, is no longer listed as a victim of circumstan Emily Negersmith said her family would like that last piece of the puzzle put in place but said the family does feel a sense of relief. Susans brother and another sister now live in North Carolina. Emily said she was only 2 when Susan died, so she has few direct memories of her. That absence has been part of her life for 32 years, she said. In interviews before his death, Kent Negersmith described Susan as an outgoing, bubbly young woman who wanted to work in marketing in the fashion industry. She was a wonderful skier and a cheerleader who had been a happy child, grown into a promising adult. Details of her last night are limited. Its known that she was severely intoxicated that night, based both on witness reports and blood samples. Her body was found near a trash bin Sunday morning, May 27, 1990, partially clothed and badly bruised. Her family was devastated, and later shocked when the initial finding was that she died of exposure, with a ruling that her death was accidental. Ive never seen the crime scene photos, but anyone who ever has said there is no question that this was an accident, Emily said. One of those to challenge the official report was Yvette Craig, a reporter for The Press of Atlantic City at the time. She is now the editor and publisher of Umoja Magazine, a Black-oriented magazine in Madison, Wisconsin. WILDWOOD DEATH (OF SUSAN NEGERSMITH) RULED HOMICIDE *Homicide: Three years after her death, state officials now say that 20-year-old Susan Neger She was then the police reporter, and in this instance, she had questions about a body being found in Wildwood. Those became more intense when someone left her a manila envelope. Inside was the initial police report, crime scene photos and autopsy photos. I just started putting the pieces together. Immediately, I could see that this could not be an accidental death. This could not have happened from drinking too much, Craig said. She said she still has no idea who leaked the information to her. As she dug deeper, she found out that witnesses had heard Negersmith screaming and that there were other signs that she fought someone that night. It took years of advocacy by Kent Negersmith, but eventually there was a new autopsy and a new determination. The cause of death was homicide. The second autopsy found indications that she had been strangled. In his statement on Rosados arrest, Sutherland said Wildwood police treated the case as a homicide from the start. Whatever happened with the initial ruling on the cause of death, over the years, the Prosecutors Office had kept up the search. The family deserves some closure. Susan Negersmith deserves justice, Craig said. It was one of those stories that did not go away. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. U.S. Rep Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, and 77 of his House Republican colleagues asked the Department of Homeland Security to reverse a decision to rescind the department's "expedited removal" policy of undocumented immigrants. Known as Title 42, the policy was put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The reversal has caused concern in border states, many of which joined a lawsuit by 21 states trying to stop the policy reversal. In a letter last week to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Van Drew said "border patrol agents are overwhelmed, fentanyl is pouring into and destroying our communities, and migrants with criminal convictions are making their way past our southern border." Under expedited removal, he said, hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants have been deported in a timely manner. Without it, there is no effective way to deter illegal border crossings, Van Drew said. Supporters of ending the use of Title 42, such as the American Immigration Council and nonprofit Human Rights First, say it violates the law and sends vulnerable refugees back into abusive situations. "Using the Title 42 policy to return people to places where they face persecution and torture violates U.S. refugee law and treaty obligations as former and current U.S. government officials, federal courts, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, (and more) have all concluded," Human Rights First says on its website. Bader Field presentation Two executives behind a plan to build a car-centric housing, retail and hotel project at Bader Field will be guest speakers at a Chelsea Neighborhood Association meeting Thursday. DEEM Enterprises COO Michael Bender and CLO Dan Gallagher will present an overview of Renaissance at Bader Field, which they plan to build on 143 acres at the waterfront former airport site. DEEM calls its proposal "a resilient and sustainable new community dedicated to the motoring enthusiast, while providing new economic and growth opportunities to the greater community." The meeting will be held 7 p.m. at the Scarpa Academic Building at Stockton University in Atlantic City in Room 314. Parking is available behind the Academic Building. Participation is also available via Zoom at https://stockton.zoom.us/j/92880737171?pwd=Qk5wUGRVVWFldmJEUGNWdm9mSEsxZz09/. Password: 741658. Another Alexander endorsement Democratic Candidate for Congress in New Jerseys 2nd Congressional District Tim Alexander, of Galloway Township, said Friday he has been endorsed by Atlantic County Sheriff Eric Scheffler. Alexander is a former police officer and is now a civil rights attorney. He and Carolyn Rush, a Sea Isle City engineer, are facing each other in the Democratic primary for the seat now held by Van Drew. Alexander has the support of all county committees in the district, while Rush and Alexander share support of the Gloucester County Democrats. Former congressional candidate Amy Kennedy has endorsed Alexander, as has former Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic; County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick; former LD-1 Assembly candidate Yolanda Garcia Balicki; and retired police officer and EHT PAL Director Hector Tavarez, who was also running in the primary but dropped out to support Alexander. "During his run, I have watched him truly listen to the people of this district," Scheffler said in a news release. "Every time a new issue is raised at one meeting or forum Tim arrives at the next excited to talk about his plan to address it." Environmental groups decry Murphy energy plans A coalition of 135 environmental groups said last week Gov. Phil Murphy's Administration is not serious about climate goals, and estimated that New Jersey's greenhouse gas emissions have increased under Murphy's watch. Six major fossil fuel expansion projects approved by the Murphy Administration over the past four years have increased emissions 19%, and another seven projects pending could increase them another 38%, according to Empower New Jersey. "The continued proliferation of pipelines, compressor stations, power plants, highway expansions, Liquified Natural Gas projects and other polluting fossil fuel infrastructure in our state represents a significant threat to climate, public health and our economy," the group said in a news release. Five of seven projects currently seeking approvals would be built in low-income and/or communities of color, according to Empower New Jersey. Contact Michelle Brunetti Post: 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on law enforcement authorities to investigate a potentially sinister motive for vandalism targeting a Virginia mosque. Vandals smashed a window and did other damage to the interior of the newly-constructed West End Islamic Center on Shady Grove Road in Glen Allen on Saturday. This was reportedly the second time vandals targeted the facility. The mosque released the following statement regarding the incident: The West End Islamic Center is a community-based center in Glen Allen, VA. We have worked with Henrico County officials and our neighbors for over ten years to assist in opening our doors just in time for our holy month of Ramadan. However, it is with great sadness that in just six months, West End Islamic Center has experienced two incidents of vandalism. The most recent occurred on Saturday, April 16, between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. We feel compelled to speak out against these expressions of hatred. An attack on any house of worship certainly feels like an assault on the community. Unfortunately, we were not able to capture the incident and perpetrators on security cameras. We nevertheless feel that this incident merits local, state, and federal authorities to investigate these events as a hate crime. The rights of all people of faith is a founding principle of America. This attack is incredibly hurtful. Its hard to imagine that someone would want to attack our place of worship. We do not know or understand the motivation of the person(s). What we do know is that love is stronger than hate, and the members of our mosque will stand together. We trust that our neighbors and friends will continue to stand with us and support our community as we worship during this holy month of Ramadan. We call on law enforcement to swiftly investigate this crime and increase patrols in the area until those responsible are apprehended, said CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell. Because the attackers vandalized the mosque without stealing anything, law enforcement should also investigate a possible bias motive for this incident. Everyone in our nation, regardless of faith, must be free to worship without the threat of harassment or violence. Henrico Countys prosecutor said Sunday night that law enforcement is investigating. We dont know yet who the perpetrators are, but we are investigating thoroughly, Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor said in a written statement. Should this be egregious, bigoted hate, it will not be tolerated in Henrico. She continued, During this holy month of Ramadan and during the Passover and Easter season, we are reminded even more of the importance of tolerance and brotherhood. Blacksburg-founded Torc Robotics is opening a technology and software development center in Stuttgart, Germany, marking another step in the self-driving systems developers ongoing expansion of its footprint well beyond Southwest Virginia. Torc Europe GmbH will tap into the available talent pool in one of Germanys prime automotive development regions and the Stuttgart team will support the development of SAE Level 4 virtual driver for deployment in autonomous trucks in the U.S., according to a recent announcement. Torc is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, which in 2019 acquired a majority share in the local self-driving systems developer. The two entities entered into a development partnership with the goal of bringing autonomous trucks for long-haul trucking to the roads within the decade. Brands that belong to Daimler Truck include truck maker Freightliner and school bus manufacturer Thomas Built Buses. Daimler Truck was previously part of the company known for Mercedes-Benz cars, but formally spun off on its own last year. Torc founder and CEO Michael Fleming spoke on the Stuttgart facility and overall work with Daimler Truck. Torc is working closely with Daimler Truck to optimize the entire product stack, including the virtual driver, sensing and computer hardware and the redundant chassis to be the first company to launch a scalable and profitable self-driving product, he said. Torcs Stuttgart technology and software development center will leverage the deep automotive and trucking technical and product expertise to make this a reality. Torc Europe GmbH is described as an independent entity that is a 100% subsidiary of Torc Robotics. The office is near both a Daimler Truck research and development facility and the heavy-truck makers headquarters, according to the recent Torc announcement. The technology center is 18,000 square feet, with an additional 12,000 square feet that will be used as a workshop. Stuttgart is known for housing a number of global high-tech and car manufacturing companies. Stuttgart is known as an area with a wealth of automotive and autonomous vehicle expertise. We hope to leverage this significant talent pool to meet our commercialization goals and support our mission of increased safety and efficiency, said Mike Avitabile, Torcs vice president of engineering. Collaboration thrives because of the partnership with Daimler Truck, a leader in the trucking industry. Combining Daimler Trucks experience with Torcs expertise in automated vehicle software and automated truck systems will help accelerate bringing our product to the market. The Stuttgart center is just one of several new Torc facilities thats been announced or opened since the start of the partnership with Daimler Truck. Torc has since opened a 20,000-square-foot facility in Austin, Texas, and a test center in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. When the New Mexico test center was announced, Torc and Daimler Trucks had already been testing self-driving trucks on public highways in the Southwestern U.S. state. The Albuquerque location allows daily, multi-shift runs of Torcs autonomous test trucks on highways in New Mexico and Texas, part of the recent announcement reads. Last year, Torc grew its Blacksburg presence where it has long been headquartered at the Blacksburg Industrial Park when it expanded to a 28,000-square-foot space at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ikes Kitchen, an Electric Road restaurant that built a loyal following for its authentic Japanese fare, has closed its doors after its chef and namesake decided to retire. This will be Ike Aikawas second go at retirement. He opened his small eatery after first retiring from a career as head chef of Kabuki, a Japanese steak house, according to a social media statement from Ikes Kitchen. It had been Aikawas dream to own his own restaurant. Those of us who had seen his legendary work ethic first hand were happy to band together with him to make his dream a reality, read a Facebook post announcing the restaurants closing. We never couldve imagined just how receptive the community would be to our little piece of Japan here in Star City. We really cannot thank the community enough for allowing Ikes dream to flourish as it has and we hope that our time sharing our food has cultivated lasting memories for our guests. Ikes first opened in 2017. It closed in March. The restaurant served an array of dishes, and was particularly known for its ramen. A sign on its storefront located in the Springwood Park shopping center on Electric Road near the intersection with Brambleton Road confirmed the restaurants closing and directed people to its Facebook page for more details. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An international defense companys Roanoke plant is helping lead substantial advancements in the technology it says will eventually revolutionize the eyewear the U.S. military uses to see at night. Elbit Systems of America Night Vision on Plantation Road is working with partners from around the country as part of a U.S. Department of Defense research and development project to reduce night vision goggles from about the size of a pair of binoculars to resemble something closer to a pair of eyeglasses. Elbit, along with partner Physical Sciences Inc. and various universities domestically and abroad, are teaming together to work on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded program called ENVision, according to a recent news release from the government agency. With various entities contributing different pieces of the new goggles for the project, Elbit is responsible for the image sensor technology. Current night vision systems are bulky and heavy, which creates significant torque to the wearers neck, leading to limited agility and chronic injury over prolonged usage, according to the DARPA website. It also states that there are technical issues with the current technology used. Additionally, existing [night vision] devices only provide a narrow field of view and are limited to the near-infrared spectral bands, greatly limiting situational awareness in varied night conditions, the news release states. ENVision seeks to leverage recent advances in planar optics and transduction materials to develop [night vision] systems that dont require bulky image intensifiers, provide wider [field of view], offer enhanced visual access across infrared bands, and are lightweight to reduce neck strain caused by todays technology, according to the release. The north Roanoke County plant has been in operation for more than 60 years, for much of that time known as ITT Night Vision, then as Excelis. The plant was owned by defense contractor Harris Corp. for four years before being sold in September 2019 to Elbit System Ltd., based in Israel, with a U.S. subsidiary based in Dallas. Elbit Systems of America Night Vision is responsible for the sensor that amplifies the light in the goggle, according to Marty Cielinski, the Roanoke divisions product line manager. What we bring to this is a novel detector technology in Roanoke, he said. That allows the image sensor to become smaller and flatter. The new sensor technology has been in development for the last several years, according to Elbits Night Vision Vice President and General Manager Erik Fox, noting that the goal is to reduce it from the current size of over an inch and cylindrical in shape to something flat and the size of a Chiclet piece of gum. Cielinski said DARPA puts a big emphasis on pushing the technology envelope way beyond what is thought to be possible on projects like these, which is what he said separates them from many other companies who were considered. Its highly risky, very early research and DARPA understands that, he said. Our participation and our winningness is based on the strength of our detector technology which is a significant advance in image intensification. Fox believes the companys novel approach to the technology is unique and unlike anything being done in the industry. Thats the uniqueness of what we are bringing to the broader team in this program, he said. Fox also noted the technology has yet to be fully realized, and many of the locations approximately 600 employees will be working on it for the foreseeable future. When the new goggles will be used by the U.S. military is also up in the air. Probably five years at the earliest. This whole program is a four-year development effort for prototypes, he said. So five years is at the early end but 10 years is probably more realistic. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Joyce Crowder of Dublin won the Radford Photo Clubs March people-at-work challenge with a photo of Meagan, barista at the Red Rooster Coffee Company in Floyd. Joyce Sims of Radford won the open theme with her photo of a train crossing the New River into Radford, taken from the train-viewing platform below Glencoe Museum. The Radford Photo Club meets next on Thursday, April 28, at 6 p.m. at the Radford Public Library. Bob Martin of Pulaski, drone cinematographer for Blue Ridge PBS, whose recent work included parts of the recent documentary The Story of the New River, will be the speaker. A Part 107 certified remote pilot, Martin is the chief drone pilot at Volvo Trucks where he has worked as an engineer for the past 17 years. The program is open to the public. For questions about the club, visit Radford Photo Club on Facebook or email trulovesusan@gmail.com. - Submitted by Susan Trulove By now youve probably heard about what happened at Blacksburg High School, and how members of its girls lacrosse team have been barred from wearing school-ordered Pray for Peace shirts during team warm-ups. The shirts also sported an image of the Ukrainian flag. Turns out the offensive term in the three-word slogan wasnt pray, as some Montgomery County School Board members initially assumed. Rather, the troublesome term was peace. Apparently, thats too loaded a concept for a high school in Virginia. The issue came up a couple weeks ago at a Montgomery County School Board meeting, to the surprise of at least two board members Chairwoman Sue Kass and Linwood Hudson. My colleague, Yann Ranaivo, wrote a story about it. I find it hard to believe that our interpretation of some of the policies would politicize peace, if thats what were doing here, Hudson said at the meeting. Kass said she initially thought Play for Peace might be an acceptable compromise until school officials informed the board that pray wasnt the problem peace was. I really struggle with how peace would be controversial, Kass said. To explain it, interim Superintendent Annie Whitaker used a Socratic argument that bore a whiff of moral relativism. (Well examine its broader applications below.) What is the peace from? Whitaker asked. A war. And a war is rooted in what? Its a political war, from people who have differing views. The school officials noted they would never bar such a slogan if a student wore his or her own shirt with that message to class. But a school ordered-and-paid-for shirt, worn at team practices, was a different question. It could send a message the Montgomery County schools endorse peace. Evidently, thats unthinkable. Its also left a number of people, me included, imagining what other kinds of messages on school-supplied shirts could be permitted or forbidden. For example, suppose the girls lacrosse team slyly changed the slogan to Pray for Peas, which sounds almost the same. Would that be acceptable? Under Whitakers logic, perhaps not. After all, what are peas from? Theyre from plants, more specifically vegetables, which are favored by vegetarians. And whats the opposite of a vegetarian? A carnivore. A school endorsement of vegetables over meat could easily could set that stage for a never-ending gastronomic clash between flesh-eaters and salad-munchers. This is why Pray for Peas should never appear on school-supplied garments. It could turn the Blacksburg High School cafeteria into a war zone of people with differing culinary views. Another possibility is the team could order new shirts with the slogan Pray for Piece. Considering that message is nonsensical, it should be totally inoffensive in a school setting, right? Wrong. What if snickering students read the phrase with an added implied article as in Pray for [a] Piece. We know from American slang that that refers to either sexual activity or a handgun. Quite legitimately, school officials should never endorse either. Some people have wondered if the girls lacrosse team should have aimed for a less offensive slogan, such as Pray for Education. But isnt that a sticky wicket, too? Education, we know, comes from knowledge. Its flip side is ignorance. And despite the best efforts of its school system, theres still a deep well of that in Montgomery County. We know because occasionally it emerges as not-quite elegant sophistry at Montgomery County School Board meetings. Also, school administrators must be very careful to avoid even inferred biases towards education, because that could unintentionally malign the uneducated. Under Whitakers reasoning, its not even clear that school-supplied Pray for Love T-shirts would be allowed in Blacksburg High. After all, what is love? One definition is, the opposite of hate. From that perspective, Pray for Love might be seen as a sneaky message against the philosophical underpinnings of the pro-hate community. Dont they have the right not to be demeaned by pro-love slogans in public schools? By now, I hope you understand this important issue, and how unintentional institutional biases displayed on a high school lacrosse teams warm-up shirts pose a threat to our society. Especially with the reckless use of irresponsible terms like peace and love. By the way, todays the perfect day to ruminate some more on those words. Happy Easter! Contact metro columnist Dan Casey at 981-3423 or dan.casey@roanoke.com . Follow him on Twitter:@dancaseysblog . Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This article was originally published by CalMatters, it has been republished with their permission. Read more of their coverage of California state government on CalMatters.org. University Ambassador applications are open University Ambassadors provide an informative and welcoming first impression of the University of South Carolina to visitors. Ambassadors inform prospective students and their families about student life through campus tours, phone calls and email conversations. University Ambassador applications are due Sept. 14. Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Seguin, TX (78155) Today Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. Near record high temperatures. High 97F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 76F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. After many hours scouring Cape Cod Bay and a few false alarms, those aboard the Research Vessel Shearwater on a bright April day make their first sighting: three North Atlantic right whales, including a rare mother-calf pair. The captain cuts the engines and a trio of marine biologists spring into action, rapidly snapping photos and noting markings that can be used to identify individual animals and track injuries -- a vital part of conservation efforts for a species believed to have 336 members. While the whaling that drove them to near-extinction has long been banned, unintended collisions with ships and entanglements with fishing gear are today the main threats for Eubalaena glacialis, one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Approaching 60 feet in length and weighing over 70 tons, the North Atlantic right whale is the third largest whale in existence. Their life spans are similar to humans, with individuals living up to a century. "Unfortunately, since 2010, their population has been decreasing," explains Christy Hudak, the leader of the Center for Coastal Studies' expedition that set off from Provincetown, a historic New England fishing village that is today popular for whale watching and gay tourism. "We're trying to spread the word regarding these amazing creatures and just how a key species they are in the circle of life." The CCS crew coordinates with an aerial survey plane, while a vessel from another research group flies mini-drones equipped with cameras over the whales as part of a study on the impact of rope entanglements on their growth rate. Despite strict ship speed limits of 10 knots in some protected areas, and new rules brought in by authorities to limit the number of ropes between buoys to crab and lobster traps on the seafloor, conservationists worry it's not enough. The problems are compounded by climate change: as the waters of the North Atlantic warm, a tiny oil-rich crustacean called Calanus finmarchicus that is the whales' main food resource is becoming more scarce in their habitat, which stretches from Florida to Canada. Story continues Cape Cod Bay isn't warming as fast as the whales' more northern waters in the Gulf of Maine, and as a result, it is here, in their traditional feeding and nursing grounds, that the marine giants are now more commonly spotted. Apart from photography and detailed note-taking, the crew also carry out plankton surveys: casting nets and using water pumps to take samples at various depths for lab analysis. Knowledge of the composition and density of these zooplankton helps scientists predict peak whale arrivals and departures. - The 'right' whale to hunt - Right whales were the favored prey of commercial hunters for more than a millennium -- by the Vikings, Basques, English, Dutch and finally Americans -- who sought their blubber for whale oil and their baleen plates, which they use to filter their food, as a strong, flexible material used in the pre-plastic era. According to David Laist, an author of a book on the species, their numbers prior to commercial whaling ranged up to 20,000, but by the early 20th century, the species was decimated. There was just one reliable sighting anywhere in the North Atlantic between the mid-1920s to 1950, Laist writes. "The early whalers thought of them as the correct whale to catch because they were so valuable, great thick layers of blubber that produced oil that was used in lamps," CCS founder Charles "Stormy" Mayo says, explaining the name. A baby boom in the 2000s led to a recent peak of more than 483 animals by 2010, but numbers are once more in decline -- and in 2017, the species was rocked by a mass-die off due to a shift to new foraging grounds. "Fourteen right whales died in a very short period, because they moved into an area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that was not previously known and was not managed," he said. That move due to declining prey abundance elsewhere appears to have been caused by climate change, and left the whales highly vulnerable to the collisions and ropes that kill them. And since the population is already so depleted, even a few deaths are enough to trigger a downward spiral, said Mayo, who was part of the first team to disentangle a whale in 1984. Mayo's own father had hunted pilot whales, and their family has lived in the area since the 1600s. The whales' calving rate in its southern waters is also down. While three years is considered a normal interval between births, the current average is three to six years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The stressors placed on females -- including non-fatal rope entanglements and ocean noise from human activities -- are thought to be behind the steep decline. - Playful calf, and a whale party - Right whales are distinguished by their stocky, black appearance with no dorsal fins, as well as heads adorned with knobby patches of rough skin called callosities, which are colored white from the tiny "whale lice" (cyamids) that cling to their hosts in what is thought to be a symbiotic relationship. Following tips relayed by their colleagues in the air, the R/V Shearwater finds more right whales including a playful calf copying its mother, and a huddle that biologists call a surface active group -- an opportunity to socialize. The whales "are getting together, rolling around touching each other. The main part of it is to mate, but also just to interact with other right whales. It's not always about sex," Hudak says. Back on land, Hudak says she was encouraged by what she saw over the day: a total of 10 right whales, two mother-calf pairs, and the social group, the "piece de resistance." The long term future of the species is far from assured, but there is hope. Technologies are being tested to reduce entanglements -- from weak rope that breaks more easily, to ropeless fishing traps that use floats triggered by remote control to ascend by themselves. Other ideas include deploying more acoustic monitoring devices on buoys to track the whales' movements better, and quickly respond with ship speed limits in those areas. Also vital, said Hudak, is increasing public awareness and desire to protect the creatures. The ship's spotter Sarah Pokelwaldt, a recent graduate doing an internship with CCS, said she was blown away by what for her was her first encounter with calves. "Being able to see the babies shows a lot of promise for the work that we do. It's really fulfilling to see," she said. ia/sst A funny thing starts to happen this time of year for both high school seniors and their parents. Its a bit of a senior spring awakening in a sense. Sometimes it is more the parent; sometimes it is more the student, but there is a dawning question of Am I ready to go to college, or is my child ready to go to college? April is a month of big reality checks as we order graduation announcements and put deposits down at a college. Our kids knew enough to get into college, but do they now know enough to go to and survive college? Its no wonder when a new life chapter is on the horizon that we start to wonder if we, as parents, have properly prepared them to leave the nest. Up until this point, everything was about getting them into college. Now that we have gone through the anxiety of waiting on acceptances or denials, we start to realize that they are in fact going somewhere and soon. They will live on their own, totally free to do what they want, when they want. You look at their messy room or perhaps their scrunched-over body while they are sitting at the kitchen counter slurping cereal and watching a YouTube video, and you may be thinking, I need to teach them so much more because they are not ready to leave home. Fear not, because they will figure it out. Forget momentarily about all the items you need to buy and pack to actually move them to college. Here are six things to help them (and you) get prepared over the next couple of months to survive being solo at college. Have them go to the dentist solo Send them on an appointment before they leave for college, and then have them make a follow-up appointment for when they are home on break. Make sure they put it on their phone/calendar with a reminder. Learning how to do things solo and then having the forward-thinking ability to plan for the future is a new concept to some kids. I have run the family calendar for years and all they have had to do is show up. Its time for them to create their own personal calendar. Teach them to grocery-shop Make them buy those special things at the grocery store that they tend to remind you they are out of and for you to buy the next time you are there. Sorry kid, it is your turn. But this is a great seek and find mission; much more elevated than asking where the ketchup is in the fridge and they stand there for five minutes trying to figure it out. Start taking vitamins More so than that, have them learn about certain over-the-counter medications and for what ailment they may be used. They need to learn why not to mix certain things and when it is time to go to a doctor. Remember when they all started kindergarten and they all got sick because it was new kids and a new environment? Well, the same theory applies to college. I created a spreadsheet and medical care toolkit for my child when he went to college, and he found it helpful. Learn how to use other forms of transportation Public bus, train, Uber, Lyft, taxi, or even airplanes. Depending on where your child is going, their car or your car wont be in the scenario. They are way more tech-savvy than us, so have them download the apps on their phone and create accounts for them now. I know feelings about their safety can vary here, so have them learn what to look out for, too. Have them get a job before going off to college Nothing is more of a reality check than learning how to deal with other people while working. This could be the people they are working with or the people or clients they are serving. This can be a great life lesson in communications and problem-solving that doesnt involve friends or family. Learn about money management That job they have is hopefully putting money into their account. If it isnt, it is time they learn how to save versus how to spend. Perhaps make some financial goals they need to achieve by the time they leave for college they need to save x amount of dollars to either help pay for tuition or for spending while there. With this goal in mind, perhaps have them break it down for how much weekly or monthly they will be able to spend. It is amazing to see that once they get to college, they dont mind buying the off-brand items with their own money quite so much. Kelly Barnhardt is an independent college consultant based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- Seven people have been shot within Sioux City limits in just over a month amid what police are calling a "rash" of gun-related incidents. Many of those incidents are tied to ongoing rivalries, involving gangs or drugs. Officers responded to 22 shots fired calls between March 1 and April 6, according to data provided by the Sioux City Police Department. Some of those reports led police to open 10 shooting investigations, which have resulted in four arrests. The violence ramped up again this week, when police responded to two more shootings in a span of 14 hours. At 7:24 p.m. Thursday, callers reported hearing shots fired in the area of Stone Park Boulevard and 32nd Street and the area of Hamilton and Stone Park boulevards. Shortly after the shots were fired, witnesses observed a four-door silver car chasing a black car eastbound on Stone Park Boulevard. Officers were unable to locate the suspect vehicle, but did find evidence of a shooting, police said. No one was shot. The investigation is ongoing. Then, on Friday, police were called to an apartment complex in the 2200 block of Gibson St. at 9:17 a.m. for a woman shot in the leg. The victim was taken to a Sioux City hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No suspects have been identified at this time. The investigation is continuing, according to police. Community Policing Sgt. Jeremy McClure said the motives behind the recent shootings are "running the gamut." "Most of the shootings have stemmed from ongoing rivalries and other criminal activity. If you're not involved in criminal activity, typically, you're not as likely to be a victim of this gun violence," McClure said. "There has seemed to have been a few reports of road rage incidents, where people have pulled guns on other drivers. That's very concerning to us that people feel inclined to use weapons or the threat of weapons to settle minor disagreements." McClure said the police department is "allocating a lot of resources" to investigate the shootings and partnering with state and federal agencies that can help trace weapons and analyze physical evidence. He said investigators are keeping in contact with prosecutors in order to file "the most severe charges possible." "There are a few people that we have ongoing investigations on that we believe once we're able to get them arrested and charged would alleviate a lot of these issues," he said. The uptick in gun violence prompted some City Council members to raise the issue at their weekly meeting on April 4. "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." SHOTS FIRED On March 14, a woman was shot in the lower abdomen at a residence in the 1900 block of Ingleside Ave. According to court documents, the woman went to 21-year-old Carlos Mejia's home to get money from him to buy methamphetamine. Mejia fired one shot from the kitchen at the woman as she tried to flee. The victim was treated at a local hospital and released. Mejia has pleaded not guilty in Woodbury County District Court to charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury. Less than a week later, on March 20, a suspect in a tan SUV shot at an 18-year-old and two juveniles in a black Chrysler in the 500 block of W. Sixth St. No one was struck by gunfire, but the Chrysler was damaged. Police believe the shooting may be related to an "ongoing dispute." The next day, on March 21, a homeowner shot one of two armed suspects who came to his home in the 1600 block of Nebraska St. One of the suspects fired at the homeowner, who shot back. The suspect is still recovering in the hospital and the investigation is continuing. The incident is related to an "ongoing dispute" between the parties, according to police. The following week, on March 28, officers responded to a report of two cars shooting at each other in the 2100 block of Rebecca St. A 17-year-old showed up at UnityPoint Health -- St. Luke's with a minor gunshot wound. Police say the suspect fired shots at the victim due to an "ongoing dispute." The police log for April 15 showed a shots fired call near the 2700 block of Rebecca St. just before midnight. Through Saturday afternoon, officials were unable to provide any additional information about the incident. On April 4, a man was shot at Uncle Dave's Bar following a dispute. Officers found the man lying on the bar's front steps in the 1400 block of West Third St. Naji Shorter, 29, of Des Moines, was arrested in connection with the shooting. Shorter is charged with attempted murder, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and other felonies. He is prohibited from possessing firearms after a March 2020 domestic assault conviction in Omaha, in which he was placed on 12 months' probation. The victim, who suffered a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen, remains hospitalized. On April 5, police responded to a report of shots fired in the 500 block of South Irene St. During an altercation, one roommate stabbed another roommate. As the suspect and two of his associates were fleeing, one of them fired at a third roommate. No one was injured by gunfire. Detectives are continuing their investigation. Other shootings are seemingly random or involve domestic violence, McClure said. On March 25, a 50-year-old man was shot by an unknown suspect as he walked down an alley in the 1800 block of Jones St., after midnight. Police say the shooting appears to have been an "unprovoked attack." The victim's wound was described as "non-life-threatening." Four days later, on the morning of March 29, a 16-year-old male was shot multiple times by an unknown man in the 700 block of 18th St. The teen, who was taken to MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, told authorities the man started a physical altercation with him while he was walking. During that altercation, the suspect shot the teen with a handgun. The teen has since been released from the hospital and is continuing his recovery. McClure said the suspect's description has been updated to a black male with short hair and a tattoo on his face. DOMESTIC-RELATED Of the 22 shots fired reports between March 1 and April 6, police are looking into the possibility that seven of them may be related to ongoing investigations into 34-year-old Capri Rogers. Rogers was initially arrested on several felonies, including kidnapping and firearms violations. He has been formally charged in Woodbury County District Court with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. On April 2, police responded to a shooting incident in the 1800 block Jackson St. They 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. Further investigation revealed that Rogers had been holding his girlfriend captive and abusing her. The day Rogers was arrested, neighbors called police and reported that he was walking outside a residence in the 1800 block of Jackson Street with a rifle-style firearm. "The big thing that's helped in a lot of these cases is people calling in reports of shots being fired or being witnesses and providing us with their witness statements, as well as video evidence," McClure said. "It's going a long way to help solve a lot of these cases, especially when victims don't want to participate in the investigation." According to a criminal complaint filed in Woodbury County District Court, a shotgun was seized from the residence along with a 22-caliber revolver, ammunition and 140 spent shell casings. Rogers had been living in the house with his girlfriend since the beginning of March. "Capri Rogers was a prohibited person, so he shouldn't have had a weapon. He was a felon," McClure said. A search of Virginia court records conducted by The Journal revealed that Rogers was convicted of robbery and using a firearm in the commission of a felony in 2008 in Henrico Circuit Court. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the robbery charge, 13 years of which were suspended, and three years in prison on the firearm charge. The Journal found no prior criminal history for Rogers in Iowa. Rogers allegedly began punching his girlfriend in the head in early March. That violence escalated to "strangulation more than three times" and resulted in the woman "blacking out," according to the complaint. Rogers also sexually assaulted the woman, kicked and punched her, and shot a 22-caliber revolver into the mattress around her head. She had to undergo cranial surgery for bleeding and clots from the assaults. She also suffered a broken ankle and bruises to her arms, neck, thighs, buttocks and torso, according to the complaint. While the woman was recovering at home, Rogers killed two of her cats in front of her. He allegedly broke the neck of the female cat and shot the male cat four times, according to the complaint. "The defendant told the victim she would end up like the cats if she ever left him or told anyone. The defendant said this while in possession of the revolver and, then, shot the victim's cell phone," the complaint states. The very next day, another Sioux City man allegedly fired a gun at his girlfriend. On April 3, officers responded to a 911 call after a woman said Agustin J. Sanchez Jr. pointed a gun at her and proceeded to shoot it next to her head. Sanchez, 35, fled the scene in a vehicle, which he crashed in the 4000 block of Jackson St. Officers found the gun inside of the vehicle. He has been charged with attempted murder and other felonies. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Russia renews strikes on Ukraine capital, hits other cities KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces accelerated scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond Saturday in an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite Moscow's pivot toward mounting a new offensive in the east. Stung by the loss of its Black Sea flagship and indignant over alleged Ukrainian aggression on Russian territory, Russia's military command had warned of renewed missile strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials in Moscow said they were targeting military sites, a claim repeated and refuted by witnesses throughout 52 days of war. The toll reaches much deeper. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old sons body after rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine. An infant and at least eight other people died, officials said. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. Smoke rose from the capital again early Saturday as Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported a strike that killed one person and wounded several. The mayor advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. US Army using lessons from Ukraine war to aid own training FORT IRWIN, Calif. (AP) In the dusty California desert, U.S. Army trainers are already using lessons learned from Russia's war against Ukraine as they prepare soldiers for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China. The role-players in this month's exercise at the National Training Center speak Russian. The enemy force that controls the fictional town of Ujen is using a steady stream of social media posts to make false accusations against the American brigade preparing to attack. In the coming weeks, the planned training scenario for the next brigade coming in will focus on how to battle an enemy willing to destroy a city with rocket and missile fire in order to conquer it. If the images seem familiar, they are, playing out on televisions and websites worldwide right now as Russian forces pound Ukrainian cities with airstrikes, killing scores of civilians. The information war on social media has showcased impassioned nightly speeches by Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Russian efforts to accuse Ukraine's forces of faking mass killings in towns such as Bucha massacres that the West blames on Moscow's troops. I think right now the whole Army is really looking at whats happening in Ukraine and trying to learn lessons, said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. Those lessons, she said, range from Russia's equipment and logistics troubles to communications and use of the internet. 'Magic mushrooms' for therapy? Vets help sway conservatives SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Matthew Butler spent 27 years in the Army, but it took a day in jail to convince him his post-traumatic stress disorder was out of control. The recently retired Green Beret had already tried antidepressants, therapy and a support dog. But his arrest for punching a hole in his father's wall after his family tried to stage an intervention in Utah made it clear none of it was working. I had a nice house, I had a great job, whatever, but I was unable to sleep, had frequent nightmares, crippling anxiety, avoiding crowds," he said. My life was a wreck. He eventually found psychedelic drugs, and he says they changed his life. I was able to finally step way back and go, Oh, I see whats going on here. I get it now, said Butler, now 52. Today his run-ins with police have ended, hes happily married and reconciled with his parents. Butler, who lives in the Salt Lake City suburbs, is among military veterans in several U.S. states helping to persuade lawmakers to study psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use. 12 injured in shooting at South Carolina mall; 3 detained COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, he said. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running. DA: 3 of 6 dead in Sacramento shootout were in gang dispute SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Newly filed court documents in the downtown Sacramento shooting that killed six people and wounded a dozen others reveal that three of the dead had been involved in the gang dispute that led to the massive shootout, with at least one of them firing a weapon. Documents filed Friday by Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schuberts office show that the three deceased men affiliated with gangs were Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, Devazia Turner, 29, and Sergio Harris, 38, The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday. Turner fired a weapon, but it was unclear if all three fired weapons. Police have said there were at least five suspects in the April 3 shooting. Two of the suspects brothers Smiley and Dandrae Martin were wounded and are hospitalized or in jail. A third suspect, Mtula Payton, 27, remains at large. In a social media clip posted hours before the shooting, the Martin brothers are seen posing with Hoye-Lucchesi and two handguns and a rifle. In the video, Hoye-Lucchesi and Smiley Martin, 27, talk about going downtown while armed to loiter outside nightclubs and boast about shooting rival gang members, according to a 13-page document. Unrest sparked by far-right demos continues in Sweden HELSINKI (AP) Unrest broke out in southern Sweden late Saturday despite police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was planning to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration scheduled there by the Danish right-wing party Stram Kurs party was moved to the nearby city of Malmo, some 45 kilometers (27 miles) south. Up to 100 mostly young people threw stones, set cars, tires and dustbins on fire, and put up a barrier fence that obstructed traffic, Swedish police said. The situation had calmed down in Landskrona by late Saturday but remains tense, police said, adding no injuries were reported in the action. On Friday evening, violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters erupted in the central city of Orebro ahead Stram Kurs' plan to burn a Quran there, leaving 12 police officers injured and four police vehicles set on fire. Video footage and photos from chaotic scenes in Orebro showed burning police cars and protesters throwing stones and other objects at police officers in riot gear. Crews fight New Mexico fires as some evacuations lift RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) Authorities have lifted some evacuation orders for a mountain community in drought-stricken southern New Mexico as firefighters worked Saturday to contain a wind-driven blaze that killed two people and destroyed over 200 homes. The evacuation orders lifted late Friday covered about 60% of the estimated 4,500 people ordered to leave their homes since the fire started Tuesday, Village of Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden told The Associated Press on Saturday. Evacuation estimates were previously reported to be around 5,000 people. The big story is we're in a re-population mode," Gladden said earlier during a media briefing. Those evacuation orders remaining in effect may be lifted in coming days, officials said. Those waiting to return included Barbara Arthur, the owner of a wooded 28-site RV park that had wind damage but didnt burn. Suit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate PHILADELPHIA (AP) Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn Philadelphia's renewed indoor mask mandate scheduled to be enforced beginning Monday in an effort to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections. The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court on Saturday, said Philadelphia lacks the authority to impose such a mandate. Philadelphia earlier this week became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the citys top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Attorney Thomas W. King III, who was among those involved in last year's successful challenge to the statewide mask mandate in schools, said the city's emergency order went against recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and imposed a renegade standard unfound anywhere else in the world." The suit accuses city health officials of having usurped the power and authority" of state lawmakers, the state department of health and the state advisory health board. WNBA players say life in Russia was lucrative but lonely For the elite athletes in the WNBA, spending the offseason playing in Russia can mean earning more money than they can make back home sometimes even two or three times as much. But those who have done that also describe the loneliness of being away from family and friends, of struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, and of living in a place with only a few hours of sunlight in the winter and temperatures well below freezing. Brittney Griner is one of those players who went to Russia in recent years to earn extra money. For the two-time Olympian, however, it has turned into a prolonged nightmare. Since arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February, she has been detained by police after they reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Still in jail, she is awaiting trial next month on charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison. Her arrest came at a time of heightened political tensions over Ukraine. Since then, Russia has invaded Ukraine and remains at war. Art Rupe, pioneering record executive, dead at 104 NEW YORK (AP) Music executive Art Rupe, whose Specialty Records was a premier label during the formative years of rock n roll and helped launch the careers of Little Richard, Sam Cooke and many others, has died. He was 104. Rupe, who was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2011, died Friday at his home in Santa Barbara, California, according to the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation. The foundation did not release his cause of death. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native was a contemporary of Jerry Wexler, Leonard Chess and other white businessmen-producers who helped bring Black music to a general audience. He founded Specialty in Los Angeles in 1946 and gave early breaks to such artists as Cooke and his gospel group the Soul Stirrers, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, John Lee Hooker and Clifton Chenier. Specialty Records growth paralleled, and perhaps defined, the evolution of Black popular music, from the race music of the 1940s to the rock n roll of the 1950s, music historian Billy Vera wrote in the liner notes to The Specialty Story, a five-CD set that came out in 1994. Rupes most lucrative and momentous signing was Little Richard, a rhythm n blues and gospel performer since his teens who had struggled to break through commercially. In a 2011 interview for the Rock Hall archives, Rupe explained that Little Richard (the professional name for the late Macon, Georgia, native Richard Penniman) had learned of Specialty through Price, sent a demo and for months called trying to find out if anyone had listened. He finally demanded to speak to Rupe, who dug out his tape from the reject pile. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Russia renews strikes on Ukraine capital, hits other cities KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia has resumed scattered attacks on Kyiv, western Ukraine and beyond after warning that it planned to step up missile strikes on the capital. Saturday's strikes are a reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat despite a pivot toward a new offensive in the east. Moscow says the renewed attacks targeted Ukrainian military sites. But each day brings more civilian victims of a war that has shattered European security. As Russia prepared for the anticipated offensive, a mother wept over her 15-year-old sons body. The teenager and at least eight other people died after rockets hit a residential area of the northeast city of Kharkiv. US Army using lessons from Ukraine war to aid own training FORT IRWIN, Calif. (AP) U.S. Army trainers are using lessons learned from the Russian war against Ukraine as they prepare soldiers for future fights against a major adversary such as Russia or China. The role-players in this months exercise at a training center in California's Mojave Desert speak Russian and the enemy force is using a steady stream of social media posts to make false accusations against the American brigade preparing to attack. In the coming weeks, the planned training scenario for the next brigade coming in will focus on how to battle an enemy willing to destroy a city with rocket and missile fire in order to conquer it. 'Magic mushrooms' for therapy? Vets help sway conservatives SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The medicinal use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is making inroads in U.S. states as military veterans advocate for the therapeutic value of psychedelic drugs, including in conservative states like Utah, Texas and Oklahoma. At least four states have approved studying their medicinal properties in the last two years and several U.S. cities have also decriminalized so-called magic mushrooms. Oregon is the first, and so far only, state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient found in certain mushrooms. But studying them has gotten approval not only in blue states like Hawaii, Connecticut and Maryland but also GOP-led Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma, where the state House passed a bill this year. 12 injured in shooting at South Carolina mall; 3 detained COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack. Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre. Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the shooting victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out. Johnson said people were screaming and knocking over tables as they fled. DA: 3 of 6 dead in Sacramento shootout were in gang dispute SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Newly filed court documents in a deadly downtown Sacramento shooting reveal that three of the six who died were involved in the gang dispute that led to the massive shootout. At least one of them fired a weapon while another boasted before the killing about shooting rival members. The information was contained in documents filed Friday by the Sacramento County District Attorney's office. Court documents say suspect Smiley Martin and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi posted on social media earlier in the day that they wanted to shoot rival gang members. The Sacramento Bee was first to report on the filings. The April 3 shootout wounded a dozen others. Unrest sparked by far-right demos continues in Sweden HELSINKI (AP) Unrest has broken out in southern Sweden despite police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was planning to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration scheduled there by the Danish right-wing party Stram Kurs party was moved to the nearby city of Malmo. Up to 100 mostly young people threw stones, set cars, tires and dustbins on fire, and put up a barrier fence that obstructed traffic, Swedish police said. The situation had calmed down in Landskrona by late Saturday but remains tense. Crews fight New Mexico fires as some evacuations lift RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) Authorities have lifted some evacuation orders for a southern New Mexico mountain community hit by wildfire. Firefighters are working Saturday to contain a wind-driven blaze that killed two people and destroyed over 200 homes. A Village of Ruidoso spokesperson said about 60% of the estimated 4,500 people who were told to evacuate since the fire started Tuesday were allowed to return home late Friday. Evacuation estimates were previously reported to be around 5,000 people. Specific numbers werent immediately available. Fire incident commander Dave Bales said crews on Saturday worked to put out hot spots and clear lines along the fires perimeter to keep the fire from spreading. Suit seeks to overturn renewed Philadelphia mask mandate PHILADELPHIA (AP) Several businesses and residents have filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn Philadelphias renewed indoor mask mandate scheduled to be enforced beginning Monday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. Philadelphia earlier this week became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections. Attorney Thomas W. King III said the citys emergency order went against Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and imposed a renegade standard." The Philadelphia mayors office declined comment but said courts have ruled that the city has both the legal authority and requisite flexibility" to take steps to control COVID-19 spread. WNBA players say life in Russia was lucrative but lonely For WNBA players, spending the offseason by competing in Russia can be lucrative, with some earning more money than they make back home. But they also describe the loneliness of being away from family and friends, of struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, and of living in a place with little sunlight in winter and temperatures well below freezing. Brittney Griner is one of those athletes who went to Russia to earn extra money. But the experience has turned into a prolonged nightmare after she was arrested in February by police who reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She is awaiting trial on charges that could bring a prison term. Art Rupe, pioneering record executive, dead at 104 NEW YORK (AP) A pioneering record executive who helped launch the careers of Little Richard and Sam Cooke has died. Art Rupe died Friday at his Santa Barbara, California, home at the age of 104. Rupe was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native was a contemporary of Jerry Wexler, Leonard Chess and other businessmen-producers who helped bring Black music to a general audience. He founded Specialty Records in Los Angeles in 1946 and worked on such early rock classics as Little Richard's Tutti Frutti" and Lloyd Price's Lawdy Miss Clawdy. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Chinese Taiwan increases tea imports from Vietnamese market The first two months of this year, Taiwan (China) imported the highest volume of tea from Vietnam, with 2,000 tonnes, worth US$3 million, up 3.5% in volume and 0.9% in value over the same period from last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). Taiwan's tea imports from Vietnam accounts for 47.7% of its total tea imports, an increase of 5 percentage points on-year. The Import-Export Department under the MoIT cited data from the Taiwan Customs Administration as saying that tea imports into the Taiwanese market throughout the reviewed period reached 419,000 tons, worth US$12.56 million. The average price of imported tea from Vietnam stood at roughly US$1,519 per ton. Tea imports from Vietnam accounted for 47.7% of total tea imports of the Taiwanese market, a rise of 5 percentage points on-year. Black tea and green tea are the two main types imported into the Taiwanese market. Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India are currently the three largest black tea suppliers to Taiwan. The opening two months of 2022 saw the Taiwanese market increase black tea imports from Vietnam, and reduce imports from Sri Lanka and India. The Taiwanese market imports green tea primarily from Vietnam and Japan. In which, the average import price of green tea from Vietnam is low priced at around US$1,639 per tonne, while that from Japan is high at US$11,719.4 per tonne. A Yemeni trader selects tea pots while communicating with his Saudi Arabian client via video link at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) HANGZHOU, April 16 (Xinhua) -- "This crystal clock looks so nice, how much is it?" Kauthar Ding asked a shop owner in the Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang Province. After finding out the price, she used her smartphone to relay the information to a client thousands of miles away. "It's 115 yuan (about 18 U.S. dollars)," she said in Arabic. The Palestinian merchant shook his head. "It's a bit expensive," he said, and Ding moved to the next booth. Yiwu, China's small commodity hub, is widely known as the world's supermarket. This practice has become commonplace for those working in foreign trade since the outbreak of COVID-19. "We used to accompany our foreign clients to order goods in person, but now we have to observe and describe the products in detail for them. Sometimes we also place orders for them," she said. Despite being in China, the 24-year-old is basically living in a Palestine time zone, six hours behind local time. Small commodities from China have defied such inconveniences and high shipping rates, proving popular with global traders, said Ding. After a virtual tour of several shops, Ding's Palestinian client ordered half a container of crystal crafts. Changes happen, but the determination of Yiwu businessmen to develop new products and explore new markets remains strong. Wang Xuxue of Miaomiao Toy Company recently found the top sellers in her shop have changed from children's satchels and hats to interactive toys such as the "dancing cactus," which can store hundreds of songs and repeat what people say. "Sea shipping fees remained high in the past two years. If we still make the same products, we cannot survive," Wang said. Fortunately, Wang noticed the growing demand for interactive toys in overseas markets and led her team to expand further. This resulted in 10-percent sales growth for the company last year. "For these trendy toys, my clients are even willing to use air transportation, which was rare for plush toys," said Wang, adding that even though air freight has risen from about 35 yuan to 50 yuan per kilo, some 3,000 trendy toys are still sold on a daily basis. As for Chen Fangfang, who sells home textiles in the market, innovation is her greatest asset. She believes that although different countries have specific preferences for home textiles, new products of good quality will always be in demand. "From fabric to the pattern, we update our products every week to meet customers' ever-changing needs," Chen said. The turnover of her company exceeded 100 million yuan in 2021, marking considerable growth compared to a year before. Demonstrating vitality and resilience, Yiwu's foreign trade has delivered good results in the shadow of COVID-19. According to customs statistics, in January and February this year, Yiwu's total amount of imports and exports reached 73.76 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 47.8 percent. Chen has set a goal for her home textiles company this year to enter five new overseas markets, such as Poland. "It's about being proactive, looking for more opportunities and resources that suit our position, and sticking to our strategy and objectives," summarized Chen. Poisonings. Cyber attacks. Election interference. Indiscriminate killings. All these are the actions of Russia under Vladimir Putin. They are not new, so they are not surprising. What is surprising is the degree to which he has support outside of Russia. Putin has crushed internal dissent by preventing independent media. He has labeled many non-profit organizations as foreign-sponsored, and either stifled their operations or closed them completely. Opposition candidates get labeled as foreign-sponsored and are prohibited from running. Popular candidates end up having opponents on the ballot with the same or similar names. Votes are counted outside the view of any independent organization. Prominent opposition voices such as Boris Nemtsov have been killed by gunfire. Several, including Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, former intelligence officers Alexander Litvenenko and Sergei Skripal have been poisoned. The solution to other opponents has been to lock them up. Some, like Aleskei Navalny, have been both poisoned and jailed. Russias military response to an uprising in Chechnya was to carpet bomb the captial city. Under then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia launched missiles into a market and a maternity hospital. They promised a safe passage out of the city, then mined the road and fired into the crowd. Russian forces targeted several hospitals during its campaign in Syria. In 2014, Russia occupied Ukraines Crimean peninsula and Donbas regions. Later that year, a Russian missile system shot down a civilian airliner, killing 298 people. Some Russian actions have involved non-lethal activities. In 2007, Estonian government and financial institutions were taken offline due to attacks originating in Russia. Cyberattacks originating from Russia cut off power in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016. Elements within Russia were also responsible for shutting down websites and email in Kazakhstan in 2009. These attacks dont include hacking across multiple countries over the years. Russias outreach to other countries has also extended into the political sphere. The political party led by French presidential candidate Marine LePen is still paying off an $11 million loan from a Russian bank. Russian institutions funneled money to an Italian political party in 2019. Russia conducted a three-year disinformation campaign in support of pro-Russian politicians in Poland. Such activities resulted in right-wing parties supporting Russias annexation of Crimea and opposing sanctions on Russia in 2014. Interference from Russia has extended to western elections. A cyberattack against the Polish election commission in 2014 raised concerns about the results. In 2015, fake official-sounding Twitter accounts were established in an attempt to create confusion within Finland. Cyberattacks were also launched against election-related websites in Spain, the Netherlands, and Czechia. Russian interference did not start or begin with the United States in 2016. Still, American political leaders have appeared on Russian-sponsored media. Theyve parroted Russian talking points. Some, like former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense Douglas Macgregor, have said that Russia has been too gentle regarding Ukraine. Others have contended that Putin has changed. This partial list of actions should make it clear that he has not changed. Despite the above, some American leaders want to obstruct resistance to Russian aggression. Senator Mike Lee wanted to limit the deployment of American forces to Poland. A House vote to support NATO and a democratic resiliency center was opposed by 63 Representatives. Six Representatives opposed a resolution to collect and report on Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The America that I, and people from other countries with whom I have served, believe in advocates for self-determination. That governments are more responsive and responsible when they serve the interests of their people. Putins Russia does not recognize Ukraines right to exist. It does not respect the sovereignty of other nations. It needs to be resisted, not have its actions defended by a free people. Next week: Linda Holub A Sioux City resident, Steve Warnstadt is government affairs coordinator for Western Iowa Tech Community College. He is a former Democratic state senator and retired Army National Guard brigadier general. He and his wife, Mary, are the parents of one son and one daughter. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Reversing a lower court decision, the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ruled Abby Finkenauer can remain on the U.S. Senate primary ballot. The decision likely comes as a big relief to establishment Democrats, who engaged in a lot of handwringing after Polk Court Judge Scott Beattie ruled Finkenauer did not submit enough signatures on nomination petitions to qualify for the June 7 primary. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other party insiders view the former one-term Iowa congresswoman as the party's best choice to unseat Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley this fall. But that calculation seems shortsighted. We feel one of the two remaining candidates on the ballot, Sioux City's own Michael Franken, stands just as good, if not better, chance to pull the upset against the eighth-term incumbent in a mid-term election environment that likely will favor Republicans. For the second straight cycle, the Democratic establishment is overlooking Franken, a retired admiral vice admiral and 36-year naval veteran. In 2020, he made his first run for the Senate, finishing second, with 25 percent of the vote, behind the nominee, businesswoman Teresa Greenfield. In a general election race that drew hefty national attention and outside spending, Greenfield lost to incumbent Republican Rep. Sen. Joni Ernst by 109,000 votes, or nearly 7 percent. Who's to say Franken wouldn't have made the race closer, if not won outright? The 63-year-old, who grew up on a farm near Sioux Center, boasts an impressive resume highlighted by a military career that included commanding 24 ships and overseeing military forces in Africa, and years in policy, strategy and planning roles for the U.S. Department of Defense. He also served as a legislative affairs adviser to the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and managed a business. Popular with many party activists, Franken also has proven to be a formable fundraiser, as he reported raising nearly $1.4 million during the first quarter of 2022 Having never held elected office previously, Franken would bring a fresh face to a seemingly uphill campaign against Grassley in a mid-term election environment that likely will favor Republican candidates. But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other national groups have again put the thumb on the scale for a candidate prior to the first votes cast by Iowa Democrats. After doing the same for Greenfield in 2020, the question is why? Finkenauer, 33, won her first term in the U.S. House by 5 percentage points in 2018 by knocking off a Republican incumbent in an eastern Iowa district. But two years later, she lost re-election by 2.6 points to Republican Ashley Hinson, a former TV news anchor. Finkenauer's Senate campaign was briefly thrown into turmoil last week after Beattie overruled the State Objections Panel that rejected challenges to Finkenauers campaign raised by two GOP activists. The panel and Finenauer's campaign quickly appealed to the state Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the lower court decision. State law requires Senate candidates to acquire at least 3,500 signatures, including at least 100 signatures each in at least 19 of Iowa's 99 counties. Finkenauers campaign collected about 5,000 signatures, but at three signatures were not properly dated, the GOP activists claimed. Without those signatures from Allamakee and Cedar counties, Finkenauer's petitions would have come up short. After Beattie's ruling, Finenauer immediately lashed out in a partisan fashion, criticizing a "Republican judge" for doing the "bidding of Chuck Grassley and his allies in Washington," despite no evidence to back up such accusations against a respected judge. Finkenauer should have acknowledged her own mistake in not gathering more than enough signatures in the event a handful were thrown out. A candidate for the 100-member U.S. Senate should be competent enough to more than meet such bare minimum requirements. With the primary ballot now finalized, we look forward to a robust campaign between Franken, Finkenauer and the third Democratic candidate, Glenn Hurst, a doctor and Minden City Council member. Hopefully, the race will focus on the candidates' positions and qualifications, rather than who has the most support from Washington Democrats and national groups. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Gabfest Reads is a monthly series from the hosts of Slates Political Gabfest podcast. This month, David Plotz talks with author Amy Bloom about her journey to support the death, by suicide, of her husband, chronicled in her new book In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss. This partial transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity. David Plotz: I must compliment you on this book. It is extremely funny, in a very grim way, about how difficult it is to try to help someone kill themselves in the United States. Can you talk about why? I would think you could just get a bunch of fentanyl. Whats the problem with getting a bunch of fentanyl? Advertisement Amy Bloom: Its really, really hard to get in America. That fact doesnt have great press. Not that I didnt feel that I wouldnt be equipped to go make a successful drug buy, you know, in some corner of some city in Connecticut, but nobody was having it. Nobody was selling it. Theres also, of course, the issue that if youre buying a drug illegally it may not be the drug that you thought it was and things can go horribly awry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I also should say that it wasnt Brians wish to take his own life (although he understood that that might be necessary). It was his wish to die peacefullyand with me holding his hand. Advertisement You ended up in Switzerland. Whats in Switzerland? So whats in Switzerland is Dignitas, which is a nonprofit organization. There are actually now two of them. Theres Dignitas and theres Pegasos (which started as a sort of offshoot from the people from Dignitas). Theyre very similar. You become a member. And then, should you wish to avail yourself of their services, you send them a biographical statement and your medical records, and they assess those. Then there are several phone calls, and then, if you get a provisional green light, you go to Zurich and you have two medical interviews. All along the way, and especially once you get to Zurich, the doctors are constantly saying, Are you sure? Is this what you want to do? Please feel free to change your mind, And At any time, we will be very supportive if you change your mind. Advertisement Advertisement After the second interview, assuming that goes well, and they are reassured of your cognitive judgment and of your discernment, you go to a small apartment in a sort of industrial suburb, and you take an antiemetic and then you take the medication, which is sodium pentobarbital (also something very, very hard to get in the United States). You fall into a light sleep, and then a deep sleep, and then you pass. Andit was terrible, but it was painless and it was peacefuland we got to hold hands. To listen to David Plotzs full interview with author Amy Bloom, subscribe to the Slate Political Gabfest on Apple Podcasts, or listen below. There is a linguistic connection between Easter and Passover This week is the Jewish holiday of Passover and, simultaneously, the Christian Holy Week leading up to Easter, the holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Christian writings make an explicit connection between the two holidays, equating Jesus to a paschal lamb, a reference to the traditional Passover sacrifice. The English adjective paschal, which can mean either relating to Passover or relating to Easter, is derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, pesah (typically written as Pesach in English). In most European languages, this is also the origin of the word used for Easter: French Paques, Italian Pasqua, Spanish Pascua, Icelandic paskar, Dutch Pasen, Swedish pask, etc. There is a similar English word, Pasch, dating back to Old English, which has been used to refer to both Passover and Easter, but its comparatively rare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the Germanic languages, English and German (in which Ostern is the word for Easter) are exceptional in not using a word related to Passover as their usual word for Easter. Easter and Ostern are most likely derived ultimately from the same Germanic root as the direction east, which in turn is cognate with the word for dawn in many ancient languages (like Classical Latins aurora). The precise origins of the word Easter are shrouded in the mists of history, but there are clear metaphorical links between dawn and spring, rebirth and resurrection. The word Easter has been connected with a pagan goddess The Venerable Bede, an English monk writing in Latin during the 8th century, claimed that the word Easter came from the name of a goddess called Eostre, whose festival was celebrated by pagan Anglo Saxons at the time of the vernal equinox. This goddess presents something of a mystery: it is impossible to substantiate the story, since Bedes is the only record of her existence, and some scholars have suggested that she may have been the product of his own invention. Nonetheless, as the Oxford English Dictionary points out, it seems unlikely that Bede would have invented a fictitious pagan festival in order to account for a Christian one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In English, Easter eggs are much older than the Easter bunny The first English reference to Easter eggs dates from the 16th century: a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation v. 404 Himself fast tyed to the said Crosse, where he tarried the space of one hour; During which time, the boyes served him with his Easter egges. A less festive citation could hardly be imagined: this is a description of a punishment administered to a Catholic priest in Edinburgh in 1565. He was tied to a cross and pelted with the eggs in question. In northern England and Scotland around this time, Easter eggs were also called pace eggs or pasch eggs. Advertisement Advertisement In the United States today, Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are twin icons of the holiday, but the first evidence for the latter phrase in English is from more than three centuries later, in 1900. Thats because it is originally a German tradition, and was widely adopted among English-speakers only after being popularized in North America by people of German descent. There is slightly earlier evidence for Easter rabbit (1881), and Easter hare (1851). Similarly, the phrase Easter basket is recorded only from the 1880s in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement English has more than a dozen words for Mardi Gras In the United States, the day before Ash Wednesday is known, thanks to the influence of Louisiana French, as Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), an allusion to the consumption of meat on this last day before the traditional Lenten fast. In the UK it is often called Shrove Tuesday, with shrove most likely being related to the word shrive, referring to the practice of confession, traditionally undergone as part of the preparation for Lent. The OED records over a dozen different words for the day, and they generally take one of these two approaches, referring either to the indulgence of this last day before Lent (as in Pancake Day or gut-tide), or the period of self-restraint to follow (as in Fastens-een or Fastingong). Advertisement Advertisement Maundy and mandate come from the same word Another unfamiliar word associated with Easter comes in the name of Maundy Thursday, for the Thursday before Easter (also called Holy Thursday). Maundy refers to the ceremony of the washing of the feet that is traditionally performed on this day, in commemoration of Jesus washing of his disciples feet before the Last Supper. Maundy came to English via an Anglo-Norman word mandet or mande, and thence ultimately from the Latin word mandatum (the same word which brings us the English word mandate) in the phrase mandatum novum a new commandment, as in John 13:34: a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Advertisement Advertisement Lent meant spring before spring meant spring In modern English, Lent refers to the period before Easter that is traditionally observed by Christians as a time of fasting, abstinence, and penitence. Originally, though, it was simply a Germanic word for the season of spring, probably deriving ultimately from the same root as long, in reference to the lengthening days of the season. By the 11th century, Lent, or Lenten, had taken on the specialized Christian usage it has today, and by the end of the 14th century the spring meaning was obsolete except in a few agricultural terms. In fact, Lenten is the earliest English word currently recorded in the OED for the season between winter and summer; the first citation for the word spring in this meaning is from hundreds of years later, in the 16th century. That should give you plenty to talk about during dinner on Sunday or while breaking the fast next week. Happy Easter and good Pesach! Along with Easter comes a barrage of Easter candy, perhaps none as much a pop-culture curiosity as Peeps. In a 2004 Explainer, Rachel Deahl researched Peeps ties to Easter and our fascination with the confection. The article is printed below. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This Easter Americans will consume an estimated 700 million Marshmallow Peeps. Some will also be consumed by themfanatics maintain Web sites featuring everything from Peep erotica, dubbed Peep Smut, to an inventive online movie called Lord of the Peeps, and each year at least a few newspapers print odes to the candy. But for all the fascination with Peeps, its never been clear why the sugary treats are associated with Easter. The marshmallow rabbits represent the Easter Bunny, but what do marshmallow chicks have to do with the resurrection of Christ? As it turns out, chicks have little to do with Jesus and a lot to do with spring. In 1917, Sam Born, a Russian immigrant, opened a small candy shop in New York City that sold chocolates and other confections. When the company grew, Born relocated it to Bethlehem, Pa., and named it Just Born, after a slogan hed coined to advertise the freshness of his wares. Then, in 1953, Just Born bought a local Pennsylvania confectioner called the Rodda Candy Company. Advertisement Advertisement Although Just Born acquired Rodda for its jelly-bean-making capabilities, the Born family was fascinated with the three-dimensional marshmallow Easter chicks, called Peeps, that Rodda was also making at the time. Lauren Easterly, the Peeps brand manager at Just Born, said that a group of women at Rodda made Peeps by hand in the back of the factory. In 1953, it took Rodda 27 hours to make one Peep. Just Born mechanized Peep production and was able to bring the confection to consumers on a mass scale by 1954. Advertisement No one at Just Born could explain why the Rodda Candy Company thought yellow chicks made for appropriate Easter candies. Company spokesmen also couldnt confirm whether Rodda was making marshmallow confections in other shapes in 1953, although Rodda did manufacture marshmallow eggs at one point. Whatever shapes Rodda was making, however, Just Born zeroed in on the chick; the company didnt start distributing the marshmallow candy in other shapes (such as bunnies) until the 1960s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Candy historians speculate that the Peeps link to Easter has more to do with the pagan origins of the holiday than its Christian roots. Eggs, and consequently chicks, are a long-standing symbol of fertility and rebirth, an appropriate image for a holiday that celebrates the coming of spring. Originally part of a pagan fertility ritual symbolizing new life, the egg became incorporated into Easter as pagan rites were absorbed into Christianity with the Christianization of Central Europe. That the Rodda Candy Company was based in Pennsylvania is also of note because German immigrants, many of whom settled in the state, are largely credited with popularizing the Easter Bunny tradition in America. Eastre was a Teutonic goddess of the dawn who was able to change a bird into a rabbit, a creature known for its fertility. In the 19th century, Germans gave a related gift during the Easter season: a basket of eggs with figures of bunnies placed in it. The Easter basket, and the Easter Bunny, really became popular in this country following the Civil War, and as one candy historian noted, it would have required no great leap of imagination for Rodda (or earlier candy makers) to place a few chicks among the eggs. Next question? Explainer thanks Anthony Aveni of Colgate Univeristy, Beth Kimmerle, and Tim Richardson. BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China reported a year-on-year decline in passenger trips in its urban transit networks in March, official data showed. The country's urban transit lines, running through 51 cities, handled a total of 1.6 billion passenger trips last month, down 26.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Transport. On a monthly basis, however, the volume was 2.6 percent higher than the previous month. By the end of March, China had 273 urban rail transit lines in operation, with the total length reaching 8,837 km, the ministry said. BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The Wentian and Mengtian lab modules will be sent into space this year, and will become the central working area for astronauts in orbit after China's space station construction is completed, according to a press conference on Sunday. The Wentian lab module will be launched in July and Mengtian in October, Hao Chun, director of the China Manned Space Agency, said at the press conference. Yang Hong, the chief designer of the space station system of the China Manned Space Program at the China Academy of Space Technology, said that both modules are equipped with experiment cabinets and an installation platform for extravehicular payloads. In the two lab modules, astronauts will be able to research space science, space materials, space medicine and space exploration. The Wentian lab module is equipped with the same astronaut living facilities as the Tianhe core module, including three sleeping areas, a toilet and a kitchen. Wentian and Tianhe can support six astronauts living in space during the rotations of two spacecraft crews. A small mechanical arm is installed on the Wentian lab module. It can be used alone or work with the larger robotic arm on the Tianhe core module to assist astronauts in extravehicular activities. An airlock cabin in the Wentian lab module will serve as the main exit-entry point for extravehicular activities once the construction is completed. The node cabin in Tianhe will then serve as a backup. To ensure the reliability of the space station, Wentian will act as a backup for the management and control of the space station complex if there is an issue with the core module. In the Mengtian lab module, a cargo airlock cabin and a deployed extravehicular platform will serve future extravehicular research projects. The science equipment that needs to be installed outside will first be sent to the space station by cargo craft, then transferred outside through the cargo airlock cabin, and then installed on the extravehicular platform by mechanical arms or astronauts. Yang said the Wentian lab module has completed integrated assembly and testing in Tianjin and is ready for launch. The Mengtian lab module has completed part of its integrated assembly and testing, and is currently undergoing further testing as planned. Trainer Nik Drennan knew he had a pair of aces heading into Saturdays (April 16) $22,500 Hello Spring Series Final for pacers at The Meadowlands, and his prolific pair paid off, as his Alta Engen A and Alluneedisfaith N finished one-two under the wire over a track rated good on a rainy Northern New Jersey evening. His prized pupils came into the race with big credentials, as Australian-bred Alta Engen A won his first race in North America a week ago in 1:50.4, while New Zealand-bred Alluneedisfaith N won last week in 1:50.3 after gunning down 3-5 favourite Ill Drink To That, a Chris Ryder trainee who completed the races group of top contenders. Drennans go-to driver, George Brennan, opted to drive Alluneedisfaith N. I didnt tell him anything. He picked that one, said Drennan. He knows the owner a long time, but both horses were pretty equal, so Andy [McCarthy] drove the other horse, and whenever I cant have George, I usually use Andy, and weve done pretty good. After 5-2 third choice Ill Drink To That left hard from post nine in the 10-horse field to lead at the quarter in :27.3, McCarthy then moved 9-5 second choice Alta Engen A to the top at the half in a swift :54.4, but Drennan wasnt worried about the torrid pace. Alta Engen A gets relaxed when hes up front, said Drennan. He goes along at his own speed and usually doesnt get tired. The leader kept sailing along at three-quarters in 1:22.3, but in mid-stretch, his stablemate, who was the 3-2 public choice, emerged from behind the pocket-sitting Ill Drink To That to take his shot. And he almost got there. Its possible Alluneedisfaith N could have caught him had he vacated the rail a little earlier, said Drennan. It would have been interesting because he is a tough old horse. Alta Engen A prevailed by a neck in 1:49.4 to up his stats in the States to two wins in three tries. Ill Drink To That was third. The winner is a six-year-old gelded son of Alta Christiano-Its Karma who is owned by Phillip Scott McKenzie. Hes now won 14-of-30 starts. So, what happens moving forward? They are both very nice horses, said Drennan. Alluneedisfaith N is good on a half-mile track, so hell head to Yonkers, while Alta Engen A will stay on the big track. No stakes. Just overnights. But first, they both are getting the week off. MATURATION PROCESS: Before the betting card, there were a pair of New Jersey Breeders Maturity events conducted for four-year-olds on the trot. Trixstar (Trixton-Always Quick Star) took the $12,500 dash for mares for driver Dave Miller and trainer Mark Gray, leading at every call to register a three-quarter-length win in 1:59 over her only opponent, Ledges. Trixstar now has four wins. In the $15,000 event for horses and geldings, the Marcus Melander-trained Sonofamistery led at every call for driver Brian Sears, winning by one-length over Swingforthefences in the five-horse field in a snappy 1:54.4. The son of Muscle Hill-Mystery Woman now has a half-dozen victories from 22 lifetime outings and earnings of just over $200,000. A LITTLE MORE: It was a case of the usual suspects as Dexter Dunn, Brennan, Yannick Gingras, Dave Miller and McCarthy all recorded driving doubles. Ron Burke trained three to victory lane while Bruce Saunders and Jeff Cullipher had two apiece. A pair of sharp players had winning tickets in the 20-Survivor Pick-7 and collected $5,867 for six correct selections. All-source handle totaled $2,784,627. Racing resumes Friday (April 21) at 6:20 p.m. (EDT). (The Meadowlands) Retired healthcare administrator Bonnie Shank started painting vintage furniture as a creative outlet a decade ago when her then-1-year-old grandson was diagnosed with leukemia. She was spending long stints with him at childrens hospital in Washington, D.C. and needed a way to calm down when she got back home. So I got a piece of furniture, took it under my deck and started painting. And I felt such a peace, said Shank, in a recent interview. Thats how it all started. I always liked older things and to repurposeit was such a sense of calmness. The product of that peace, the beautifully painted pieces, became the foundation for the small business the former nurse runs today at The Vintage Nest, newly located as of December 8 to Southgate Shopping Center in The Town of Culpeper. The work of 20 local artisans, including Shanks, is available in the very eclectic shop she first opened at the end of 2019 at another location on Sunset Lane. Initially things were going great, then COVID hit, we had to close our doors, Shank said. Shuttered for a few months in early 2020, the small businesswoman kept busy painting other peoples furniture, drawing on that initial love for the creative work. Its been a journey, but its been worth the effort of keeping it afloat, she said. A native of Bedford, Va., Shank raised five children in a combined family, working and living in Pennsylvanias Bedford, from where her husband, Bob, hails. As their children migrated back to this area, the couple moved back to her home state six years ago, settling in Locust Grove in Orange County. I had my career in healthcare, my husband had his career in teaching, we both retired and I wasnt ready to settle down, said Shank, who attended Lynchburg College and Virginia Baptist School of Nursing. I tried the stay-home thingand I did some volunteering, but was like, no, this is not working well for me. I didnt feel like I was myself. I just had to be out and about. So she turned her later-in-life passion for restoration and love of old things into the pursuit of opening a little shop named for her love of vintage and the nest as home. Shank was attracted to Culpeper for its cultural aspect and art scene. As she created a business plan, Shank decided to incorporate other artisans, starting with just a couple. Foot traffic has markedly increased since the move four months ago next to a bike shop in a strip with a karate school, pizzeria, Chinese restaurant and the Safeway. Interest from local creative types seeking a venue for their work has also increased, and Shank is always looking for new artisans to foster greater variety in her shop. Getting new items in is like opening a Christmas gift: she never knows what its going to be. Shank knows each of her vendor artists by name and what they do, describing their process and products, moving from display to display in the well-imagined space. She said she loves getting to know the people behind the creations. There are clay earrings by her daughter who lives in Virginia Beach, and oil paintings by a Lake Anna resident from Ukrainethe display has raised more than $2,000 for relief in the war-torn country, as reported in a recent previous edition of the Star-Exponent. There is art made from old books with a folding technique and ocean-inspired resin cutting boards you can hang on the wall, theyre so pretty. Flower arrangements, soaps, bath bombs and candles, decoupage and charcuterie boards contribute to the homegrown inventory as well as customized signs by Shanks husband, and farm-style pieces. He uses a laser engraver to personalize objects while another vendor uses a CNC router for deeper cuts on larger pieces. One artisan lives just outside of Culpeper and makes childrens pocketbooks and bonnets while a Locust Grove maker creates baby onesies and personalized t-shirts using a sublimation image transfer machine, Shank explained. There are funny t-shirts, hand-cut stationary cards and vintages selections at various price points, a wide inventory in a welcoming space. I never know what artisans are going to create, Shank said. It is very interesting to see what they do. I try hard to keep things in here that are made by someone. She and her husband make benches of vintage bed headboards and footboards and Shank does the painting, their workspaces in the garage and basement at home. Its funits different, I enjoy it, Shank said. I love telling the story of who created this, its just amazing the talent you have in the area. Interesting people drop by all the time, she added, launching into a story about one such person, a bicyclist with a flat tire riding from Florida to Virginia Beach to raise awareness of bike safety. Taking a chance on moving has been beneficial so far, Shank said: Location is extremely important. I wasnt ready to call it quits despite COVID. The Vintage Nest is currently open 11-5 Wednesday-Saturday with expanded summer hours. The Easter Bunny paid a special visit this past weekend for all the little children. As for Shanks grandson, he underwent four long years of chemotherapy and now at age 10 is doing well, she said. Thats other than being immune-compromised and enduring lung damage from the cancer treatment at such a young age. He is an inspiration to me, every time he gets sick we all worry, she said. He ended up getting COVID. We were devastated, but he pulled through. Hes our little miracle. Through the illness, Shank and her husband got involved as volunteers with the local chapter of Make A Wish, which took the young child to Disney World. The nurseand now small-businesswoman-artisansaid the experience of having a sick grandbaby increased her faith. It opened my eyes to realize life is so special and we shouldnt take it for granted. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Virginia Holocaust Museum is featuring a new exhibit that honors the lives of 1.5 million Jewish children who lost their lives during the Holocaust. The Childrens Memorial is first of its kind in the United States, according to Sam Asher, the museums executive director. The Childrens Memorial features vintage wooden desks reflected in a mirror into infinity. You look into an empty classroom as a list of names echoes from a speaker in the room. The names are of children who died during the Holocaust and their descendants who live in the Richmond-metro area. At a media preview, Roger Loria, 81, was in attendance. He was 3 or 4 years old when he and his mother fled to escape Nazi persecution during the Holocaust and said his memory of that time is like sorting through old photographs. I have this situation where I see pictures, and I remember pictures. Theyre not contiguous, but certain places. I still can see this in my mind, Loria said. One scene he remembers is playing with rocks outside a home in France as an army vehicle drove up the driveway. Two soldiers with long coats and golden buttons came out with another officer. They walked up to the house and the kitchen. Loria said he stood in front of the house as the sounds of an argument came from the house. Loria said he remembers his mother Margot went around the building, grabbed him and fled. They were later caught and deported to Rivesaltes in southern France. Loria said hes the only survivor from his fathers side and more than 60 people from his family were killed during the war, including his father Wolf. Loria and his mother survived the war while staying in a refugee camp in Switzerland. I can still see it, Loria said. Its all still vivid. Loria is a living reminder of what the Childrens Memorial is meant to represent. Asher said hes excited Loria and others are able to experience this one-of-a-kind feature in the museum. The additiondesigned by the Richmond-based firm Riggs Wardhad been planned for over a year, but supply chain issues caused a significant delay. Now, Asher said hes relieved to see the museums vision in full view. When I hear the names being read it puts tears in my eyes, because what were trying to show our members not only in the Richmond community but statewide and to the many other visitors that come, is the unthinkable, Asher said. Killing children, one and a half million of them. Im a grandfather and I cant even think about it. Asher walked through portions of the new and permanent exhibit examining photos of Jewish children as refugees in displaced-persons camps, plus the new memorial and how it fits into the existing collection. Asher said the new exhibit is already attracting new guests to the museum. Before the pandemic, the museum would greet nearly 8,000 to 10,000 children annually, according to Asher, but attendance dropped significantly in the early days of the pandemic. Now groups of students and families are starting to come back. Im so happy to lead a tour of students. Theres nothing more important for me to do. So the students are coming back, Asher said. The new exhibits are drawing people obviously, and our numbers are coming back to the levels that they were. Alongside the Childrens Memorial is assorted artwork from Leslie J. Klein called All That Remains: A Holocaust Exhibit in Fiber. Kleins latest creation features a use of textures and garments that have been dyed, airbrushed, silk-screened and embellished. One creation includes a teddy bear which is meant to represent the children who were saved during the Kindertransportan organized effort by Jewish families fleeing Nazi controlled territory to saved approximately 10,000 children by transporting them to safety. The exhibit also includes Kleins latest creation, Barbed Wire and Pearls: An Ode to the Deportation of French Jews, which debuts at the museum. It depicts a jacket inspired by fashion designer Coco Chanel, who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers of France. Klein said shes thrilled to be a part of the museums carefully curated collection. I am beyond thrilled to be in this facility. Just the idea of walking on the railroad tracks on the floor and to be next to the Childrens Memorialwhich is such a dramaticemotional experience, Klein told the TimesDispatch. I am just so honored to have my exhibit here. Kleins art exhibit can be viewed at the Virginia Holocaust Museum through June 1. The Childrens Memorial is a permanent addition to the archive. TAIPEI, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan on Saturday reported 1,303 new COVID-19 cases, comprising 1,210 locally transmitted cases and 93 imported cases, the island's disease monitoring agency said on Sunday. As of Saturday, the region has reported a total of 8,948 local infections this year, the agency noted. It has called on the public to take a third COVID-19 vaccine dose as soon as possible. To date, Taiwan has reported 34,507 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 24,758 were local infections. At Easter during the First World War Pope Benedict reminded everyone that the message of the holiday was peace. Pope Benedict said before Easter in 1918 The First Message of the Risen Savior to his disciples after suffering the torture of Passion Week was peace be unto you. Never has the world for which He sacrificed himself needed so poignantly that message of peace as today. World War One had shocked everyone in its brutality and advances in warfare. Millions of soldiers and civilians died in the fighting, but millions were also lost to hunger and disease. The fighting did end with the Armistice in November,1918. At that time one must have thought surely man would never resort to war again after witnessing such a catastrophe. Instead wars have continued. Here are we again today facing the horror of conflict and famine. Russias invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of civilians, many of them targeted deliberately. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee from their homes. They are desperate for food and shelter. Many refugees are separated from loved ones. The war is not confined to Ukraine either. The devastation is shared by all as the Ukraine is a major source of food supply. Wheat from the Ukraine is used by the UN World Food Program to feed the hungry in civil war-torn Yemen. Now that wheat supply is no longer available because of the fighting. Yemen was on the brink of famine even before the Ukraine crisis. Now the war in Ukraine may very well bring famine to Yemen and claim millions of lives. According to CARE, By the end of the year, up to 19 million Yemenis will experience acute malnutrition, including 2.2 million children under five. As Easter arrives we should have in our minds and hearts peace for Ukraine and Yemen. There are also many other countries that need peace. Conflicts in South Sudan, D.R. Congo, Syria, Ethiopia, the Sahel region of Africa and other nations must also end. Combatants must recognize that was is not the answer to resolving disputes. We need more leaders to hate war. As Dwight Eisenhower once said I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. This Easter we must raise our voice for peace. We must never give up that hope that Pope Benedict and so many others had way back in 1918. It was the aspiration that that we could finally end wars and have peace. There must be a ceasefire to all conflicts in the world for the Easter season. You can help by asking your church. school, or organization to make a statement for peace. You can join groups like Action Corps that advocate for peace in Yemen and other countries. The ceasefires must allow food and other aid to reach starving people. There are many war victims being blocked from receiving humanitarian aid because of ongoing fighting. We must get food to all those in need. You can organize fundraisers for WFP, CARE, Catholic Relief Services and other charities that provide life-saving food aid in war zones. You can also donate to local organizations fighting hunger such as the Fredericksburg Regional Foodbank. As Pope Benedict said back in 1918 nations and people must unite in a nobler, purer and kinder civilization. This Easter we all can preach the gospel of peace to the world. Blessed are the peacemakers. William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger. His writings have been published by the NY Times, Chicago Sun Times, Newsweek, History News Network, and many other news outlets. LINCOLN Nebraska Extensions Women in Agriculture program has launched a new effort to support events across the state that are geared toward serving female farmers, ranchers and agribusiness professionals. The Nebraska Women in Agriculture Partnership Program will reimburse eligible event organizers for up to $2,500 in educational expenses. Priority for 2022-23 will be given to events that focus on stress mitigation and suicide prevention. Submissions are welcome from any educational event that primarily serves women in agriculture and is focused on farm and ranch business management and related topics. Jessica Groskopf, director of Nebraska Women in Agriculture, said the program offers new and established events the chance to grow by offsetting some eligible expenses, which could include speaker fees, venue rental and costs for marketing and printing. By partnering with other events around the state, Nebraska Women in Agriculture is able to build on its commitment to empower more women to compete and survive in the ag industry by providing leadership, learning experiences, support and networking opportunities, Groskopf said. For over 35 years, the Nebraska Women in Agriculture program has worked to provide unbiased, research-based risk management education to female agriculture operators, consultants, landowners, service providers and value-added business owners in Nebraska. Through annual conferences and year-round programming, the program has helped to develop the management skills and resiliency of women in every facet agriculture. More information about the partnership program is available on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website, https://wia.unl.edu/partners. Organizers have advice for children auditioning Monday for the Missoula Childrens Theater: Get ready to recite silly lines and have fun. Missoula Childrens Theater is returning to the Midwest Theater Monday, April 18, to hold auditions for Snow Queen. Tour actor/directors BA Lovelace and Alishea Bush are currently wrapping up a show in Minot, North Dakota, and will arrive in Scottsbluff this weekend. The duo looks forward to working with local youth on developing lifelong skills on stage. Auditions run from 4-6 p.m. Monday, but children had to pre-register by Friday to be able to audition. Children are asked to arrive no later than 3:45 p.m. to check in at the theater lobby. During the auditions, children will be asked to follow Missoula Childrens Theaters big three: have loud, clear voices; big, expressive bodies; and ability to follow directions. It is such a quick process so we want to see what the kids can do and if they can follow a direction, Lovelace said. We do a lot of show-and-tell and if theyre able to follow that and concentrate on what were saying, we want them to do their best. Following the auditions, the first rehearsal begins after a break. The rehearsals are a two-hour block Monday and two two-hour blocks Tuesday-Thursday. Fridays dress rehearsal is a three-hour block with the last hour focused on cleaning up a scene before opening night. The rehearsals are from 4-6 p.m. and then a break and then from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Lovelace said. Lovelace grew up involved in childrens theater, but did not learn about Missoula Childrens Theater until college. He studied musical theater and came across Missoula Childrens Theater, which inspired him to dive deeper into the companys mission and goals. I actually had auditioned a few times for Missoula Childrens Theater after I had found out about them to be a tour actor/director, he said. There are so many people at the conference so sometimes the timing was bad, since I was still in school. The contracts didnt line up, so after I came back from teaching abroad, I wanted to continue education with elementary-aged students and Missoula had an opening that fit my schedule, finally. He applied and was hired for a tour actor director position and has traveled across the United States, bringing live theater to communities. I really like how they provide, even the smallest communities, despite financial resources, theater to kids who might not ever had the exposure to any type of theater or performing arts, Lovelace said. Its fast and furious because its a week at a time. Being able to go and make a difference to the kids and have that kind of exposure for the community is something I really enjoy. Bush decided to get involved with Missoula Childrens Theater after her sister signed up and to blend her passion for the arts and connecting with youth. Ive always been interested in film and Ive worked with kids my entire life as a nanny, Bush said. I thought this opportunity would be the perfect mixture to do performance and still get to work with kids. She hopes the community sees the childrens hard work all week during the public performance. I hope they see how Missoula Childrens Theater can, in a week, teach kids life skills, she said. Just seeing the reaction from the parents or the community as they watch these kids they know act in a way they arent used to seeing is amazing. The mission of Missoula Childrens Theater is the development of life skills in children through participation in the performing arts. Children who get involved in theater will learn it requires teamwork to put on a production. Those skills will help them foster relationships in school and the community as they grow up. Throughout the week, Bush and Lovelace will work closely with the youth on lines, music, choreography and stage movement. During those interactions, they get to see children blossom and discover their passions. Youre working with children and theyre learning and youre learning with them, Lovelace said. Sometimes youll see a student on the first day struggling to get the lines or what the words mean. All of the sudden, you see that click and we call it when the kid gets on the stage and would sparkle. It makes me feel like Ive done something and made a difference in the kids lives, which is what my teachers did for me. Thats why I love educational theater. Bush said she connects with every kid, offering her encouragement as they learn the lines and music within a scene. They hope to create a welcoming environment where kids can express themselves through their characters. The Snow Queen is a dark, moody story with moments of hope sprinkled throughout as a girl searches for her friend to help him remember. The three themes of the show are hope, memory and friendship. Snow Queen will be presented to the public on Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 for non-member adults, $5 for Midwest Theater members and students. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 308-632-4311, online at www.MidwestTheater.com or in person at the Midwest Theater. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Volunteers from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic parish gave life to the story of Jesus Christs crucifixion Friday. For the 12th year, community members from the church dressed as Jesus, Mary, Pontius Pilate and Roman soldiers to portray the first-century Biblical event in the parishs annual Living Stations of the Cross. The events were reenacted entirely in Spanish. Attendees first watched Pontius Pilate sentence Jesus to death in the Guadalupe Center. They then marched alongside Jesus and the Roman soldiers as they whipped him down 11th Avenue, 11th Street and 12th Avenue before returning to the Guadalupe Center to watch a portrayal of Jesuss crucifixion. We want them to experience the passions of Christ and why he died for us, event director Liz Hernandez said. She, alongside her daughter Elizabeth Hernandez and others, helped put the Stations of the Cross together. More than 100 people braved gray skies and cold wind to follow along in the path of Jesus, portrayed this year by Juan Pablo. Liz Hernandez said attendance has swelled to as many as 800 people in the past when the weather is nice. While the stations remain generally the same year to year, she said, the parish tries to vary who plays what role. The actors practice their roles physically and prepare spiritually every Sunday for two months. Elizabeth Hernandez said the parish tries to get community members involved as much as they can. Theyre big on their message of wanting this tradition to continue through generations, so this is a great way for people to really see, she said. ... We just want more families to come together and grow within this community and truly understand the meaning of what were doing today. Indeed, many of the people attending the event brought their children along to experience it. Elizabeth Hernandez said some of the children who once watched it have now grown up to portray soldiers or other parts in the reenactment. During the procession, community members sang songs and described the events happening, teaching attendees more about what Jesus experienced. Many western Christian denominations make similar symbolic pilgrimages on Good Friday and the days leading up to Sundays Easter celebration. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One of the most rewarding aspects of serving Nebraskas Third Congressional District is the opportunities I get to engage with young people interested in government service. This spring, Ive welcomed students from Bayard, Oakland-Craig, Boone Central, Summerland, and Doniphan-Trumbull schools, as well as Peru State College, to our nations capital. Fielding students questions is always a pleasure, and I deeply appreciate their thoughtful feedback and ideas about the issues we are working on in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of my priorities as a member of Congress is helping more young people get involved in serving their communities and country. There are several opportunities for young people to utilize their time and talents to give back. This week, I had the opportunity to meet with members of my Youth Advisory Council and discuss issues ranging from civil discourse and engaging those with whom we disagree to energy innovation to the rising cost of higher education. Each summer, my office accepts applications for the Youth Advisory Council from rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors from the Third District who are interested in sharing their opinions, thoughts, and concerns with me directly at meetings throughout the school year. I encourage high and home school teachers and administrators to share this information with their students. For questions about the Youth Advisory Council, please contact my Grand Island office at 308-384-3900. College students interested in gaining firsthand experience in the legislative process are invited to apply for an internship with one of my offices during the spring, summer, or fall semesters. Interns are provided the opportunity to assist with constituent services, attend events, and work side-by-side with my staff and me on policy issues. More information about internship opportunities and application materials can be found on my website at https://adriansmith.house.gov/services/internships. Additionally, I have the privilege of nominating a select group of young Nebraskans to attend the United States Service Academies, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY; the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD; the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY. These esteemed institutions equip the next generation of military leaders while also preparing them to succeed in public or private sector careers, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to nominate Nebraskas best and brightest to attend our Service Academies. On Saturday, April 16, I am partnering with U.S. Senator Deb Fischer to host the first of my 2022 Service Academy Days. The event will take place at John B. Muller Administrative Building, located on the campus of Bellevue University, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Additional Academy Days will be announced this spring. During Academy Day, academy representatives, as well as staff from my office and Sen. Fischers office, discuss the application process, academy life, and benefits of enrolling. This event helps Third District students and their families determine whether an education at a U.S. Service Academy is the right choice for them. To be considered for nomination, students must submit a completed academy packet to my Grand Island office with a postmark date no later than Sept. 30. Students will be asked to provide details about their academic records and extracurricular activities, as well as letters of recommendation. More information on academy packets can be found on my Congressional website or by calling my Grand Island office at 308-384-3900. My interest in politics was sparked by my grandfather who served as a Seabee during World War II. Because of him and the bright promise of young people I frequently meet, I am excited by the opportunity to bring the next generation of Nebraskans into civic participation. If you know someone who would be interested in applying for my Youth Advisory Council, an internship with my office, or a U.S. Service Academy, please encourage them to get in touch with my office. Childrens Hope Alliance and Heartstrings Therapeutic Music & Art Program in conjunction with their collaborative partner, Iredell Arts Council, announce the April Music Speaks event featuring Clay Lunsford. The event will be held on April 28 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Heartstrings Gracie Building. The event is free and open to the community to attend. Music Speaks is an inspirational musicians speaker series that will take place monthly throughout 2022 on the Barium Springs campus. A variety of guest speakers will share personal stories of overcoming adversity on their musical journey and will also perform some of their music for the local community and at-risk kids in attendance. Lunsford was born June 2, 1946, the youngest of seven siblings to Ray and Nell Lunsford. He has played since he was the age of 6 and has performed more than 11,000 musical events in his long career. The Lunsfords are a musical family with deep heritage in old time Appalachian music, both traditional and gospel. Lunsford credits his mom, dad and family as his original inspiration to play music. He has been singing tenor with The Gospel Voices since 1968-69 when he dedicated his talents to God. Lunsford is multi-talented, playing guitar, banjo, pedal steel and several other instruments. He is also the president of the North Carolina Thumb and Fingerstyle Guitar Players, created in 1997. His favorite verse is Psalm101:1 I will sing of mercy and judgement: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. Educators are encouraged to have their students attend. All musicians and music lovers are also encouraged to participate. Refreshments for the monthly events for 2022 are provided by The Exchange Club of Mooresville/Lake Norman. BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- "As long as the people from all ethnic groups across the country, under the Party's leadership, unite together with one heart and one mind and bravely and readily stand out for ourselves, we will definitely be able to overcome all the difficulties and challenges on our road ahead, and continue to create new impressive miracles." These were President Xi Jinping's words on March 5, when he joined national lawmakers from Inner Mongolia for deliberation. He used a Chinese idiom, which roughly translates to "people, if united, are as strong as a fortress," to urge Chinese people of all ethnic groups to work hard in unity. The idiom could be traced back to the Discourses of the States, a book believed to be from the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.-476 B.C.). It signifies that when people band together, they can overcome any difficulties. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that working hard in unity is the path the Chinese people must take to make historic achievements. Chairing a symposium with experts and scholars in June 2020, Xi noted that in the face of the sudden strike of COVID-19, all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have fought as one, made all-out efforts and put in place the most rigorous, comprehensive and thorough response measures. The nation's major strategic achievements in the battle against COVID-19, Xi said, speak to the enormous power of unity when all CPC members, the armed forces and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups pull together to tide over the difficulties. Statesvilles Addie James (1943-2011) was a Black folk artist and poet. I never had the opportunity to meet her, but I admire the colorful variety of works she left behind. Besides painting on stretched canvas, the self-taught James colorfully decorated such objects as fireplace covers, pieces of furniture, gourds, hand-made fans and trays. Basically, she drew or painted on just about any surface. I draw on anything I can find, she once said. She also used anything handy for paints, from fingernail polish to childrens finger paints. For one of her works, titled Cotton Pickin Time, she took bits of cotton from the ends of Q-Tips and attached them to her painting. Her friend Beth Ann Chiles wrote of her, She was the perfect example of someone who overcame much and flourished, if not monetarily, in her life. Her relationships with people were real and she mentored many who crossed her path. In spite of personal tragedies, including the loss of her husband, Robert Lee James, on Oct. 5, 1993, and a grown son, Jerry Lee Gillion, on Oct. 5, 1994, exactly a year later. She maintained her belief in angels and felt she was inspired by them. She also said that she turned to art, visual and verbal, for solace. Some of James artistic works remind one of her fellow American folk artist Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961), better remembered as Grandma Moses. Addie Lee Mattox was born in Anderson, South Carolina, on Aug. 11, 1943. She was the great-granddaughter of a slave. She, her three sisters, two brothers and her parents, Willie and Inez Mattox, moved to Statesville while Addie was a child. Her father, a brick mason, could not find work at his trade and so took a job driving a trash truck for the City of Statesville. The family also farmed. James went to Morningside School and then to Unity School in Statesville. James did not graduate, dropping out of school to have her first child, Angela Faye, in 1961. Four more children followed: Jerry, Ricky, Christopher and then Madaron. She married Robert James in 1969. Slowly, James work gained a following in the art world. She particularly liked to speak and show her art to primary school students in and around Iredell County. She encouraged them to be original, which is good advice for all of us. Speaking to primary school students in 2004, James told the assembled students something of her childhood and the power of having a dream. When I was a little girl, she said, we had to take time off from school each year to pick cotton. But I was never in that cotton patch. My mind was on a Hollywood stage. I wanted to be an actress. I might be in the field picking cotton, but in my mind, I was on the stage. Although short on professional training, her art is very long on color, innocence and appeal. James was discovered by the Merrill-Jennings Galleries of Davidson in 2000. The gallery put on a one-woman show for James in February of 2003, displaying some of the 285 works that Kate Merrill and her business partner, Susan Jennings, purchased from the artist. James art frequently features two subjects: children and angels. Beginning about 2002, she got into the habit of popping-in to hospitals, rest homes and schools to share her angelic images with those she felt need a reminder that we all have angels. She wanted the recipients to remember that there are angels all around us, all the time. James gave her painted angels away, including to people she didnt know, and she once said that she had never met a person who did not want an angel. Everybody needs an angel, she said. She handed her angels to strangers she might meet on the street; she always asked them if they wanted one. Very few, it seems, ever turned her down. The Merrill-Jennings Galleries in Davidson could have sold these same angels James gave away for between $200 and $500 each. James has been the illustrator for several childrens books, including: Remembering Miss Aggie, by Mary Bohlen, 2014, and Ten Little Angels, by Ruth M. Pittard, 2006 This last is a simple counting book, in side-by-side Spanish and English. James was 67 at the time of her passing. She was survived by two sons, a daughter, a brother, a sister, six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. She is buried in Statesvilles Belmont Cemetery. There ought to be at least one angel on her tombstone, dont you think? There is an exhibition of some of James art locally that you might want to view. The Hickory Museum of Art is located at 243 3rd Ave. NE, Hickory, in what was the old Hickory High School Building in the SALT Block. The museum currently has on display 13 of Addie James works, mostly illustrations used in the book, Remembering Miss Aggie, in the Windows Gallery of the Museum through May 15. These works are part of the Museums permanent collection of folk art. Museum hours are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday: 1-4 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5 per person. Telephone: 828-327-8576. Copies of Remembering Miss Aggie are available for purchase in the museums gift shop. Say hello to Miss Muriel at the gift shop for me. She assisted me in the museum and is a nice lady. O.C. Stonestreet is the author of Tales From Old Iredell County, They Called Iredell County Home and Once Upon a Time in Mooresville, NC. For those with cancer, the thought of radiation can be unsettling. When your doctor recommends radiation therapy, a multitude of worrisome questions may race through your head Do I really need radiation? Is it painful? Will it even help my cancer? This is exactly how 63-year-old Statesville resident, Scott Ruth, felt when he was told he needed radiation for prostate cancer. He was pleasantly surprised with the care and treatment he received. In April 2021, Ruth visited his primary care provider for routine blood work. Though he knew his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level had increased in recent years, he attributed the rising level to age. What his provider told him, however, was not what he expected. Ruths PSA level was 7.8 ng/mL. This was shocking, considering the normal PSA range is between 1.0 and 1.5 ng/mL. From then, I knew I was in trouble. I immediately made an appointment with my urologist, said Ruth. Unfortunately, when Ruth went to his urology appointment, they found his prostate deformed with a suspicious lump. Ruth set up an additional appointment to get a biopsy, a procedure to remove tissue so it can be examined for cancerous cells. After taking 12 tissue samples, Ruths urologist sent the prostate tissue out for lab testing. When the results of his biopsies came in, Ruth traveled back to his urologist. My urologist sat right down in front of me, put his head down, and said, its very bad. Ruth had Grade 4 prostate cancer. Luckily, it had not yet spread to other areas of his body, but surgery was necessary. After weeks of extensive research and advice, Ruth wished to have a special type of robotic prostatectomy surgery to remove his prostate gland and found a doctor in Ohio who would do the surgery for him. On July 15, Ruth traveled to Ohio, and the next day, he was in surgery. His surgery went well, and after 10 days of difficult recovery, he returned home to Statesville. Three months after his prostatectomy, Ruth revisited his urologist to get another PSA test. This time, his PSA level came back 0.12 ng/mL. And though this was a huge change from the 7.8 ng/mL he received before his surgery, his urologist wanted to be certain the cancer had not reoccurred. My urologist really wanted my PSA level to be undetectable, which is under .1, because there might still be some residual cancer. He suggested I take radiation at the Iredell Radiation Therapy Center, said Ruth. Iredell Radiation Therapy CenterUnsure of what would happen next, Ruth set up a consultation at the J. Allen Knox Radiation Therapy Center, on the campus of Iredell Memorial Hospital. When you go into the radiation therapy center for the first time, you dont know what to expect. Youre scared, concerned, and unassured, he said. I sat down with the radiation oncologist there for a consultation. She looked me dead in the eye and made me feel very comfortable about what was about to happen and explained everything, he added. After the meeting with his radiation oncologist, Ruth felt much more at ease and began the radiation planning phase called simulation. Computed Tomography (CT) imaging is used during this phase to locate the exact areas that need radiation, so the treatment is accurate and precise. The radiation oncologist determined Ruth needed 35 radiation treatments, each lasting about 15 minutes, five days a week. Ruth then scheduled his very first radiation treatment for Dec. 20, 2021. When you come back for your first radiation treatment, youre not sure how its going to go. But, its very easy, and fortunately, I didnt have any side effects, said Ruth. During his first treatment and for the 34 treatments thereafter, Ruth remembers feeling overwhelmingly blessed. He immediately connected with many radiation center staff and happily calls them his friends. Ruth is especially thankful for the care he received from a radiation therapist on his team, Katie, who made him feel comfortable and relaxed during his radiation treatments. My team at the Iredell Radiation Therapy Center made me feel like family. I wasnt just another number or some stranger, he said. Ruth specifically recalls a time when he felt staff went above and beyond to truly make him feel respected and special. The radiation therapy team would frequently play music while I was receiving treatment, and one day, I asked for a song request. Tony, a radiation therapist, added songs on a playlist specifically for me while I was having my treatment, he said. It meant a lot to know he did that for me and cared, he added. Commuting five days a week to receive radiation may sound bothersome, but Ruth said he actually enjoyed it due to the people there. I dont know how to explain it, but I enjoyed going to the radiation therapy center. It was just part of my day. I really liked my team there and loved seeing them. We would talk all the time, laugh, and commiserate, said Ruth. It wasnt something that I dreaded, he added. Following each of his treatments, Ruth had the opportunity to meet and encourage other patients while they were in the waiting room. When I came out of my treatment, I would see other new patients out there. You would see the same scared look on their face that I had. You could tell they were thinking, Whats going to happen? Is this going to help? said Ruth. Because of what he now knew about radiation therapy, Ruth felt it was important to share his experience and do his part to uplift others. He would frequently tell patients, Youre going to go in unassured, and every case is different, but the people in the back will take care of you, and thats what stands out. Radiation may not fix this problem, but while youre here, this group of people will rally after you, care for you, and remember you, he added. In return, the other patients offered Ruth advice, support, and meaningful friendships. I received more back from other patients than I gave back, he said. On Feb. 9, Ruth completed his final radiation treatment. In June, Ruth will revisit his urologist for another PSA test to determine the results of the radiation. It takes time for radiation to kill all the cancer cells. Theyre still dying off inside of me right now, he said. From now until June, Ruths main priority is to live his life and enjoy every day he has. I used to worry about it a lot. I couldnt think about anything but the cancer, but I cant change it. Ive done everything the doctors have asked me to do. Now, its time to enjoy life, he said. As he reflects on his experience at the Iredell Radiation Therapy Center, Ruth encourages others to take action, keep a positive attitude, and be their own best proponent. If your doctor says you need radiation, do it. Go to Iredell Radiation and at least get information. Making informed decisions is the key, and you have to look out for yourself, he said. While he is awaiting the results of how radiation affected his cancer, Ruth remains optimistic and incredibly grateful for the compassionate care he received. I just want to say thank you to Iredell Radiation Therapy. I enjoyed every day with you guys, and theres no question in my mind that Im better for it. No matter the outcome, said Ruth. For more information about the J. Allen Knox Radiation Therapy Center and other cancer treatments, talk to your provider or call the center at 704-878-4615. Two years after the start of Washington states COVID-19 outbreak, local churches still are offering pandemic-altered services, and some places of worship have not seen pre-pandemic attendance levels return. Sunday marks the first Easter since 2019 without government mask or capacity restrictions inside Washington state churches, as religious leaders assess what worship will look like after the global pandemic. Attendance Father Nic Mather of St. Stephens Episcopal Church said roughly 30 fewer guests typically attend Sunday service at the Longview church than before the pandemic. He said about 50 people attend service today, compared to about 80 in 2019. The church still offers a live-streamed Sunday service, but few attend. Mather said roughly 60 attended during the height of the pandemic, while about 15 attend today. He said the church will keep the online option indefinitely. Places of worship across the country continue to offer virtual and in-person services. A recent Pew Research Poll showed slightly fewer regular churchgoers said they physically attended worship in March. The results show 16% of respondents only watched services online or on TV, 13% only attended services in person and 14% did both last month. First Baptist Church Pastor Ben Trigsted said slightly more people attend his Castle Rock church than before the pandemic, averaging at about 50 Sunday service attendees. He said he has uploaded his taped sermons onto YouTube for years before the pandemic and continues today. Both First Baptist and St. Stephens offer one service every Sunday. Mather said a service he hosts once a month at the Longview retirement home Canterbury Park has almost doubled attendance than before the pandemic. He said about 15 Canterbury Park residents attend the monthly service, while fewer retirement home residents attend in-person service at the church than before the pandemic. Masks Local churchgoers have been able to forgo masks since March 12, when Washington, Oregon and California leaders lifted indoor mandates together, but the wait was longer for St. Stephens members. Mather said the churchs board voted to repeal its mask rule about a week after the West Coast lifted restrictions. Mather said about 80% of attendees dont wear masks, while others who are immune comprised or not old enough to be vaccinated, choose to cover their faces today. Trigsted said the church did not actively enforce face coverings when state restrictions were in place. He said tensions over differing opinions about wearing masks are subsiding, and he often tells his congregation Dont let a little piece of cloth make you look at each other differently. Other changes Churches across the country are altering worship due to the pandemic, while others are returning to pre-pandemic standards. Results of the March Pew Research Poll show 47% of regular churchgoers said worship services changed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, while 43% said services remained the same. St. Stephens restarted offering communion for the first time in about a year, just after Easter 2021, Mather said. Instead of having members share a common cup to drink communion wine, today churchgoers drink from individual clay cups or dip bread into a glass of wine. Easter 2020 service at St. Stephens was only held online, as the Christian holiday fell less than a month after Washington Gov. Jay Inslees first stay-at-home order. The church planned to hold its first Easter potluck since 2019 on Sunday. Were really excited to have an all-out, full Easter service with the Eucharist and music, Mather said. Trigsted said the church planned to hold a sunrise Easter sermon with about five other Castle Rock churches at the Castle Rock High School stadium. Members of his church planned to hold a potluck about two hours later. He said a donation basket is no longer passed around the church since the pandemic began. Instead, members bring donations to a basket at the front of the room to avoid touching the same bin. We were not as worried about COVID as others, but we made some commonsense changes, Trigsted said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Flipkart is offering a discount along with exchange and bank offers plus freebies on Xiaomi 11i 5G. With the help of discount and exchange offer the Xiaomi 11i 5G price can come down to Rs. 8000. Check offer details here. Want to switch to a new smartphone? If yes, you can go for Xiaomi 11i 5G as the smartphone can be yours for Rs. 8000. Flipkart has announced discount, exchange and bank offers along with freebies. Check how to get a big Xiaomi 11i 5G price cut. Originally priced at Rs. 29,999, Xiaomi 11i 5G (6GB RAM and 128GB storage) is available on Flipkart at a discount of 16 percent for Rs. 24,999. That is you can save Rs. 5000 on the smartphone. Want to save more? You can get the price of the phone reduced further. Yes, check out the offer details available on Xiaomi 11i 5G on Flipkart here. Xiaomi 11i 5G on Flipkart: Exchange offer With the discount offer, you can avail Xiaomi 11i 5G for Rs. 24,999. But if you buy it on exchange, you can get a further up to Rs. 17000 off on the phone on Flipkart. After applying the exchange offer the price of the phone can come down to Rs. 7,999. 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The smartphone is available at a discount of 15 percent for Rs. 26,999. While with exchange you can get up to Rs. 17,000 off on the phone. Coming to the bank offers and freebies, Flipkart is offering the same offers on Xiaomi 11i 5G on Flipkart 8GB variant as that of the 6GB variant. Your Google Lens experience is going to change for desktop! Know what is new. How have you been using Google Lens till now? For searching information about images? Before we go there, let us be clear about what Google Lens does? According to Google, "Google Lens lets you search what you see, get things done faster, and understand the world around youusing just your camera or a photo." Well, now Google Lens is more than just being an image search. Not just on your smartphone, but on Google Chrome desktop too. The latest version of Google Lens has been updated to do more than just search for images. A week ago, Google introduced Lens multisearch to let users ask questions about images on Android as well as iPhone devices. And, now your Google Lens can do contextual translations, optical character recognition (OCR), and more on Chrome desktop. A report by 9to5Google says that the Google Lens results page now has tabs at the bottom of the screen after right-clicking on an image. Earlier, the default tool was "Search," but it's now marked by the "Text" filter, which has long been available on smartphones and in Google Photos on the web version. You will need to click and drag to choose any text to copy, listen, translate, or search, or "Select all". Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: Whats new in Google Lens for Chrome Desktop With the new update, the new Google Lens on Chrome desktop has a bottom bar with three options including Search, Text, and Translation. You can select any one of these options according to your need. Besides these, Google has also added a Find Image Source button at the top to search Google for finding similar photos to the searched one. With the addition of the new OCR (optical character recognition) tool, you can select the text, copy it, or even listen to, and do more such actions with the detected text on a photo. Earlier, you had to upload an image to Google Photos. While the translation feature functions exactly like the camera feature of the Google Translate mobile app. You can take a photo full of text and actually translate it to understand its full context and meaning. You can even open the page in Google Translate as well for a fuller experience. Besides these, the Find image source shortcut will help to find out the related images. Well, it's still unclear when these new updates will be rolled out to your Chrome browsers, but it's right now available on the latest version of Chrome for Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS devices. Nine Brazos Valley students have been named to the Deans List for the fall 2021 semester at Baylor University in Waco. The students who earned a minimum semester grade point average of 3.7 with no grade lower than a C while enrolled in at least 12 graded semester hours were: Robyn Gaertner and Noah Ragonis, both of Brenham; Emily Hale and Zachary Sitton, both of Bryan; Sydney Unger of Burton; Rebecca Kostroun of Cameron; Tori Pieper and Ella Sossaman, both of Chappell Hill; and Mallory McKeever of Richards. Ann M. Flores of Rockdale graduated from Angelo State University in San Marcos in December with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication. Jagan Daughters of College Station has been inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma honor society at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. Four students from Franklin have been named to the Presidents Honor Roll for the fall 2021 semester at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The students who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average in all work attempted while enrolled in 12 semester hours or more were: Abigail Dusterhoff, Lauren Mack, Noah Reinhardt and Caitlin White. Latria N. Mathis of Brenham has graduated from Blinn Colleges certified nurse aide program. The 120-hour program covers basic patient care and safety as well as clinical work at area facilities where students get hands-on experience caring for patients. Love old or unusual movies but never know when theyre on? Here are several I recommend. West Side Story (2021): I know, I know. How dare Steven Spielberg mess with greatness, right? Thats what I thought at first. But then I saw the movie. And while it definitely wont make me forget the original classic, its a beautifully made reexamination of the musical. Screenwriter Tony Kushner has created some good background for the fairly empty characters of the original, particularly for the character of Riff, memorably played by Mike Faist. Unsurprisingly, the cinematography, staging, sets and costumes are all amazing, and with one exception (the faint Ansel Elgort), the cast is dynamic and charismatic. I highly recommend you check out this reimagining of West Side Story. Now streaming on HBO MAX and Disney+. The Green Knight (2021): So if youre like me, you feel like we dont get nearly enough films based on 14th century Middle English chivalric verse romances. So thank goodness filmmaker David Lowery is here to help with his gonzo adaptation. The charismatic Dev Patel stars not as the title character, but as Gawain, a somewhat dissolute nephew of King Arthur. He heads out on a long quest to pursue the title character (Ralph Ineson) who interrupts the royal courts Christmas festivities. The film is like a medieval LSD trip, and my advice is just hold on to the arm of your couch and go with it. Its beautiful, mysterious and deeply weird. I loved every minute of it. Now streaming on Showtime and fuboTV. The Courier (2020): It may be because this was one of the first films I saw in a theater post-pandemic, but I think this little spy movie is terrific. Its a fascinating, fact-based story about a British salesman and family man (Benedict Cumberbatch) who gets recruited (manipulated, really) into being a sort of spy during the Cold War. Rachel Brosnahan is excellent as his stressed-out handler. But the movie is really stolen by the wonderful Georgian actor Merab Ninidze as Cumberbatchs Soviet contact. The film really grabbed me because it feels real and convincing, making it a wonderfully high-tension watch. Now streaming on Amazon Prime. A Quiet Place Part II (2020): Can lightning strike twice? Turns out it can. And as a thriller director, John Krasinski is no flash in the pan. He expands on the world-building of the first film, which had the narrow focus of one family. These members return (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe), but the story gets them separated so we get to see a bit more of the wider world. Its still terrifying and the movie is well-built like the first one was. It seems to be leading (in a non-annoying way) to additional future episodes. Its short and sweet like the first film, and leaves you wanting more. Part III please! Now streaming on Paramount+. Trivia Question 944: What famous Charles Dickens character did Dev Patel recently star as? Answer to Trivia Question 942: Penelope Cruz starred in Open Your Eyes (or Abre Los Ojos) in Spain in 1997, and then played the same role in the American remake, Vanilla Sky, in 2001. Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, California. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com. Former Texas A&M professor Chris Boleman took the reins as president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo a couple months after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 show to shut down halfway through its run. Last month, he helped lead RodeoHouston back to full scale. The 2020 show, which was scheduled to run March 3-22, shut down March 11, and the 2021 show was modified, hosting a private show for junior exhibitors over a couple months, but did not include any of the rodeo events, concerts or vendors. The 2022 show began Feb. 28 and continued until the final concert-only performance March 20 and saw the return of vendors, youth livestock events, rodeo events, the carnival and other activities at NRG Park in Houston. We challenged ourselves to lets make this the event that opens up and welcomes everybody back in a safe way. And thats what happened, Boleman said, acknowledging the 2020 closure led to other events shutting down following the decision. Even with talking to city, county and state leaders and health officials, he said, there was an uncertainty even last January as the omicron variant was spreading. Theres no question it was a difficult time, but the way I look at it, its been difficult on everybody, he said. Boleman said his focus was staying positive and being open and transparent with volunteers and keeping their commitment to students of supporting them with millions of dollars of scholarships and awards through youth livestock events. We just kept going, he said, adjusting as they needed to make people feel safe and comfortable. We went through all of that, and, again, I just said, lets keep our heads up. This place, thanks to people that came along before any of us, set us up in a position where we could weather the storm, and so thats what we did. One of the highlights of the 2022 show, he said, was receiving support from donors and volunteers, with multiple junior market auctions boasting record-breaking sales. In 2021, they kept their commitment of $21 million to Texas youth, and this year set a goal of $22 million. Everyone knows that all of the work moves toward or leads to the fact that were able to at the end when its all said and done, and weve had a great March when 2.4 million people came here they are all contributing to our scholarship fund or into our educational commitment, Boleman said. The continued focus on meeting those commitments showed Boleman that the Rodeo and broader community of volunteers understands the event, at its core, is about supporting Texas students. Its just awesome; I cant put into words. As an Aggie, and anybody thats gone to a university, we know the trials and tribulations that young people go through, students go through, to pay for college and all the things we have to do to get to the end, Boleman said. Knowing that were a small part of their success, and being able to invest in them is what were all about here at the end of the day. Its very gratifying, obviously, to see these young people, to see them get their scholarships. Over the summer, he said, those scholarships will be distributed. Next years event is scheduled for Feb. 28-March 19, 2023. There were a lot of times where you sit and wonder during the middle of COVID whats going to happen afterward, but I think to me, its just a testament of the volunteers and the donors at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, he said. This is a unique place. Theres no place like it, as far as Im concerned. Boleman said there are some changes for next years event that were made in response to the pandemic that are likely to become permanent, such as a move to an e-ticketing system, increasing the livestream opportunities and increased sanitation and hand-washing stations. You never lose an opportunity to learn from the tough times. Im a big believer you learn from your failures; some of those failures are yours, and sometimes its a reaction to things that are happening around you, he said. Ultimately, it was everyone working together, from the thousands of volunteers to the community partners, that made the event possible, Boleman said. There were days you wondered if people were going to come back to events, he said. Im just very thankful for everybody that stuck with us, that came out and supported us, knowing that the end product is what we do for the youth of Texas. Just couldnt be more thankful. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BUENOS AIRES, April 16 (Xinhua) -- On April 5-19, Buenos Aires residents can experience the Argentine capital's underground, visiting places that are usually inaccessible, such as the city's historic subway. This is thanks to an initiative organized by Buenos Aires' undersecretary of Communication and Citizen Participation and the company Subterraneos de Buenos Aires (Sbase). During the early hours of the morning, residents can take a 2-km tour of the E line between the Catalinas and Retiro stops. "We bring ... residents to places where they cannot usually go, so that they can have an experience. Now we have the night experiences, with residents going through the E line tunnel, and it was great because they can see what the job is like," said Liz Garnica, member of the Citizen Participation team of the Argentine capital. "On a day-to-day basis, you see all the movement, take the subway as you normally do, but behind all that, at night, people work so that all of this is impeccable and neat," she said, adding that the residents "can see the work that is done in different areas, both in transport as well as in public spaces, health, and culture." During the tour of the Buenos Aires subway tunnels, visitors can learn about construction methodology and ongoing projects as well as about the works by female Argentinean artists that decorate the stations. Engineer Marcelo Garibaldi, a Sbase director, told Xinhua that he has worked for many years on the extension of the capital's metro lines and that the section that connects the Bolivar and Retiro stations, inaugurated in June 2019, is the latest extension opened by the city government. "It is very good to see the reaction of the residents to be able to tour these projects at night. It is what they cannot do during normal hours because the trains are running," he said. Garibaldi offered a review of the civil projects and explained "all the systems, the electromechanical specialties, architecture, technological systems and the track structure, of all the specialties that make up this project." "It is important that people not only have the experience sitting in the train car, but can walk along the tracks and go through the tunnels and learn about the different technology used for their construction and everything that makes up the operating system of the subway," he said. The Buenos Aires subway was opened in 1913, making it the oldest in Latin America. EL PASO On all but three Sunday afternoons since last Easter, Bob Guerra a Catholic deacon has carefully packed his favorite crucifix, a Spanish-language Bible, hundreds of Communion wafers secured in Ziploc bags and other liturgical items into a plastic storage box. Then he lugs it a few miles to Fort Bliss, an Army base in the desert on the outskirts of El Paso, where he helps celebrate Mass for hundreds of migrant teens held at a vast tent shelter. That shelter and similar facilities across the southwest were set up by the Biden administration and its predecessors to deal with surges of minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without parents or guardians. For the faithful young people they hold, the clergy and volunteers who visit bring comfort and healing through the sacraments. Theyre praying with such devotion you can see the tears rolling down their eyes, Guerra says of the teens acts of faith he witnesses every Sunday after they receive Communion and kneel before a little cross. On Easter Sunday, he plans to gift them their own miniature crosses and cookies baked by local nuns. Among the teens praying fervently at Fort Bliss during last years unprecedented arrivals of unaccompanied children was Elena, then 15. She asked that she not be identified further because of the dangerous circumstances she fled in Guatemala. Elena told The AP that for weeks she asked God to let her out of the shelter as soon as possible. Then, when other girls also being held grew inconsolable, she prayed theyd be released first. As the days went by, she started worrying God might be bored by her petitions, and prayed for forgiveness. What sustained her for two months before her release was receiving the sacraments, including Communion distributed during a Mass celebrated by the Catholic bishop of El Paso, Mark Seitz. When he arrived, you could feel like a peace, something that comforts you, something that you need, Elena recalled during this Holy Week, which shes observing with relatives far from El Paso. God was with us to endure so many days without family. In the shelter, she was so grateful for Mass, which she used to attend with her mother in Guatemala, that she braided a friendship bracelet for Seitz, who wears several on his right wrist. They have this faith that if anything became stronger on their journey, Seitz said of the hundreds of teens he has ministered to since last Easter at Fort Bliss. On most Sundays, Rev. Rafael Garcia, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish located four blocks from the border in downtown El Paso, celebrates Mass there, as he has at different shelters for five years. All of us that go, we find we are transformed ourselves, the Jesuit priest said. Not all come (to Mass), but those who do are people of very strong faith. Suddenly and often tragically detached from their countries and the families who raised them, their only strength is prayer, said Rev. Jose de la Cruz Longoria, pastor at five Catholic parishes around Pecos, who ministers to teens at the shelter there. Thats why the point is to show them at Mass that hes a God who loves and forgives. In murmured prayers in Spanish and Indigenous languages at makeshift altars, kids in shelters most of them 12- to 17-year-olds from Central America ask Gods help for their lonely, uncertain journey and for loved ones they left behind. They pray for their friends lost on the way, and that their family members might accept and love them, says Dominga Villegas, who helped organize Palm Sunday Mass, complete with palm fronds, for more than 200 teens at the Pecos shelter. In growing numbers since 2014, hundreds of thousands of under-18 children have come alone to seek safety and a better life in the United States. Since October, the Border Patrol has encountered an average of more than 11,000 unaccompanied minors a month, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Some have no family, but many are rejoining a parent or are sent to other family members in the United States to escape poverty and violence. When unaccompanied minors are apprehended or turn themselves in to U.S. officials after crossing the border without authorization, they are sheltered in facilities managed by the Department of Health and Human Services until the government vets a family member or sponsor to ensure they can be safely released. Under the past three U.S. administrations, especially when the number of minors crossing the border surges suddenly and emergency intake shelters like that at Fort Bliss are hastily arranged, controversies have erupted over the conditions and duration of the youths stay at these facilities, where media access is tightly restricted. While awaiting their release, many teens struggle with regrets and low self-esteem, faith leaders told The AP. Theyre battered not only by the trauma they fled, but by the guilt they feel for fleeing, sometimes without saying goodbye to beloved relatives who raised them and for having ended up in a place far different from their dreams, with no clear path ahead. They dont have any taste yet for the end of the tunnel. They cant allow themselves to feel that already this is a victory and a blessing from God, says Lissa Jimenez, a psychologist who held a day-long spiritual retreat at the Pecos facility in March. By the end of the 10-hour day, she saw them sit up straighter as she encouraged them to trust in the identity that being children of God gives us, independently of race, of our situation. Its the same message that priests bring through Mass and confession, even for youths who are not Catholic but approach them anyway because they just want to talk, said Rev. Brian Strassburger, a Jesuit who ministers to shelter youths in Brownsville and celebrates Mass across the border at a migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico. We try to give them comfort, assure them that God is with them. That their parents still love them, he said. Many of the teens who were active in their churches back home volunteer to read Scriptures or chant psalms. Sacred music helps put others at ease, said Roland Guerrero, who has brought his guitar, mics and music sheets to Fort Bliss on all but a couple of Sundays for a year. His efforts for social justice and migrant rights extend far beyond this ministry. Bishop Seitz, the Jesuit priests and many other faith leaders also provide shelter, food and advocacy on both sides of the border. I know what Im doing is a Band-Aid, said Guerrero of musical worship on a Sunday during Lent as he prepared to drive to the shelter. That doesnt denigrate it, because in faith theres no way to know whats going on inside an individual child. Spring is here, a time of renewal, hope and faith. Today is the time when some 2.4 billion people around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life. It also is the time of Passover for the worlds 15 million Jews who remember the liberation of Israelites held in slavery in Egypt. The start of Passover is observed with a Seder, a ritual feast the Last Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples was a Seder. Passover ends Saturday evening. We also are in the midst of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. Some 2 billion Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan by refraining from food and drink from dawn to dusk, devoting themselves to prayer and the Quran. Ramadan continues through May 1. This is the time of year for reflection and contemplation. It is a time of restoration of faith and rededication of service to God and the tenets of our beliefs beliefs that sustain us in times of difficulty and trouble. The arrival of spring has ushered in these celebrations of faith. The days have turned warm and the fields are a riot of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes and other colorful flowers. After long months of drab winter, the world has come alive again. Millions of people will meet in places of worship this weekend to celebrate. Families will gather to enjoy all that binds them together in love and fellowship. We wish all our readers a blessed day today and a wonderful year. We thank you for being a part of The Eagle family and we wish you all the best. Happiness is a warm puppy, Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schultz once said, and visitors to Fonner Parks Pinnacle Bank Expo Center Saturday had their choice to admire. Grand Island Kennel Club is hosting all-breed dog shows and obedience and rally events during the Easter weekend with 572 dogs participating Saturday and 640 total show entries. Today, 552 dogs are scheduled to participate with 594 total entries. Confirmation judging took place inside the arena through Saturday with judges rating breeding dogs according to the breed standards set by the American Kennel Club. A lot of people dont know what the breed standard is or what theyre supposed to look like or their colors, explained Dawn Mieth, GI Kennel Club show chair. The judges are here to observe each dog and check it to the standard of what AKC says each breed is supposed to look like. Among other criteria, the judges consider function, if the dog has the correct build, moves correctly and has the right colors. A lot of breeds are certain colors, like labs. Black, yellow, chocolate. Any other color is a disqualification, Mieth said. A lot of people dont know that, that theres an actual breed standard that they should be bred to. People are surprised when they see, for example, a Labrador that meets AKC standards. Theyre used to seeing them really skinny, tall, lanky, thin heads, and theyre supposed to be short, stocky, broad, big head. Thats what the AKC standard says, Mieth said. The weekend is also a way for owners to celebrate their lovely dogs, said Donna Paneitz, a GI Kennel Club member and member of the Airedale Terrier Club of America. You love your dogs, and you breed your dogs to be at the breed standard and you want to prove that your dog is good enough to be bred to make beautiful puppies, said Paneitz. Theres also the camaraderie shared by owners. I see the same people from show to show, and it becomes your family, she said. Bridgid Nolan of Ansley brought seven Australian Shepherds to show Saturday. Theres much work that goes into preparing for a confirmation, Nolan shared. Its a lot of bathing and grooming, practice getting them comfortable walking on leashes and just being in an environment where theres a lot of stuff going on, she said. The effort is worth it for owner and pet, though. Its nice to have one-on-one bonding time with your dog, and just being able to go out and do something fun with them, Nolan said. William Fisher of Lincoln brought six Portuguese Water Dogs. In the confirmation, he exhibited Labradors. For Fisher, its another fun activity he gets to enjoy with his beloved pets. These are our pets, he said. They live with us. Theyre with us in our beds and wrapped around our chairs when were at work, and its just fun to do more exciting things, have more bonding moments with them. Representation is important, as well. Were proud of the Portuguese Water Dog breed, and we want to make sure we want to represent them the best as possible, he said. The great joy of being a dog owner is the dogs excitement, Fisher said. Its the never-ending love they keep giving you, he said. Being gone 10 seconds or five hours and seeing their excitement and joy for every little thing is warming. The weekend also features FastCAT (Coursing Ability Test), a special time trial event. Dogs participate in a sprint that uses a wire with a plastic bag on it that the dog chases. Theyre awarded points based on breed and size, and can earn titles through AKC, said GI Kennel Club President Doug Jensen. The dogs absolutely love it, he told The Independent. You have to have somebody at the start to release the dog and someone catches the dog, and Ive always been the release guy who holds the dog. Its all you can do to hold them because they want to do it so bad. They just go crazy. Its fun. FastCAT is a separate service, not associated with GI Kennel Club or American Kennel Club, noted Jensen. Its an outfit that comes out, and thats all they do, he said. They have timing equipment, they set it all up, and you pay a fee to go through it. Mieth, who shows and breeds Labrador Retrievers and French Bulldogs, lauded the event, saying the best thing about it is getting to be around so many dogs. Thats why we do this, she said, just to exhibit the beauty of every breed. Grand Island Kennel Clubs confirmation and obedience event continues today, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Fonner Parks Pinnacle Expo Center, 700 E. Stolley Park Road, in Grand Island. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Dont show up at Wingstop expecting to just pick up your order and dash. We cook everything fresh to order. Thats what separates us from most wing places, says Taylor Gillette, who is director of operations for five Nebraska Wingstops. We dont precook anything, and were not fast food, Gillette said. At Wingstop, bone-in wings are served in 18 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes to get an order of boneless wings. But Wingstop says the wait is worth it. Our mission statement is to serve the world flavor, Gillette says. Wingstop will open Tuesday at 2132 N. Webb Road, right next to Subway in the Starwood Centre. Whiteys is a few doors down. The outlet is narrow, like the type you see squeezed into downtown locations in major cities. Wingstop is only 18 1/2 feet wide. The franchise is owned by Carl Bryant of Lincoln and his wingman, Robert Hart of Florida. The two men own four other Wingstops in Nebraska three in Lincoln and one in Omaha. The company encourages people to place their orders in advance either on the phone, online or on the app. At the Omaha and Lincoln locations, 80% of orders are made online or over the phone. The website is at www.wingstop.com. Wingstop has a limited focus. The menu consists almost entirely of chicken and fries. Most customers order their chicken bone-in. The chicken is available with 11 sauces. A chart on the wall lists the flavors from hottest (atomic) to most mild (Hawaiian). The most popular include original hot (which is the fourth-hottest) and hickory smoked barbecue (one of the mild ones). Other flavors include mango habanero, Cajun and spicy Korean Q. Gillettes favorite is the Louisiana rub. When he suggests that to people, it becomes their favorite, too. Another popular choice is lemon pepper. If customers want their food spicy, Gillette will suggest Cajun. If they like their food milder, he encourages them to try garlic parmesan. Wingstop takes lot of pride in its ranch/bleu cheese dip, which is homemade. People go crazy over it, Gillette said. Another product Gillette recommends is Cajun fried corn. Its phenomenal, he said. Once people try it, theyre hooked. The Wingstop chain, based in Texas, has more than 1,500 locations. The company began in 1994 and started franchising in 1997, and by 2002 we had served the world one billion wings, says the companys website. Wingstop has a young following, Gillette said. Thats partly because rapper Rick Ross owns several locations in Florida, Gillette said. If you want dessert with your meal, you can have a triple chunk brownie. On Mondays and Tuesdays, you can have boneless wings for 70 cents each. The minimum order is 10. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BB gun in hand, I stepped out of my grandmothers kitchen and into a cloud one spring morning back in the 1960s. The screen door closed behind me, doing little to dampen the sound of rattling dishes and her soft voice singing an old hymn. It was the foggiest morning Id ever seen in my young life, and I stood there for several minutes, taking it all in The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Concerned about soil conditions surrounding underground fuel storage tanks at a former Shell station, Lamar County Commissioners Court on Monday again stalled on a contract to purchase about 7 acres at 2805 N. Main St. but were in agreement for the need of a roughly $4.5 million facility for a backup emergency operations center/ classroom, office space and storage facility. You voted: COLUMBIA -- South Carolina Humanities is accepting nominations for the Governors Awards in the Humanities and the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Awards through May 14, 2022. Established in 1991, the Governors Awards celebrate the Palmetto States humanities academics and advocates. SC Humanities recently introduced the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Awards as a way to recognize innovative individuals who use culture and history to bring people together but whose efforts may have gone relatively unnoticed beyond their own community. SC Humanities has awarded 94 Governors Awards since 1991 and 10 Fresh Voices Awards since 2018. SC Humanities Executive Director Dr. Randy Akers is looking forward to celebrating this years winners at the first live event since 2019 Not only are we looking forward to celebrating the great achievements of this years winners, but it is also our 50th anniversary as the states humanities council. We hope to receive great nominations befitting this milestone year, and that the Governors Awards Ceremony this fall will be a joyous event, he said. All nominations should be sent by May 14, 2022, to the attention of Dr. Randy Akers, SC Humanities, P.O. Box 5287, Columbia, SC 29250. Nominations can also be emailed to rlakers@schumanities.org. Nominations must include: a letter describing the contributions of the nominee (up to three pages); a resume or C.V. for nominated individuals; two to three letters of support for nominated organizations/institutions; and contact information for the nominee, including name, phone number and email address. Please note that individuals, organizations and/or institutions may not nominate themselves. The Governors Awards in the Humanities Award Ceremony will be held at the Pastides Alumni Center in Columbia on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Table sponsorships are available, as well as individual tickets. To reserve one or more tables or to purchase individual tickets, visit our website, www.schumanities.org, or call 803-771-2477. The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Now in our 50th year of service, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer board of directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. To learn more about the Governors Awards and see a list of past winners, visit www.schumanities.org/annualevents/govawards. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RABAT, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Saturday "strongly condemned" Israeli actions against Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque, saying such actions will "fuel feelings of hatred and extremism and destroy the chances of reviving the peace process in the region." In a statement, Morocco's Foreign Ministry calls on the United Nations and the international community to act promptly to put an end to the actions. Upon the instructions from Morocco's king, the condemnation was delivered directly to the head of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, according to the statement. The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past three weeks as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Palestinians clashed with Israeli police forces on Friday at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, leaving more than 160 people wounded. In Jackson, workers camp out in cars and tents. In Cheyenne, hundreds commute from neighboring towns. Meanwhile, Laramie is struggling to attract new businesses, Wyoming Public Media reported last year. All because of an affordable housing shortage. Lawmakers will look for solutions during this years interim legislative session. The interim session is the Legislatures brainstorming period. Lawmakers meet to research dozens of issues affecting the state, and blueprint bills to address them. Earlier this month, the Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee named workforce housing as its second-highest priority for the interim. Itll be new territory for lawmakers, said Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, co-chair of the committee. Housing reform has had a fringe following in the Wyoming Legislature for years, especially among Teton County lawmakers. For the most part, though, the states left the matter to local governments and housing groups to sort out. And they tried, said Brenda Birkle, head of Cheyennes affordable housing task force and executive director of My Front Door, a nonprofit that helps first-time home buyers. It wasnt enough. Attempts to manage it elsewhere, outside of the Legislature, have failed, she said. Meanwhile, the affordable housing shortage is only getting worse, advocates and officials told the Star-Tribune, especially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The committees aim is two-fold, Zwonitzer said: figure out why, and what can be done about it. I dont think theres a clear end point of where we want to get to, Zwonitzer said. Its really a survey of the field and what possibilities are before us. The first task is nailing down the problem. The committee will consult a variety of groups for help, including housing advocates, realtors and construction companies, Zwonitzer said. What is workforce housing, anyway? Housing organizations often use the term to mean housing for low- or middle-income workers, especially those employed in major industries and essential services. In Teton County, thatd be housing for those tourism and hospitality jobs, for instance. Some housing groups define workforce housing by income level instead. In those cases, the term usually refers to housing for people making around 50% to 120% of their communitys area median income. In Teton County, thats roughly $43,500 to $104,500. That same bracket in Laramie County would be $33,500 to $80,400, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Birkles organization, My Front Door, primarily serves people who make a little less than that between 30% and 80% of the area median income. (Thats around $26,100 to $69,600 in Teton County and $20,073 to $53,528 in Laramie County, according to HUD data.) While quality housing is often woefully out-of-reach for households in this bracket, they make up a huge portion of the population, Birkle said. Helping them could have an enormous impact on stabilizing the workforce, she said. Really, if you want to break the poverty cycle permanently, its in that group, she said. So, what about solutions? Birkle urged the committee to lean on nonprofits that work in workforce housing for help finding some direction. Dan Dorsch, special projects coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County, recommended housing trust funds as a potential starting point. (Dorsch also sits on Cheyennes affordable housing task force.) Housing trust funds set aside pools of money for affordable housing programs. There are a few different ways the state could pay for one, Dorsch explained. Federal programs are available through the National Housing Trust Fund, but they can be difficult to navigate and have a lot of red tape that smaller organizations dont have the capacity to access, he said in an email. Local housing trust funds make it easier to access funds, and can be used in conjunction with federal dollars, he added. Dorsch pointed to Iowas State Housing Trust Fund program as a potential model. Wyoming lawmakers have no shortage of their own ideas for addressing the housing shortage. Teton County delegates have long floated the so-called McMansion Tax bill, for example, to prop up Jackons housing programs. That legislation would let counties pull in extra cash by taxing high-end real estate transfers. The latest version of the bill, which was sponsored by the Joint Revenue Committee, failed its introductory vote on the house floor in February. Shelly Duncan, R-Lingle, spoke against the McMansion Tax during the 2022 legislative session. Duncan works in real estate, and said the tax unfairly burdens commercial property owners and home buyers. Duncan, who is a member of the corporations committee, is in favor of creating a state agency to keep stock of housing needs and coordinate relief efforts in times of crisis. We need to take a holistic look across the entire state, she said. It could also serve as Wyomings fair housing office, Duncan said. Wyoming is one of just a handful of states without an agency to enforce housing discrimination law. Housing and zoning codes could also go under the microscope during the interim session. The laws are there to keep our communities orderly, but they often make it harder to build new homes, especially high-density housing, Duncan said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Wyoming Legislature only convenes for a matter of weeks each year. But state lawmakers are working even when theyre not gathered together at the Capitol. They meet in committees around the state to examine issues that may produce future legislation. The Wyoming Legislatures Management Council recently approved the topics that legislative committees will take up during the interim session, with some panels shifting gears and others continuing past work. The interim is the time between now and next years general session. During that period, the committees will hear from the public, experts and other lawmakers on some of the most pressing issues in the state. Committees are made up of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of the Legislature. There are roughly 10 standing committees that address large, statewide issues. There are also a number of select committees and task forces that address more specific issues such as Wyomings water supply. Heres what to look for as the interim session gets underway. A full list of interim topics can be found here. Corporations and Elections During the past year, the Corporations Committee devoted considerable time to election reform and redistricting. But neither subject is a key focus this time around. Thats not to say they wont be examined at all. The committees fifth priority is to study election changes such as open primaries and ranked-choice voting. Notably, crossover voting, the practice of re-registering as a voter of a different party on primary election day, is not on the list. An attempt to ban crossover voting, backed by former President Donald Trump, failed in the budget session. The committee will also examine redistricting policies and procedures for the future. Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, told the Star-Tribune that he plans to start working on a bill to address major issues with the reapportioned map passed last month. If Yin and his colleagues decide to bring a bill to change the states map, the committee will be open to hearing the issue, said Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, who helps to oversee the committee. Also on elections, the committee will revisit the states electioneering law in light of a recent ruling by Skavdahl that it chills speech. As its second priority, the committee will explore the lack of workforce housing in Wyoming, including sources of the problem and the social and economic impacts created by it. Members will also take a holistic look at liquor laws as a whole. Municipalities are selling liquor licenses for exorbitant prices, so the committee plans to examine whether its necessary to create a process to set fees for the retail liquor licenses at fair market value. Judiciary The Judiciary Committee will handle its usual responsibilities like reviewing recent court opinions, in addition to nine other topics. The committee will review drug-treatment courts within the Department of Health and weigh whether putting those courts under the judicial branch would improve the efficacy and utilization of treatment courts in Wyomings communities. Also under the substance abuse umbrella is the issue of drug use during pregnancy. Rep. Ember Oakley, R-Riverton, brought a bill in the 2022 budget session that would criminalize the use of controlled substances during pregnancy. As it stands, this is not a crime. Oakley sees this as a gap in the law. Others, like attorney and Judiciary Committee member Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, have their doubts. Members will also weigh whether changes are needed to the 24/7 sobriety programs that operate in five counties. Broadly, the program administers breathalyzer or drug tests to some people who are charged with drug or alcohol crimes. Entering into this program is a requirement of pretrial release. Critics take issue with many aspects of the program, arguing the program is unnecessarily burdensome and imposes tough requirements on participants who havent been found guilty of a crime. Proponents say the program is effective at keeping people from using while out on bond. The ACLU of Wyoming challenged the constitutionality of Teton Countys version of the program, and the matter was argued before a federal judge last week. A ruling is expected this week. In other committee business, law enforcement requested the panel consider whether an enhanced criminal penalty should be enacted to help protect vulnerable persons and professions. The committee spent many hours last interim on juvenile justice and ended up getting a committee-sponsored bill passed on the topic. Juvenile justice is not on the agenda for the committee this time around, but lawmakers will hear an update on the bill. Revenue The Revenue Committee will continue much of its work from previous interim sessions. Members will look into property taxes as their top priority. To that end, the committee will examine property tax relief programs, taxes on second homes and other topics. The valuation of peoples homes are going up like crazy around the state and people are very upset about that, said chairman of the committee Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander. And they dont understand how their home can go up so much but the government says they have less money. The committee will once again examine how to stabilize the states K-12 education funding stream. Much of the school funding comes from volatile oil and gas federal mineral royalties, which the former Wyoming superintendent of public instruction said amounts to roughly $150 million each year. And once again, Medicaid expansion is on the list. Case said he is anxious to get it introduced for debate on the floor. The Revenue Committees Medicaid Expansion bill was not introduced in the 2022 budget session because behind-the-scenes conversations revealed that there would not be enough votes for it to be successful. Some proponents initially wanted to see it introduced regardless of the vote count, while others worried it would harm future expansion efforts if it failed on the first vote. The Revenue Committee also plans to examine how the state could make money off of certain, possibly nefarious, trust funds dubbed the Cowboy Cocktail. Due to weak oversight and the states strong privacy laws, wealthy people from across the globe have started to funnel their money into a special form of trust fund here, the Washington Post reported last year. These secretive trust funds consist of a Wyoming-based trust with nested private companies. The Post referred to this as a Cowboy Cocktail. Case said he does not plan to produce legislation on the topic quite yet; the topic is still in the exploratory phase. Education The Education Committee will continue its work on student literacy rates, as many children in the state still lag behind their appropriate grade-level reading. After grade three, [teachers] assume that the student can read, and thats not always the case, said committee chairman Sen. Charlie Scott, R-Casper. Members will also tackle the issue of recruitment and retention of school district personnel. When traveling around talking to teachers, co-chairman Rep. Jerry Paxton, R-Encampment, said that retention of teachers was the hottest topic. The committee will specifically explore how to stay competitive with teacher salaries. But the conversation will not be limited to educational staff. The state is also struggling to hire and keep school bus drivers, whose salaries will also be examined, the chairmen said. While salary is key, Paxton is concerned that theres too much non-teaching work for teachers. The Legislature attempted to pass multiple bills this past session that would have added to teacher workload or changed the way they educate. The biggest culprit in adding responsibility to teachers might be us and the laws that we pass, Paxton said. We need to be cognizant moving forward. Travel, Recreation and Wildlife The committee that oversees recreation in Wyoming is focusing first this interim on avenues for expanding public trails and pathways. Doing so, some hope, would boost tourism in places such as Cheyenne and Casper. The ever-controversial Sinks Canyon via ferrata Italian for iron road or iron way came up as well, but the climbing project is ultimately not on the committees interim topic list. No members voted in favor of it, said Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, the committees chairwoman. A via ferrata can come in different forms, but its meant to aide climbers via steel rungs in the rock face. Proponents view the via ferrata as an economic opportunity with a small footprint that wont risk the parks ecology, while opponents argue its perilous for wildlife. While committee lawmakers dont appear to have much enthusiasm, some in the public do. Its a significant issue, said Case, who represents Lander, which is just minutes away from Sinks Canyon. In my community, people are very angry about this. Appropriations The Appropriations Committee is coming off a big interim and budget session, as members had to construct and pass two important budgets: the main budget, which is reworked every other year, and a budget to allocate federal funds the state was awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act. The budgets included pay raises for state workers, which was one of Gov. Mark Gordons top priorities this past session as he sought to address recruitment and retention challenges. For the 2022 interim, the committees top priority is monitoring the distribution of these raises. Minerals, Business and Economic Development The Minerals Committees No. 1 priority is a broad one: energy issues. The Committee plans to hear from the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on the implementation of new laws and regulations pertaining to drilling and spacing units. Members will also explore obtaining agreement-state status from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for regulating sourced materials and thorium. And finally, lawmakers will examine the development of hydrogen as an energy source in Wyoming. Continuing its work from last interim, the committee will explore carbon-sequestration issues, including issues with carbon dioxide storage. Labor, Health and Social Services In Cheyenne Rep. Sue Wilsons 12 years in the Legislature, the health committee has not examined maternal health in Wyoming. Thats going to change this interim, as its the committees first priority. This topic is partly connected to the Judiciary Committees work on substance use during pregnancy. During the 2022 budget session, lawmakers realized that there is a severe lack of data surrounding how many infants are born to mothers who use drugs. The committee will also investigate the benefits of extending postpartum Medicaid coverage for additional months. In Wyoming, pregnant women are some of the few who qualify for the federal program. Tribal Relations The Select Committee on Tribal Relations will examine whether the states tribal members could be exempt from online sales taxes. Members are already exempt from sales tax on in-person purchases on the reservation, and likely should be exempt from online purchases under existing law. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled on sale tax exemptions for tribal members, but those decisions occurred before the existence of online retail. This is the first time lawmakers will seriously explore the issue, said Ellis, chairwoman of the Tribal Relations Committee and member of the Navajo Nation. While tribal members are exempt from paying sales tax on in-person purchases on the reservation, its not a perfect process. The law really puts the burden on the retailer to look at the customer and identify whether theyre Indian or non-Indian and decide whether or not to collect the tax, she told the Management Council. So when we add online sales that gets complicated, she said. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Residents of the Westside Mobile Home Park in Durango, in southern Colorado, called it a miracle: They are under contract to buy the land their homes sit on, their rent will not go up, and they proved that the housing cooperative theyd founded had staying power. Westsides fate was hardly a given. The New York-based owner, Neal Kurzner, rejected their first offer, saying he had a corporate buyer who owned many trailer parks and was ready to pay $5.5 million in cash. He gave the community just seven days to come up with a cash offer. We knew what was at risk, resident Darcy Diaz, told me. But how do you raise $5.5 million? Diaz, who grew up in Colombia and moved to Westside in 2018, knew their only hope was to organize. With a group of other determined residents, Diaz helped start the Westside Mobile Home Park Cooperative. It launched a GoFundMe account, opened a Facebook page, and prepared tamales, posole, and empanadas to fundraise for the cause. Then Local First, which supports development initiatives in La Plata County, granted Westside $140,000 in cash plus a $395,000 zero-interest loan, while the Durango community turned out in force, helping Westside raise just over $50,000 in less than a week. In the meantime, Stefka Fanchi, who heads up Elevation Community Land Trust, shored up support from county officials, banks, and a handful of non-profits. Westside Co-ops relationship with Elevation, which advocates for housing solutions for working-class people, provided the collateral needed to support the project. The result: In just five days, Elevation and Westside pieced together $5.56 million in cash plus closing fees. On March 25, they submitted their offer. For nearly a week, the community waited to hear back, with many residents saying they could hardly sleep. Then, on March 31, Fanchi said she had news. Diaz and her fellow organizers gathered around a single computer in a neighbors kitchen. Its been a really tough week, Fanchi began over Zoom. And I do have an update, and that is that we are buying the Westside Mobile Home Park! They accepted! residents screamed, crying, and turning to each other in joy. Diaz hugged her 2-year-old daughter, and on the screen, Fanchi and her colleagues wept. Westsides success provides hope in a housing market where mobile home parks are frequently sold on short notice followed by large rent hikes or eviction. But Westsides success is an exception. Since 2020, when Colorado began requiring mobile home park owners to provide their residents with notice of their intent to sell, over a hundred trailer parks have been placed on the market and only four have successfully bought the land beneath them. Now, Colorado needs to pass additional legislation that would grant first right of refusal to park residents, give them more time to submit an offer, and cap the percentage that parks can raise rent. A bill to do just that has been introduced by State Democratic Rep. Andrew Boesenecker. Westside Mobile Home Park residents needed a miracle, and they got it. But access to dignified housing shouldnt come down to miracles. It should simply be the way things are. Benjamin Waddell is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is an associate professor of sociology at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two police officers were among four people injured after a gunman opened fire at a bar in Cunupia early yesterday morning. The officers had responded to a report of a large gathering at the bar and minutes later a man fired at the officers and patrons. The shooter ran off and escaped. The incident occurred at around 4.40 a.m., at Big Timerz Bar, on the Southern Main Road. TEHRAN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri on Sunday criticized some Arab states for normalizing ties with Israel, saying interactions with Israel can not ensure these countries' security. History has proven that aggression and occupation will never lead to order, stability and calm, Bagheri told a meeting with Iranian army commanders, according to the foreign ministry's website. Because of its occupying and aggressive nature, Israel has caused insecurity and tensions, he noted. The interactions between some regional governments and Israel are "similar to taking refuge in a wolf's lair to protect oneself from the blissful spring rain," Bagheri said. Within days of being appointed Minister of Public Utilities in August 2020, Marvin Gonzales declared the transformation of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to be his number one priority. In the 21 months since then, Minister Gonzales has gone through two acting CEOs, an executive director and is now on a third acting CEO at WASA. In an environment of turbulence, successive deadlines for implementing WASAs long-promised plan transformation has been missed. "Erdogan was the mediator personally": Zelenskyy told how Russia disrupted the evacuation from Mariupol "Erdogan was the mediator personally": Zelenskyy told how Russia disrupted the evacuation from Mariupol The head of state does not trust the negotiators regarding the city. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russians were renouncing agreements on humanitarian corridors from Mariupol for civilians and the wounded. Even the personal mediation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not help. The head of state said this in an interview with Ukrainian media. The President said that the situation in Mariupol is not improving. Defenders of the city continue to defend, but they are still completely blocked - along with civilians, the wounded, there are many killed. Zelenskyy also told how Russia disrupted the evacuation agreement from Mariupol. "To be honest, we do not trust the Russian negotiators regarding Mariupol. We agreed that we would have a humanitarian corridor, and Turkey was the mediator there, and President Erdogan personally. We agreed that we could pick up our wounded, our civilians, first of all through Berdyansk, women and children. We agreed on this, and then at some point Russia simply refused, - the president said. He added that the state leadership is in daily contact with the Ukrainian military, blocked at the besieged plant. Zelenskyy also said that negotiations are underway to help the defenders of Mariupol, but the Russians are demanding that they surrender. At the same time, Zelenskyy stressed that the destruction of the city's defenders would put an end to negotiations with Russia. Read also: Putin and the nuclear button: whether or not Russia will use nuclear weapons will depend on the battle for Donbas Putin and the nuclear button: whether or not Russia will use nuclear weapons will depend on the battle for Donbas A real war to the death has begun between the FSB and the Ministry of Defence of Russia. They are trying to bring Putin the head of the person responsible for the failure of the war in Ukraine. After the destruction of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, a real panic has broken out in the Kremlin. The Derzhduma is openly calling to bomb Kyiv even more, in order to kill Volodymyr Zelensky. Many calls to use nuclear weapons have appeared in Russian Telegram-channels. It would be possible to end the discussion here providing a serious commentary on the Russian panic is a thankless task. However, according to the director of the CIA William Burns, the threat of Russias use of tactical nuclear weapons should not be taken lightly, due to the despair of Putin over his defeat in Ukraine. At the same time, the CIA lacks any evidence to suggest that Moscow is indeed preparing a nuclear strike. Although, in an interview to CNN, Volodymyr Zelensky did not exclude the possibility of Putin using chemical and nuclear weapons: Peoples lives are nothing to them. We shouldnt be afraid, but we should be prepared. And this problem presents itself not only for Ukraine but for the entire world. The point of no return will be the battle for the Donbas, which Putin is failing to prepare for due to the unsuccessful hidden mobilisation and countless blunders during military planning. Under extreme pressure to show any victories in the war against Ukraine before the 9th of May, Putin will make even more mistakes. But this can also become the trigger for the use of nuclear weapons. TSN.ua continues to analyse the state of affairs on the front line. The Deputy Director for international questions at the Army Research, Conversion, and Disarmament Center Mykhaylo Samus has answered several questions about the possibility of Putin using nuclear weapons. When and where they could strike Mykhaylo Samus reminds that the use of tactical nuclear weapons has been rehearsed by the Russians since the 1970-x on the well-known West exercises, as a strategic operation of the Armed Forces of the USSR and their Warsaw Pact allies against NATO member-states. The use was usually intended for regions of logistic seaports, which would enable the US to increase its power in Europe. This was called the strategy of de-escalation through escalation. I am confident that tactical nuclear weapons are a legitimate tool in the minds of Russian generals, who are repeating all the strategic and tactical maneuverers of the Second World War. From a military standpoint, tactical nuclear weapons can certainly be used. What does Russia hope to achieve afterwards? The West, in my opinion, does not have a formulated response. What will the West, in particular, the USA, do if Russia uses tactical nuclear weapons, for example, in the Dnipro-Krivyi Rih-Kropyvnitskiy region?, - asks the expert. Large Ukrainian uranium ore deposits are located in the region, according to the expert, and this can be served under the sauce of nonsense about the destruction of Ukraines capabilities to create nuclear weapons. Since right now, Putin has used effectively all possible methods of conventional warfare. Although there are also chemical and biological weapons. But I dont think that they would be used. These types of weapons are very difficult to control, and oftentimes Russia is unsuccessful with them the wind may blow in the wrong direction or something, - believes Mykhaylo Samus. No-one responsible for the failure has anything to tell Putin. A fight is ongoing between the FSB and the army to decide whom to blame. In the conscience of the criminal top of the Kremlin, all their problems may be solved through the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Firstly, as they think, this may lead to victory. If they attack in the Dnipro-Krivyi Rih-Kropyvnitskiy region, human losses in Putins mind will be lower than they could be. In case of a nuclear missile attack, for example, Kalibr with a nuclear warhead, the blast radius (the range in which everything around is burned) is roughly 60 km. Almost doesnt seem so great. They can aim to destroy only several villages, but in Putins mind, that wouldnt be a great toll, - says Mykhaylo Samus. Secondly, the nuclear weapon strike is supposed to have a strong psychological impact, and one more directed against the West, so that they put their hands up before the threat of the destruction of civilisation. And it is important for the Ukrainians to say, no, lads, we have to keep going. The most important in this situation will be the Ukrainian stance. The decisive battle for the Donbas According to Mykhaylo Samus, Putin is unlikely to attack the west of the country, for example Lviv. There is a danger of accidentally hitting NATO member-states in the blast, further angering the Biden administration. The point of no return of sorts will be the battle for the Donbas, which the minister of defence of Latvia has already compared to the second Stalingrad. If Russians will lose there as well, Putins mind may well come up with a plan for use of tactical nuclear weapons. Since Putins main goal to conquer at least anything in Ukraine before the 9th of May is not fulfilled. He will have to use Russian propaganda to urge the Russians to unite, claiming that the entire NATO is fighting them [that they have already begun to fight Russia, that the cruiser Moskva was sunk by American missiles red.]. And some of the parading troops will go straight from the victory day parade on the Red Square to the Ukrainian front, - predicts Mykahylo Samus. At the same time, according to the expert, the great battle for the Donbas may not ever begin, since the Russians have already greatly delayed its beginning. They were preparing a classic Second-World-War operation there, with a great quantity of aircraft, artillery, MLRS, infantry, to create a great wall of fire to break down the defences of the Joint Forces Operation, before beginning their advance. I think they will not be successful. The Ukrainians are very successfully preventing Russian attempts to concentrate any forces their columns, staging grounds and communications are immediately being destroyed. And after the destruction of the cruiser Moskva, the Russian headquarters is aware that their Black Sea fleet can be destroyed in a couple of hours. They realise that the next phase is critical to them all to all the generals and admirals who developed all these operations, and it turns out that they are simply fools explains the expert. In conclusion Mykhaylo Samus points out that now, the conflict enters a somewhat extended phase. The intensity of the fighting has decreased. Local probing attack on Ukrainian positions and reconnaissance by fire are being carried out. Perhaps the Russians will attempt to use the tactic from 2014-2015 a continued pressure with an intent to break through. It is without high intensity, unlike in Mariupol, where they are stubbornly laying down hundreds of their own and countless vehicles. And in this relatively low-intensity, without resorting to strategic or even operational level, they are trying to bite away areas of the territory with tactical-level skirmishes, in order to at least capture the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts within their administrative borders, and to fix the south of Ukraine under their control. If they persevere with this tactic, the threat of a nuclear strike is reduced, - believes the expert. Read also: Its a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaisms Passover, Christianitys Easter and Islams holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Bahais, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April. The springtime collision of religious holidays is inspiring a range of interfaith events. In Chicago, theres the Interfaith Trolley Tour coming up on April 24, in which a trolley will make stops at different faiths houses of worship. In cities across the country, Muslims are inviting people to interfaith iftars so they can break their daily Ramadan fasts in community with their non-Muslim neighbors. In addition to Passover, Easter and Ramadan, holy days occurring in April this year include the Sikhs' and Hindus' Vaisakhi, the Jains' Mahavir Jayanti, the Bahai festival of Ridvan, and the Theravada Buddhist New Year. Across faiths, the celebration of the overlapping holy days and religious festivals is seen as a chance to share meals and rituals. For some, it's also a chance to learn how to cooperate among faith traditions on crucial issues, including how to help curb climate change, fight religious intolerance, and assist people fleeing Afghanistan, Ukraine and other nations during the global refugee crisis. The rare convergence of such a wide array of holy days is an opportunity for all of us to share what we hold sacred with our neighbors from other traditions as a way of building understanding and bridging divides, said Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith America, previously known as Interfaith Youth Core. This is Interfaith America in microcosm. On Chicagos south side, the upcoming trolley tour is intended to teach participants about this year's April holidays, which are converging for the first time in the same month since 1991, said Kim Schultz, coordinator of creative initiatives at the Chicago Theological Seminarys InterReligious Institute. The trolley will stop at several sacred spaces, including a Baptist church, a mosque and a synagogue, and will end with an iftar at sunset catered by recently resettled Afghan refugees. Were asking people to take advantage of this confluence, the convergence more than half of the world is celebrating or commemorating the critical moment in our faith traditions, said Hind Makki director of recruitment and communications at American Islamic College. The event is sponsored by the American Islamic College, the Chicago Theological Seminary, the Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology, the Hyde Park & Kenwood Interfaith Council and the Parliament of the Worlds Religions. After more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions that upended many holidays, followers are eager to meet in person again. Organizers of the Chicago event said they had arranged for a trolley that would carry 25 people, but there was so much interest across faiths that they had to arrange for a bigger trolley for 40 people instead. And then, when more kept joining, a second trolley. This is a great time, Makki said. "So, why not take the opportunity to learn about each others traditions, to learn about each other through those traditions. As part of the months celebrations, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA opened its mosques to host dozens of interfaith iftars in cities across the nation centered on the theme of justice through compassion. During our gatherings across 35 cities we emphasized that the world that we see now stands on the brink of a world war, said Amjad Mahmood Khan, national director of public affairs for Ahmadiyya. And only the collective prayers and actions of the faithful can really save humanity from self-destruction. Faith leaders from Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu faiths gathered recently for a virtual panel celebrating the convergence of their sacred observances. Among the issues discussed were shared concerns over the rise of white Christian Nationalism and legislation in Arizona and Florida that they criticized for marginalizing LGBTQ young people. We see that convergence as highly symbolic, maybe even divinely ordained as our people need to reaffirm our shared values of love, freedom and justice in order to disrupt white Christian Nationalists attempts to decide what ideas, identities and practices are valued and respected, said the Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder and chief executive of the Washington-based multifaith group Faith in Public Life. This sacred season presents the opportunity for solidarity, for prophetic witness as we lament the rise of intolerance and discriminatory laws that threaten our nations quest to be a multiracial and multireligious democracy," she said. It will also be an important moment for members of different faiths to find common ground in the runup to the U.S. midterm elections, said Nina Fernando, executive director of the Shoulder to Shoulder campaign, a multifaith national coalition committed to countering and preventing anti-Muslim discrimination. With the time that were living where essentially were polarized and divided among racial and religious and political lines, we can take this opportunity to talk about how to live well together amidst our diversity and talk about these holidays overlapping, Fernando said. The convergence of the holidays also offers a chance to dispel misconceptions about faith traditions and appreciate shared values, said the Rev. Stephen Avino, executive director of the Parliament for World Religions. The holidays are the enactment of the core values, and we can actually see before our eyes the beauty of that tradition through the holidays and through ritual, Avino said. You can compare that to your own traditions, and you can see the similarities and differences and within that is the beauty of that. And you start to see that faith as being worthy of reverence, while still maintaining your own faith. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Edward Montano, a retired Tucson Fire Department captain who battled the historic Pioneer Hotel fire in 1970 causing him to focus his career on fire prevention died March 29 of complications from several falls. He was 88. Montano died at home under hospice care, said Margaret Montano, Eds wife of 27 years. We were best friends for many, many years before we married, said Margaret. I will always remember his kindness, fairness, strength and loyalty. He took care of his six siblings, his mother and grandmother until they passed, said his wife. During the Pioneer Hotel fire, Margaret recalled her husband telling her that he was told at one point to go to an area where burn victims and cadavers were being brought out of the hotel and he was to direct where the victims would be taken by ambulances to the hospitals, and where the dead bodies were taken to be picked up. Montano was sent into the hotel after the blaze was put out and he found out there was no sprinkler system, and the stairwells had no fire doors, which was the reason the fire spread so quickly. That was when he decided prevention was more important than the aftermath of a tragedy, recalled Margaret Montano. The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the 11-story building just before midnight on Dec. 19, 1970, and flames raced up the floors trapping many guests in their rooms. Exits were locked to prevent thefts, and firetruck ladders were too short to reach the higher floors, causing children and adults to jump from windows to their deaths to escape the searing heat, according to a 2013 Arizona Daily Star news article. Others burned to death in their rooms, and most died of carbon-monoxide poisoning while waiting to be rescued. In total, 29 died, including one victim who died months later in a hospital, states the article. The Pioneer Hotel fire was one of the most tragic fires in Tucson history, said former TFD firefighter Mike McKendrick, who is chairman of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. That fire led Ed into a career that made changes such as sprinklers in buildings and safe stairwells. He worked to enforce the fire codes and is known for his work in the fire prevention division, said McKendrick. Margaret Montano said the burn victims and the deaths stayed in her husbands mind forever. That is why he believed fire prevention was so important. He could not believe there were no fire sprinklers in high rises in Tucson, said Margaret Montano of her husband who climbed the ranks becoming inspector in 1974 and captain in 1980. He had more than a dozen fire inspectors under him. He retired in 1986. Montano joined the Tucson Retired Firefighters Association and he was among a core of members efforts to restore a 1954 Mack pumper fire truck found in a salvage yard on the citys south side in the mid-1980s. It originally was a Long Beach California Fire Department truck that was retired and brought to Tucson in 1984 by a previous owner and parked at the salvage yard. The firefighters association purchased the truck through a donation by a local businessman in 2005, and members went to work raising funds and manpower to restore the historic truck into a Last Alarm hearse for public safety personnel in Arizona. It took the retired firefighters 10 years to completely restore the truck. McKendrick said Montano was a past president and founding board member of the Last Alarm Foundation and will be carried on the Last Alarm fire truck for his funeral services. The truck will be driven by Montanos nephew, Station 8 firefighter Billy Eyrich Jr. Montano was born March 15, 1934 at the downtown Storks Nest, a maternity home that provided a safe option for labor and delivery. It operated from the 1920s through the 1940s. He graduated from Tucson High School in the early 1950s, and after graduation he joined the Navy serving on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. Once he was honorably discharged in 1959, Montano joined the Tucson Fire Department. In addition to his wife, Montano is survived by a stepson and stepdaughter, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services will be Thursday, April 21, at Santa Cruz Catholic Church, 1220 S. Sixth Ave., starting with a 10 a.m. viewing followed by a 10:30 a.m. funeral Mass. Burial will follow at Holy Hope Cemetery at 3555 N. Oracle Road. Donations can be made in memory of Montano to The Last Alarm Foundation, P.O. Box 18408, Tucson, AZ 85731. 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A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Gazing upward at the sky, Zane Landers smiles as he explains the benefits of space exploration. He has propped his homemade telescope on the University Boulevard sidewalk in front of Gentle Bens, enticing passersby to view the craters of the moon. Landers, 19, has shared his love of astronomy on city sidewalks with more than 4,000 people since January. I think that if we dont convince people of how valuable space is, how valuable the innovations that come from astronomy and space exploration are, then eventually the wrong people are going to be in charge and completely kill it, Landers said. On evenings when the night sky is easily visible, he sets up his telescope on busy street corners like University Boulevard and Tyndall Avenue to interact with as many people as possible. He uses a ticker counter to track the number of people exposed to space. Landers sets up his telescope 10 to 12 days per month, going out on nights when celestial objects are easily visible. He plans on expanding this concept, which he calls Arizona Sidewalk Astronomers, seeking to have additional people operating telescopes to cover more of the downtown area and draw in a greater number of people. Unexpectedly, some people have been so thankful they started tipping him, bringing in about $25 on an average night. I just decided, Hey, Ill just take tips and at least make my parking money back, Landers said. And it turns out, people are pretty supportive. Building a telescope of his own Landers is no stranger to the field of astronomy he even holds the title for the top post of all time on r/space, the most popular post ever in an online Reddit community home to over 20 million users. With over 215,000 upvotes, 5,000 comments and 192 Reddit awards, the post includes an image of Landers beside a 14.7-inch diameter Newtonian reflector telescope that he built by himself at the age of 17. His interest in astronomy began during his middle school years in Connecticut when he became curious about outer space after playing the video game Kerbal Space Program. Soon after, a friend told him to watch the Orion EFT-1 rocket launch, which interested him even more. Landers finished high school quickly from home and this spring will finish his bachelors degree in communication from the University of Connecticut. He moved to Tucson in January because of its strong astronomy community and to potentially start a masters degree in science communication this fall at the University of Arizona. As a teen, Landers decided that if he wanted to continue his exploration of astronomy, he was going to need his own telescope. His parents bought him a small computerized scope, but he found it difficult to view the stars in the way he wanted. Inspired by the ideals of the late amateur astronomer John Dobson, pioneer of the Dobsonian telescope, Landers took matters into his own hands and learned how to craft a telescope of his own. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up I found out about this guy John Dobson, who had this hour-long YouTube video about grinding a mirror out of a porthole, and I was like, Wait, he invented those telescopes, Landers said. And I was like, Well this looks pretty easy, why does no one else do it? Landers has since constructed 15 telescopes of various sizes and even won a First Place Junior Mechanical Award at the 2018 Stellafane Telescope Competition, in which amateur telescope makers gather from around the country to show off their homemade telescopes for a community of like-minded astronomy enthusiasts. Landers won the first-place prize for a 6-inch Newtonian telescope that he created. Bringing the stars to the sidewalk Oregon resident Melvin Bartels, craftsman of large ultralight telescopes and a mentor to Landers, is excited about Landers passion for sidewalk astronomy. Im not sure that anyone can stop him, Bartels said. Hes pretty driven to do this. UA Astronomy Professor Kevin Wagner also noted the significance of Landers efforts to promote public awareness of the cosmos. We live in a dynamical universe, where events from space can have a strong impact on the physics of our own planet, Wagner said via email. Space awareness is crucial for our own survival, and more fundamentally to understand our context in the universe. Wagner also offered some advice to Landers on how to improve his strategies of public engagement in astronomy. I think it would be useful to bring an iPad to help those who arent currently observing to get an idea of whats going on, Wagner said. The iPad could show a Hubble image of whatever the telescope is pointed at, which could be used as a starting point to talk about what people are actually looking at, and generally help to maintain crowd engagement. Landers plans to keep expanding Arizona Sidewalk Astronomers, which he currently manages with two of his friends. A masters degree in science communication would help him create online content to help people become more interested in STEM fields. If you have an idea that you think is good and worth pursuing, Landers said, Go and do it, even if everyone tells you its really stupid. Because if it is really stupid, youll figure that out. To find out where Arizona Sidewalk Astronomers will be next, keep up with them on Instagram. AMMAN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Jordan said on Sunday that Israel bears full responsibility for the "serious repercussions" of the escalated tensions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, according to a statement by the foreign ministry. Israel's continuous steps to change the historical and legal status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque represent a dangerous breach of the international law, undermining all efforts to maintain the cease-fire for regional peace and security, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Haitham Abu Al-Foul. Condemning Israel for raiding Al-Aqsa Mosque and banishing worshippers from the mosque, Al-Foul urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility and take immediate actions to pressure Israel to stop such practices. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, the latter of whom call it the Temple Mount. The mosque is currently under custodianship of the Jordanian royal family. A 19th century-era federal law grants Oklahoma cities in Indian Country jurisdiction over all of its inhabitants, including Native Americans, when they violate municipal ordinances in spite of the McGirt decision, a judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson issued the ruling Wednesday in response to an appeal filed by Justin Hooper, a Choctaw man who challenged the legality of the city of Tulsa prosecuting him for a traffic ticket issued to him by a city of Tulsa police officer. Johnson said the Curtis Act, passed in 1898 by Congress, grants the city of Tulsa the jurisdiction it needs to enforce its ordinances. Mayor G.T. Bynum, asked to comment on the ruling, issued the following statement: We appreciate the clarity from the federal district court on this matter. Consistent application of municipal laws is important for all Tulsans, tribal members and non-members alike. Hooper based his jurisdictional claims largely on the U.S. Supreme Courts 2020 McGirt decision, a landmark ruling that determined the Muscogee reservation was never dissolved, meaning only federal and tribal courts could try criminal cases involving tribal citizens. The ruling was later expanded to cover all Five Tribes reservations and that of the Quapaw Nation. John Dunn, Hoopers attorney, said Wednesday that an appeal of the ruling is planned. Generally speaking, we still believe that the Curtis Act is an artifact of history, and it does not have a direct application to present times, Dunn said. A city of Tulsa Municipal Court judge denied Hoopers application for post-conviction relief after determining that the Curtis Act, a law that abolished tribal courts in all Five Tribes among other measures, granted the city of Tulsa and cities like it in Indian Country the jurisdiction to try anyone who violates a city ordinance, regardless of the persons race or tribal membership. In his 10-page memorandum opinion and order, Johnson echoed the city of Tulsas stance that it retained jurisdiction to enforce its ordinances despite the McGirt ruling. The court grants the motion to dismiss this request for declaratory judgment and finds for the above reasons that the Curtis Act grants municipalities in its scope jurisdiction over violations of municipal ordinances by any inhabitant of those municipalities, including Indians, Johnson wrote in his opinion. Johnson disagreed with Hoopers claim that the Curtis Act does not permit cities to create municipal courts, calling the assertion patently incorrect. Johnson noted that the act explicitly permitted mayoral courts in Oklahoma cities within Indian Territory. However, Dunn said he believes mayoral and police courts cited by Johnson as permitted by the Curtis Act are not the same as the city of Tulsas municipal court. The Curtis Act specifically allows for a mayoral court, where the mayor is the justice of the peace, which our mayor is not, Dunn said. It also allows for a police court, which I dont think thats what we have here either. We have a completely separate judiciary, as opposed by a judiciary that is controlled by the executive. Hooper was ticketed in 2018 by a Tulsa Police officer, according to federal records. He paid a $150 fine after he was found guilty the same year of the infraction. About five months after the McGirt decision was released, Hooper filed an application for post-conviction relief in Tulsa Municipal Court, which was later denied based on the Curtis Act. Hooper filed the civil lawsuit April 9, 2021, in Tulsa federal court, which challenged the municipal court decision. Since the McGirt ruling, others have challenged their traffic tickets based on jurisdictional standing. One other notable case involves Keith Stitt, the brother of Gov. Kevin Stitt. Keith Stitt is challenging the citys right to prosecute him for a speeding ticket issued in 2021 based on the McGirt ruling. Both Stitts are members of the Cherokee Nation. Brett Chapman, attorney for Keith Stitt in the speeding case, said despite the similarities in the two cases, he believes his client has a very strong case on appeal. Stitts case is still pending in municipal court, Chapman said Thursday. I anticipate obviously we are not going to prevail at city court, whereas I think we have a stronger appeal case, Chapman said. Rather than appeal to federal court, Chapman said he intends to pursue a challenge in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Featured video: Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. OKLAHOMA CITY One of Gov. Kevin Stitts former cabinet secretaries has sued the Oklahoma Tax Commission alleging violations of open records laws. David Ostrowe is Stitts former secretary of digital transformation and administration. He resigned the post in 2021 after a multi-county grand jury indictment alleging bribery was dismissed against him. Former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunters office oversaw the multi-county grand jury that issued the indictment. Hunter resigned and dropped the charge against Ostrowe. The indictment alleged that Ostrowe tried to pressure two members of the Oklahoma Tax Commission to drop penalties and late fees owed by a business owned by a former state lawmaker, Sen. Jason Smalley, R-Stroud. Ostrowe denied the allegations. Ostrowe gave the state notice of his intent to pursue damages for malicious prosecution. The state did not respond to the notice, so it is deemed denied, allowing Ostrowe to pursue his claims in state or federal court, said Matt Felty, his attorney. I am not walking away from this, Ostrowe said Friday. On Dec. 27, 2021, Ostrowe filed a lawsuit in Oklahoma County District Court against the Oklahoma Tax Commission for alleged violations of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. He alleges that he filed an open records request in October 2021. The OTC told Ostrowe the request was too broad on Nov. 5, 2021. The act does not authorize objections to requests made pursuant thereto on the basis that the requests are overly broad, the suit said. Ostrowe has narrowed the scope of the request and received some of the documents. His attorney sent the OTC a letter indicating some of the documents released thus far indicate a violation of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act governing executive sessions. Ostrowe is seeking recordings of three executive sessions he believes were in violation of the law. Under applicable law, those executive sessions were procedurally and substantively improper, thus requiring their immediate disclosure, Felty wrote Friday in a letter to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The OTC did not respond to a request for comment on Ostrowes lawsuit. Featured video: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Campaign cash: Not only was Friday the last day of filing for the states federal office-seekers, it was the deadline for first-quarter Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports. Many of those filing for U.S. Senate or House of Representatives last week have not yet created FEC accounts, and some of those who have didnt have much to report. But there were some items worth noting. The big number on 2nd District Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Markwayne Mullins report is $1 million. Thats how much of his own money Mullin staked his Senate campaign to. Mullin is one of the Oklahoma delegations wealthier members and acknowledged last week his family is in the process of selling some of the plumbing businesses that made him that way. The presumed morning line favorite from a field of 16, Mullin reported contributions of almost $375,000 between the launch of the Senate campaign in late February and March 30, the end of the filing period. He also carried over nearly $945,000 from his House campaign fund. Mullin also spent a lot of money last month more than $365,000. Another Republican in the race, Luke Holland, issued a press release saying hes raised $900,000 but his report was not available online late Friday. Kendra Horn, the only Democratic candidate for Inhofes Senate seat, reported net contributions in excess of $330,000 between March 15, when she entered the race, and March 30, the end of the filing period. Horn also carried forward $57,000 from her unsuccessful 2020 5th Congressional District re-election campaign. According to the FEC filing, all but $3,500 of the new contributions came from individuals. Horn reported expenditures of less than $25,000, but without a primary she does not have to ramp up as quickly as the Republicans. U.S. Sen. James Lankford, who has 10 challengers after his job, reporting net receipts in excess of $807,000 and more than $2.8 million in cash at the end of March. Lankfords chief Republican challenger, Jackson Lahmeyer, raised about $190,000 during the quarter and had $72,500 in cash. The rest of the candidates are in the low five figures, at best. Wade Burleson, the Enid pastor challenging 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas, reported contributions of almost $165,000. Thats not bad, but Lucas raised $611,000 and has $805,000 in cash. First District Congressman Kevin Herns campaign has about $600,000 in the bank, no primary and two general election opponents yet to demonstrate much of a threat. Fourth District Congressman Tom Coles campaign, facing token opposition, has $1.5 million in the bank. Scott free: Until filing for U.S. Senate last week, Scott Pruitt had kept a low profile since a fairly ignominious retreat from public life four years ago, but he and his wife have continued to live in the same house near Utica Square that they bought about a decade ago. Asked what hes been doing since leaving the directorship of the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018, Pruitt said Friday hes mostly been lining up sales of American liquefied natural gas to central and eastern Europe. Nothing if not persuasive, Pruitt spent the better part of a 15-minute confab with reporters on Friday hawking oil and gas and his record at the EPA. The Senate, he said, needs statesmen not governed by populism. Any hangover from the contretemps that turned even some Republican members of Congress against him, Pruitt seemed to think, would be overcome by name recognition and his record in the state Senate and as state attorney general. Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World Featured video: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An Oklahoma City physician is the latest president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association. Dr. David Holden, an orthopedic surgeon, was elected a week ago by the organization's House of Delegates. OSMA is the state's largest physician organization, representing almost 4,000 physicians, residents and medical students, according to the group. In a statement, Holden said he is devoting his year as OSMA president to "helping create a better environment for Oklahoma physicians" after the pandemic's challenging two years. "We've had to shoulder revenue decreases during shutdowns, absorb increased costs for (personal protective equipment) and medical supplies and for many of us, put our health and families on the line while fighting a rapidly-changing virus," Holden wrote. "This, combined with the increased skepticism of science and medicine, has taken its toll on far too many of my colleagues." OSMA in February announced an unprecedented three-year "public relations, social media and advertising campaign focused on getting physicians and pro-science advocates elected to the legislature." Holden said OSMA will fight for science and medicine and support legislators who embrace science and rationality. "We're off to an excellent start due to advocacy efforts in the legislature that helped transform a bill that would allow contagious children to go to school into a bill that actually strengthens public health protections," he wrote. Holden takes over from Dr. Mary Clarke of Stillwater, who rotated out after a year at the helm. OSMA participates in recurring COVID-19 media briefings hosted by the Healthier Oklahoma Coalition, posting the videos to its Facebook page. Holden has had several positions within OSMA, including president. He also has been a regular columnist tackling current medical issues of note for an Oklahoma City business publication, according to a news release announcing his new turn on top. He is a past president and board member of the Oklahoma County Medical Society. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. About nine months ago, my 14-year-old daughter decided to check out a youth ministry program outside our church. She took my fathers old King James Bible with her, knowing my Catholic version was slightly different. The experience clicked. Shes found a relatable theology, supportive friends, a spiritual connection and volunteer opportunities linked to the tenets of faith. Shes claimed ownership of that old Bible, adding her own highlights and notes in the margins. I checked when Dad received it. An inscription says it was given by the Hudson Creek Baptist Church on May 19, 1968, likely as a high school graduation gift. He was just four years older than his granddaughter now. These kinds of bonds make me think of divine intervention. Or, maybe Dad is haunting us, which is something he would do. It doesnt really matter as long as the words inside are interpreted to provide comfort, a moral compass, empathy and understanding. Religion should be about becoming better people. A lot has been written about the religious practices and views of youth. In Oklahoma, where churches outnumber bars (but maybe not marijuana dispensaries), the influence of organized religion particularly Protestant Christian faiths may be more pronounced. But Oklahoma youth arent that much different from others across the U.S. They experience the same pressures, culture and influences. Oklahoma youth live in middle America, not on an island outside of it. Interesting data has come from the Springtide Research Institute stemming from more than 10,000 surveys and interviews with youth age 13 to 25. It collects information on how they think, feel and deal with their lives. The latest report focuses on the intersection between the pandemics challenges and views on religion and faith. It found 71% of youth say they are at least slightly religious, but they arent turning to faith institutions to deal with their uncertainty and anxiety. When times get difficult, 78% say they seek answers elsewhere. Young people are increasingly less likely to be engaged with institutional forms of religious expression, says Executive Director Josh Packard in the report. Decades long trends continue: for a large and growing segment of young people, religiosity is increasingly becoming decoupled from institutions, even as they express high levels of religious belief, practice, and identity. These personal, social and religious reasons start to explain why theres a disconnect between young people and institutions. But the cost of this disconnect remains the same no matter the reason: young people tell us institutional responses arent meeting their needs. These are not all bad findings. If anything, they show optimism and opportunity. Youth are thinking deeply on issues, searching for answers and wanting practices that have meaning. They find value in being a person of faith. Having strong faith institutions can provide youth places to explore these thoughts, making for strong communities. But, many traditional organizations are losing ground among youth. Here are some key findings among the report: 60% said they dont believe some things heard at religious gatherings; 58% said they didnt like to be told answers on faith and religion, preferring to discover on their own; 55% said they couldnt be their full selves in a religious organization; 52% affiliated with a religion say they attend services once a year or less; 40% of very religious said connecting with their faith community during challenging times was not helpful; 16% said they would turn to their faith communities when feeling overwhelmed; and 10% said a faith leader reached out to them during the pandemic. Religious institutions likely find that troubling, but there is another side. Among youth who say they are religious, they report faring better at home, school, work, finances, health and among their social lives. They view their lives as generally going well and moving in the right direction. The report refers to faith unbundled as a trend of youth finding flexibility in faith and religion. religious young people are not relying on a single religious tradition or organization to form and inform their beliefs and practices. Instead, they mix together things from various traditions, religions or otherwise, the report states. When young people unbundle their beliefs, identity, community, and practices from a single religious system, their seeking will be marked by curiosity, wholeness, connection, and flexibility. leaders who make room for (that) in the lives of young people can be the kinds of guides young people trust and turn to in times of uncertainty, or whenever theyre facing lifes biggest questions. My teenage children are on this journey, one questioning religion and the other embracing a different type of faith than my own. Neither are ready to declare themselves permanent members of anything; they are seeking. This deviation from my path doesnt concern me like I thought it would. My father was a practicing Baptist until he died, but Mom remains a devout Catholic. Their marriage struck people as odd in 1971, but it worked in our home. Growing up, we focused on the oneness of religions, encouraged to go with our friends to their places of worship. My sister and I remain Catholic; its part of our identity and roots. For my kids, once they hit their teen years, things changed: divisive politics got wrapped into religious messaging and the pandemic hit. They started to explore where their beliefs fit into faith communities. Dad once told me, I dont care what religion you are or faith you practice, just believe in something bigger than yourself. On holidays like Easter, that bit of wisdom comes back to me. Hed be reassured that youth today including his granddaughter studying his Bible are living that approach, believing in something greater to be something better. Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh wanted Ninh Thuan Province to further exploit its advantages to become a major renewable energy hub of Vietnam while addressing a ceremony to mark the 30th re-establishment anniversary of the south-central province on Saturday. COVID-19 Updates -- The Ministry of Health documented 18,474 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the national tally to 10,417,887, with 8,931,374 recoveries and 42.934 deaths. Society -- Rains and thunderstorms are expected to hit southern Vietnam, while northern provinces will experience low temperatures from April 17 to 22, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. -- Many streets in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City were flooded following a rain that lasted for only 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon. -- Two Chinese men were sentenced to death while another received lifetime imprisonment for producing crystal meth in Vietnam, the Peoples Court in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum announced on Saturday. -- Police in southern Binh Phuoc Province confirmed on Saturday they were looking for the culprit that had dumped more than 20 metric tons of garbage at a local rubber tree plantation. -- A 10-meter utility pole was uprooted and blocked a street in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday afternoon, causing a temporary power outage at over 100 houses. No one was harmed in the incident. Lifestyle -- A kite festival kicked off at Tu Tuong Park in Hue City, located in central Thua Thien-Hue Province, on Saturday, as part of a series of activities to prepare for the 2022 Hue Festival. Business -- Vietnam exported 1.48 million metric tons of rice worth US$715 million in the first three months, up 24 percent in volume and 10.5 percent in value year on year, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the General Statistics Office as saying. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A Vietnam court has condemned two Chinese men to death and another to life imprisonment for illicitly producing methamphetamine along with five other accomplices in the country three years ago. After five days of trial, the Peoples Court of Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands region on Saturday gave the death penalty to Cao Zi Li and Song Jian Huang, both 59, and a life sentence to Yang Yuan De, 58, on charges of Illegal production of narcotic substances, under Vietnams Penal Code, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Five other defendants, including four Chinese and one Vietnamese of Chinese origin, got sentences from 34 months to 20 years in prison for the same offense. This eight-member gang was found organizing the illegal production of drugs and drug precursors in Kon Tum and south-central Binh Dinh Province for about five months from March 2019, according to the indictment. On August 6, 2019, a police team caught seven members of the ring producing drugs at a rented workshop in Kon Tums Dak Ha District. Six days later, the remaining member was arrested. The team seized from the gang 11.58 kilograms of methamphetamine, a type of stimulant drug banned in Vietnam, and some 1,055 liters of P2P, a precursor of methamphetamine. Police officers also confiscated machinery, equipment, and tools having been used for drug production, along with related documents. Investigation showed that Cao was the kingpin, who was aided actively by Song, while the others acted under the direction of the two men. At the hearing, Cao and some other defendants pleaded not guilty, arguing that they stayed in Vietnam only to produce insecticides. The trial panel, however, rejected their statements and affirmed that the collected evidence and their testimonies were enough to convict them. As the masterminds, Cao and Song deserved to be given the death penalty, the court said, adding that all the exhibits in the case would be destructed as prescribed by law. Before arriving in Vietnam to churn out drugs, Cao was released on parole in China in October 2017 after serving 15 years of his life sentence for drug trafficking committed in 2002, national radio station Voice of Vietnam cited the court as saying. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! CAIRO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China has donated a batch of medical aid to the Cairo-headquartered Arab League (AL) to support its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a joint statement released by the Chinese embassy in Egypt and the AL's secretariat on Sunday. The medical supplies, delivered to the AL general secretariat on Thursday, included face masks and other medical equipment. Liao Liqiang, Chinese ambassador to Egypt and representative to the League of Arab States, said China values its deep friendship with the Arab states, and is ready to strengthen cooperation with the AL in various fields and make joint preparations for the first China-Arab Summit, according to the statement. China supports the AL to play a greater role in promoting regional peace and stability, and is ready to work with Arab countries to build a China-Arab community of shared future, Liao said. For his part, AL Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki praised China for supporting the AL in the fight against the COVID-19 by sending medical supplies and vaccines. Member states of the AL are keen to strengthen their cooperation with China in various fields, including the Belt and Road Initiative, Zaki said, referring to the China-proposed global initiative with a vision to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes by land and sea. Member states of AL appreciate China's diplomatic efforts to find peaceful solutions to regional crises and safeguard both international and regional peace and stability, he added. The first China-Arab Summit to be held later this year will promote the development of the strategic partnerships between Arab states and China and serve the common interests of both sides, according to Zaki. The second and final starting day of the 2022 WSOP International Circuit Rozvadov 1,700 Main Event has wrapped up. As expected, Day 1b attracted a bigger attendance than the previous flight and 292 entries increased the overall field of 553 entries. That is still quite short of meeting the 1,000,000 guarantee at the King's Resort in Rozvadov, as around 645 total entries are required. All those wishing to take advantage of a potential overlay in Europe's biggest poker arena close to the border of Germany have another two levels into Day 2 to enter the fray as the action will recommence on Easter Sunday, April 17, at 2pm local time. All late entrants joining during the first two levels will start with 25 big blinds worth of ammunition. A new chip leader was crowned during Day 1b as Birger Ohl leaped into the top spot during the final level of the night. He soared to 497,100 chips to pull well ahead of Pierre Trauer (413,000), while Luc Ta (398,400) completes the overnight podium. Another big stack is Italy's Fausto Tantillo, who already tasted success during the ongoing series as he won a WSOPC ring in the 2,200 High Roller and claimed a payday of 56,977. 2022 WSOPC Spring Edition 1,700 Main Event Day 1b Top 10 Counts Position Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds Day 2 1 Birger Ohl Germany 497,100 249 2 Pierre Trauer Germany 413,000 207 3 Luc Ta Germany 398,400 199 4 Fausto Tantillo Italy 336,900 168 5 Vincent De Neve Germany 329,000 165 6 Mihai Ciprian Hanu Romania 303,700 152 7 Nedeljko Todorovic Slovenia 289,000 145 8 Kai Uwe Lach Germany 281,900 141 9 Kevin Naegelen Belgium 278,600 139 10 Michael Roe United States 268,900 134 Notables in the top ten also include Vincent De Neve, Mihai Ciprian Hanu, and Michael Roe. Claudio Di Giacomo (pictured below), who finished in 5th place in the last edition of the WSOP Circuit Main Event at King's Resort in January 2022, advanced with a very healthy stack of 261,600 while well-known local player Josef Snejberg (255,400) is close behind. Claudio Di Giacomo finished Day 1b just outside of the top 10 The WSOP bracelet winners Emil Bise (185,300), Dalibor Dula (182,400), Albert Hoekendijk (134,700), Antoine Vranken (74,700), Jason Wheeler (52,900), Sergiu Covrig (51,000), and GGPoker ambassador Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier (46,000) all made it through to Day 2 as well and will aim to another title to their poker resume. Other well-known names such as Abdelhakim Zoufri, Vojtech Ruzicka, Thomas Bichon, Amar Begovic, David Taborsky, and Elias Abou Saleh were not as fortunate and came up short of securing a stack for Day 2. However, they can take advantage of the extended late registration and re-entry period to take another shot at the seven-figure prize pool. While the first level of the day produced two seat open after fewer than half an hour, the overall action was slower compared to Day 1a. One of the early highlights included the successful flip of Antoine Vranken with ace-king against the pocket jacks of Daniele Lunario. Pierre Neuville was among the big stacks in the first few levels but his momentum didn't carry on as he fell on the wayside. It is expected that the former 2015 WSOP Main Event finalist will give it another shot during the first two levels on Day 2. One of the candidates to potentially take another stab is Ermanno Di Nicola. The Italian soared to a big stack mid-way through the day but plummeted during the final stages to then bow out against fellow countryman Claudio Di Giacomo. The 2,200 High Roller runner-up Lorenzo Lavis saw one of his entries come to an end when he got it in preflop against Michael Roe and Dalibor Dula with both opponents hitting a set. The pace of eliminations picked up mid-way through the day and especially during the final stages, former big stacks came and left without anything to show for. One of them was Tayfun Ozlu, who lost a massive pot to Birger Ohl in the final level of the night and paved the way for Ohl's overall lead. Pierre Trauer kept growing his stack on a consistent basis and his rise culminated with the knockout of Matthias Nachtigal when two flushes collided. Ultimately, just over one third of the field made it through Day 1b and the 107 contenders will join the 87 Day 1a survivors. Day 2 will recommence at 2pm local time in Europe's biggest poker arena and the first two levels will feature identical blinds during the final two hours of the late registration period. It is expected that Day 2 features ten levels of 60 minutes each, during which the field will likely reach and burst the money bubble. Another three days remain to crown a champion as the final table will be played on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The PokerNews live reporting team will be right there to provide all the key hands until then. Photo by VCG/Getty Images The COVID-19 wave crashing across China right now not only threatens the 1.5 billion people who live there. It also poses a serious danger to the rest of the world. Leaving aside the risk to already fragile global supply chains, theres a chance that the surge of infections in China will give the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen ample opportunity to mutate into some new and more dangerous variant. If that happens, the progress the world has made against COVID since vaccines became widely available in late 2020 could slow, if not reverse. Theres the distinct possibility that things will get out of control in China, John Swartzberg, a professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at the University of California-Berkeleys School of Public Health, told The Daily Beast. If that happens, Swartzberg added, there will be a remarkable amount of viral reproduction occurring in people and this will increase the possibility of problematic variants being produced. Two COVID Variants Just Combined Into a Frankenstein Virus Experts disagree just how likely it is that the next major variantlineage is the scientific termmight emerge in China. Ben Cowling, a professor of epidemiology at The University of Hong Kong, said the next major lineage may come from countries where the virus has already swept through the population. Somewhere in Europe, or the U.S. But there are unique dynamics that boost the chances of a new SARS-CoV-2 lineage appearing in China. The Chinese population is hugeand might be way less protected against infection and thus viral mutation than, say, Americans or Europeans. This disparity is partly the consequence of Chinas earlier success against COVID. For more than two years, the Chinese government and health establishment managed to suppress the novel coronavirus. This despite the pathogen likely originating at a meat market in Wuhan in east-central China in late 2019. Thanks to Chinas frequently severe limits on crowds and travel daily, the country went two years with practically no COVID. Yes, there were a few tens of thousands of cases across the vast country during the initial wave of infections in the spring of 2020. But after that, almost nothing. So few cases that the 150 or so daily new infections authorities logged in mid-January 2021 qualified as a surge. Story continues There are few people on the subway in Xian, Shaanxi Province, China, April 16, 2022. Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images Then came Omicron. The new lineage, which first appeared in South Africa last fall, is by far the most transmissible. Some experts described the earlier form of Omicron, the BA.1 sublineage, as the most contagious respiratory virus theyd ever seen, owing in part to key mutations on the spike protein, the part of the virus that helps it grab onto and infect human cells. The BA.2 sublineage that soon replaced BA.1 is even worse: potentially 80 percent more contagious than BA.1. Theres also a very rare recombinant form of Omicron called XE that combines the qualities of BA.1 and BA.2 and might be 10 percent more transmissible than even BA.2. BA.1 and BA.2 shrugged off Chinas strict social distancing. Even the most fleeting contact between family members, neighbors and coworkers was enough to ignite a viral firestorm in China starting in January. Omicron struck the southern city of Hong Kong first, then neighboring Shenzhen a few weeks later. After that, the Omicron wave spread to Shanghai, farther to the north, prompting the government to impose one of its strictest, and most controversial, lockdowns yet. The virus kept spreading. By early April officials were logging an average of around 15,000 new cases a day. A spike in deaths followed. In Hong Kong alone, nearly 9,000 people have died since mid-February. To be clear, thats a fraction of the infections and deaths that countries with fewer restrictions tallied during the worst of their own COVID surges. Whats so worrying in China is the trendand the potential for cases, and deaths, to keep going up and up. Chilling Vids Show Locked-Down Shanghai Residents Screaming From Their Windows And not everyone trusts the official numbers. Chinese cities other than Hong Kong have yet to report COVID deaths from the current wave, leading some experts to ask whether the government in Beijing is deliberately delaying the data in order to mask the extent of the crisis. Im skeptical about the death rate reported in China, Peter Collignon, an infectious disease expert at the Australian National University Medical School, told Bloomberg. Paul Tambyah, president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection in Singapore, told The Daily Beast there could be some under-reporting by health officials, but probably not enough to truly alter our understanding of the Chinese outbreak. The active Chinese social media scene, which has broadcast images of individuals chafing under lockdown restrictions, is unlikely to have missed large numbers of severe cases or deaths, Tambyah said. Still, the COVID wave in China is badand getting worseat the same time cases hover at a year low across much of the rest of the world, despite BA.2 becoming the dominant sublineage almost everywhere. It could be that we are seeing the resurgences in China, including the emergence and spread of new sub-strains, primarily because the population there never achieved high levels of natural immunity, Edwin Michael, an epidemiologist at the Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research at the University of South Florida, told The Daily Beast. You cant build up natural antibodies across a large population if no one is ever exposed to the virus. Thats the downside of total lockdowns. The antibodies in recovered COVID patients lend strong immunity that, combined with vaccinations across large groups of people, can help blunt the impact of a new lineage. Michael for one said he believes natural immunity is stronger and longer-lasting than immunity resulting from even the best messenger-RNA vaccines. Not that everyday Chinese people have access to the mRNA jabs. Chinese authorities loudly criticized, then banned, Western vaccines, apparently in order to protect the market for locally made jabs. But experts disagree how effective and long-lasting Chinas domestic Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are. Tambyah said theres enough data to conclude the Chinese shots are highly effective at preventing severe illness and death. Michael said he disagrees. They also used inactivated viruses in their Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, which I had expected to be more robust than mRNA vaccines in terms of producing a more diversified immune response that could counter new mutants, et cetera, Michael said, but apparently it would seem that this response has waned, making people susceptible again to new strains. But even if they are reasonably effective, the vaccines are unevenly distributed in China. The governments attacks on foreign jabs has had the effect of encouraging anti-vax attitudes, especially among older Chinese who might be less media-savvy than their younger counterparts. So while 85 percent of all Chinese have gotten jabbed, just half of the most vulnerable age groupover-80sare fully vaccinated. That plus the lack of natural immunity has left millions of people exposed to aggressive lineages that can punch right through lockdowns. Not only are millions of Chinese at risk of serious illness or death, theyre also potential incubators for potentially worse forms of SARS-CoV-2. Any place can be a source of new variants, but those places with low levels of population immunity and unchecked spread of the virus are the most likely, Amesh Adalja, a public-health expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told The Daily Beast. Hong Kong residents line up to receive their free COVID-19 vaccination. Photo by Ben Marans/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Each individual infection, unchecked by antibodies, tends to produce two mutations every two weeks, Niema Moshiri, a geneticist at the University of California, San Diego, told The Daily Beast last year. What if we had 50 million people pull slot-machine levers simultaneously at the same time? Moshiri asked. We would expect at least one person would hit the jackpot pretty quickly. Now, replace the slot machine with clinically meaningful SARS-CoV-2 mutation, and thats the situation were in. All that is to say, the longer COVID rates remain high in the worlds most-populous country, the greater the chance that the next major lineage will be Chinese. New lineages are inevitable from one country or another, of course. The trick is to slow the rate of mutation so that fresh vaccine formulations, therapies and public-health policies can at least keep pace with major changes in the virus. Thats hard to do when the pathogen is spreading fast in a country of 1.5 billion people with uneven rates of vaccination by potentially low-quality jabs and very little natural immunity to back up the shots. It appears a Chinese meat market was the very first laboratory for SARS-CoV-2. The first place the virus could spread and mutate until it became the fast-moving, deadly pathogen the whole world now struggles with. Its possible some Chinese citylocked down but still ripe for viral transmissioncould be the lab for the next major form of the same pathogen. It could be even more transmissible than BA.2. Or maybe it will have some ability to evade natural and vaccine-induced antibodies. It could have both dangerous qualities. Regardless, that lineage, whether it first appears in China or somewhere else, could prolong the pandemic into its fourth year. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Days before last Christmas, Central Freight Lines announced it would close for good following a 96-year run that started in Waco. Employees would need to find work elsewhere. Everyone is now gone from the Central Freight location at 5601 W. Waco Drive, said David Mercer, with Merck Asset Management, the entity that now owns the Central Freight complex. Im using some of my local subs (subcontractors) to get the trash and unsaleable material off property, Mercer said. The remaining property that is saleable will be sold at auction, through Garner & Associates Auctioneers, at a later date. Mercer said local real estate agents Gregg Glime and Brad Davis are listing the property, including warehouses, an office building and a cross dock totaling about 200,000 square feet spread over 37 acres. Regarding plans for the property, we are open to leasing the facility to one or more tenants but also exploring the option of leveling the property for a new, ground up, most likely mixed-use, development, Mercer said via email. From a laymans view, the site appears prime, located as it is next to Home Depot, near Richland Mall and only a half-mile from State Highway 6. Shortys growing Shortys is growing. The pizza parlor near Baylor University will open a second location, a Shortys II, across town, according to a building permit issued by the city of Waco. It says $876,000 will be spent to renovate and enlarge lease space at 8640 La Village Ave., just off Hewitt Drive next to Keith Ace Hardware. Shortys Pizza Shack, 1712 S. 12th St., has become a favorite among students and outsiders alike, serving pizzas, Italian Style Knots, fried pickles, fried mushrooms, Pizza Pillows, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, chili cheese fries and wings. Sales tax holiday With world conditions being what they are today, the states annual sales tax holiday on emergency items may generate more traffic than ever. Next weekend retailers will sell merchandise sans sales tax that the public may find useful during severe weather or other threatening conditions. Whether its fires, freezing temperatures or tornadoes, severe weather conditions can strike at any time, so it is important that families, homes and businesses have the supplies they need to face these and other emergencies, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a press release. This tax holiday can help Texans save money while stocking up for emergency situations. Shoppers can buy as many qualifying items as they want. Merchandise includes household batteries, fuel containers and flashlights priced less than $75; hurricane shutters and emergency ladders priced at less than $300; and portable generators priced at less than $3,000. Items not making the grade include batteries for boats, automobiles and other motorized vehicles; camping stoves and camping supplies; chainsaws; plywood; extension ladders and stepladders; and tents. Local residents pay 8.25 cents in sales tax on every dollar spent. Old Corner Drug Now people do not have to drive to West to get prescriptions filled. The well-loved Czech-recipe-inspired kolaches available there are another matter. Old Corner Drug, a West staple more than 100 years, has opened a location at 6612 Woodway Drive. This has been a dream of mine for 10 years, co-owner Jonathan Williams said in a press release. Old Corner Drug specializes in compounding, which is the practice of tailoring medications to individual needs. The Food and Drug Administration website defines compounding as when a licensed operator combines, mixes, or alters ingredients of a drug to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, though the FDA does recognize their application. It says, for example, a patient allergic to a certain dye may need a medication to be made without it, or a patient unable to swallow a tablet may need a medication in liquid form. Compounding is one of the many ways we can offer that unique, individualized service patients wont see from major retailers, Williams said. He co-owns the new location for Old Corner Drug with pharmacist Randy Niemeyer. New QuikTrip QuikTrip will open its second Greater Waco location May 26, near North Loop 340 and Interstate 35. That is a former Lubys cafeteria location. The Bellmead store will join the first located on New Road at I-35. The chain was founded in 1958 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has grown to more than 900 stores in 15 states, with 24,000 employees and $11 billion in annual sales. QuikTrip donates 5% of annual net profits to charitable organizations. New Hispanic Chamber president Andrea Kosar, a Baylor University graduate with a background in broadcast journalism and public relations, has been named president of the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, succeeding Alfred Solano. Kosar also knows challenges facing entrepreneurs. She and her husband, Hunter Kosar, own a trucking company serving Waco, Bryan and Austin called Twisted Nail LLC. Its website calls it a brokering company whose services include refrigerated trucking and heavy freight hauling. It specializes in pit-to-plant delivery of sand and gravel, running up to 20 trucks a day. Kosar said in a press release that she hopes to showcase Hispanic-owned businesses and chamber members. She said the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chambers focus will remain on Hispanic leaders, but it will take an all-inclusive approach to supporting small business. The Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber has three strategic initiatives: advocating for the development of La Salle Avenue, providing opportunities to entrepreneurs with limited English proficiency via the CoStarters program, and creating diversity on local organizational boards through Hispanic Leadership Network. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The two candidates for the District 4 seat on the Waco Independent School District Board of Trustees differ on what they consider the role of a trustee. Hope Balfa-Mustakim, 36, said she sees herself as an agent for change, change she believes is necessary to address the emotional and psychological trauma she says underlies district problems of student behavior, learning and teacher retention. Jonathan Grant, 50, said he views himself as a bridge-builder and a problem-solver, part of a team listening to diverse voices and considerations in looking for the big picture, then solutions in that context. Though the two agree in large part on issues of student welfare, equity, teacher support and diversity, they split on others such as district leadership. Balfa-Mustakim wants a superintendent willing to implement a relationship-driven restorative justice approach as the districtwide model for student discipline and behavior while Grant backs Superintendent Susan Kincannon, whose contract was extended to June 2025 by a unanimous trustee vote in February. The WISDs District 4 covers a large part of West Waco, bounded roughly by Valley Mills Drive, Lake Waco, Franklin Avenue and parts of 33rd, 30th and 25th streets. Schools in the trustee district include Waco High School, Lake Air Montessori School, Crestview Elementary School, Dean Highland Elementary School and Hillcrest Elementary School. Board President Angela Tekell has held the District 4 seat for 12 years, but announced in December she will not seek reelection. The District 5 seat also is up for election May 7, but Trustee Emily Iazzetti is unopposed. The Waco ISD board appointed her to fill the seat vacated by Allen Sykes in July 2021, and she will start her first full three-year term after the election. The District 4 race is the second school board race for Balfa-Mustakim, who ran against incumbent Cary DuPuy for an at-large seat in 2020, losing 11,976 votes to 9,077. DuPuy later resigned his seat in November 2021. Marlon Jones and Angelo Ochoa are running in the May 7 election to determine who will fill the remaining year of DuPuys term. The departure of Sykes and DuPuy, and the approaching departure of Tekell, will leave District 3 Trustee Jose Vidana as the only trustee left who voted to hire Kincannon in August 2019. Balfa-Mustakim said she opted to run for the District 4 seat to allow others from across the city to run for the at-large vacancy. The candidate, a case coordinator for Waco law firm Callahan & King and executive director of the Waco Immigrants Alliance, said she sees a district in crisis, with two years of COVID-19 disruptions in school and society only accelerating problems of student discipline referrals, teacher departures due to stress and parents frustrated in their communications with the district. Theres a disconnect between the district leadership and the boots on the ground, the teachers, students and parents who feel unheard, she said. Our teachers are unsupported and fear retaliation for speaking out. Our kids are full of grief. This punitive way of things is not working. She enumerated complaints parents and teachers have expressed to her over the last few years, including paraprofessionals cut out of overtime pay though handling more duties, limited support for Spanish-speaking students and parents, and parents unaware of their childrens behavior issues until disciplinary referrals to alternative schools. Teacher support, Waco ISD culture among concerns for at-large board candidates The two candidates for an at-large seat on the Waco Independent School District school board agree on many of the challenges the district is facing, but differ on priorities and the perspectives they say they will bring to the board. Balfa-Mustakim, in fact, created the Facebook page Dear Waco ISD in December that allows people to post anonymously their concerns with the district. A social worker by education and training, Balfa-Mustakim was a fan of former Waco ISD Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson. She said he pushed for academic excellence while working for student welfare with approaches including discipline measures aimed at restorative relationships, in school and community, rather than punishment that could lead to criminal courts. I loved that leadership style, she said. Nelson, however, resigned as superintendent in March 2019 after an arrest for marijuana possession. He died May 15, 2021. Grant, executive director of World Hunger Relief Inc., said he is sympathetic to that approach, but feels the district has more pressing concerns, particularly teacher retention and support. Our teachers are stressed and overwhelmed, he said. Changing top leadership at this time would only extend uncertainty at a time that stability and continuity would help recovery from a trying last few years, he said. Ive been a parent in the district for 16 years and in that time, I have seen four superintendents. That turnover in and of itself is traumatic to teachers and administrators, Grant said. I think we have a wonderful and qualified superintend who has led through a trying time of the pandemic. The next few years will show what a wonderful job this team has done. However, the districts efforts to improve student literacy and performance should not come at the expense of not investing in extracurricular activities such as the arts and sports, he said. It is the multi-faceted aspects of student education and district problems that would make his varied experience and relationships in Waco assets as a trustee, Grant said. In addition to his current job leading World Hunger Relief, Grant has been an associate pastor, homebuilder and real estate agent. Thats the challenge. Were putting together a multi-thousand-piece puzzle. It takes people in the room who get along with others, he said. Part of the puzzle ahead for WISD trustees includes the fate of Transformation Waco, a charter zone within the district created to improve learning at five schools previously facing state closure, and how to manage the districts budget and tax rate during a time of soaring property valuations in the county. Voters approved a record $350 million bond issue in November to build four new schools, with the corresponding impact of that tax rate hike arriving in tax bills later this year. Both candidates said they support Transformation Waco in its approach to students and would favor extending its contract with the district. I love their focus on mental health and having social workers on campus, Balfa-Mustakim said. I love the holistic approach that Transformation Waco has. Both also agree that rising valuations are squeezing taxpayers and property owners. My personal (house) valuation went up $125,000. Thats a puckering moment, Grant said. But he said trustees can work with city and county officials and businesspeople on ways to mitigate tax increases. Advocacy and leverage are really important, Grant said. Knowing quite a few people in the city helps. The two candidates have children in WISD schools. Balfa-Mustakims son, Ezra, and daughter, Esther, are both students at Lake Air Montessori. Grants son, Luke, is at Waco High, and his daughter, Libby, graduated in 2019 and is now at Texas A&M University. Two Waco organizations will hold candidate forums this month for Waco City Council and school board races. The Hispanic Leaders Network will host a Meet the Candidates forum from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 915 La Salle Ave. The Waco NAACP will hold a candidates forum via Zoom from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 25. The webinar ID number is 97386009601. For more information, call 254-733-5261. Early voting for the May 7 races will take place April 25-30 and May 2-3. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Federal COVID-19 relief money could help rural water corporations in McLennan County solve problems they have grappled with for years and help stabilize groundwater sources, according to a local water expert. The McLennan County Commissioners Court already has voted to provide some of the $49 million in American Rescue Plan funding the county received last year to various nonprofits, including volunteer fire departments. Its largest allocations so far include $3 million to help the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network build a new crisis hub, and $2.5 million to help Waco Family Medicine build a new headquarters. The county also has included water infrastructure as a priority in its spending plan for the American Rescue Plan money. According to county documents, it has hired Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam as a consultant to help identify qualifying projects that would help reduce arsenic levels in drinking water, a problem that has lingered for rural water systems in the area for decades. Four of the water corporations requesting funding for projects so far, Axtell Water Supply Corp., Prairie Hill Water Supply Corp., Leroy-Tours-Gerald Water Supply Corp. and the city of Riesel, have been trying to reduce the amount of naturally occurring arsenic in their water, sourced from wells, to less than 10 micrograms per liter, the standard the Environmental Protection Agency set in 2001. The Moore Water System and the Birome, Elk-Oak Lake, Meier Settlement and Riesel-Meier Settlement water supply corporations are also among providers in the area that have high arsenic levels in their water. Several health and environmental organizations classify elemental arsenic and the types of arsenic compounds typically found in drinking water as carcinogenic. Axtell Water Supply Corp. and Prairie Hill Water Supply Corp. applied together for about $270,000 to expand infrastructure and upgrade existing towers and lines. The projects are part of a long-term plan to upgrade systems and connect to the city of Wacos water system via a new storage tank that will eventually sit near the intersection of Highway 84 and Highway 31, Axtell Water Supply operator Patricia Freytag said. Once connected, the Axtell system would buy about 65% of its water from Waco, blending Wacos treated surface water with Axtells groundwater and lowering the arsenic concentration of the water that reaches customers taps. Freytag said Axtell has a contract with the city of Waco to receive water as soon as it is able. Weve been very good with the operation side of things and keeping things together, so were OK for now, she said. Linda Brandon operates multiple water corporations with her husband, Don, through their South Cow Bayou Management Co., including Bosque Basin, a small corporation that serves fewer than 100 people in China Spring. Bosque Basin applied for support from the county in hopes of replacing or repairing a pressure tank that has begun leaning to one side, along with the collapsing culvert beneath the tank that is causing the leaning. Brandon said a consultant estimated the culvert alone would cost about $16,000 to replace. On a small system, that is very painful, Brandon said. She said she also looked into the cost of installing emergency generators. New generators and concrete pads to place them on would cost roughly $144,000, Brandon said, which would break down to an increase of about $20 a month for Bosque Basin customers, bringing their base rate to about $100 per month. Tom Ray, water resource program manager for the consulting firm Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, said the county conducted a study in 2015 to figure out how much groundwater local water providers should be pumping each month from the Trinity Aquifer. Theres an opportunity to lower the amount of groundwater thats pumped out, particularly from these five or so heavy groundwater users, Ray said. Because groundwater is less expense for rural water corporations to provide than treated surface water, most cannot afford the jump in price. The idea is to preserve the groundwater pressures in the future, and how can we do that, Ray said. Hopefully, we can find a compromise or a way to deal with the big cost difference. He said ground pressure in the aquifer is declining, and when ground pressure in an aquifer declines, it takes more work to pull water out. If that groundwater comes to a point of not being available or being too costly to acquire, then the rural areas relying on groundwater have to either deepen their wells or hook up to surface water, Ray said. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. UN aid convoy reaches Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray region Xinhua) 15:21, April 16, 2022 ADDIS ABABA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- An additional aid convoy has entered Ethiopia's conflict-hit northernmost Tigray region, aiming to reach 43,000 people with emergency relief food and 24,000 vulnerable mothers and children with nutritionally fortified food, the United Nations World Food Program said Friday evening. A convoy of 50 trucks arriving in Mekelle, capital of Tigray, has brought essential humanitarian supplies including 1,000 metric tons of wheat and pulses, 700 metric tons of health, nutrition and wash items and 115,000 liters of fuel, said the UN agency, which will start distributing the food and nutrition items this week in northwestern Tigray. "We are ready and have the clearance to send in further convoys and are engaging with regional authorities to ensure the next humanitarian convoy can depart safely as soon as possible," it said. The aid convoy in Tigray, the second in recent weeks, arrived weeks after the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) conditionally agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid into the region. Earlier this month, a 20-truck aid convoy entered Mekelle through the neighboring Afar region, which was regarded as a breakthrough as it was the first road delivery into the regional capital since mid-December and the first humanitarian fuel supplies delivery through the corridor in eight months. The TPLF and the Ethiopian National Defense Force, backed by allied forces, have been engaged in a nearly 18-month conflict that has reportedly left tens of thousands of people dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Ethiopian parliament designated the TPLF as a terrorist organization in May 2021. (Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Bianji) DHAKA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- State-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) on Sunday launched a high-speed internet-enabled prepaid phone service across the country. The service was launched under the company's Modernization of Telecommunication Network Project, which Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corporation has been implementing in the country since 2019. Bangladeshi Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar inaugurated the phone service at a ceremony in Dhaka. BTCL Managing Director Rafiqul Matin said the prepaid phone service will be available across the country. He said the Modernization of Telecommunication Network Project, which is scheduled to be completed in June next year, paved the way for launching the internet-enabled prepaid phone service. Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Shyam Sunder Sikder expressed his thanks to the Chinese company for its support to modernize the network of BTCL. In his speech, Jabbar said this is a memorable day for Bangladesh as another core commitment of "Digital Bangladesh", which is to bring every home under the digital network, has been fulfilled. He said many of the steps taken to build a digital Bangladesh have already been implemented with support of China and other development partners. SpaceX began to use a new vertical testing assembly in McGregor by March and the production line for Raptor 2 rocket engines there is under construction, according to officials in McGregor. What is new about the new assembly is the pit underneath it to muffle the sound into the ground, Andrew Smith, executive director of the McGregor Economic Development Corp., said Monday. This muffling pit is in addition to flame channels already built on testing assemblies. They did what they said they would do, Smith said. Smith said certain tests are now much quieter. Others who live and work nearby said other tests are still quite loud. Smith is also the training captain for the McGregor Volunteer Fire Department, which he said trains in a facility within the McGregor Industrial Park, where SpaceX leases about 4,300 acres from the city. When Im out there training with my firefighters, the only way I know theyre testing Merlins (rocket engines) is if I see the smoke, Smith said. Its that quiet now. According to The Perryman Report and Texas Letter, a publication by Waco-based economist Ray Perryman, the space industry including SpaceX, other private companies and NASA brings $23 billion per year into Texas along with more than 102,000 jobs. SpaceX employed 578 people as of last September at its McGregor facility, according an economic development grant awarded by the city of Waco and McLennan County. Conditions in the grant include hiring an additional 400 or more employees for the Raptor 2 production line by 2025. The new Raptor 2 production line at the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor is bringing an additional investment of about $150 million into that town, the Perryman Report states. On Monday, Smith called SpaceX very good corporate citizens of McGregor. Marissa Maguire, executive director of the McGregor Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, said she agrees with Smith, that rocket testing conducted on the vertical testing assembly with the new sound muffling pit is quieter. Maguires and Smiths offices are in the same storefront on Main Street in McGregor. Not everyone in McGregor agrees that the testing is quieter. Jana Munoz, who has worked at another company outside the main gate into the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility and about a mile down the road for seven years, says tests are as loud in April as they have ever been. Its louder and it shakes worse in April than it did in the winter, Munoz said Thursday. Others who work near SpaceX, including Brittany Blakeman and Dusty Terry, agree that tests remain loud and shake their windows or vibrate their desks. Comparing loudness Blakeman, who works on Main Street in McGregor, about mile farther away from SpaceX than Munoz, and lives in Axtell, said she can hear and feel the tests at work. But she only hears them at home, and does not feel them there. I hear them in Axtell but only gently, Blakeman said Thursday. Axtell is around 32 miles northeast of McGregor and around 13.5 miles from downtown Waco. Living and working in the area for less than a year, Blakeman said she quickly got used to hearing the tests. She also compares the sound of the rocket testing since last fall to the sound of Army helicopters flying over the place where she used to live in Alabama. I would compare it to the sound of Black Hawk (helicopters) flying over my house, Blakeman said. When she lived in Alabama, her house was near an Army base and under the flight path of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Some of the testing is quieter this month, Terry said Thursday. Other tests are just as loud or louder. Terry, who works outside the gate of the Rocket Development Facility, may have the key insight on the sound and shaking from rocket testing. The key insight There are three places out there where the smoke comes from, Terry said Thursday. When he hears the sound, Terry said he may see smoke coming from one of three distinct locations within the the SpaceX facility. Out of three places where smoke comes from for rocket testing, only one has a pit built underneath it to muffle the sound. The newest place where I see smoke (from testing rocket engines) is still the loudest and smoke only started coming from there last summer, Terry said. SpaceX tested developmental Raptor engines, which were more powerful than Merlins and therefore louder, at McGregor beginning in September 2016. People who work near the SpaceX facility say the louder tests became more frequent last summer. The Merlin engines, for which tests Smith said are now comparatively quiet, have been ongoing at the SpaceX McGregor facility for years. When they test for Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy (the Merlin engines), the smoke comes from different place, where I have seen it for a long time, Terry said. The sound from there has never been anywhere near as loud as from the newest place. SpaceXs website says Merlin engines produce 190,000 pounds of thrust. Merlin Vacuum engines, designed to operate outside earths atmosphere, produce 220,500 pounds of thrust. These are the same engines that Smith says are tested at the testing system with the pit to muffle the sound. The engine SpaceX started testing last summer was the first production version of the Raptor. That engine produced around 400,000 pounds of thrust. People who work nearby say that the louder tests got even louder last fall, which coincides with reports of testing Raptor 2 which produces at least 500,000 pounds of thrust. SpaceXs website does not say how many decibels of sound any of these engines produce. But the Raptor 2 produces more than 2.5 times the thrust of Merlin, and 25% more thrust than the first Raptor model. So it stands to reason that the Raptor 2 would be noticeably louder than its predecessor and enormously louder than the Merlin engines ever were. Some testing involves boosters that include many Merlin engines. And the Raptors are tested at testing assemblies without pits to muffle the sound. So the Raptor 2 tests may continue to be as loud as they are, unless SpaceX either develops a way to test them on the testing assembly with the pit, or builds a second pit for a Raptor test assembly. Other news from SpaceX in McGregor Maguire and Smith say the Raptor 2s being tested in McGregor are all made in Hawthorne, California. Smith confirmed construction continues on a Raptor 2 production line at SpaceXs McGregor facility. News from the rocket development facility in McGregor will not include a testing schedule, Maguire said. SpaceX is highly safety conscious, Smith said. Maguire said the logistics of a rocket test is also complex. They have to get every component of each test properly assembled and they have to get the rocket fuel shipped in, Maguire said. They only go when theyre ready. She said that if SpaceX published a schedule, it would miss many of the scheduled times. We have had congressmen and others here to see tests, and they havent tested (sometimes), Maguire said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Texas Department of Transportation unveiled its plans to improve the Highway 84 corridor coming into Waco from the west last week at a public meeting in Woodway. There were the obvious crowd-pleasing projects in the overall plan, like a bridge over New Road at Franklin Avenue eliminating, or at least alleviating, what has to be Wacos No. 1 traffic hassle as well as the proposed flyovers at Highway 6 and Highway 84. Those are needed improvements, and widely popular among Central Texas drivers. It uses a crisscross pattern at both entrances to the intersection, with traffic flowing on the opposite sides of the traditional traffic pattern. Synchronized traffic lights control how traffic flows through the intersection, eliminating hard left-hand turns where possible. If youve driven through the Hewitt/Estates intersection, you know its fairly narrow, and the left onto Hewitt Drive from the westbound Highway 84 off-ramp is sharp and sometimes harrowing. The new design incorporates the dynamics of the Texas turnaround without having to build a new bridge, a major selling point for a chronically underfunded state agency trying to stretch construction dollars as far as it can. A left onto Hewitt Drive can become a left onto the eastbound Highway 84 frontage road, much like it is now, but without having to wait for a left green arrow. The same dynamic exists from the other direction. But unlike the Highway 84 and Highway 6 intersection, no new Texas turnaround lanes and bridges will be added at the Hewitt/Estates intersection. Or, to be more specific, none are included in the plans at this point. There is a second community input meeting on the corridor project this summer. Texas turnaround lanes are a fixture in most new construction, but their cost is making TxDOT more judicious in implementing them. The $46 million mall-to-mall effort incorporates them, but that is basically the point of the project in building continuous frontage roads from Bagby Avenue to Waco Drive along Highway 6. While the traffic pattern within the diverging diamond design itself isnt too drastically different, there will be a much larger impact on local traffic adjacent to the intersection. For starters, the frontage road at the top of the Hewitt Drive off-ramp from Highway 84 will be turn only onto Hewitt Drive or toward Estates Drive on both sides. Motorists will no longer be able to go straight through the intersection and get in line at Shipley Do-Nuts at the Crossroads West shopping center or hang a quick right into the Walgreens parking lot. And H-E-B shoppers will no longer be able to turn left onto Hewitt Drive from Oak Creek Drive, where the majority of cars enter and exit the busy grocery store now. Admittedly, thats a tough left to come by on most days. Traffic engineers who came up with this design expect pushback, but swear their diverging diamond design moves more traffic efficiently than what is in place now. I find that easy to believe. Afternoon rush hour on Hewitt Drive is brutal at times, and its all fed by that intersection. Who hasnt sat through three traffic light cycles trying to make a left onto Hewitt Drive? The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organizations 2010 count put Hewitt Drive traffic at 30,000 cars a day. The diverging diamond design will also effectively prevent traffic from getting across Hewitt Drive in the area of the busy intersection. With no left available from Oak Creek onto Hewitt Drive, it will force drivers to the right, and in search of a U-turn spot presumably at Old McGregor Road, trying to get back to Highway 84, or into the surrounding neighborhoods. As a cheat, try driving behind H-E-B and hitting the frontage road from there. More on that below. TxDOT has adopted longer on- and off-ramps in the name of safety in its newer designs. The rebuilt I-35 through downtown Waco employs this strategy. Its fine for through traffic, but it doesnt prioritize local connections, nor does it merge well with previous highway designs. Thats the main reason why the final section of I-35 should be a top priority the New Road intersection is a mess and the unimproved stretch from 12th Street to South Loop 340 is where Waco is growing the fastest. In the Highway 84 corridor project the eastbound off-ramp to Texas Central Parkway is being pushed back beyond Hewitt/Estates drives. In fact, the two intersections will share the same off-ramp, with Texas Central traffic utilizing a new frontage road below the Hewitt/Estates bridge to get to its destination. Access to the under-the-bridge lane is not available from the parking lot in front of H-E-B. Those exits put you on the frontage road that merges at the diverging diamond. To reach the lower lane below the bridge, youll have to go behind H-E-B, or make your way back to Sunn Drive. Local commuters will have to adjust to this new alignment, and it will take some time to find the cheats that keep them out of traffic. Expect Old McGregor Road to get a lot busier east of Hewitt Drive. Its going to be a turnaround opportunity for some, and an increasingly important outlet utilized in getting to Texas Central Parkway. Most commuters into town from the southern suburbs, myself included, are willing to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the diverging diamond design. As long as we can skip the wait at New Road on our way into work, were good. If TxDOT engineers can entice motorists to actually reach the speed limit on Hewitt Drive, they can roll out whatever design they want, as far as Im concerned. In the meantime, lets discuss an overpass at Chapel/Imperial, shall we? Hewitt resident Steve Boggs is a native of Leflore, Okla., and has been editor of the Tribune-Herald since 2014. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CEDAR FALLS It was blastoff Saturday for Cedar Falls High School students who designed a rocket as part of a NASA competition. Cedar Falls Rocket Club members on a team doing the NASA Student Launch traveled to Dixon, Neb., to shoot their nearly nine-foot-tall rocket about a mile into the sky. More than a dozen juniors and seniors in the club are part of the team, one of two that are in competitions during the next month. Dixon is about 35 miles west of Sioux City. A National Association of Rocketry chapter in Nebraska made it possible for the team to find officials there who oversaw the flight and got Federal Aviation Administration clearance that allowed it to take place. Originally, the club planned a trip to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for the launch, but a month ago NASA organizers scaled back the event as part of the precautions related to COVID-19. You can launch in person down in Alabama, but probably no more than half of the 60 teams are going to do that, said Zeb Nicholson, a teacher who is team adviser. A total of 16 teams are in the division that includes middle and high school students. The other 44 teams are in the college and university division. Because teams can still launch their rockets through May 9, the Cedar Falls students dont know yet how they did in the competition. An awards ceremony is expected to be held sometime in early June. On Thursday, students gathered in a high school conference room and joined two hours of online presentations in preparation for their launch. It was the second week they had tuned in to watch presentations, which include vendors who sell products like software and other teams explaining their projects to NASA organizers. On Thursday, the Cedar Falls club also made its presentation. Our plan for that presentation is were going to go through just our project as a whole, senior Harrison Redfern said shortly before they gave it. They were going to delve deeply into how the team designed the rocket which stands eight feet, 8-1/2 inches tall and is 6 inches in diameter and the payload. The students were also going to talk about the results of their first launch using the full-scale rocket. We did a test flight back in February, said Redfern. The team made a few minor changes after that, but we feel pretty confident. Normally, the presentation would be given in Huntsville as part of the in-person event. There are usually three days worth of in-person activities, tours, rocket fair, and guest speakers while we are in Huntsville, but this year the only thing teams are allowed to do is show up for the launch and then go home again, said Nicholson. The team has dubbed its efforts to design and build the rocket and its payload Project Heimdall. In Norse mythology, Heimdall is the watchman of the gods. He is also a character in Marvel comic books and movies. Heimdall is depicted as the movie character on part of the rocket, which was hand painted by Mario Mata of the downtown auto body business Anderson Collision. On the theme of being a watchman, the teams payload includes three GoPro cameras, secured in a plastic container behind acrylic windows. Recordings from the cameras can be edited into a 360-degree virtual reality video of the flight. Students did that after their test flight and will create a new video from Saturdays launch. A circuit board that students built into the rocket collects data about movement during the flights. Graphic representations of that data are overlaid onto the videos by the students to provide information on things like altitude, speed and gravitational force throughout the flights. The test flight video can be seen at online at bit.ly/CFHSrcVideo. Nicholson praised the students, saying he has never heard of a high school or college group creating anything quite as extensive as the virtual reality video. To me, that is a trailblazing project, he said. Students on the team made presentations to the Lions and Rotary clubs as well as engaging with the community through social media as part of the required outreach. They also led hands-on activities with 500 children at elementary schools and in Boy Scout troops double the direct engagements necessary for clubs participating in the launch. More than 20 students in all are part of the Cedar Falls Rocket Club, which raised at least $7,000 this year. That includes a $1,000 donation received Thursday from the Cedar Falls Education Association. The money helps with a variety of club needs, but travel to the Washington, D.C., area for its other competition will be a major use. Another one of its teams with about six sophomore and junior members recently qualified for The American Rocketry Challenge national finals, taking place May 14. Any club members interested in participating in the trip will be able to. Initially, 720 teams from across the country were competing in the challenge, but only 100 teams qualify to participate in the national finals. Junior Carson Wirtz said TARC team members built a rocket that is about three feet tall and 2-1/2 inches in diameter. It must carry a payload of two raw eggs, which cant break in the course of the flight. A coin flip on the day of the competition will decide if the rocket has to reach a height of 810 or 860 feet and if it has to last 40-43 seconds or 42-45 seconds. Its kind of an adjust on the fly and trying to determine how to do that best, said Wirtz. With two teams actively competing, Nicholson said he appreciates the amazing support the club has received from our entire community. The students have had to work hard. I think its been a challenging year because weve never simultaneously competed in NASA Student Launch and the TARC competition, he noted. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WATERLOO Zach OBrien has been named the new Bunger Middle School principal, pending board approval. Currently the assistant principal at Waterloo West High School, OBrien has worked at Waterloo Schools since 2005 as a special education teacher, English teacher, and performance based Diploma Academy coordinator prior to becoming assistant principal at West High School in 2015. I am very honored and excited to be named the next principal of Bunger Middle School. I look forward to working with students, staff, parents, stakeholders, and the community, said OBrien. A Fort Dodge native and a graduate of Fort Dodge Senior High School, OBrien graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and holds a Bachelors Degree in teaching with a focus on secondary English and a Masters Degree in educational leadership. OBrien replaces principal Larry Martin. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO In partnership with the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Waterloo Schools is offering the Camp Invention program to children entering first- through sixth-grades. Lessons explore connections between science, technology, engineering and innovation. A limited number of scholarships provided by The Waterloo Schools Foundation will be available based on financial need. Forms are available in the school office and at the Education Service Center, 1516 Washington St. Transportation will be available if needed. Lunch and a snack will be provided. For more information call (319) 433-1839. I asked, Whom is We? This is WE: We are wondering why we should go to war to stop Russia from selling its gas and oil when WE end up paying $5, 6$, 7$, 8$ /gal at the pump. All so some little perverted actor president of Ukraine who dances in high-heels and plays the piano with his penis can be a Nazi and murder now around 15,000 ethnic Russians in the Donbass, Ukraine over many years. We are the people who have seen everyone say, What is this We business? Russia is not the enemy here. Deep screaming mad evil is trying to control the world but has already lost. The unveiling is started and freedom comes swiftly. The real world sees, but will the facade world of the West ever see? We see the Evil, Do you? WtR This coming Friday, April 22, is Earth Day. And while there will be many great community events, from picking up trash to planting trees, there are also easy things to incorporate into your daily routine to make every day an Earth Day. Tips to save energy Fuel prices are up. So are gas and electric prices. The Department of Energy, utilities and others have tips for saving energy and money. Spring and summer: 1. Service your air conditioner or swamp cooler. Replace or clean the air filters. 2. On cool mornings and evenings, open windows to take advantage of natural cooling but make sure you have a secondary locking system to prevent access to your home. 3. Use ceiling fans along with raising the thermostat by 2-4 degrees (78 or higher in summer). Run fan counterclockwise for a downdraft. 4. Cook outside instead of using ovens in the home. Indoors, use a toaster oven or microwave rather than standard oven when possible. 5. Use window coverings to reduce the heat gains. 6. Seal cracks and openings to keep warm air out. 7. Take advantage of natural light as much as possible and switch off interior lights. 8. Turn the thermostat up when you leave home, or use a programmable thermostat. 9. Seal your duct work. 10. Switch on bathroom fans to suck heat out, turn off when done. Year-round: 1. Change to LED light bulbs. In addition to your regular retailers, Habitat for Humanity Restore has LED bulbs for sale at times. 2. Wash your clothes in cold water. Use the air-dry cycle on your dryer. 3. Dont peek in the oven. The temperature can drop as much as 25 degrees and has to heat back up. 4. Ensure outdoor lights are off during the day. 5. Turn off electronics when not in use computers, monitors and other home office items. 6. Unplug unused TVs, coffee makers, toasters, cellphone chargers and other electronics. 7. If you have an extra refrigerator or freezer in the home, do you really need it? Can you reduce use to special occasions? 8. Clean condenser coils on your refrigerator or freezer every three months. Set the temperature to the manufacturers recommendations. Home rebates, discounts See pnm.com or your rural utility provider website for rebates and discounts available. PNM offers a free home energy checkup in person or by video call, 1-855-775-6491. PNM can provide information on energy-saving devices and rebates, and the utility offers a free comprehensive analysis of your air conditioners performance and will suggest any needed repairs. See pnm.com for details or call customer service 888-342-5766. Tips to save gasoline 1. Dont be a lead foot. 2. Perform maintenance as recommended. Rotate tires and keep them inflated. 3. Glide to a stop at stop signs, red lights. 4. Organize your errands to avoid multiple trips or backtracking. 5. Drive the speed limit. Aggressive driving is a waste of fuel. Use cruise control on the highway. 6. Avoid excessive idling. If you are waiting in line more than a minute or two, turn off your vehicle. 7. Ride share/carpool. 8. In warm weather, drive below 55 mph and open the windows and leave the air conditioning off. At faster speeds, close the windows and use the air conditioning. 9. Remove extra weight. If you were carrying sandbags for the winter, take them out. Take off the roof cargo box if you dont need it. 10. Take the first parking spot you see, dont drive to find a better one. 11. Use an app to find a good gas price, within reason dont drive across town for gas. 12. Take public transportation. Use The Zero Fare program for Sun Van, ART and ABQ Ride call 311 or see cabq.gov for information. There is a trip planning tool on the website to help you plan your commute. And through July 31 the Rail Runner slashed fares 75% (thats just $2.50 to go round trip from Albuquerque to Santa Fe on a day pass), and it does offer free fares to veterans and active military. See riometro.org or call 866-795-7425 for more information. Be aware of mask requirements. 13. Enjoy the outdoors walk or ride a bike when possible. Combine public transport with riding your bike to destinations. Tips to be water wise The Water Authority has xeriscape rebates at $2 per square foot of turf removed. Also offered are treebates, irrigation efficiency rebates, and rainwater harvesting rebates. Call (505) 842-WATR (9287), option 4 for conditions. Online Water Smart Classes are offered, and qualifying participants will earn a $20 rebate on their water bill. There is more rebate information at abcwua.org. Spray irrigation is not allowed between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. from April 1-Oct. 31. Its recommended landscaping watering be just two days a week in April and May, increased to three days a week in June, July and August. To conserve water: 1. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving. 2. Use a bowl of clean water to wash fruits and vegetables rather than running water. 3. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator rather than running the faucet for cold water. 4. If washing dishes by hand, dont leave the water running. 5. Use leftover coffee to water your plants. 6. Fix a leak. 7. When replacing a water fixture, choose those with WaterSense labels. Sources: energy.gov, directenergy.com, pnm.com, cabq.gov, riometro.org, abcwua.org My Dear People of God, It has been a grace for me to journey with you all through the penitential days of Lent that have given way to the holiest of weeks and the joy of Easter. It is gratifying to raise our voices in praise of God the Father who has raised His only begotten Son in glory through the power of the Holy Spirit. Truly, Alleluia is our song, and for this, we are most grateful. What can we say about this joy that pervades the Easter Season? And what about the suffering that continues in our lives and in our world, especially in Ukraine? In attempting to answer these questions, I think it is important to see Easter joy does not erase all suffering but rather puts suffering in its proper place. The Paschal Mystery refers to the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is one mystery whose components are always in tension with each other. We do not come to new life except through suffering and death. And as Christians, we do not encounter suffering and death without the sure and certain hope the Risen Christ will never abandon us and will turn our mourning into joy. Thus, we Catholics do not shrink from suffering, knowing Good Friday always leads to Easter Sunday. This is our prayer for the people of Ukraine. We are witnessing their horrific and incomprehensible suffering as they face deprivation, famine, pain and death every day. Those who have fled their country worry endlessly about their loved ones left behind, while those who remain face uncertainty and fear day in and day out. In the midst of it all, and despite the terrible predicament facing our brothers and sisters in that war-torn land, we see countless examples of altruism, love and sacrifice, all of which give testimony to the Resurrection. These brave souls clearly take the Risen Christ seriously as they give their lives for others and thus find eternal life. As Jesus taught, For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25). Surely, Yuri Prylypko, the mayor of Hostomel and the recipient of an honor from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who designated his town as a Hero City for holding out against the Russian occupation, gave witness to this teaching of Christ. He was shot and killed by Russian soldiers as he brought bread to some of his trapped townspeople. May he rest in peace. John Macmurray, a Scottish philosopher and theologian, once said phony religion tells us not to worry, that which we fear the most will never happen. However, authentic religion tells us that which we fear the most may very well happen, but it is nothing to worry about. Only the resurrection of Jesus Christ can give us this kind of certitude, this kind of hope, this kind of optimism. Ours is an authentic religion, one based on the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father. I pray this truth may bring you peace and joy this Easter season and that all of our sufferings will lead us to new life. I also join you in praying that the suffering of the Ukrainian people will come to an end immediately and their suffering will lead to new life here on earth and for those who have been killed, new life in eternity. Happy Easter to you all, my dear brothers and sisters in the Risen Christ. Martha Lieberts book Bernalillo: Between the River and a Hard Place spills over with nuggets on every page. It ranges widely, recognizing the contributions of people dating from prehistory through the late 20th century. Some of those singled out, like conquistador Don Diego de Vargas, are historic figures. De Vargas founded Bernalillo in 1690s on the flood plain at the mouth of the Jemez River, west of the Rio Grande. Others, like Abenicio Salazar, are obscure but noteworthy. Salazar, who lived from 1858 to 1941, was a master craftsman of adobe, brick and stone masonry, one of the great craftsmen of his time. He and skilled carpenter-roofer Jose Sena turned out an incredible amount of high-quality work in the town of Bernalillo and in outlying villages, Liebert writes. Private homes, public and religious buildings in Sandoval County have borne the stamp of their craftsmanship. The book notes that the largest remaining example of Salazars work is the 1922 two-story, 12,000-square-foot adobe Loretto High School first owned by the Sisters of Loretto. Today the school is used as a county office building and the former convent next to it is rented out for events, Liebert said in a phone interview. Salazar received national recognition. In 1980, a historic district in part of downtown Bernalillo bears his name and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Abenicio Salazar was a humble artisan whose superb workmanship testifies to the stature and character of the man, the book states. The book often takes the form of a scrapbook. It is packed with archival photographs of diverse subjects newlyweds, family gatherings, sheep herders, cowboys, volunteer firemen, altar boys, elementary school classes, lumberjacks, saloon keepers and 100 or so men on break from cleaning acequias, and many more. The people in the book arent just from Bernalillo. Theyre also from villages such as Angostura, Pena Blanca and Hagan, a one-time coal-mining town east of the Sandias. Liebert said her book has its origins in a New Mexico Humanities Council grant to the Sandoval County Historical Society in the 1970s. The grant was for a photographic history of the county, she said, but a wealth of documents the society had collected over 44 years supplemented the images. Many, many people contributed over that time with photographs and interviews and all manner of historical material, she said. Liebert, a self-described amateur historian, has been the societys archivist for 40 years. The book is good for Bernalillo. It needs to be respected as a historic site as things become so business-oriented, she said. Recipes, time lines and snapshots of life spice up the chapters. An introductory paragraph in Chapter 13 refers to an unidentified old-timer recalling that Sandoval County politics was a law unto itself back in the so-called good old days. The paragraph gives readers food for thought about how bizarre local politics can be. Heres one example: Voters registrations were highly suspect, containing names of bygone residents and sheep. Heres another example, unbelievable, yet perhaps believable. A couple seeking a divorce asked the County Clerk for marital advice. The clerk finds their recorded marriage, rips it up and declares, There is no record of it now, so you dont need a divorce. Liebert, a native of North Dakota, received a masters degree in art from the University of New Mexico. At UNM, she met Joe Liebert of Bernalillo. They married and made their home there. The image on the books front cover is a painting by Martha Liebert. IF YOU GO Martha Liebert will discuss and sign copies of Bernalillo: Between the River and a Hard Place at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 19 and 10 a.m. Thursday, April 21 at the Sandoval County Historical Society. The society building (the DeLavy House) is located at 151 Edmund Road, Bernalillo, just west of Coronado State Monument and just east of the Santa Ana Star Hotel. ANKARA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed one senior figure and 13 fighters of the Kurdish militia People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Sunday. The YPG members were "neutralized" when they "opened harassment fire and attempted to infiltrate" into Turkey's Operation Peace Spring zone in northern Syria, the ministry tweeted. Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" to imply "terrorists" killed, wounded, or captured in security operations. Meanwhile, Turkish intelligence killed Mehmet Aydin, a senior figure of the YPG, in an operation in al-Darbasiyah town of the Syrian province of Hasaka. Aydin had been active in the ranks of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) within Turkish territory in previous years, before taking a role in Syria. Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK. Turkey's forces and YPG members often exchange fire on the Syrian border amid heightened tension in the region since early January after three Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack by outlawed Kurdish militants. The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria. Turkish authorities say the operations aim to eliminate threats against Turkey and provide a safe zone that will facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes. PHOENIX Gerda Weissmann Klein, a Holocaust survivor who wrote about her ordeal and went on to receive a presidential medal of freedom, will be remembered at a memorial May 1 after her death this month. Klein died April 3 in Phoenix, where she had lived since 1985. She was 97. Her granddaughter Alysa Cooper confirmed the death but did not give a cause. Klein was born May 8, 1924, to Helene and Julius Weissmann in Bielsko, Poland. She was a teenager when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939 and the family was forced to live in the basement of their home for three years. Kleins parents were later deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp and she never saw them or her brother again. Klein spent the next three years in Nazi camps. She met her future husband, Army Lt. Kurt Klein, when American soldiers liberated her and others from an abandoned bicycle factory in Volary, Czechoslovakia, on May 7, 1945, the eve of her 21st birthday. At the time, she weighed just 68 pounds (30.8 kg) and her hair was prematurely gray. Married in Paris on June 18, 1946, the couple started a new life in Buffalo, New York, and raised three children: Vivian, Leslie and James. Klein described her wartime experiences in her memoir All But My Life, which has been widely used in high school and college curricula. President Bill Clinton appointed Klein to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Council in 1997, and President Barack Obama awarded her with the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nations highest civilian honor. Last year she was inducted into the Arizona Womens Hall of Fame. In addition to her children, she is survived by eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. A private burial was held. Her family plans a virtual celebration of her life May 1 at noon PT. Details will be announced through Citizenship Counts, a nonprofit organization she founded with Cooper, her granddaughter. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal PUEBLO DE COCHITI Phillip Quintana arrived for his first day at a Head Start classroom to find the teacher delivering instructions he couldnt understand. She spoke only English. At 5 or 6 years old, Quintana knew only Keres, a language shared by seven pueblos in New Mexico, each with its own dialect. It was emphasized at the schools: Stop talking Indian, your native language, Quintana, now 63 and the Pueblo de Cochiti governor, said. It was a little rough. For more than 100 years, his experience as a child was common throughout the United States. Native American students at day and boarding schools even within tribal boundaries faced punishment inside the classroom for speaking the only language they knew. But a growing movement in New Mexico aims to revitalize the Indigenous languages that schools once tried to extinguish. The work is playing out within learning centers on tribal land, inside public school classrooms and among elders building a workbook of their language. Were proud to say that were still here, Quintana said, and we still have our language. A critical part of the strategy is a new state law endorsed by the states 23 tribes, nations and pueblos. The legislation passed without a dissenting vote earlier this year is set to boost the pay of educators certified to teach a Native American language. Regis Pecos, a former Pueblo de Cochiti governor and member of the tribal council, described it as a revolutionary change given the long history of discrimination against Native American students. Where schools once were used to kill Indigenous languages, he said, they now will be an instrument of their survival. It is the centerpiece of our vision of education, Pecos said of the new law. Fragile state The push to maintain Indigenous languages comes amid fear they might disappear. Some pueblo languages are spoken only in New Mexico, nowhere else in the world. Other Native languages, such as Navajo, or Dine, are spoken both inside and outside the state. Across the board, theyre all in a very vulnerable, fragile state right now, some more than others simply because of the low numbers of fluent speakers left in some communities, University of New Mexico professor Christine Sims said in an interview. She is director of the American Indian Language Policy Research and Teacher Training Center at UNM, founded in 2008 to support Indigenous language revitalization. Sims, a member of Acoma Pueblo, speaks a dialect of Keres. Scores perhaps hundreds of Native languages have disappeared since Europeans arrived in North America, according to the center, but others persist despite 150 years of boarding schools that removed students from their home communities, and other efforts at forced assimilation. These languages have survived through centuries, even despite efforts to extinguish them primarily through education policies of the federal government, Sims said. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, has said her department intends to release a report this month on its investigation into past federal oversight of boarding schools. Pecos, the former Cochiti governor, described growing up speaking Keres, only to be forbidden from using it on school grounds when he began classes in the 1950s. He attended a federal Bureau of Indian Affairs school in the heart of the pueblo, not a boarding school. A barbed wire fence defined the campus boundaries. Some students who attended day or boarding schools, Pecos said, subsequently opted against teaching their children the language to protect them from what they experienced in classrooms. You internalize self-hatred about who you were or who you are, Pecos said. About 60% of the 1,200 members of the Pueblo de Cochiti are fluent in Keres, Quintana said, a figure the pueblo is working to boost by immersing some youngsters in the language. New law New Mexico still struggles to teach Native American students. In a landmark 2018 decision, a state judge ruled the state had violated the rights of some students by failing to provide a sufficient education. The court found Native American students and English language learners, for example, lacked full access to dual-language programs and that schools failed to provide culturally appropriate books and instructional materials, as required by law. In 608 pages of findings, Pro Tem Judge Sarah Singleton said in 2018 that Native American students in New Mexico had worse academic outcomes than other ethnic groups despite the states awareness of their unique needs. Native students in the state, she said, share a legacy of historical trauma and a set of well-recognized, but chronically unmet, educational needs. The judge, who died in 2019, also highlighted the states failure to collaborate formally with tribes. The new state law boosting the pay of Indigenous language teachers is part of a strategy to change that. Its one component of a broader Tribal Remedy Framework endorsed by the leadership of tribal governments to address the educational needs of Native American students. This years pay legislation sets a new minimum salary for full-time teachers certified by their tribe, nation or pueblo to teach their language and culture, expanding a similar program already underway in Bernalillo Public Schools. Their pay will have to match or exceed the minimum salary for educators holding a Level 1 license, or about $50,000 a year, starting in July. Until now, some of the language teachers have been paid in line with educational assistants, making less than half the new minimum. Base salaries for Indigenous language teachers at one district, for example, ranged from $18,300 a year to $45,500. The higher salaries are expected to cost the state from $600,000 to $4 million next year a wide range that reflects uncertainty over how many teachers the new pay might attract. The state budget going into effect in July includes $1.25 million to fund the pay increases. Just 99 teachers employed this year hold the certificate allowing them to teach a Native American language, according to state documents. But there may be as many as 280 teachers who hold the certificate, but are not active in the classroom. Public schools in the state offer bilingual programs in seven Indigenous languages. The pay measure, House Bill 60, was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo and adopted without a dissenting vote. Passage of the bill, Lente said, is a huge step in ratifying the notion that Indigenous languages that predate New Mexico and predate this nation will be sustained and be taught by our own people, in the ways we know to have been successful. Pay equity Even before the new law was proposed, Bernalillo Public Schools moved to equalize the pay of pueblo language teachers, bringing their salary in line with Level 1 teachers. Superintendent Matthew Montano said the district made the change in August last year to help ensure the language instructors are recognized for the professional work they do. But not everyone, he said, was pleased with the policy. Opponents note that Native American language teachers arent required to have a four-year degree. Instead, they hold a certificate from a tribal government authorizing them to teach the language and culture. The tribe determines who is qualified. They have a lifetime of experience of learning thats unique to what theyre trying to accomplish, Montano said. Within Bernalillo Public Schools, four pueblos Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe and Santa Ana have authorized language teachers. Sims, the UNM professor, said proficiency in a Native American language and culture cannot be obtained through a college degree. Expanding the new salary scale statewide, Sims said, opens the door for more tribal community people who know these languages, and are willing to step up and provide that instruction. About 11% of New Mexicos public school students are Native American, compared with only 3% of teachers, according to legislative documents. Native American students would be lucky if they had a Native teacher anywhere in their academic career with those kinds of numbers, Sims said. Tewa dictionary The revival of Indigenous languages is also happening outside the classroom. Brenda McKenna, a Democratic state senator from Corrales and member of Nambe Pueblo, has been working with her mother and linguists at UNM to build a dictionary of sorts to record the pueblos language: Nanbe Tewa. (McKenna said the pueblos name also should be spelled with an n rather than an m. Its spelled both ways in correspondence.) The book, in any case, will have translations from Nanbe Tewa to English, and vice versa, along with sections on grammar and greetings. She expects it to eventually exceed 1,000 pages. Theres no other group in the world working on this dialect, McKenna said. Were it. The group meets about once a week to go word by word through the dictionary. The work includes verifying with McKennas mom, Cora O. McKenna, how each word is pronounced and its meanings. The group also has audio recordings. The book, McKenna said, is similar to a dictionary published in 1982 on the Ohkay Owingeh Tewa language. Six pueblos in the state speak a dialect of Tewa. The book is intended, she said, to ensure something is written down as fewer people pass the language on through the oral tradition. McKenna said her mom, now 82, faced punishment during her time at a boarding school in Santa Fe. It was their way of beating the language out of the kids, McKenna said. My mom got reprimanded and sent on additional cleaning duty when she spoke to fellow Tewa speakers. Hearing the language of her heritage now, McKenna said, is calming, spiritual and grounding. Cultural survival Pueblo leaders in New Mexico say approval of the salary boost for Indigenous language teachers is a welcome development. But it is just one step among many advocated by a coalition of Native American leaders. They are asking the Legislature to respond to the 2018 court ruling by granting tribes more control over the schooling of Native American children; investing in tribal libraries and other community education centers; and expanding Indigenous language programs and the number of Native teachers. Pecos, the former Cochiti governor, said the framework would ensure more culturally relevant curriculum for Native American students, which would have ripple effects boosting academic achievement, reducing youth suicide and addressing health disparities. It would, he said, ensure Native students language and culture are treated as assets, not liabilities. Nevertheless, this years salary legislation, Pecos said, is an important step. Its about cultural survival, Pecos said. Its about redefining education, where language is at the heart of this redefined education for the first time in over 130 years. Sims, the professor at UNMs College of Education and Human Sciences, said some promising developments have emerged over the past six years, including Towa- and Keres-language immersion programs for young students at Jemez and Cochiti pueblos. I think a lot of people dont fully recognize how invaluable how these languages are an existential part of our cultural survival, she said. Many people probably would say, Just put it on a computer,' Sims said, but the existence of these languages is much deeper than that. Quintana, the Cochiti governor, said the pueblo will never write its language down. The tribes dialect of Keres is passed down only through oral stories, incorporated into songs, dances and prayers. The importance of the language is difficult to express in English, Quintana said, but it connects community members to the land, provides a sense of belonging and promotes gratitude for their blessings. For the record An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the language at an immersion program at Jemez Pueblo. Its Towa, not Tewa. Hear the language Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Steven Michael Pannhorsts Facebook page shows he got a new job last month. Federal authorities allege he is a member of an Arizona-based white power extremist prison gang whose business illicit drug and firearm trafficking has just expanded to Albuquerque. An 18-month FBI ongoing investigation identified Pannhorst, 37, among a half dozen people who are believed to be part of a new criminal threat involving an Arizona-to-New Mexico drug pipeline fueled in part by the Sinaloa drug cartel, federal court records show. The suspects, described as career criminals, share a common affiliation: Each is connected to a racially motivated violent extremist group, according to federal search warrant affidavit unsealed Friday. The groups include the Aryan Brotherhood, the Soldiers of Aryan Culture and the 23 Boyz racist prison gang of Arizona. Based on information collected thus far, the drug trafficking scheme appears to originate in Arizona, where drug traffickers obtain methamphetamine, fentanyl pills and other drugs from the Sinaloa Cartel, stated lead FBI case agent Bryan Acee in the affidavit. From there, members of the drug trafficking organization drive the illicit drugs to Albuquerque, where they are sold for a higher price. The 45-page affidavit cites information gleaned from interviews with confidential informants, and from 10 arrests and at least seven searches of residences in Albuquerque by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies over the past year. Of those arrested, six of the men had ties to white power extremists gangs, the affidavit stated. Two were from Nevada; one from Arizona. The others were from New Mexico. The latest step in the investigation came last week when FBI task force agents conducted searches of at least four locations in New Mexico and arrested two more men, who are now facing drug trafficking charges. Investigators also recovered methaphetamines, fentanyl pills, weapons and a 40 mm gas grenade launcher stolen from the Albuquerque Police Department in 2019. The searches also turned up more clues about white supremacist groups with links to New Mexico, such as contact information for members of the Aryan Warriors gang originally based in the Nevada prison system. The information was found in the prison cell of an inmate serving time in a northeast New Mexico prison. Open for business Overall, the FBI investigation appears to show why Albuquerque has become more attractive as an illegal drug distribution destination over the past year, according to the affidavit. At least one of the confidential sources cited in the affidavit told the FBI that in Phoenix, for example, homeless people were selling fentanyl tablets for $1 each. That compares to $3 to $10 a pill in Albuquerque, according to a Journal report last December. We had to push east to Albuquerque to make money, the informant was quoted as telling the FBI. Albuquerque was described as being a neutral or unregulated by organized crime and open for business, the affidavit states. The same informant related that Albuquerque did not have a gang that regulated who sold (drugs) in the city or taxed the dealers that did, thus organizations could come in and sell drugs uninhibited by a dominant organized crime element, the affidavit added. According to the investigation, an Arizona-based white power prison gang has been sending methamphetamine and fentanyl to bulk dealers in Albuquerque for at least a year, the affidavit states. Distributors also included members of non-white power gangs such as Albuquerques Westside Locos and Los Padillas gangs. At the same time, firearms from New Mexico are being moved west by white power gang members to Arizona for the cartel. The cartel ships them across the U.S.-Mexico border via the Nogales port of entry, along with ammunition. The Sinaloa cartel pays $1,500 per AK-47 or AR-15 rifle or trade methamphetamines and fentanyl for guns, the affidavit stated. New job In Pannhorsts case, the affidavit alleges he often drove a vehicle loaded with drugs to Albuquerque and then flew on a private airplane back to Arizona. He would deliver drugs and collect money owed to the drug trafficking organization. Investigators paid close attention to his Facebook page to chronicle his travels. In one post, Pannhorst states he started a new job March 7 but gave no details. The affidavit cites a video on his Facebook page dated Feb. 28 showing a man seated on a private plane. Theres another photo of him dated March 9 driving a Range Rover, with the caption, Nice day to push the range rover got more whips (cars) than most got kicks (shoes), the affidavit stated. Another photo on his Facebook page shows a thick wad of cash in a heavily tatooed hand. Elsewhere on his page he declared, IM RICH. Pannhorst, a member of the 23 Boyz gang in Arizona, was listed as living in an apartment on Albuquerques West side when he was arrested as a fugitive here on March 16. He was wanted for violating probation for four armed robberies in Arizona and court records say he was recently extradited back to that state. Efforts to locate an attorney representing him in Arizona werent successful late Friday. FBI moves in The affidavit seeking court permission to search four locations last week states that investigators hoped to collect evidence of violation of federal drug trafficking, firearms and racketeering laws, and believed the raids would help the FBI in disrupting and dismantling several drug supply houses in Albuquerque. During the searches, agents seized more than 31,000 fentanyl pills, a quarter pound of methamphetamines, nine firearms, two ballistic vests, two cars and an RV, according to inventories filed Friday in federal court. Agents also recovered a 40-mm gas grenade launcher that was stolen from an Albuquerque Police Department vehicle in 2019. A search of the prison cell of Larry Dwayne Daugherty, an Aryan Warrior member from Nevada housed at Northeastern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Clayton, recovered gang writing, gang photos and contact information for other Aryan Warrior gang members. Daugherty, aka Gunner, is alleged to have been distributing heroin, Suboxone and fentanyl pills at the prison and is awaiting trial in the 2nd Judicial District in Albuquerque for possession of a dangerous weapon (a shank), according to the affidavit. Shamon Pacheco, 30, a suspected Westside Locos street gang member who has at least 15 prior arrests in New Mexico, was arrested on state drug-trafficking charges as a result of the discovery of drugs, guns and the grenade launcher. Agents also arrested Orlando Diaz, aka Junior, 39, who is believed to be a member of the G-Town gang from Glendale, Arizona, and currently living in Albuquerque. He is assisting the drug-trafficking organization distribute methaphetamine and fentanyl, the affidavit stated. Court records show he is charged as a fugitive from Arizona and with violating state drug-trafficking laws. Efforts to reach attorneys for Pacheco, Diaz and Daugherty werent successful late Friday. Collecting a debt The FBI affidavit noted that just weeks ago a showdown occurred in Albuquerque over a $96,000 drug debt owed to the cartel, which had enlisted Pacheco, Diaz and others to help the Sinaloa Cartel collect the money from a Los Padillas gang member who was behind on his payments. The cartel wanted him killed if he didnt pay. After a negotiation, Pannhorst, acting as a negotiator, was able to collect $25,000 for the cartel and the hit was cancelled. But, the affidavit added that the cartel may still decide to impose discipline. I have observed some of the Target Subjects to be supportive of each other, with mutual acquaintances, Acee wrote in the affidavit, while others may not know each other or may be competitors; yet all share a nefarious business model and geographic similarity. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in a massive steel plant in the last known pocket of resistance inside the shattered city of Mariupol ignored a surrender-or-die ultimatum from Russia on Sunday and held out against the capture of the strategically vital port. The fall of Mariupol, the site of a merciless 7-week-old siege that has reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin, would be Moscows biggest victory of the war and free up troops to take part in a potentially climactic battle for control of Ukraines industrial east. Capturing the southern city would also allow Russia to fully secure a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, and deprive Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets. As its missiles and rockets slammed into other parts of the country, Russia estimated that 2,500 Ukrainian troops and about 400 foreign mercenaries were dug in at the sprawling Azovstal steel mill, which covers more than 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is laced with tunnels. Many Mariupol civilians, including children, are also sheltering at the Azovstal plant, Mikhail Vershinin, head of the citys patrol police, told Mariupol television on Sunday. He said they are hiding from Russian shelling, and from any occupying Russian soldiers. Moscow had given the defenders a midday deadline to surrender and keep their lives, but the Ukrainians rejected it, as theyve done with previous ultimatums. We will fight absolutely to the end, to the win, in this war, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal vowed on ABCs This Week. He said Ukraine is prepared to end the war through diplomacy if possible, but we do not have intention to surrender. As for besieged Mariupol, there appeared to be little hope Sunday of military rescue by Ukrainian forces anytime soon. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS Face the Nation that the remaining Ukrainian troops and civilians in Mariupol are basically encircled. He said they continue their struggle, but that the city effectively doesnt exist anymore because of massive destruction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent Easter greetings via Twitter, saying: The Lords Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil. If Mariupol falls, Russian forces there are expected to join an all-out offensive in the coming days for control of the Donbas, the eastern industrial region that the Kremlin is bent on capturing after failing in its bid to take Kyiv, Ukraines capital. The relentless bombardment and street fighting in Mariupol have killed at least 21,000 people, by the Ukrainians estimate. A maternity hospital was hit by a lethal Russian airstrike in the opening weeks of the war, and about 300 people were reported killed in the bombing of a theater where civilians were taking shelter. An estimated 100,000 remained in the city out of a prewar population of 450,000, trapped without food, water, heat or electricity in a siege that has made Mariupol the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman, said in announcing the latest ultimatum. Drone footage carried by the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti showed towering plumes of smoke over the steel complex, which sits on the outskirts of the bombed-out city, on the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described Mariupol as a shield defending Ukraine as Russian troops prepare for battle in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory. Russian forces, meanwhile, carried out aerial attacks near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraines military capacity ahead of the anticipated assault. After the humiliating sinking of the flagship of Russias Black Sea Fleet last week in what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack, the Kremlin had vowed to step up strikes on the capital. Russia said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Explosions were also reported overnight in Kramatorsk, the eastern city where rockets earlier this month killed at least 57 people at a train station crowded with civilians trying to evacuate ahead of the Russian offensive. At least five people were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, on Sunday, regional officials said. The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left the streets scattered with broken glass and other debris, including part of at least one rocket. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, in an impassioned address marking Orthodox Palm Sunday, lashed out at Russian forces for not letting up the bombing campaign on such a sacred day. And Zelenskyy, in his nightly address to the nation, called the bombing in Kharkiv nothing but deliberate terror. A regional official in eastern Ukraine said at least two people were killed when Russian forces fired at residential buildings in the town of Zolote, near the front line in the Donbas. Zelenskyy said Russian troops in parts of southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world to respond with more weapons and tougher sanctions. Torture chambers are built there, he said in his address. They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities. Malyar, the Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the Russians continued to hit Mariupol with airstrikes and could be getting ready for an amphibious landing to reinforce their ground troops. The looming offensive in the east, if successful, would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory that he could sell to the Russian people amid the wars mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the Wests sanctions. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin in Moscow this week the first European leader to do so since the invasion Feb. 24 said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war, and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine. ___ Chernov reported from Kharkiv. Yesica Fisch in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal LAS VEGAS, N.M. Maria Gilvarry spends her mornings scanning maps of the Hermits Peak Fire and the Gallinas watershed northwest of Las Vegas. The City of Las Vegas utilities director carefully looks for where the two areas overlap. About half the wildfire is burning in the watershed the citys main water supply source. Ash that comes from the fire that ends up in the river could then end up in our water system, and it becomes untreatable, Gilvarry said. The fire, which began as a prescribed burn, could force the city to rely on its reservoirs for water this summer. Las Vegas diverts water from the Gallinas River to reservoirs for temporary storage. A treatment plant then disinfects the water, and a gravity-driven system distributes water to customers. Las Vegas can store up to 430 million gallons of water in three off-river reservoirs: city-owned Bradner and Peterson, and the privately operated Storrie Lake. If enough ash ends up in the river, the city would stop diverting water and rely on reservoir storage. For how long, Gilvarry said, will depend on how much rain the area receives this summer and the results of water quality tests. Heavy rains could wash ash downriver rapidly, she said, and light rains might not even be too noticeable. The last time wildfire ash significantly affected the watershed, Las Vegas stayed off the river supply for about eight weeks. The city, which has 13,000 residents, has enough stored water to supply residents for that amount of time. We would probably institute more stringent conservation to minimize water waste if we are limited to what we have in storage, Gilvarry said. Las Vegas could request state assistance or water supply from neighboring communities if the city needed to stop diverting for an extended period. Bradner Reservoir has been undergoing repairs for several years and is not yet back online for residential supply. But this week, helicopters dipped into Bradner for water to fight the fire. Prescribed burn The Hermits Peak Fire began on April 6 as a prescribed burn a centuries-old practice of intentionally setting fires to thin forests and mimic natural fire cycles. But when afternoon winds blew the fire outside of the project boundaries, crews declared the incident a wildfire. The team called in additional crews for a full suppression attack. Santa Fe National Forest officials have apologized for the fire. Steve Romero, the Pecos/Las Vegas District ranger, noted the importance of the forest and watershed to the community. We take full responsibility, and with a heavy heart, Romero said. We are really sorry for what happened. Romero said that the April 6 controlled burn was going well, and said the forecast told the crew they had favorable conditions. But as often happens, whether its wildfire or prescribed burning, changes can occur unexpectedly, he said. Along with the apology, the district ranger pointed to prescribed burns and thinning as some of the best tools for healthier forests. Forests, climate Matthew Hurteau, a University of New Mexico biology professor and forest ecologist, said using prescribed fire is key for addressing decades of fuel buildup. But the projects are not without risks. Hurteaus field work studies forest management and trees that thrive in post-fire landscapes. We tend to fixate on a single cause when it comes to fire, but really its a three-pronged cause to this, he said. Forests that once had natural fire cycles at least every few decades have been fire suppressed and have grown into densely forested areas. Human-caused climate change is making ecosystems drier and more flammable, and communities have been built into densely forested landscapes. As the atmosphere becomes drier, forest vegetation doesnt store as much water. Then when we have weak winters with limited snowfall, the soils dry and dead wood is dry, and the whole forest becomes a lot more flammable, Hurteau said. The scientist pointed to the Big Hole Fire along the Rio Grande in Belen as a sign of a changing climate. That bosque should be super wet from snow right now, and its not, Hurteau said. Evacuate or stay? A week after the start of the Hermits Peak Fire, Cyn Palmer was at an evacuation shelter set up in the gym of Memorial Middle School in Las Vegas. Palmer, a retired wildlife manager, lives in a small residence between Rociada and Pendaries, north of Hermits Peak. I left Saturday (April 9), she said. Or maybe it was Sunday. The days are getting confused. Palmer is staying at the home of a friend in Mora. She is at the shelter not to seek help but to offer it. The gym is filled with water bottles, stacks of canned foods and other necessities. Not many people are staying overnight. But those displaced by the fire stop by to pick up things they need while living in the houses of friends or relatives, or in camper trailers. Im extremely impressed with how this community has pulled together, Palmer said. People donate food. Restaurants bring hot food. There has been such an outpouring of people who want to help. Its heartwarming that at a time when there is so much division in our country, we have neighbors helping neighbors, friends helping friends and strangers helping strangers. Palmers home is stucco with a metal roof. When she evacuated, she managed to take a couple of treasured paintings off the wall, a few pieces of pottery she had created herself, some favorite items of clothing and important papers. A photographer and a ceramicist, she was forced to leave behind her photographs, most of her pottery and her books, which she considers lifelong friends. She has seen her share of wildfires, having worked over the years as a wildlife manager for a number of state and federal agencies. But this is the first one in which I have been so impacted, she said. On Thursday morning, Gary Morton was watching the Hermits Peak Fire burn on a ridge just south of his house in Sapello, about 13 miles north of Las Vegas. His house, parts of which are a log cabin built a hundred years ago, has been without power for awhile. Theres a lot of inconvenience, but Im not worried about the fire, he said in a phone interview. Its close, within half a mile. But its on the other side of the highway. Morton is the resident ranch hand and caretaker for 300 acres in Sapello. No cattle are grazing the property now, but there are five horses. Evacuation is mandatory for this area, but Morton said he found out you cant be forced to leave. So I didnt, he said. I sit up at night and watch the fire. There are a lot of resources here, trucks going down the road. I see four trucks sitting at the houses of neighbors. They are in protection mode. Today, I see men on foot and hear chainsaws running. They are actually afoot on that ridge and cutting on that stuff. The wind has laid down today, but it is supposed to be coming back this afternoon. It can blow up with the wind and get out of control again. Editors Note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct amount of storage space available for the Las Vegas city water supply. Thats why he doesnt understand why the Forest Service ignited a prescribed burn. A controlled burn out of control, he said. It has been one of the driest winters in recent memory. I dont care what the weather reports say, I dont think Im going to drop a match. We have been having wind up here for two weeks. We have had timber blow down and all kinds of stuff. Palmer never worked for the Forest Service, but she is willing to give the agency the benefit of the doubt. There is a reason they do prescribed burns, she said. They are trying to manage the resources for the future. No one ever wants anyone to lose their home or lose their livestock. I dont think this is the time to levy criticism. This is the time to pull together, to have each others back and support each other. When the fire is out will be the time to look at what could have been done differently. Palmer said we should not overlook what she considers the root cause of wildfires these days. I strongly feel that any discussion about the cause of this fire should also include serious discussion of climate change, she said. Because the truth is climate change has an enormous impact on the frequency, the severity and ferocity of the fires we are experiencing in New Mexico these days. Both Palmer and Morton are aware of the threat the Hermits Peak Fire poses to the Gallinas watershed. There is a concern for the integrity of the watershed, Palmer said. I have no doubt the people who are fighting this fire are taking that into consideration. In the meantime, city officials are working to keep the reservoirs full and free from ash. The impact may be less severe if the fire doesnt burn more of the watershed. We wont know until the rains come, Gilvarry said. But if you get ash in a reservoir or lake, it could be years before that body of water is healthy again. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal PUEBLO DE COCHITI Inside a portable building, a handful of children sit in a semicircle as their teacher holds up four fingers while explaining the connection between Easter and traditional spring dances. The lesson plays out entirely in the dialect of Keres, spoken only by members of their pueblo. Its a promising model, tribal leaders and others say, for the revival of Indigenous languages threatened with extinction. The Keres Childrens Learning Center lies in the heart of the Pueblo de Cochiti, serving 14 students of mixed ages in early childhood and elementary classrooms. The oldest a 12-year-old boy serves as an informal mentor and example to the younger children. The small school began classes about 10 years ago after Trisha Moquin o, then a public school teacher, decided the language instruction her students received just 45 minutes a day of Keres wasnt enough to fully revitalize the language. I think it came down to the question of, Would I put my daughter in my own classroom? My answer was no, Moquino said in an interview. She left the elementary school and helped found the learning center based on the Montessori model, allowing early childhood students to be immersed in Keres. The school also has a dual-language elementary classroom in Keres and English. The centers work, tribal leaders say, reflects the Pueblo de Cochitis own values and culture an abrupt contrast to the discrimination Native American students endured through efforts at forced assimilation. Pueblo de Cochiti Gov. Phillip Quintana said its heartening to see students learning in the language he was forbidden to speak at school as a child in the 1960s. When you see how intelligent, how smart those kids are to grasp it so quickly, Quintana said, I just know theres a future for us, from these kids learning our language. On a recent morning, children sat on the classroom floor around Bernard Suina, a cultural language teacher. He held an object in the shape of a cross and gestured sometimes with his left hand as he and the students appeared to trade questions and responses in Keres. The lesson, Moquino explained later, covered the pueblos traditional calendar and the way it celebrates Easter through spring dances. Moquino said she doesnt dispute the need for kids to learn and speak English, but the learning center elevates the prestige of Keres by making it the language of the classroom. It also, she said, influences the way the students behave. Our language naturally perpetuates the value of being a community, Moquino said, not just thinking of ones self. The Keres Childrens Learning Center is a nonprofit school funded largely by private charitable foundations, in addition to a federal Esther Martinez language immersion grant, named after the late Tewa language preservationist and linguist from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. The school operates out of a 20-year-old portable building inside the Pueblo de Cochiti, a 40-minute drive southwest of Santa Fe. Its supporters are seeking about $6 million in funding through grants and donations to construct a building that would allow for an expansion to serve infants, toddlers and older adolescents. Our children really deserve this facility we believe, Curtis Chavez, the centers director of development, said in an interview. Christine Sims, a University of New Mexico professor with expertise in educational linguistics and American Indian education, describes the Keres center as a promising model for how we could support the development of Native languages very early on. A similar immersion program, she said, is underway for some students at Jemez Pueblo. To appreciate the uniqueness of these languages that exist in New Mexico, Sims said, is something that our state should recognize, and certainly our Legislature should understand, more fully. Were one of very few states in the United States where these languages still exist. In fact, New Mexico is the only place that some languages are spoken. State Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, said the Keres Childrens Learning Center is a fantastic example of what could be done at other pueblos, many of which already offer less formal language instruction for youngsters. His own 2-year-old son, he said, now comes back from day care at Sandia Pueblo recognizing and repeating words in Tiwa, the language of the pueblo. Its vital, Lente said, for our language and culture to be taught by our own people, to our own people. SANTA FE Even after failing a test that set her back a semester, Maribel Rodriguez will return to nursing school this fall with a generous new state scholarship that abandons eligibility criteria to help more working adults get a college degree. New Mexico is expanding its Opportunity Scholarship, which has already paid for Rodriguezs tuition and allowed her to apply for federal grants toward living expenses like gas and groceries. Shes reapplying to the nursing program and hopes to finish her degree without racking up debt that could hurt her husband and three children. I didnt think a whole lot of opportunities were really out there for me at my age, said Rodriguez, 37, of Lovington, who left college at 19 in part because she couldnt afford rent. Even though if we missed it whenever we were younger theres still hope for us. Many states including New Mexico have for years offered free tuition programs for four-year degrees to residents, but the programs had restrictions, limiting participation to recent high school graduates and requiring that they attend school full-time. Supporters of those restrictions say they incentivize students to finish their degree and narrow the number of students who participate, reducing costs. But critics argue they create too many hurdles for students to succeed, especially those who are low-income and struggling to work, pay rent and raise a family. New Mexicos revamped program provides students with more flexibility, including attending college part-time and allowing them to use federal grants for personal expenses. Theres no requirement to finish in a set number of years. It opens the door for a lot of people, especially people who started a degree and had to leave for some reason, said Kathy Levine, financial aid director at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola. Still, Levine and other college counselors hesitate to promise students future funding. Most of the $75 million expansion of the program relied on one-time federal pandemic relief and is authorized for only one year. If funding is reduced, students could find themselves without support midway into their degree or certificate program. As recently as 2017, New Mexico cut its other college scholarship program to just 60% of tuition because of an unexpected drop in state revenue. State officials say that program, the Lottery Scholarship, is now solvent at 100% for at least the next four years. New Mexicos governor and Legislature hope the expanded Opportunity Scholarship will be enough to reverse the states dismal education outcomes. Only Mississippi has a lower percentage of four-year-degree holders, at 23%, according to Census estimates. Since 2020, the program has been used by 10,000 state residents pursuing associates degree programs, including nursing. It checks all those boxes, very robust, certainly stands out as a national model, Jessica Thompson, vice president of the left-leaning think tank The Institute for College Access and Success, said of the revised program. But Thompson warns that states are often ill-equipped to promise generous programs to students long-term because their revenues are so closely tied to the whims of the economy. Thompson says other states like Oregon have authorized generous programs for undergrads, only to cut them when budgets were lean. In 2020, Oregon had to cut its budget and tell 1,070 low-income students they wouldnt receive the aid previously promised to them. This month, Oregon announced its doubling its cost-of-living grant for low-income students. New Mexico officials had estimated that roughly 35,000 students could participate in the expanded program. But that number will likely shrink because universities across the state already have raised tuition, disappointing state higher education officials. New Mexico Tech raised tuition by 9%, citing increased costs and the availability of the new scholarships. Others raised tuition by around 4%. Starting in July, universities will have to negotiate with the state on tuition increase limits if they want to participate in the free tuition program. But the law didnt prevent them from increasing tuition before that date. At least for next year, the expanded program also will make existing support for recent high school graduates even more generous by allowing them to use federal funding for personal expenses, in addition to the existing Lottery Scholarship that pays their tuition. Thats welcome news at an arts school in Santa Fe where students discussed their plans with a New Mexico State University recruiter on a lunch break. Some of our parents are still paying back their loans from college, said junior Zoe McDonald, 17, an aspiring cinematographer. Painter Cruz Davis-Martinez, 18, knows he wants a four-year degree and is comparing the University of New Mexico and two schools in other states. A lot of my high school career, unfortunately, was spent taking dual credit, Davis-Martinez said, because I had that financial insecurity. At age 15, he started traveling 40 minutes so he could take advantage of free college classes paid for by his high school. The idea was to earn college credits so he could save money in college. Now hes realizing he can attend all the classes he needs without going into debt and without having to work so much that it cripples his academic performance. Under New Mexicos new plan, hell get more support than expected, though the exact cost of college is unclear. State officials are still writing the final rules for the program, including what fees will be covered and how much universities can raise tuition. Thompson said its important for students to be able to pursue their education without the threat of debt hanging over them. Still, she thinks the state is one economic downturn away from cutting benefits and that the federal government needs to fund more of these programs. Ill be surprised if New Mexico can sustain this without, you know, continued federal engagement and involvement in funding, she said. And I dont think other states can follow them. HAMPTON, S.C. Authorities in South Carolina are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Sunday that wounded at least nine people. It was the second mass shooting in the state and the third in the nation during the Easter holiday weekend. The shootings in South Carolina and one in Pittsburgh, in which two minors were killed early Sunday, also left at least 31 people wounded. No one was reported killed in the violence at Caras Lounge in Hampton County, roughly 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Charleston, according to an email from South Carolinas State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating the shooting. A phone call to the nightclub was not answered. In Pittsburgh, two male youths were killed and at least eight people wounded when shots were fired during a party at a short-term rental property. The vast majority of the hundreds of people at the party were underage, the citys Police Chief Scott Schubert told reporters. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified the two victims as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17. Investigators believe there were multiple shooters, and Schubert said police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home. The two shootings come just a day after gunfire erupted at a busy mall in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Sundays nightclub shooting. Nine people were shot, and five people sustained other kinds of injuries while trying to flee the scene at the Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. None faced life-threatening injuries. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. The only person arrested in the mall shooting so far is Jewayne M. Price, 22, one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest. Prices attorney, Todd Rutherford, told news outlets Sunday that his client fired a gun at the mall, but in self-defense. Rutherford said Price faces a charge of unlawfully carrying a pistol because he legally owned his gun but did not have a permit to carry a weapon. Columbia police said on Twitter that a judge agreed Sunday to let Price leave jail on a $25,000 surety bond. He was to be on house arrest with an ankle monitor, police said. It was unprovoked by him. He called the police, turned himself in, turned over the firearm that was used in this, and gave a statement to the Columbia Police Department, Rutherford said, according to WMBF-TV. That is why he got a $25,000 bond. Police said the judge will allow Price to travel from home to work during certain hours each day. Price is forbidden from contacting the victims and anyone else involved in the shooting. South Carolina residents age 21 or older can get a weapons permit, which as of last year allows them to carry weapons openly or concealed. They must have eight hours of gun training and pass a background check that includes fingerprinting. The three Easter weekend mass shootings are in addition to other gun violence in recent days. Last week, a gunman opened fire in a New York subway car, wounding 10 people. A suspect was arrested the next day. Earlier this month, six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy downtown area just blocks from the state Capitol. One week ago, a shooting inside a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. And last month, 10 people were shot at a spring break party in Dallas and several others were injured as they tried to escape the gunfire. PRESCOTT, Ariz. More than eight decades after a sacred baptismal font mysteriously disappeared from a historic Catholic church in Caborca, Mexico, two Prescott men were successful in their years-long mission to return the vessel to its rightful home. Along the way, the two men relied on a combination of friendship, diplomacy and persistence to navigate nearly 15 years of ups and downs in international negotiations, The Daily Courier reported. Prescott residents Robert Greninger and Ed Williams both long-time members of the Prescott-Caborca Sister City organization were honored recently in Caborca, Sonora, Mexico, for the crucial role they played in restoring the original baptismal font and its associated vessels to Caborcas signature church, the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. Greninger, who has been involved with the Prescott Sister City organization since 1999 and has served as its president, remembers the day in 2008 when he was touring the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church with Gloria Elena Santini, a leader of Caborcas efforts to restore the 1809-era church in time for its 200th anniversary. We came to the baptismal room, and I asked, what happened to the font (a receptacle that holds baptismal water)?' Greninger recalled after returning from his latest visit to Caborca. He was told that the font had been taken from the church in 1937 by a young Arizona student. No one knows for sure why the woman took the font, Greninger said, but one theory is that she feared for the safety of the font in the era of anti-clerical sentiments during the 1930s reformation of the Catholic Church in Mexico. Regardless of the reason, the font would remain in Arizona for the next 84 years first in a private home collection, and later in the Arizona Historical Societys Tucson museum as the property of the State of Arizona. Although the Tucson museum had offered to temporarily lend the sacred artifact to the Caborca church, Greninger said the Caborcans were interested only in having the font returned permanently to its rightful home. That finally happened on April 4, when the font was officially signed over to the Caborca church. An agreement had been reached in August 2021 between the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, the Arizona Historical Society, the Historic Temple Board, ecclesiastical authorities, and members of the two Sister City organization. The baptismal font was then returned to Mexico, after which it spent several months at the National Anthropologic Museum in Mexico City. In early April, Greninger and Williams, along with several other Prescott members of the Prescott-Caborca Sister City Organization, traveled to Caborca for official signing over of the font. In celebration of the return of the font to the historic mission church, the two men were awarded ceremonial keys to the town of Caborca and were celebrated for their long efforts in getting the font back. To a person, (the people of Caborca) said this wouldnt have happened without your assistance,' Greninger said. Back in 2008, he had made a promise to get the font back to Caborca, and he said its return to a community that he has come to think of as family was especially gratifying. Sister Cities is about bringing people together one community at a time, Greninger said of the U.S. organization that was the inspiration of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower after he witnessed the carnage and devastation of the World War II and the Korean Conflict. The Prescott-Caborca Sister City partnership was formed in 1972 and is currently celebrating its 50th year. Greninger sees the type of person-to-person efforts that he and Williams engaged in as the embodiment of the Sister Cities goal. What better way to do that than to do something important for the citizens of the community? he said. After Greninger took that tour of the Caborca church in 2008, he remembers thinking about the missing font through the night. When he met with Santini again the next day, he told her he would do what he could to bring the font back to Caborca. Soon after that meeting, Greninger contacted Williams, a retired University of Arizona professor of political science, who had crucial connections on both sides of the border. I lived in Tucson for many years, and I had contacts in Mexico, Williams said. The collaboration between Williams and Greninger would lead to years of meetings with a broad range of state, federal, and museum officials, including representatives from Arizona Gov. Doug Duceys office. We spent the next frustrating 15 years begging, cajoling, and pleading with both U.S. and Mexican authorities to reach an agreement to return the font and vessels to the church in Caborca, Greninger wrote in an account of the saga. He and Williams say the return of the font became a passionate cause. I often told people, I wont die until I get that font back,' Greninger said. Most of people they met with during the course of the negotiations were amenable to the idea of getting the font back to Caborca, Greninger and Williams said. I dont think we ever met with any resistance, Williams said. Still, things never seemed to progress to the point of an agreement, until Mexicos First Lady Beatriz Gutierrez Muller became involved. Soon after that, Greninger and Williams said, there was an agreement. Noting that the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception of Caborca Church has ties back to Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a missionary of the late 1600s and early 1700s, Greninger said, Padre Kino is smiling. WASHINGTON The cake was made from frozen fruit juice, sweet potatoes, carrots and sugar cane and it lasted about 15 minutes once giant panda mama Mei Xiang and her cub Xiao Qi Ji got hold of it. The National Zoos most famous tenants had an enthusiastic breakfast Saturday in front of adoring crowds as the zoo celebrated 50 years of its iconic panda exchange agreement with the Chinese government. Xiao Qi Jis father Tian Tian largely sat out the morning festivities, munching bamboo in a neighboring enclosure with the sounds of his chomping clearly audible during a statement by Chinese ambassador Qin Gang. The ambassador praised the bears as a symbol of the friendship between the nations. Pandas are almost entirely solitary by nature, and in the wild Tian Tian would probably never even meet his child. He received a similar cake for lunch. In addition to hailing the 1972 agreement sparked by President Richard Nixons landmark visit to China, Saturdays celebration also highlighted the success of the global giant panda breeding program, which has helped bring the bears back from the brink of extinction. Xiao Qi Jis birth in August 2020 was hailed as a near miracle, due to Mei Xiangs advanced age and the fact that zoo staff performed the artificial insemination procedure under tight restrictions shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shut the entire zoo. At age 22, Mei Xiang was the oldest giant panda to successfully give birth in the United States. Normally they would have used a combination of frozen sperm and fresh semen extracted from Tian Tian. But in order to minimize the number of close-quarters medical procedures, zoo officials used only frozen semen. It was definitely a long-shot pregnancy, said Bryan Amaral, the zoos senior curator for mammals. In honor of that long shot, the now 20-month-old cub was given a name that translates as little miracle. His birth in mid-pandemic sparked a fresh wave of panda-mania, with viewership on the zoos panda-cam livestream spiking by 1,200 percent. I know how passionate people are about pandas, Amaral said. Im not surprised by that passion at all. Sure enough, crowds started streaming straight for the panda section at 8 a.m. when the zoo opened. Sisters Lorelai and Everley Greenwell, age 6 and 5, ran toward the enclosure chanting Pandas! Pandas! They watched the cub tumble around, try to wrestle his mom and tear the zero off the giant 50 emblazoned on the ice cake. They knew this was coming, said their mother Kayleigh Greenwell of Mount Ranier, Maryland, said of her girls. Weve been talking about it all week. The zoos original 1972 panda pair, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were star attractions at the zoo for decades, but panda pregnancies are notoriously tricky and none of their cubs survived. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian arrived in 2000, and the pair has successfully birthed three other cubs: Tai Shan, Bao Bao and Bei Bei also by artificial insemination. All were transported to China at age 4, under terms of the zoos agreement with the Chinese government. Similar agreements with zoos around the world have helped revitalize the giant panda population. Down to just over 1000 bears in the 1980s, the species has since been removed from the lists of animals in danger of extinction. Pastor John Sherwood, the Christian street preacher arrested last year in West London for alleged homophobic hate speech, has been cleared in Uxbridge Magistrates' Court. His colleague Peter Simpson confirmed his acquittal on April 7 to the Conservative Woman website. Mr Sherwood's defence centred on his freedom "to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority" as set out in Article 10 of the 1998 Human Rights Act, Mr Simpson said. On April 23 2021 Metropolitan police officers arrested the pastor near Uxbridge tube station. He had been preaching on Genesis 1:27 and said that the family unit as ordained by God consisted of a father and a mother, not two fathers or two mothers. Some passers-by complained to the police that he was using homophobic hate speech. The pastor, then 71, was arrested, held overnight at a police station and in September was charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which outlaws "threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress". The nature of Mr Sherwood's arrest, which was captured on video, was condemned as "brutal" by campaign group Christian Concern. At the trial almost a year later, "the public gallery was full with Christians showing their support for a man of God who is willing to stand up for the truths of Scripture," Mr Simpson reported. Pastor Sherwood defied the convention in English courts since the Covid outbreak of defendants and witnesses not holding a holy book but instead reading out from a card the affirmation that they will speak the truth. He insisted on bringing his own Bible and the presiding judge allowed him to swear on that. "How appropriate to swear on the book which would form the basis of his defence," Mr Simpson said. Reposted with permission from Christian Today Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal All evacuations in place for the destructive McBride Fire were lifted Sunday morning, after firefighters made progress containing the blaze. The fire, which started last Tuesday afternoon, has burned 6,159 acres and is 56% contained. For days the fire burning in and around the small mountainous southern New Mexico village had been considered 0% contained. Kerry Gladden, a spokeswoman for the village of Ruidoso, said Sunday during a media briefing that officials at 10 a.m. were lifting the final evacuation orders still in place for residents who lived in lower Eagle Creek and Gavilan Canyon Road from Warrior Drive south to Highway 70. You are now able to go back and check your properties and get your stuff back home, she said. Sunday marked the first time that some residents could return to their properties since being told to evacuate on Tuesday and Wednesday. The blaze has killed two people and destroyed 207 homes plus other structures since it sparked Tuesday afternoon and spread to the northeast. The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to fire officials. Sunday marked the first time that fire crews reported any progress containing the fire, and they are expecting the containment to increase in the coming days, said Dave Bales, the commander of the Southwest Incident Management Team, which took charge of firefighting efforts on Thursday morning. Bales said that power was being restored to the remaining customers without power Sunday. The increase in containment, were able to repopulate folks into evacuated areas, Im hearing all power has been restored to everyone out there, thats great news on Easter Sunday, he said during a media briefing. The weather is cooperating with us as well, and we have all the resources we need. The Nogal Canyon Fire, which is burning one mile south of the town of Nogal Canyon west of Ruidoso, has burned 433 acres and is 48% contained. That fire has destroyed six homes. A handful of evacuation orders remained in place on Sunday. Hermits Peak Fire Other communities around New Mexico are battling fires. The Hermits Peak Fire, which started April 6 about 12 miles northwest of Las Vegas, New Mexico, by Hermits Peak and the Pecos Wilderness, has consumed 7,514 acres. Fire officials said Sunday the fire was 46% contained. That fire was started accidently during a prescribed burn. It is threatening the Gallinas watershed, which is the city of Las Vegas main water supply source. Big Hole Fire The Big Hole Fire started on private land in Valencia County. It has burned 890 acres and was 80% contained on Sunday, according to a fire Incident Information System. The cause of the fire is under investigation. #LONDON UK scientists may have discovered the worlds first cure for heart attacks using the same mRNA technology as COVID vaccines. The human heart has no capacity to heal itself after a heart attack. But with the new technique called genetic tracking - built on the same technology used to create Pfizer and Modernas COVID vaccines - can help new heart cells replace the dead ones and instead of forming a scar, develop new muscle tissue. A team at Kings College London tracked genetic codes called mRNAs which are injected into the heart to produce proteins that would generate healthy heart cells. We are all born with a set number of muscle cells in our heart and they are exactly the same ones we will die with. Our goal has been to find a treatment that can convince surviving cells to proliferate, lead researcher Professor Mauro Giacca was quoted as saying. Regenerating a damaged human heart has been a dream until a few years ago, but can now become a reality. We are using exactly the same technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inject micro RNAs to the heart, reaching surviving heart cells and pushing their proliferation, Giacca said. Besides helping hearts regenerate, the mRNAs also work towards a treatment to stop cells from dying during a heart attack. Heart attack and stroke accounted for 85 per cent of 17.9 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases globally. Scientists believe the new RNA (ribonucleic acid) therapy could revolutionise cardiovascular medicine and stop millions of heart attacks from progressing toward heart failure, the report said. The technology tested first to regenerate damaged pig hearts has so far been successful. Tests on humans are due in the next two years. Hepatitis cases up among kids in US, UK, Spain #NEWDELHI The US, UK and Spain are seeing a rise in cases of acute hepatitis of unknown causes among children. Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver and is commonly the result of a viral infection. In a statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the causes behind the unexpected cases in the countries remain unknown, but the health authorities suspect links to the COVID-19 virus or adenovirus in several of the cases. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has written 36 letters, starting in August 2020, to many agencies FDA, CDC, NIH, NIAID, HHS, and DoD about the mishandling of COVID-19, lack of transparency, adverse events, lack of early treatment, vaccine mandates, and health care freedom. The DoD has not provided a single response. Some of the other agencies have responded, although the majority of the responses received were considered incomplete. The grossly inadequate reaction to Senator Johnson's legitimate oversight demonstrates a level of arrogance toward the American public that is unacceptable. In particular, the lack of transparency from federal health agencies has eroded public confidence in the agencies, which will take years (and probably a complete restructuring) to repair. Perhaps most concerning is the treatment of those in our military, who have been given an unconstitutional mandate to receive the experimental vaccine or face being ejected. The fact that there is irrefutable evidence of vaccine adverse events for the military members getting the vaccine and expulsion for those who don't, poses a real threat to our nation's defense capabilities. On 24 August 2021, the secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, issued a memorandum directing the secretaries of the military departments to "immediately begin full vaccination of all members of the Armed Forces under Department of Defense (DoD) authority on active duty or in the Ready Reserve, including the National Guard, who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19." The memorandum stated that "[m]andatory vaccination against COVID-19 will only use COVID-19 vaccines that receive full licensure from the FDA in accordance with the FDA-approved labeling and guidance. In light of the FDA's statement that "there is not sufficient approved [supply]" of Comirnaty, the only fully licensed vaccine, Senator Johnson, in a 12 October 2021 letter , asked Secretary Austin how the DoD will comply with the vaccine mandate. Despite this lack of clarity, DoD has begun discharging service members "for not obeying orders to get vaccinated." Reports indicate that on 13 December 2021, the Air Force discharged 27 service members for noncompliance. The discharge classification of these 27 veterans is uncertain, as is their eligibility for veteran benefits. On 24 January 2022, Senator Johnson held a roundtable featuring world-renowned doctors and medical experts who shared their perspectives on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and safety and the overall response to the pandemic. At the roundtable, Thomas Renz, an attorney who is representing three DoD whistleblowers, revealed disturbing information regarding dramatic increases in medical diagnoses among military personnel. The concern is that these increases may be related to the COVID-19 vaccines being mandated to our military members. Based on the data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED), Renz reported that these whistleblowers found a significant increase in registered diagnoses on DMED for miscarriages, cancer, and many other medical conditions in 2021 compared to a five-year average from 2016 to 2020. At the roundtable, Renz stated that the registered diagnoses for neurological issues increased 10 times from a five-year average of 82,000 to 863,000 in 2021. There were also increases in registered diagnoses in 2021 for the following medical conditions: Hypertension 2,181% increase Disease of the Nervous System 1,048% increase Multiple Sclerosis 680% increase Breast Cancer 487% increase Female Infertility 472% increase Testicular Cancer 369% increase Renz went on to inform Senator Johnson that some DMED data showing registered diagnoses of myocarditis had been removed from the database. Upon hearing this news, Senator Johnson, on 24 January 2022, sent Secretary Austin a letter requesting he preserve all records referring, relating, or reported to the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED). Instead of responding to Senator Johnson, the DoD responded to PolitiFact about allegations relating to the same database. On 31 January 2022, a week after Senator Johnson sent a letter to Secretary Austin, the DoD responded to reports about the increased diagnosis of medical conditions in the DMED in 2021, compared to the previous five years. Specifically, a DoD spokesperson reportedly told PolitiFact that the data in DMED were "incorrect for the year 20162020." Secretary Austin and the DoD responded to PolitiFact before Senator Johnson, who was conducting critical oversight for the health and well-being of our men and women in uniform. This act is highly problematic and inappropriate. It reeks of deceit and nefarious conduct. In early February 2022, Renz released a 35-page unclassified DoD document titled "Senior Leaders Brief COVID-19." This brief, dated 12 January 2022, appeared to contain the data that Senator Johnson had been requesting from Secretary Austin. Specifically, the document showed that for all service members, approximately 76% are fully vaccinated, 16% are partially vaccinated, and 8% are not vaccinated or unknown. If this brief is authentic, which it appears to be, why didn't Secretary Austin provide this information to Senator Johnson when he originally asked for it over four months ago? In February 2022, Andreas Schofbeck , a board member of BKK ProVita (BKK), a health insurance company that insures almost 11 million in Germany, estimated that as many as 3 million Germans received medical treatment due to adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. In January 2022, Scott Davison, the chief executive officer of OneAmerica, an insurance company headquartered in Indiana, reported a 40% increase in the death rates of working-age people ages 1864 in the third quarter of 2021. Prior to the pandemic, Mr. Davison stated that a 10% increase was a "one-in-200-year catastrophe," so the 40% increase is "unheard of." The reported DMED data and the OneAmerica and BKK ProVita insurance data combined with the government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System ( VAERS ) data, reporting over 2.0 million adverse effects and 26,000 deaths (estimated to be just 1% of the total adverse reports) from the experimental vaccine, should be alarming and addressed. They should not be ignored and suppressed and, for those who bring it up, canceled or fired. The actions of the DoD still pushing vaccine mandates that are causing harm and discharging service members who "refuse to be vaccinated for COVID-19" are directly threatening our nation's defense capabilities. America deserves better. Secretary Austin needs to be fully transparent and cooperate with Senator Johnson providing critical congressional oversight on a consequential matter that will have dire effects on the future of America and her citizens. Image: qimono via Pixabay, Pixabay License. In June, the Supreme Court will review a case challenging a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion advocates are worried that, if the court, increasingly viewed as conservative, reverses the constitutional right to abortion, then 26 states may go ahead and ban abortion. This case and a Texas fetal-heartbeat law prohibiting abortion past six weeks have energized them into fervent campaigning. Democrat states are rallying with them by proposing laws allowing abortions right up to childbirthand beyond. Indeed, a Maryland bill may effectively legalize infanticide. How did America reach a stage in which legislatures entertain the idea that an individuals right can take precedence over the right to life? The blame lies with advocacy groups dyed in leftist, feminist, and critical theory ideology. A systemic flaw they have exploited is the sponsored bill. It allows them to write a billclause, comma, and full stopand gets it proposed by a pliant or sympathetic legislator. More on that in a future column. This one looks at how America has become so deeply divided by abortion laws that states discuss without guilt the murder of newborns. Two landmark Supreme Court casesRoe v. Wade in 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992decided the fate of fetuses in the U.S. Both upheld a womans constitutional right to seek an abortion. Casey doubled the first trimester borderline for abortions to 24 weeks (about six months) but with allowance for appraisal of fetus viability. States could therefore legislate restrictions between the end of the first trimester and the end of 24 weeks. The Mississippi law of 2018the Gestational Age Actis one such law. The Jackson Womens Health Organization, the only remaining abortion provider in the state, has challenged the law. Citing Roe, Casey, and decades of precedent, the Organization claimed that the law was unconstitutional. Lower courts placed an injunction on the state, preventing it from enforcing the Act, whereupon Mississippi petitioned the Supreme Court. Oral arguments were heard in the case (Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health ) in December; a final ruling is expected this summer, with a decision on whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional. Mississippi takes the position that when an issue affects everyone and when the Constitution does not take sides on it, it belongs to the people. It hopes to convince the Supreme Court to reverse both Roe, which legitimized abortion as a constitutional right, and Casey, which was based on an arbitrary viability position. The issue would then return to the states. Organizations and individuals who support reproductive freedom and believe limits on pregnancy termination are a violation of human rights have already drawn the state-level battle lines in anticipation. Democrats, who draw strength from such groups, are seizing the opportunity to woo them by promising abortion havens. Last year, the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibiting abortion past six weeks, was enforced after the Supreme Court turned down a plea for relief filed by abortion providers in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom of California responded by pledging to expand and protect access to the procedure, turning his state into a sanctuary for abortion. He said, I am outraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Texass ban on most abortions to take effect. Silently, in the dead of night, the Supreme Court has eviscerated the fundamental protection of a womans right to choose that Roe v. Wade has protected for the last 50 years. Image: Pro-life rally at the Supreme Court by Elvert Barnes. CC BY-SA 2.0. In December, Newsom formed the California Future of Abortion Council (CA FAB), comprising 40 organizations, including the American Civil Rights Union, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL Pro-Choice, to identify barriers to abortion services and make policy recommendations. Planned Parenthood Associates of California have proposed eight sponsored billsa legislative package that bypasses voters opinions. One of those eight bills, AB 2223, proposed in the California State Assembly by Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), will decriminalize the killing of newborns up until the first month of life. It will not only shield a mother from civil and criminal charges but also allow her to sue any police department or legal authority for charging or arresting her for killing her child. AB 2223 passed the Assembly Judicial Committee on April 5; the Assembly Health Committee will consider it on April 19. If approved there, it will go for a vote in the Assembly. Wicks says she put forth the bill after two California women who suffered stillbirths related to their extensive drug use were prosecuted and jailed for fetal murder. The cases were dismissed on the interpretation that the statute used was meant to criminalize violence done to pregnant women that caused fetal death, not a womans own actions resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth. Another bill, SB 1375proposed by Sen Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and not sponsored by Planned Parenthoodallows nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and physicians assistants to perform first-trimester abortions without a physicians supervision. The bill takes no account of the fact that women will be endangered if standards are dropped to put access before considerations of outcome. Colorado, meanwhile, has already become the abortion sanctuary that Governor Newsom soon wants to make California. Last month, the House and Senate passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act, permitting abortion-on-demand for any reason, even for minors. Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed it into law on April 4. It outlaws government interference in reproductive healthcare. Presuming to define life itself, the law says a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state. The sinister Maryland bill (SB0669), introduced recently, will prevent investigations and legal penalties at any point in the pregnancy as well as perinatal deaths related to failure to act up to the first 28 days after birth. In clear language, it affirms that fetuses neither have personhood nor any rights. It allows for a baby surviving an abortion to die without care with no penalties applied to providers. This gives the green light to exterminating unwanted and disabled babies. Lawsuits may be brought against authorities pursuing investigations or charges. It remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will rule on the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health case. Pro-abortion groups are trying to raise an alarm by presenting the view that if the court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortion will become illegal. This is not true. The case hinges on a conflict between the Roe v. Wade ruling and court assertions that states have an interest in limiting abortion and protecting vulnerable and innocent life from the point of conception. What an overturning will doif it happensis let legislators, influenced by abortion advocacy groups, make it possible for people to go unprosecuted for causing death by neglect or other means of children up to one month of age. A far cry from abortion up to the point of viability. America, as a society, must decide how much it values life. Alexandra Hunt is a House candidate in the Democrat primaries in Pennsylvania. While the media focuses on her past as a stripper, what struck me are her nihilistic values, although framed in the language of love and thoughtfulness. She is the modern Democrat party. I read about Hunt at Fox News, which thinks her stripper past is the most noteworthy thing about her, even before her abortion beliefs: Former stripper running for Congress says climate emergency partially prompted decision to get an abortion. The key facts in the article are that Hunt worked part-time as a stripper in college, that she got an abortion at 18, that she just started an OnlyFans account, and that she sells campaign swag saying Elect Hoes (which seems to be a stronger statement than being a part-time stripper) and I may have danced for money but Im no corporate whore. Hunts website provides a few more pertinent details. Her parents were teachers and she attended the nice suburban school where they taught despite living in Rochester. She attended the University of Richmond, earning a degree in Psychology, and then attended Drexel and got a Master of Public Health degree from Temple University. Shes now a public health researcher. What interested me most was the reason Hunt had an abortion: In a May 2021 video posted to Twitter, Hunt described what led her to get an abortion a decade ago. When I was 18, I was part of the 2% of people who can get pregnant on birth control and I found out I was pregnant. And I decided that I was not ready to bring a child in this world and I decided to get an abortion, Hunt says in the video. Hunt went on to say that the state of the world back then, and today, was not the kind of place she would want to bring a child into anyway. I as a person was not ready to bring a child into this world, but also the world was not in a state and is not, 10 years later, is not in a state that I wanted to bring a child into yet, which is my decision to make, she said. She also lists the reasons she thought the world was not in a state for her to raise a child. My generation faces a lack of jobs, a lack of living wage, a housing crisis, an affordable housing crisis, a student debt crisis, the climate emergency, the prison-industrial complex, and the list goes on and on. And I wanted to offer my child better. Image: Alexandra Hunt. YouTube screen grab. This is what leftism has done to Americas young people. To herand her generationthe world is a disaster. Abortion is just one answer in a litany of leftist ideas. There is no present, no future, and no hope. The fact that each of these disasters could be reversed by abandoning the policies her party espouses doesnt occur to her: Lack of jobs and lack of a living wage: The Democrat party has systematically wrecked the economy and job prospects through business-killing regulations, the hunt for clean energy, and Weimar-style money printing. Hunt wants more plus socialized medicine. Change those policies and there will be jobs and decent wages. The (affordable) housing crisis: Its the Democrats who have pushed rent control in cities making decent housing unavailable; destroyed urban schools so that, as even Elizabeth Warren figured out, suburban homes around good schools skyrocketed in value, and supported Vanguard and BlackRock as they bought up housing stock across America from landlords destroyed by COVID rent moratoriums. A student debt crisis: Democrats see nothing wrong in telling a womyns studies major that its reasonable to take out $300,000 in loans to get three degrees. Theyre comfortable with Harvard, which has about $53 billion in its endowment, churning out unemployable graduates while expecting the public to step up to all that debt. The climate emergency: There is no climate emergency, although it defines the fears, demands, and nihilism of Hunts generation more than anything else does. The prison-industrial complex: If you look at the crime tearing apart American communities, especially minority communities, the problem isnt too much prison; its too little. Or as Fox Butterfield memorably asked, It has become a comforting story: for five straight years, crime has been falling, led by a drop in murder, Butterfield wrote in 1997. So why is the number of inmates in prisons and jails around the nation still going up? Hunt, of course, supports de-incarceration. Hunt is not a sign of youthful optimism in the Democrat party or the redemption of someone who sexualized her body for money. She is, instead, an incredibly depressing example of the nihilism Democrat party policies and values have created. She is the person leading America to a dead end, rather than an optimistic, economically successful future. As Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine stretches into its second month, Volodymyr Zelensky's heroic leadership is inspiring countless influencers and artists across the world. Ukrainian models and influencers flood their social media with war memes and tributes to Zelensky and Ukraine's surprisingly strong military. One unique artist lending his talents to Ukraine's cause from the other side of the world is Bekay. Bekay is Brooklyn's white Jewish rapper, aka #WHITEMAMBA, who has worked with some of the music world's heavyweights including Masta Ace, Marco Polo, and DJ Revolution, among many others, and was one of the last to collaborate with Ol' Dirty Bastard, on "Where Brooklyn At?" Bekay has been all over New York's commercial and underground radio over the years, making his mark as he goes. Now he's making his mark on the war and the times and stupidity that spawned it in his brilliant new cut, "War in Review." In this blistering track, Bekay destroys Vladimir Putin as a "psycho" with nukes bent on subjugating Ukraine and dominating the world. He doesn't stop there. After riffing on COVID and sliding into Putin's war, Bekay notes, "You can't social distance a bomb." He also rips NATO for staying on the sidelines while Zelensky, Ukraine's Jewish president, is compared to the first-century Jews who held out against Rome. He also rips Joe Biden and Europe for buying Russian oil during the war, financing Putin's war machine. Bekay also takes aim at the story the mainstream media relentlessly covered up from 2020 until this year: Hunter Biden and his corrupt deals with China and his connections to the war in Ukraine. Bekay's treatment of the president's drug-addict, stripper-impregnating son, who used his connections to score millions for the Biden crime family, is...deserved. You'll have to listen to fully appreciate and enjoy it. "War in Review" also looks forward to what's likely to happen if the U.S. and Europe allow Ukraine to fall: "If we let this go then Taiwan is next." Just so we're clear on the consequences of this: What happens over there will definitely affect you wherever you are. Taiwan makes about 90% of the advanced computer chips we use and about 60 to 65% of the world's computer chips overall. Eastern and southern Ukraine supply about 90% of the neon the US uses in computer chips. If Russia captures Ukraine, and then China captures Taiwan, there goes freedom for millions, and those two dictatorships can bring the world to its technological knees. As long as Europe buys Russian oil and gas, Putin can strangle the Europeans whenever he feels like it. Don't think for a second that Putin and Xi wouldn't do it. As raps go, Bekay's "War" shows a better understanding of the world than anything Joe Biden or any of CNN's talking heads have ever said. He manages to squeeze in the perilous state of life in Biden's America in 2022 without ever taking his foot off the gas. Speaking of which, Bekay raps on why you're paying so much at the pump, too, in one of the most hilarious lines of the song. Barack Obama once famously said, "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f--- things up." Millions of Americans did underestimate that, and maybe you're one of them, who voted for Biden thinking he would just make everything normal again. The centrist that millions bought into isn't the president they got, and the world is aflame, with Biden and his extremist handlers either igniting or fostering disaster after disaster and laughing at you while the world burns. Put Bekay's "War in Review" on your playlist from now to the midterms. It will make you laugh, make you angry, make you think, and motivate you to vote Biden and his radical bums out of power. A.J. Rice is the author of the upcoming book The Woking Dead: How Society's Vogue Virus Destroys Our Culture. He serves as CEO of Publius PR, a premier communications firm in Washington, D.C. Image: Bekay via YouTube. Were you to walk the streets of many American cities, you would never know that this Sunday is Resurrection Day, more often called "Easter." The most important event in human history, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, is celebrated with great reverence and fanfare by Christians around the world, but on American streets that reality is hard to find. A couple of years ago, Jesse Waters did a "man on the street" Easter quiz in NYC. Some did not even know there was such an event as the resurrection of Christ, let alone a holiday to commemorate it. One woman said Jesus was probably Muslim but that she wasn't sure because she "didn't know him." Another said that Easter Sunday celebrates Jesus' second resurrection. Still a third, when asked what Good Friday means to her said, "Nothing. I don't shop." Secular America is Resurrection ignorant because all vestiges of the founding principles and the Judeo-Christian ethic have been removed from schools and from the culture. Entire generations only know the name Jesus Christ to use it to swear. Secularists are loathe to recognize Christianity and Judaism as legitimate religions and are more likely to recognize holidays such as Ramadan and Kwanzaa. This attitude is promoted country-wide by secularists and people of other faiths. Mainline churches in America are closing or fragmenting. People who identify as having no religion at all (nones) are on the increase, which is why American streets are filled with Resurrection ignorance. But there is good news for Christians: Non-denominational churches are on the upswing. Churches in Africa, China, and elsewhere are thriving and growing. It seems many Christians are hungry for a more biblical, less woke Christianity. This is a good sign. It reveals a hunger for guard rails, for rules, for some structure in life, for hope, for a place to put their sins. Perhaps people are getting tired of getting their way and doing as they please. Perhaps they want something to worship other than themselves. The bodily resurrection of Christ is at the core of Christianity. Without it, Christianity is dead. St. Paul told Christians that if Jesus did not rise bodily, ".your faith is in vain." With that in mind, it is interesting to note that atheists are still doing their best to attack the Resurrection. They believe that if they can only find Jesus nail-scarred skeleton, they may rid the world of this pesky religion for good. They are whistling in the wind. People have been trying to kill Jesus and His followers for millennia, but the drop in church attendance is not the death knell atheists hope it is. It was foretold in the Bible in the Gospel of Matthew: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it." The cultural gate through which the "nones" are flowing is very wide. Millions are rushing through it. The gate through which Christians are going is very narrow. Few will enter. The biblical narrowing of the gate is aligned perfectly with what is supposed to happen -- the reduced presence of the Christian church. When it is all over, the number of wide-gate people will be staggering, the number of narrow-gate people will be small. Resurrection is for the few, not the many. Atheists should take no comfort in the decline of the church in America. The reverse should be the case; they should be nervous. This Resurrection Day, Easter Sunday, is a day of choices for Americans. In America, wide-gate secularism seems to reign supreme right now but that is an illusion. Christians here in America celebrate Resurrection Day with the assurance of what is to come. Americans have a choice and our prayers are that they will choose the narrow gate. Image: PxHere The Florida Department of Education has rejected 41% of the books submitted to it for mathematics instruction in public schools. It wasnt that the math in the books was bad; it was that the publishers were using the books as a vehicle for pushing hard-left social issues. Even worse, the bulk of these improper books (71%) was aimed at the youngest students Kindergarten through 5th grade. At least in Florida, the government is not going to de-educate its students with woke math, something thats already happening at Durham University in England. Here's just part of the press release. You can read the rest here. Today, Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran approved Floridas initial adoption list for mathematics instructional materials properly aligned to Floridas Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards. The approved list followed a thorough review of submissions at the Department, which found 41 percent of the submitted textbooks were impermissible with either Floridas new standards or contained prohibited topics the most in Floridas history. Reasons for rejecting textbooks included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core, and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics. The highest number of books rejected were for grade levels K-5, where an alarming 71 percent were not appropriately aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies. Despite rejecting 41 percent of materials submitted, every core mathematics course and grade is covered with at least one textbook. Overall, Florida is initially not including 54 of the 132 (41 percent) submitted textbooks on the states adopted list. The full breakdown is below: 78 of 132 total submitted textbooks are being included on the states adopted list. 28 (21 percent) are not included on the adopted list because they incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT. 12 (9 percent) are not included on the adopted list because they do not properly align to B.E.S.T. Standards. 14 (11 percent) are not included on the adopted list because they do not properly align to B.E.S.T. Standards and incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT. Grades K-5: 71 percent of materials were rejected. Grades 6-8: 20 percent of materials were rejected. Grades 9-12: 35 percent of materials were rejected. You can read the rest here. Floridas stand against leftist math books is important. For a long time, leftist indoctrination was limited to the liberal arts. For example, Shakespeare, with his deep wisdom about the human condition, got pushed out in favor of teaching high school students about life in a South African brothel (as was the case with my children). Image: Mathematical formulas by jcomb. Freepik license. However, Democrats have now pushed wokeness into the STEM classes. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, for those unfamiliar with the acronym.) And as always, England is leading the way. Durham University is aggressively working to decolonise [sic; British spelling] its math program: The prestigious institution, ranked seventh in the UK for their maths curriculum, asked academics to question themselves if they are citing mostly white or male mathematicians in a bid to decolonise the syllabus and make the topic more open. All staff have been asked to consider giving short biographies of the research they will be citing within the module to ensure the subject can be used to assist in trying to achieve equality. The guide says that if mathematicians are almost completely (or even completely) white and/or male, ask yourself why they are. See if you can find contributions to the field from mathematicians of other genders/ethnicities. According to The Telegraph, Durham University scientists were asked to investigate how the power of 10, represented by the word "billion", differs from country to country, and how ancient Indian astronomer Brahmagupta assigned a different meaning to the value of zero. On their website, the university said decolonising the mathematical curriculum means considering the cultural origins of the mathematical concepts, focuses, and notation we most commonly use. The important thing to remember about the left is that it considers everything to be a vehicle for indoctrination. There is no topic too small, no child too young, and no fact too firm that it cannot be bent to the purpose of advancing leftism within a society. Kudos to Florida for taking a stand. Other states need to follow suit or else, before we know it, our engineers will no longer know how to build a safe bridge but will be able to lecture us about Brahmagupta, who produced his theories in 7th-century India. He was clearly an extraordinary genius, but he did not contribute measurably to the technological Western world in which we function. One of the most visible signs of our federal governments corruption is the treatment being meted out to the January 6 prisoners, who have been deprived of their express and inherent rights under the Constitution, one of which is the right to an impartial judge. Dustin Thompson, however, was not accorded that right, as Judge Reggie Walton explicitly showed his political bias and hostility to Thompson. Walton should have recused himself before the trial. With the trial over, at the very least, the judgment should be reversed. Ideally, Walton would be removed from the bench and disbarred. The Bill of Rights describes rights inherent in the individual; they are not gifts from the government. All Americans enjoy them automatically and the government may override these rights only by showing an overwhelming need to do so. When it comes to the January 6 martyrs, however, the federal government under Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland has deprived these martyrs of multiple rights. Specifically: the First Amendment (most of the defendants were peaceably assembling because the police let them into the Capitol), the Fifth Amendment (for they have been deprived of life, liberty, and property for over a year without due process), the Sixth Amendment (theyve been deprived of speedy trials and the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusations against them), and the Eighth Amendment (being denied bail is tantamount to impermissible excessive bail). In addition to the explicit rights set forth above, there is an implicit right that underlies the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments: An impartial judge or a judge who is moral enough to rise above his own prejudices in the interests of justice. Indeed, that requirement is embedded in each of the five Canons that make up the Code of Conduct for United States Judges: Canon 1: A Judge Should Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary Canon 2: A Judge Should Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities Canon 3: A Judge Should Perform the Duties of the Office Fairly, Impartially and Diligently Canon 4: A Judge May Engage in Extrajudicial Activities That are Consistent With the Obligations of Judicial Office Canon 5: A Judge Should Refrain From Political Activity D.C. District Court Judge Reggie Walton failed this requirement spectacularly. Whats surprising is that Walton is not a Clinton, Obama, or Biden appointee. He is, instead, a product of the Reagan and Bush eras. However, as the last five years have demonstrated, some of the most fevered hatred for Donald Trump and his supporters comes from the NeverTrump crowd. Image: Judge Reggie Walton. Public domain. You only need to look to the Lincoln Project, Jennifer Rubin, and David French to see how the GOP/RINO conservatives were literally driven insane when Trump crashed their little D.C. party. Suddenly, it wasnt enough to mouth conservative platitudes while quietly supporting Democrat policies that benefitted a transnational elite, all while attending the best D.C. and New York cocktail parties. Trump demanded that American politics benefit the American people and that solicitude for the great unwashed broke them. And thats how we get Judge Waltons disgraceful behavior from the bench. The Gateway Pundit looks at what happened to Dustin Thompson in court, leading to his conviction on one felony and several misdemeanors, all revolving around his having entered the Capitol and walked out with a coatrack and bulletproof vest. (And do keep in mind that, across Democrat-run America, including D.C., the criminal justice system doesnt even bother with non-violent theft unless its in the six figures or higher.) The Gateway Pundit diagnosed a few major problems. First, Thompson was massively depressed and incapable of connecting emotionally with the jury. He just sat there. He couldnt even describe what led to his actions on January 6 and no one came to support him at his trial. Thompsons defense attorney was also a travesty, calling his own client a rioter and insurrectionist, failing to introduce any pro-defense witnesses, asking Thompson How does it feel to commit a crime?, and showing excessive social warmth to the prosecutors, whom he treated as his buddies. Talk about incompetent counsel, something which is also a ground for a retrial. The worst thing, though, was Judge Walton, who insulted Thompson in front of the jury for daring to support a president of whom Walton disapproved: As the defense played Trumps speech before the jury, he spoke words of disdain for President Trump and Rudy Giuliani. He did not stop. Anyone who follows Trump is weak-minded. Thompson is a flight risk, Walton continued, as Thompson was shackled and taken from the courtroom. Judge Walton, Trump is a charlatan who caused an insurgency. He is tearing America apart. Thats the reason why our country is falling apart. I am proud of the jury for doing this. In 35 years as a lawyer, almost all in the leftist San Francisco Bay Area, Ive never seen a judge show this type of bias in front of a jury, and I have seen some pretty horrible judges over the years. Walton should be disbarred. That wont happen but his disgraceful, indecent, unprofessional conduct certainly justifies a reversal and dismissal on appeal. 1. United Nations is worthless. We knew this when ISIS invaded Iraq and systematically destroyed ancient peaceful societies including the Yazidis. Where was the UN when there was clear genocide against these religious people who were not the particular flavor of Islam that ISIS favored? The UN was created to stop war but has done nothing to that effect. 2. NATO is a HYDRA fighting itself. The Hydra from Greek mythology is a multi-headed monster (reptile) which is what NATO has become. However, some heads of the monster chose a path that favors the individual country at the harm of the collective group. It is well known that Chancellor Angela Merkel retired Germany's nuclear energy program in favor of importing natural gas from Russia (not really a green policy). Trump was criticized for pointing this out when he visited NATO in 2018. "We're supposed to protect you against Russia but they're paying billions of dollars to Russia?" Trump asked. "I think that's very inappropriate." This was at the same time that Germany was not contributing to NATO the 2% of GDP that was agreed. Trump pointed out: So were paying 4 to 4.3% when Germany is paying 1 to 1.2% at max 1.2% of a much smaller GDP. That is not fair, Trump said. 3. The leaders of the Free World are weak. Yes, there is the fear of World War III because Russia may use a nuclear weapon. However, the world cannot allow a rogue nation like Russia, using this threat of nuclear weapons, to attack without provocation a peaceful and sovereign country like Ukraine. What will happen when Iran and other countries (e.g., North Korea) develop nuclear weapons along with their existing ballistic missiles? Will the world allow them to attack sovereign countries because the rogue nation threatens the use of nuclear war? It is time for a Churchill or a Reagan to step forward on the world stage and show strength and not timidity. NATO should provide Ukraine with all the military equipment that is requested for its defense, and Russia should be reminded that the use of a nuclear weapon will result in assured national destruction. Owen Murphy is Professor Emeritus, School of Computer Science and Engineering, California State University, San Bernardino Ukraine, Russian rockets hit a Kiev suburb No to humanitarian corridors. Abramovich attempt for peace talks (ANSA) - TRIESTE, 17 APR - Air raid sirens sounded this morning in almost all regions of Ukraine and explosions were heard this morning in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The rockets hit the suburb of Brovary in Kiev. According to the mayor, Ihor Sapozhko, reports CNN, infrastructure has been damaged and Brovary now risks the interruption of electricity and water. BATTLE IN AZOVSTAL STEEL MILL - Up to 400 foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Ukrainian forces have been surrounded in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said today. Interfax reports. As is well known, the large steel plant - which with its vast network of tunnels makes it possible to escape enemy assaults - has become the base of the nationalist Azov battalion. STOP HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS - Ukrainian authorities announced the suspension of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from eastern Ukraine, due to the lack of an agreement with the Russian army on the ceasefire. "This morning we failed to negotiate a ceasefire on evacuation routes with the occupiers. That is why, unfortunately, we will not open humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram. ZELENSKY, IT'S A GENOCIDE - "Russia in Ukraine is committing genocide. They are not killing soldiers, they are killing civilians". This was said by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with CNN that will be aired in full at 9am on Sunday (3pm in Italy). "We have audio and video evidence in which you can hear the Russians saying that they hate us and that they will destroy us," Zelensky said again in previews broadcast by the American all news. ABRAMOVICH IN KIEV - Billionaire Roman Abramovich has travelled to Kiev in an attempt to resume peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which have stalled after evidence of Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians emerged. Informed sources told Bloomberg news agency. A spokesman for the Russian billionaire denied that he is in Ukraine. Abramovich reportedly had a meeting with Ukrainian negotiators to discuss ways to restart negotiations. The Russian billionaire, who has long-standing ties with Vladimir Putin, has acted as a mediator since the start of the war at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AMERICAN WEAPONS - The first weapons of the latest $800 million package of military aid provided by the United States to Kiev "have begun to arrive." A White House official told CNN. (ANSA). Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved Ukraine: Zelensky to Biden, we need weapons immediately Children killed by traps. Moscow, NATO in Arctic increases risks (ANSA) - TRIESTE, 17 APR - The situation in the besieged city of Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces are exhausted and the Russians have stepped up their attacks, is becoming increasingly dramatic. "Mariupol has not yet fallen because the soldiers defending it will fight until the end," Ukrainian Prime Minister Smihal said. The lack of an agreement between the two sides has blocked humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians for today, and shelling by the Russian army on the country's main cities, including the capital Kiev, continues. "The battle for the Donbass is very important for us," Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN recorded a few days ago, stressing that Kiev "will not give up that part of territory because doing so could affect the course of the war". The first weapons from the latest $800 million package of military aid provided by the United States to Kiev 'have started to arrive'. Zelensky to Biden: 'We need more weapons now not in months'. Meanwhile, Moscow is concerned about NATO military exercises in northern Norway, which increase the risk of "unintentional accidents" in the Arctic. CHILDREN KILLED BY TRAPS IN THE NORTH-EAST - Five Ukrainian children have been killed by mines and traps left by Russian soldiers in the town of Trostianets, in the Sumy region, in the north-east of the country. This was reported by Mayor Yurii Bova in a comment to Channel 24, quoted by a Ukrinform correspondent. "Five children have already been killed by mines and several traps. Injuries have also been reported. There are many such devices," Bova said. The head of the Sumy regional military administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said earlier that hundreds of mines are found in the region every day. WOMEN COMBATANTS IN MARIUPOL - Also defending Mariupol to the end were a hundred women fighters. They remained among the ranks of those who did not abandon the city under Russian siege, witnessed journalist Tetyana Danylenko. Among them was Staff Sergeant Olena Kushnir, a doctor in the National Guard, who died in the latest clashes. Olena had managed to evacuate her young son in the past few days. In the first days of the war she had lost her husband. In March, she made a video in which she testified to the martyrdom of the city and asked the West for help: "Don't pity me, I am a doctor, a fighter, I am Ukrainian, I am doing my duty", she said. IN THE TERRITORIES AFTER THE RUSSIAN RETREAT - In Borodyanka, in the Kiev region, the bodies of 41 people were pulled out from under the rubble. In the Kiev region, the dramatic toll of civilians killed is worsening, with over a thousand bodies found. BATTLE IN AZOVSTAL STEEL MILL - Up to 400 foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Ukrainian forces have been surrounded in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said today. Interfax reports. As is well known, the large steel plant - which with its vast network of tunnels makes it possible to escape enemy assaults - has become the base of the nationalist Azov battalion. The Russian armed forces have offered the defenders of Mariupol to cease hostilities and lay down their arms by 6 a.m. this morning (Sunday) Moscow time (5 a.m. in Italy), guaranteeing their lives in exchange. This was stated in a statement by General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's National Defence Management Centre, which commands the Mariupol siege. "If they continue to resist, they will all be eliminated." This is the message from the Russian Defence Ministry to the Ukrainian resistance barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, after the ultimatum for surrender expired. This was reported by the Russian Interfax news agency, citing ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. "The group of Ukrainian forces, encircled and pinned down in the steel plant, was offered to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender to save their lives" but Kiev has forbidden the Azov regiment from negotiating the surrender, Konashenkov added according to Interfax, citing some intercepted radio conversations. (ANSA). Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved The Archbishop of Canterbury said families across the country are waking up in fear because of the cost-of-living crisis. In his Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Justin Welby spoke of his concern for families struggling with rising energy and food prices as well as for those bereaved by Covid-19. The Archbishop also called for a ceasefire in the Russian war on Ukraine and condemned the Governments plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda as the opposite of the nature of God. He said: Families across the country are waking up to cold homes and empty stomachs as we face the greatest cost-of-living crisis we have known in our lifetimes. And because of this they wake up with fear. He later added: For many in this country the news from Ukraine is terrible, but the rising cost of power, fuel and basic food will be the first and overwhelming thought of the day. For others it will be the continued deep sense of loss of someone from Covid, or during Covid, to whom they could not say a proper farewell. The news might move on, but grief does not. Speaking about the Governments plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, the Archbishop said Christs resurrection should be a time for repentance and renewal, not for sub-contracting our responsibilities. He said: The principle must stand the judgment of God and it cannot. It cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death. It cannot carry the weight of the resurrection that was first to the least valued, for it privileges the rich and strong. And it cannot carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values, because sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gives a sermon during a Choral Evensong at Chichester Cathedral (Andrew Matthews/PA) On the war in Ukraine, he said: Ukrainians have woken up to the end of the world as they knew it. Now they are awakened by the noises of war, and the sickening reality of terror. They wake up to mortal fear. He later added: Let this be a time for Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. This is a time for resetting the ways of peace, not for what Bismarck called blood and iron. Let Christ prevail! Let the darkness of war be banished. Reflecting on what the resurrection means for us as individuals, the Archbishop said: In dying for us, he sees and knows the wounds that cause us so much pain. He hears the cry of the mothers in Ukraine, he sees the fear of boys too young to become soldiers, and he knows the vulnerability of the orphans and refugees. Closer to home, he sees the humiliation of the grandparent visiting the foodbank for the first time, the desperate choice of parents in poverty and the grief and weariness of the pandemic. The resurrection of Jesus is not a magic wand that makes the world perfect. But the resurrection of Christ is the tectonic shift in the way the cosmos works. It is the conquest of death and the opening of eternal life, through Jesus a gift offered to every human being who reaches out to him. The Archbishop gave another sermon at the 11am service, which was followed by rare applause from the congregation. He repeated parts of his sermon from the earlier, including his comments on Rwanda and referencing Volodymyr Zelenskys speech on March 3 in which the Ukrainian president said the end of the world has arrived. In his second sermon, the Archbishop elaborated on this, saying: All that they knew was not only under threat, it was being obliterated. The end of the world had arrived and we know that what they are experiencing has been experienced in even greater magnitude by Syrians and South Sudanese, by Afghanis and those having to flee from Myanmar, by so many others, those for whom the end of the world has arrived. The Archbishop of Canterbury has misunderstood the aims of the Governments plans to send migrants to Rwanda in criticising the new policy, a Cabinet minister has said. Plans announced by ministers this week have been deemed ungodly by religious leaders, with Justin Welby claiming sending migrants to the African country would not stand up to the scrutiny of the Lord. In his Easter sermon, the archbishop said sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures. But Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Church of Englands most senior clergyman is mistaken. Speaking on Radio 4s The World This Weekend programme, he said: I think he misunderstands what the policy is trying to achieve, and that it isnt an abandonment of responsibility, it is in fact a taking on of a very difficult responsibility. The problem that is being dealt with is that people are risking their lives in the hands of people traffickers, to get into this country illegally. Now, its not the illegal bit of it, it is the encouragement of people traffickers that needs to be stopped. He said 90% of people coming are young men who by coming via people traffickers are jumping the queue for others. Mr Rees-Mogg added: They are in doing so not only risking their lives but supporting organised crime. What we need to do is focus on legal routes into this country, of which there are quite a number. It comes as an exchange of letters published by the Home Office on Saturday night showed the departments Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft warned Home Secretary Priti Patel that although the policy was regular, proper and feasible, there was uncertainty surrounding the value for money of the proposal. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan minister Vincent Biruta signed the migration partnership deal in the east African nations capital Kigali on Thursday (Flora Thompson/PA) But issuing a rare ministerial direction compelling the plans to go ahead despite the concern, Ms Patel said that without action, costs will continue to rise, lives will continue to be lost. Under the plans, which the Government said will curb migrant crossings of the English Channel in small boats, people who are deemed to have entered Britain by unlawful means since January 1 may be sent to Rwanda, where they will be permitted to apply for asylum in the African country. But Mr Welby said there are serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas. He said: The details are for politics. The principle must stand the judgment of God, and it cannot. It cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death. It cannot carry the weight of the resurrection that was first to the least valued, for it privileges the rich and strong. He was joined in his criticism by the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who used his Easter Sunday sermon at York Minster to describe the policy as depressing and distressing. He said: We can do better than this. We can do better than this because of what we see in Jesus Christ, the risen Christ, with a vision for our humanity where barriers are broken down, not new obstacles put in the path. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said the Rwanda policy is distressing (Danny Lawson/PA) After all, there is in law no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. It is the people who exploit them that we need to crack down on, not our sisters and brothers in their need. We dont need to build more barriers and cower in the darkness of the shadows they create Do we want to continue to be known as a country that opens proper, legitimate pathways for all who flee violence, conflict and oppression, not just those from Ukraine, but also those fleeing other conflicts and the effect of climate change? However, Mr Rees-Mogg suggested the plans may also be an opportunity for Rwanda. He said: What is being done is providing an opportunity for Rwanda because it will provide Rwanda, a country that needs support and has gone through terrible troubles and the Rwandan story is almost an Easter story of redemption, isnt it? Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Governments intentions with the policy are good (Aaron Chown/PA) Of a country that suffered the most appalling and horrific genocide and is now recovering and therefore the UK supporting it must be a good thing. It helps people come through legitimate routes and I think the aim of the policy within Christianity intention is always very important and the intention of the Government is to do good. The Home Office insisted the UK has a proud history of supporting those in need and that Rwanda is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. The policy has enjoyed some support from Conservative MPs, who say the issue of small boats crossing the Channel is high on the priority list for constituents. Ms Patel said she expects other countries to follow the UKs example, suggesting Denmark could be among those to reproduce the Governments blueprint, while the Home Office insisted its approach is not in breach of refugee agreements. An illegal rave that attracted more than 1,000 people has been dispersed 21 hours after police first ordered revellers to leave the site. The crowds descended on a site close to the village of East Lulworth at around half-past midnight on Sunday, Dorset Police said. The force cordoned off roads and ordered people to leave using powers under the Public Order Act, but by 1pm the party was still in full swing. The force issued a plea to revellers not to cross military training land in a bid to get to the rave. #LatestNews An unauthorised gathering of people in the East Lulworth area has been dispersed. For further information follow this link https://t.co/6bQQVAeqrX @DWFireRescue pic.twitter.com/KVkWQv3uNu Dorset Police (@dorsetpolice) April 17, 2022 At 9pm, Dorset Police said the last of the partygoers and vehicles had left. Officers were aided by the Ministry of Defence, Dorset Council and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to break up the rave. A post about the event on Dorset Polices Facebook page received more than 1,000 comments on Easter Sunday mostly telling the force not to ruin the party and comparing it to lockdown rule-breaking by politicians. One Facebook user commented: Well, from what Ive heard they were only there for less than 10 minutes, and its a business meeting. Boris can do what he wants, so they can too. Why not try and find some real criminal behaviour? Another said: Theyre just having a bit of cake for 10 minutes to polish off the cheese and wine! When the people that govern our country dont even follow the rules how can you expect a few peaceful, happy, music loving ravers to do so. Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said on Sunday evening: Throughout the incident we worked in partnership with other public sector and military agencies to achieve the positive resolution. Police officers entered the site and directed people to leave the scene of the unlawful gathering using powers under the Public Order Act. She continued: Due to the large scale of the event and the inherent impact of dispersing such a high number of people, this process took some time. In our operations we always have to balance enforcement activities with the safety of our officers and all those involved. Making sure that a site is cleared without any escalation or moving the risk to our road network is always a difficult process. The deputy chief constable added a police presence would remain in the area and thanked local residents for their patience. The force said previously it would be investigating any criminal offences with a view to prosecution. Anyone with any information is urged to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 17:29, or by calling charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Nicola Sturgeon has been reported to police after footage showed her apparently breaching Scotlands Covid face mask law on the council election campaign trail. A video posted on social media appears to show Scotlands First Minister not wearing a mask during a visit to a barbers in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday. There is currently a legal requirement to wear a face covering in most indoor public places in Scotland, including shops, public transport and hairdressers. In the video, Ms Sturgeon appears to be seen without a face covering as she mingles with customers and pats the head of a man in a barbers chair while mimicking the sound of an electric razor. The First Minister is wearing a tartan face mask in the video of her visit to Iconic Gents Hair posted on her official Twitter account, in which she can be seen shaving a mans beard. A Police Scotland spokesman said: We can confirm that we have received a complaint which is currently being assessed. The legal requirement to wear a face mask in indoor settings in Scotland moves into guidance on Monday, however the Scottish Government has strongly recommended that people continue to wear them where appropriate. An SNP spokesman said: The First Minister was invited into the barbers during an outdoor visit on the street. Within a few seconds, she realised she hadnt put her mask back on and immediately put it on. Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said: The video clearly shows Nicola Sturgeon isnt practicing what she preaches on facemasks. Shes happy virtue signalling for official photos but behind closed doors its clear she doesnt believe in her own rules so why should anyone else. This is blatant hypocrisy from the First Minister who has now shown her true colours. The public, who have been under these legal Covid restrictions for over two years, deserve an apology for this rule break. In December 2020, Ms Sturgeon apologised after she breached Covid rules by taking off her face mask at a funeral wake. She described it as a stupid mistake, and said: Im really sorry. The Scottish Government said the incident on Saturday was an issue for the party. Teachers have spoken about the impact of the pandemic on their mental health and how parents now feel they should have access to them 24 hours a day. At the Nasuwt teaching union annual conference in Birmingham, member Sharon Bishop said parents and students now feel they can access teachers 24 hours a day, seven days a week since the pandemic. She said: Many of us have been told to download apps such as ClassDojo [an educational tech app] to our phones, and parents and students have got into the habit of firing off emails 24/7, with the banal, bizarre, and sometimes, more worryingly, aggressive and accusatory messages. They seem to feel they can assess us 24/7. Working hours and parameters have been blurred since the pandemic. Member Kat Lord Watson, who worked in a private school in Scotland during the pandemic, said the knowledge that the parents were watching you and reading you on their WhatsApp groups was also quite incredible. In a study of the impact of parental complaints on teachers and school leaders that she conducted, one teacher said: The direct line to staff has become much more rapid and the willingness to just jump on to the phone and make a complaint is definitely much more there than it ever has been. Another said: Over the past nine months to a year, is an increase in the Im trying to think of the right word but complaints that you just think, really? Thats not something that you could actually ever expect of a school. Its not reasonable to expect a school to be able to support you in that. The conference voted for every school to incorporate welfare into their curriculum, for Nasuwt to lobby Government to include Mental Health First Aid training as a compulsory part of teacher training and for any education recovery strategy to have teacher and pupil mental health at its core. Member Zoe Lynch, proposing the motion, said: Since returning to school many of us have had children coming to us with their issues on a larger scale than ever before. Dealing with secondary traumatic stress has been emotional and mentally hard for all concerned, the children and the staff. As a clinically vulnerable adult, a term Id not really classed myself as until that point, I was advised to shield. I suddenly needed to be protected. But I have been the protector of my classes, my students, in the run up to this, advising them on the two-metre social distancing at school, encouraging the washing of hands while thinking happy birthday before they ate or drank. The protector suddenly needed protecting, and I was not prepared mentally for what was to come. Member Michael Poulton said a friend and colleague had died during the pandemic through suicide. He didnt lose the battle to Covid-19. He lost the battle to mental ill health, and he took his own life during the first lockdown. We didnt get the chance to mourn Chris properly. During the lockdown we were able to attend his funeral but it was all socially distanced. We werent able to really share our loss and say how we felt, and when we got back to school, it was almost like we just had to carry on as if nothing had happened, and there are people with mental scars. There are people who have lost loved ones to Covid, lost loved ones to mental ill health. And do we know how to cope with it? Data from a Nasuwt survey of more than 4,300 respondents found nearly half 48% had tested positive for Covid-19 this term. Patrick Roach, Nasuwt general secretary, said: The pandemic has strained us all, but teachers and their students have been tested with unimaginable pressures over the last two years. Whilst the country stayed home, teachers braved the frontline of the Covid pandemic to deliver education for our children and young people. But soldiering on against the odds is not a sustainable model that encourages healthy workplace practices, nor does it support teachers to perform at their best. As a result, we are witnessing high prevalence of burnout amongst the school workforce. He said that in any walk of life the very idea that the teacher, the individual whos providing that service can be contacted at all hours what other walk of life does that apply? It doesnt. Teachers should have the right to disconnect and they should have the right to switch off; they should have the right to a family life. He said that for some teachers, parents can be bombing you, pupils can be bombing you with emails and social media messaging, expecting an immediate response. He said Nasuwt heard schools expected teachers to respond to queries from parents immediately because they did not want parents rocking up the following morning with complaints, but that parents themselves, in how they are addressing our members, how they are addressing teachers were also too insistent on receiving help at all times. Parents have told teachers that their requests are urgent and that they expect an immediate response outside working hours, he said. When is the teachers working day ended? 7 o clock? 10 o clock at night? My child is struggling with some homework, I need a response to this because theyre getting very distressed. But when is the teacher entitled to say, Im not dealing with it? Dr Roach said it left teachers with hardly any time to look after a cat or dog, let alone a child when it came to giving time to their own families. British army soldiers on training exercise in the Brecon Beacons Police have warned would-be revellers not to cross military firing ranges in a bid to reach an illegal rave in Dorset. More than 1,000 people are thought to have descended on a site close to the village of East Lulworth in the early hours of Sunday, Dorset Police said. The force said that by 1pm on Sunday, they were still trying to get attendees to leave the area with the help of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, Dorset Council and the Ministry of Defence. Roads heading to the site have been blocked by police cordons, and Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said some people are trying to get to the rave by crossing Army training land. She said the illegal event had caused distress and disruption to local residents and also to livestock on surrounding farmland. Ms de Reya said: We are working closely together with partner agencies to assess all options to bring the incident to a safe conclusion and try to manage the considerable risks associated with a large-scale unauthorised gathering. It will come as no surprise that emergency services are already busy on a beautiful sunny Easter weekend and such irresponsible behaviour is adding to the demand. #LatestNews An unauthorised gathering of people has been taking place in the East Lulworth area. The incident was first reported to police at 12.36am on 17/04/22. For further information please click on the following link https://t.co/VK0T2vCpa7 @DWFireRescue pic.twitter.com/uGpUZB47G1 Dorset Police (@dorsetpolice) April 17, 2022 As there are Army training sites in the area, those attending the event are potentially putting themselves in danger by crossing these locations. Officers have entered the site and ordered all those present to leave using powers under the Public Order Act. Ms de Reya said: Due to the large scale of the event and impacts of dispersing such high numbers, this process can take some time. She also warned ravers they are at risk of sparking wildfires if they light campfires or barbeques in the area. She added: We will be investigating any criminal offences and ensure those found to be responsible are prosecuted. Officers are conducting vehicle checks on the site and the surrounding areas, gathering body-worn camera footage, drone footage and video from police helicopters, Ms de Reya said. Again, I would like to send a direct message to those at the event you are trespassing, please leave and go home immediately, she said. Anyone with any information is urged to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 1729, or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Boris Johnson and other Cabinet ministers have been placed on a Kremlin blacklist and banned from entering Russia in response to sanctions against the country. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, and former PM Theresa May are among those on the list published by Russias foreign ministry. The department said in a statement the move was due to the unprecedented hostile actions of the British Government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials in Russia. It added: The Russophobic course of action of the British authorities, whose main goal is to stir up negative attitude toward our country, curtailing of bilateral ties in almost all areas, are detrimental to the wellbeing and interests of the residents of Britain. Any sanctions attack will inevitably backfire on their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff. It comes as Russian troops restarted assaults on the Ukrainian capital after a brief reprieve. A UK Government spokesperson said: The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian governments reprehensible actions in Ukraine and calling for the Kremlin to stop the war. We remain resolute in our support for Ukraine. Mr Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday afternoon. The PM recently met Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv (Ukraine Government/PA) A Downing Street spokesperson said: The Prime Minister paid tribute to the bravery of Ukrainian forces who continue to valiantly defend their countrys freedom. President Zelensky updated the Prime Minister on the situation in Mariupol, and the Prime Minister said he saluted Ukrainian resistance in the city. The pair discussed the need for a long-term security solution for Ukraine, and the Prime Minister said he would continue to work closely with allies and partners to ensure Ukraine could defend its sovereignty in the weeks and months to come. The Prime Minister updated President Zelensky on new sanctions from the UK that came into force last week, and said the UK would continue to provide the means for Ukraine to defend itself, including armoured vehicles in the coming days. (PA Graphics) The Prime Minister said international support for Ukraine only grew stronger and that he remained convinced Ukraine would succeed and Putin would fail. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said Russias ultimate objective remains the same despite its shifted operational focus to eastern Ukraine. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance, it said early on Sunday morning. Government figures show around 16,400 people had arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes by Monday. About 13,200 had arrived under the Ukraine family scheme and 3,200 under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, provisional data shows. Some 94,700 applications have been received for both schemes and 56,500 visas had been granted by Thursday, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office said. YORK, ENGLAND - JULY 19: The Archbishop of York, The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images) The Archbishop of York has asked the people of Britain to consider what kind of the country it should be as he suggested those in public life need to live to the highest standards and act with integrity. In his Easter sermon at York Minster, Stephen Cottrell asked whether the UK wants to be known for the robustness of our democracy where those who lead the country can be trusted. Referencing the growing cost-of-living crisis faced by households and the depressing and distressing plan to send migrants to Rwanda, Mr Cottrell said: As we emerge from Covid the great question I find myself asking is the same as the one asked by my predecessor, William Temple, at the height of the Second World War, who wrote this when this is done, what sort of nation do we want to be?. The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, during his enthronement as the 98th Archbishop of York in 2020 (Danny Lawson/PA) So this is my question this Easter day. Do I want to be part of a nation that is hopeful, enterprising, that cares for those in need, that supports those who are in poverty because they cant afford the heating or food for the table and offer genuine help? Do we want to be a nation that seeks to build and make peace, not merely enjoy it, that builds an international consensus about what it means to live alongside our neighbour? Do we want to continue to be known as a country that opened proper, legitimate pathways for all who flee violence, conflict and oppression, not just those from Ukraine, but also those fleeing other conflicts and the effect of climate change? Do we want to be known for the robustness of our democracy, where those in public life live to the highest standards, and where we can trust those who lead us to behave with integrity and honour? It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined for their involvement in the partygate saga, where Downing Street gatherings were held during lockdown restrictions. Mr Sunak, meanwhile, has been under further pressure over his wifes tax arrangements and the couple previously holding US green cards. A police officer outside 10 Downing Street (Yui Mok/PA) Meanwhile, Labour branded Mr Johnsons involvement in partygate indefensible after fresh allegations emerged. The Sunday Times reported new claims that Mr Johnson was not only present at a leaving do for his former press chief Lee Cain on November 13 2020, but that he led the celebrations. A source suggested to the newspaper this had started as the press office having drinks to finish off the week, but turned into a party once the Prime Minister arrived, poured drinks and made a speech. The newspaper said a No 10 source did not deny the characterisation of the gathering, but denied Mr Johnson was the instigator. The report also said the Prime Ministers official photographer had captured photographs of Mr Johnson holding a beer at the June 2020 birthday bash for which he, his wife, and Mr Sunak were fined. Mr Johnson is understood to have been present for at least six of the 12 events being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for breaking Covid rules, and is braced for more fines potentially to come. Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be fined again over the partygate saga (Matt Dunham/PA) It is understood he is likely to make a statement to the Commons on Tuesday. Earlier, crossbench peer and historian Peter Hennessey told BBC Radio 4s Broadcasting House programme that the country was in the most severe constitutional crisis involving a prime minister that I can remember, and it goes to the heart of the character of the Prime Minister. Reading from his diary entry from Tuesday, when Mr Johnson apologised after receiving his partygate fine, Lord Hennessey said the PM had shredded the ministerial code and was unworthy of the Queen, her Parliament, her people and her kingdom. Still reading from the entry, he added: I cannot remember a day where Ive been more fearful for the wellbeing of the constitution. However, Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg played down the constitutional significance of the ministerial code. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s The World This Weekend programme, he said: The ministerial code is not a legislative part of our constitution, it is a set of guidelines produced by the Prime Minister. He said that when Mr Johnson told MPs rules had been followed in No 10 during Covid restrictions: I think that the Prime Minister spoke to Parliament in good faith. He added: I think that when you hear what happened on the party for which he has been fined, many people would think that they were in accordance with the rules, when they were meeting people they were with every day, who happened to wish them a happy birthday, because that was the day it was. I think that was a perfectly rational thing to believe. Now the police have decided otherwise and the police have an authority. But he wasnt thinking something irrational or unreasonable, that that was within the rules. Downing Street declined to comment when approached by the PA news agency and has repeatedly said it would not comment until the police investigation concludes. Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner said: While the British public was making huge sacrifices, Boris Johnson was breaking the law. If the latest reports are true, it would mean that not only did the Prime Minister attend parties, but he had a hand in instigating at least one of them. He has deliberately misled the British people at every turn. The Prime Minister has demeaned his office. The British people deserve better. While Labour has a plan for tackling the cost-of-living crisis, Tory MPs are too busy defending the indefensible actions of Boris Johnson. Christs message that good will triumph over evil will resonate even more this year amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said. Delivering his Easter message in a video on Twitter, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the Christians of Ukraine, whether theyre marking Easter today, or its orthodox equivalent later this month, for whom Christs message of hope, the triumph of life over death and good over evil, will resonate this year, perhaps more than any other. Speaking in Ukrainian, and referencing a Psalm, he said: Be strong and have courage in your heart, you all who trust in the Lord. Mr Johnson said: Easter tells us that there is light beyond the darkness, that beyond the suffering lies redemption. The Archbishop of Canterbury also referenced the conflict in his Easter sermon. Justin Welby said: Ukrainians have woken up to the end of the world as they knew it. Now they are awakened by the noises of war, and the sickening reality of terror. They wake up to mortal fear. He later added: Let this be a time for Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. This is a time for resetting the ways of peace, not for what Bismarck called blood and iron. Let Christ prevail. Let the darkness of war be banished. It comes after Mr Johnson was among senior British politicians banned from entering Russian by the Kremlin. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, and former PM Theresa May are among those on the list published by Russias foreign ministry. The department said in a statement the move was due to the unprecedented hostile actions of the British Government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials in Russia. It added: The Russophobic course of action of the British authorities, whose main goal is to stir up negative attitude toward our country, curtailing of bilateral ties in almost all areas, are detrimental to the wellbeing and interests of the residents of Britain. Any sanctions attack will inevitably backfire on their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff. A UK Government spokesperson said: The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian governments reprehensible actions in Ukraine and calling for the Kremlin to stop the war. We remain resolute in our support for Ukraine. Mr Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday afternoon. A Downing Street spokesperson said: The Prime Minister paid tribute to the bravery of Ukrainian forces who continue to valiantly defend their countrys freedom. President Zelensky updated the Prime Minister on the situation in Mariupol, and the Prime Minister said he saluted Ukrainian resistance in the city. (PA Graphics) The pair discussed the need for a long-term security solution for Ukraine, and the Prime Minister said he would continue to work closely with allies and partners to ensure Ukraine could defend its sovereignty in the weeks and months to come. The Prime Minister updated President Zelensky on new sanctions from the UK that came into force last week, and said the UK would continue to provide the means for Ukraine to defend itself, including armoured vehicles in the coming days. The Prime Minister said international support for Ukraine only grew stronger and that he remained convinced Ukraine would succeed and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would fail. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has said Russias ultimate objective remains the same despite its shifted operational focus to eastern Ukraine. It is committed to compelling Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and asserting its own regional dominance, it said early on Sunday morning. Government figures show around 16,400 people had arrived in the UK under Ukraine visa schemes by last Monday. About 13,200 had arrived under the Ukraine family scheme and 3,200 under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, provisional data shows. Some 94,700 applications have been received for both schemes and 56,500 visas had been granted by Thursday, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office said. Barry Keoghan Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Barry Keoghan was arrested last weekend after being reportedly intoxicated on an apartment balcony in northern Dublin. The 29-year-old Irish actor who recently starred in Marvel's Eternals and played the Joker briefly in The Batman was arrested at about 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, April 10, according to local news outlet independent.ie. He was later released without charge and issued with a fixed charged notice, authorities told the outlet and The Wrap. A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana, the Republic of Ireland's national police service, declined to comment. Reps for Keoghan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. A source told independent.ie that officers responded to calls about a "man on a balcony in an intoxicated state" at an apartment building near where one of Keoghan's relatives lives. Per the outlet's source: "When [officers] arrived, [Keoghan] wasn't threatening in any way but was arrested and brought to the ... station, where he was dealt with before being released. The matter is finalized and nothing more will come of it." RELATED: Hawaii Couple Dismisses Restraining Order Against Actor Ezra Miller 2 Weeks After Filing Barry Keoghan Karwai Tang/WireImage Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Last August, Keoghan was hospitalized after being reportedly attacked in Galway, Ireland. Irish news outlet Sunday World reported at the time that the actor was found with "serious facial injuries" outside the G Hotel in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 15. He was taken via ambulance to a nearby hospital, treated and later released. Though his role as iconic DC villain the Joker in Robert Pattinson's The Batman was mostly reduced for the final film, director Matt Reeves later released a five-minute deleted scene that shows off Keoghan's performance. "Honestly I am stuck for words but I am very very BLESSED to play this role after the AMAZING AMAZING Actors before me. Here's my version. Enjoy," Keoghan wrote on Instagram last month while sharing the scene. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolinas capital on Saturday that left 14 people injured. Columbia Police Chief W.H. Skip Holbrook said 22-year-old Jewayne M. Price, who was one of three people initially detained by law enforcement as a person of interest, remains in police custody and is expected to be charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol. It is not immediately known if Price has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Fourteen people were injured during the shooting at Columbiana Centre, Holbrook said in a news release Saturday. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73. Holbrook said no fatalities have been reported but that nine people were shot and five people suffered injuries while attempting to flee the mall for safety. Police said the 73-year-old victim continues to receive medical treatment, but the other victims have been released from local hospitals or will be released shortly. We dont believe this was random, Holbrook said. We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire. Investigators believe that at least three suspects displayed firearms inside the mall but are working to determine how many suspects fired weapons. Police said at least one firearm was seized. Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running. Johnson said people were screaming for their children and spouses, knocking over tables in the food court as they fled. Everybody was trying to get outside, Johnson said. When I was coming out, you could see baby strollers turned over, peoples phones and left keys. It was kind of a hectic situation. Johnson said he gathered his wife, daughter and son and began heading toward the exit after letting the crowd clear out for a bit. My biggest thing was and not to sound selfish was to make sure that our family was OK and to get them out safely because this is not something that we love to do for Easter weekend. Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting, though officers began letting more traffic through the streets surrounding the shopping centers and strip malls that are usually packed on weekends. Officers were also stationed outside a nearby hotel designated as a reunification area for people at the scene of the shooting and their families. Workers from a couple of stores remained clustered in the mostly empty parking lot Saturday evening, waiting for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings so they could leave. They said they did not hear or see anything during the shooting but followed the malls alert system and were evacuated by police shortly after. They declined to give their names, citing company policies. Todays isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted," Columbiana Centre said in a statement. "We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement. The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near malls across the country. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal Mall. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Officials said he was with a group of boys when they got into a dispute with a second group. On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said. And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol. A medical worker takes a swab from a resident in Shanghai last month. (Xinhua News Agency) The stories from Shanghai, a city of 25 million entering its fourth week of COVID-19 lockdown, have been harrowing. Millions have been confined to their homes, their movements monitored by pandemic police in white hazmat suits. Almost 300,000 people whove tested positive or had contact with someone positive have been forcibly moved to spartan quarantine centers. Videos on social media have shown people fighting over food or screaming for help from their apartment windows: Save us! We dont have enough to eat! Police took children who tested positive and sequestered them, away from their parents, in state-run hospitals a policy reversed only after an outcry from distraught mothers. For over two years, Chinas response to the pandemic has been the draconian approach known as zero COVID. It succeeded in stopping the virus spread in 2020, when no vaccines existed and exposure was more often fatal. Now, though, most infections stem from the relatively mild Omicron variant, and an enviable 88% of people in China are fully vaccinated. Shanghai has reported more than 220,000 COVID cases since March 1 but has officially acknowledged no deaths from the surge. Still, the governments response has been total lockdown. The result has been the needless disruption of millions of lives and a blow to the worlds second-largest economy, with effects that will ripple across the world. The damage is impossible to estimate with any accuracy, but big enough that Premier Li Keqiang warned publicly last week that the economy faces unexpected challenges and mounting downward pressures. In Greater Shanghai, Chinas economic capital, workers cannot reach their jobs. Construction projects have halted. Assembly lines for Tesla, Volkswagen, Apple and other major brands have suspended operations. Supply chains are in chaos. Truck and train traffic have plunged. And according to unofficial reports, hundreds of container ships are stuck unloaded in the regions ports. The problems arent confined to Shanghai. Japans Nomura Bank reported last week that 45 Chinese cities, with almost 400 million inhabitants total, were in some form of lockdown. The government in Beijing hasnt changed its official target of 5.5% growth for 2022, but economists say that number looks unattainable now. Until recently, many Americans thought of China as a juggernaut that would soon overtake the United States to become the largest economy in the world a meaningless landmark, but one that comes with bragging rights. Two years ago, the Japan Center for Economic Research predicted that the crossover point would come in 2029. Last month the think tank revised its projection to 2033, four years later. In the face of all that adverse data, you might expect Chinas leaders to soften the zero COVID policy for the sake of economic growth. Thats what has happened, at least tacitly, in the United States, where the Biden administration has relaxed its COVID recommendations in view of the diminished threat of fatalities. Not in China. Prevention and control work cannot be relaxed, President Xi Jinping said last week. Persistence is victory. The problem is political: Zero COVID has been one of Xis signature policies, and he doesnt appear interested in diluting it especially as he approaches a Communist Party Congress this fall that is expected to award him a third five-year term. We often think of Chinas political system as adaptive and decentralized, but under Xis strongman politics its neither of those things, Susan Shirk, a China expert at UC San Diego, told me. Xi sometimes make mistakes, but nobody dares to tell him. Instead, theres a bandwagon effect; party subordinates often overshoot, because they want to stand out as the most loyal. In a democratic country, a leader would worry about bad economic news in the middle of a reelection campaign. Xi doesnt have that problem; theres no sign of a challenge to him from the party ranks. Besides, this years economic slowdown, which began even before the lockdown in Shanghai, is probably only a short-term problem. But Xi still faces a long-term economic challenge. His larger goal is to move China into the ranks of advanced high-income countries. Since Deng Xiaopings economic reforms in the 1970s, China has grown prosperous thanks largely to low-wage export manufacturing and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of workers. But one of Xis core promises is that a modernizing economy will deliver higher wages. Meanwhile, Chinas population and its workforce are projected to shrink, a product of its old one-child policy. They need to develop a new growth model, Aaron L. Friedberg, a China scholar at Princeton University, told me. Xis answer has been to try to leap ahead in technology and increase workers productivity as they lose their low-wage advantage. But he faces a potential political contradiction. Theyre betting that they can be just as innovative as we are while keeping the flow of information under control inside the country, said Friedberg, author of Getting China Wrong, a new book on U.S.-China policy. Its not clear that its going to work. Meanwhile, he said, Xi is employing another time-honored device to bolster domestic support for his regime, even in the face of an economic downturn: unbridled nationalism. The regime has deliberately ratcheted up the sense of antagonism between China and the West, Friedberg said. And its actually been quite successful at that. When China accuses the United States of being at fault for Russias decision to invade Ukraine, he said, Americans and the Biden administration arent its main audience. I dont think its aimed at us, he said. Its aimed at the domestic audience and at the developing world showing that China is emerging as the leader of the global south, willing to stand up to the West. Russias war in Ukraine will end someday. When that happens, China with its economic challenges and its ambitions of international leadership will reassume its status as the most important global rival to the United States. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. This undated photo provided Sunday, April 17, 2022, by the North Korean government shows its leader Kim Jong Un at an undisclosed location in North Korea. It said Sunday the country has successfully test-launched a newly developed tactical guided weapon. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim observed the launch. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon designed to boost its nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Sunday, a day before its chief rivals the United States and South Korea begin annual military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The test, the 13th round of weapons launches by Pyongyang this year, came amid concerns that North Korea may soon conduct a larger provocation like a nuclear test in an effort to expand the countrys weapons arsenal and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul amid stalled diplomacy. The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong observed what it called the weapons successful launch. It released a photo showing a beaming Kim clapping his hands with military officers. KCNA said the weapon tested has great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units, enhancing the efficiency in the operation of (North Koreas) tactical nukes and diversification of their firepower missions. KCNA didnt elaborate, but the use of the words tactical nukes suggested the weapon is likely capable of carrying a battlefield nuclear warhead that could hit strategic targets in South Korea, including U.S. military installations. The KCNA dispatch didnt say when and where the launch occurred. North Korea is trying to deploy not only long-range nuclear missiles aimed at American cities but also tactical nuclear weapons to threaten Seoul and U.S. bases in Asia, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. Pyongyangs purposes likely exceed deterrence and regime survival. Like Russia employs the fear it could use tactical nukes, North Korea may want such weapons for political coercion, battlefield escalation and limiting the willingness of other countries to intervene in a conflict. Some observers said the weapon showed in North Korean photos suggested it might be a smaller, lighter version of its nuclear-capable KN-23 missile that has a highly maneuverable flight aimed at defeating missile defense systems. Others said it could be a new missile that combines the technical characteristics of the KN-23 and another short-range ballistic missile called the KN-24. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Sunday that it had detected two projectile launches from the Norths eastern coastal town of Hamhung early Saturday evening. It said the projectiles flew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) at an apogee of 25 kilometers (16 miles) and at a maximum speed of Mach 4. South Koreas presidential office said officials have met twice this weekend to discuss the North Korean military activities. South Koreas military said later Sunday that its nine-day springtime military drills with the United States will start on Monday. It said the allies decided to hold computer-simulated command post exercises that dont involve field training after reviewing factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the allies combined defense readiness. The exercises could further intensify animosities on the Korean Peninsula because North Korea has previously responded with its own weapons tests and fiery rhetoric. North Korea has started this year with a slew of weapons tests, including its first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. homeland since 2017. South Korean and U.S. officials said Pyongyang could soon launch additional provocations like another ICBM test, a rocket launch to put a spy satellite into orbit or even a nuclear test explosion that would be the seventh of its kind. South Koreas military said it has detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before it entered now-dormant nuclear talks with the United States in 2018. A possible nuclear test by North Korea would involve a tactical nuclear warhead, said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. He predicted that North Korea would push to mount a tactical nuclear warhead on the weapon tested this weekend and deploy such nuclear missiles near the border with South Korea. Sundays KCNA dispatch quoted Kim as presenting unspecified tasks to build up North Koreas nuclear combat forces after praising what he called successive progress in its efforts to reinforce the countrys war deterrence power. The Norths recent testing activity involved the sophisticated weapons systems Kim has vowed to introduce to cope with what he calls American hostility. North Korea has a domestic imperative to make and perfect weapons ordered by Kim Jong Un last year regardless of what the U.S. does or doesnt do. The test also tells his people that their country is strong despite their apparent economic difficulties, said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at Washingtons Center for a New American Security. One reason for the political timing could be to protest anticipated U.S.-South Korea military drills. On Friday, Kim attended a massive civilian parade in Pyongyang that marked the milestone 110th birth anniversary of his state-founding grandfather, Kim Il Sung. It appeared the country passed its most important national holiday without a highly anticipated military parade to showcase its new weapons systems. Kim may still hold a military parade on the April 25 founding anniversary of North Koreas army. But if that anniversary goes without a military parade again, some experts say that might mean Kim doesnt have new powerful missiles to display and that his next provocative step will likely be a nuclear test. __ Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report. A man holds a poster in support of Ukraine during a demonstration near the Russian embassy in Berlin on Feb. 22. (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) Rene Herrmann resorted to a radical step to grab the most attention. As he joined a convoy organized to protest anti-Russian sentiments, he affixed onto the hood of his vehicle a sign emblazoned with the Star of David. What used to be the evil Jew [during Germanys World War II Nazi era] is now the evil Russian, he said. Russophobia is everywhere." Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been protests worldwide against Moscow's actions, and certainly in Germany, where activism abounds in places like Berlin. The rise in voices against Russia has led to some Russian bashing. But it is no secret that many of the more than 2 million migrants from the former Soviet Union who now live in Germany are strong supporters of Vladimir Putin. And they never been shy about publicly expressing their support. It's being overtly expressed in the appropriation of the Star of David widely recognized as a symbol of Judaism and Jewish identity in much the same way people against COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates have used the symbol and the Holocaust to express outrage at the mandates they label as fascism that harkens back to Nazi Germany. German Nazis forced Jews to wear the symbol to mark them as enemies and less than, rounded up and taken to concentration camps, where millions were killed during World War II. While the use of the Star of David or the Holocaust in such a manner is viewed as offensive, it is not the only symbol the pro-Russia crowd in Germany has adopted. In addition to huge Russian national flags, the letter Z seen on Russian tanks and trucks in Ukraine which stands for Za pobedu [For victory] and the letter V for Sila v pravde ["Our strength is in truth"] are also ubiquitous at these rallies. Many protesters also carry the black-and-orange ribbon of Saint George, a symbol of the victory in World War II and Russian military glory. In Berlin, anyone who displays these symbols is subject to a fine or prosecution. Herrmann, who is German not of Russian ancestry runs a car dealership in Berlin's east side. He said he has not personally experienced anti-Russian bashing, but that the internet is filled with such stories. Since the start of the war, more than 500 criminal acts linked to discrimination against Russians, Ukrainians now living in Germany, and supporters on either side of the divide, have been reported to authorities. Theyve mainly included property damage and insults. These encounters are also reflected in entries on the website of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, where people can report such incidents. However, the anonymous reports are all minor and at times difficult to verify. "We must be very careful that this war does not spill over into our society, said Nancy Faeser, Germanys interior minister. This war must not be fought on the backs of Ukrainians or Russians in Germany." Just a few days ago, a Soviet war memorial in Berlin was smeared with graffiti. The graffiti read, "Ukrainian blood on Russian hands" and "Putin = Stalin." Although the offenses so far remain small in scale, they are fodder for Moscows supporters. A Telegram channel called Putin Fanclub counts nearly 33,000 subscribers. Other, similar channels such as the News from Russia, have more than 127,000. The elitist idiots never learn from history, the more pressure is put on Russia, the stronger the cohesion of the people, one message reads. Among the Germany-based Putin backers, the war is regularly referred to as the liberation of Ukraine. Right-wing platforms such as the far-right Compact Magazine hail German-Russian friendship. If there is one lesson from history, it is this: Germans and Russians must never again allow themselves to be set against each other, said Jurgen Elsasser, editor in chief of the magazine. There are arsonists in Kyiv who want to drag the whole world into the abyss to save their regime. All of these groups play to existing anti-American, anti-NATO and anti-Western sentiments. The mindset of the radical right is entirely on the same anti-Western course as Putin, said Matthias Quent, a researcher at the University of Applied Sciences in Magdeburg and one of the best-known German researchers in the field, who sees a lot of overlap with other groups. When Russian flags fly at anti-COVID rallies in Saxony, or when protesters march in front of the Russian Embassy and then shout slogans like 'Putin liberate us,' there's clearly an intersection of interests." Elsassers Telegram channel Compact Magazine has over 60,000 subscribers. The channel also distributes videos from the blocked Russian propaganda television network RT. Polarization is definitely increasing, Quent said. By many the ban of RT is seen as evidence that they are in fact telling the truth. Reports of Russophobia fall into the same pattern. When incidents, real or fake, are reported, they immediately go viral on social media, he said. In the end, no one knows what is really going on. Whether the incidents are based on fact or fiction, the rifts in society are growing deeper. With new convoys and protests staged in German cities recently, the question remains: Why is there still a vocal minority adopting a pro-Russia line? Many of them are of German ancestry. They left the former Soviet Union because they felt like strangers there and wanted to return to their homeland. But here in Germany they were seen as Russians, not Germans. At some point, they started thinking, 'All right, if we're seen as Russians, we'll act like it,' said Vladimir Kaminer, one of the best-known contemporary Russian writers, who has lived in Berlin for more than 30 years. When you lose your social status, you quickly develop an inferiority complex. One way to compensate is to take on the role of victim, says Kaminer, who has long engaged in German-Russian soul-searching. When the phone rings in the home of a 75-year-old historian in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Russian radio can be heard in the background. Of German descent he declined to be identified out of privacy concerns his family moved from Kazakhstan to West Germany in 1983. Asked about his feelings toward Russia, he quickly takes a stand. The West supports the bandits in Kyiv, he said. With the eastward expansion, NATO broke its promises to Russia. Russia was in danger and had to defend itself. Everything he says seems to come straight from the Kremlin's playbook. Addressing the hundreds of Ukrainian civilians killed in Bucha, some shot with their hands tied behind their backs, he maintains a firm voice. They're all actors, he said. And so is their president. They can't be trusted. A week into the Berlin convoy, Herrmann regretted putting the Star of David on his vehicle. The police fined me, and that's OK, he said dryly. When asked if he will organize another protest, without question he will, he said. I'll just wait until after May 9, when Putin's victory parade in Red Square is over. Ziener is a special correspondent. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sik Lee Dennig taught Cantonese at Stanford for more than two decades. (Paul Kuroda / For The Times) Laura Ng had a dual motive for taking Cantonese classes at Stanford. As a PhD student in anthropology, she was researching the history of the Inland Empire Chinatowns. She also wanted to communicate better with her parents, immigrants from China who worked as a seamstress and a cook. In late 2020, she was stunned to hear that Stanford, citing COVID-related budget problems, was laying off its longtime Cantonese teacher, Sik Lee Dennig. As efforts began to save Cantonese at Stanford, the language remained under threat worldwide. It is being swamped by Mandarin, the official language of more than 1 billion people in China and Taiwan as different from Cantonese as Spanish is from French. Orlando Kuan sits outside Eastern Bakery hoping to attract customers in San Francisco's Chinatown. Cantonese is the language of the neighborhood's dim sum restaurants and herbal shops. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) Many Americans are more familiar with Cantonese's singsong cadences than the more clipped tones of Mandarin. Cantonese is the language of San Francisco Chinatowns dim sum restaurants and herbal shops, of Northern California towns such as Marysville, where Chinese gold miners settled in the 1850s. But in the U.S. too, Mandarin is what many new immigrants speak and what is taught in classrooms from elementary school through college. Many descendants of Cantonese speakers are third-, fourth- or fifth-generation Americans who find fewer and fewer places where they can learn their ancestral tongue, either to link them to the distant past or to relatives who are still alive. The Cantonese program at City College of San Francisco was also saved from the brink earlier this year. As with Cajun French, Irish, Navajo or Okinawan, the reasons for preservation have more to do with history and heritage than practicality, when dominant languages such as English and Mandarin are increasingly the lingua franca. Students at Stanford University. It is one of about 20 universities, including Cornell, New York University, Ohio State, the University of Hawaii and Williams College, with Cantonese classes. (Ben Margot / Associated Press) But for some Cantonese speakers, connecting with their roots is no less important than the ability to understand a news broadcast or negotiate a contract. They bristle at linguists classification of their family's native tongue as a dialect rather than a full-fledged language. After taking Dennigs classes, Ng could go beyond basic queries with her parents to discussing emotions their fears of illness, or their isolation during the pandemic. Cantonese is not an esoteric language that only serves the interest of a few, said Ng, 28, now a visiting assistant professor at Grinnell College with a focus on the archaeology of transpacific migration and Asian diasporic communities. Those who speak both say Cantonese is more colorful and idiomatic than Mandarin, with more cursing. Mandarins four tones are enough to flummox English speakers. For example, depending on the inflection, "ma" can mean "mother," "numb," "horse" or "yell at." With nine tones, Cantonese is even more challenging to learn. Scholars say it is closer to ancient Chinese than Mandarin is a Tang Dynasty poem would sound more like the original if read in Cantonese. The two languages share a common writing system. Some words are pronounced relatively similarly, while others diverge. Dim sum which literally means to lightly touch the heart is dian xin in Mandarin. In Mandarin, xie xie is thank you. In Cantonese, its m-goi or doh-je. The first is for when someone helps you or performs a service. The second is preferred when you receive a gift or when you want to stress how grateful you are. The corner of Jackson and Stockton streets in San Francisco's Chinatown, with the Bay Bridge in the background. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Many early Chinese immigrants to California were from the Taishan region of Canton province now romanized as Guangdong province. The Cantonese they speak is substantially different from the Hong Kong version considered standard. In China, people in many regions learn Mandarin in school while speaking another dialect at home. Officials have launched an aggressive campaign to promote Mandarin, hoping to convert 85% of citizens by 2025. Hong Kong, a bastion of Cantonese, is firmly under Chinese control, and Mandarin is poised to gain more primacy there. In the L.A. area, Mandarin has become more dominant in recent decades with the arrival of immigrants from Taiwan and China. Sophia Leung, a case manager at the L.A. Chinatown Service Center, made sure that a recent Zoom training for bystanders to hate crimes was offered in both Mandarin and Cantonese. With Heidi Lau, the Stop Hate program coordinator at the Asian Youth Center, she explained in Cantonese what to do if you witness a hate crime, which have been on the rise against Asian Americans during the pandemic. Of course, we need both languages to reach the whole Chinese community. You cant cut off a big part of the population, said Leung, who was born in Hong Kong and speaks Cantonese at home with her husband and son. After teaching Cantonese at Stanford for more than 20 years, Sik Lee Dennig is starting a nonprofit to preserve the language. (Paul Kuroda / For The Times) Dennig, a Hong Kong native with a PhD in educational linguistics, began teaching Cantonese at Stanford in 1997. Once, a student wanted to know what to say on her grandmothers 90th birthday. Dennig suggested a blessing from the East Sea, so the grandmothers life would overflow with goodness. To make language come alive, make it magnetic, you need to apply it beyond the classroom, said Dennig, who is in her 60s. She taught students how to make rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves for the Dragon Boat Festival and showed them around San Francisco's Chinatown. The resurgence of martial arts in pop culture inspired her to lecture on Bruce Lee. "I try to imagine if I were a student, what would be interesting or fascinating? What would help us get comfortable and inspired by the language?" Dennig said. For Gina Anne Tam, the Cantonese she learned from Dennigs class was vital to her research on the role of local languages in the making of Chinese national identity. "Not to offer these classes not to give others the immersion that I experienced it's sad because to be at ease in a language is to gain so much more of its culture and its depth and its beauty," said Tam, now an assistant professor of history at Trinity College in San Antonio. Jamie Tam no relation to Gina described Dennig's classes as 100% crucial to her understanding of her Chinese American identity. Raised in Castro Valley, Tam longed for a closer relationship with her elders and didn't want to keep asking others to "translate every time I was stuck." Were it not for those classes, theres no way Id be able to communicate with my grandmother right now, said Tam, 33, now a professor at Yales School of Public Health, who took Cantonese all four years of college. Its not just a bunch of language lessons, to be honest. Its deeper than that. After Stanford officials told Dennig in October 2020 that her contract would not be renewed, Jamie Tam started a Save Cantonese petition. More than 5,000 people signed it. Many former students wrote testimonials about how Dennig helped them connect with their families or deepen their academic research. School officials eventually said they would restore two Cantonese classes, down from three before the cuts. Dennig could continue to teach, but she would be paid by the hour. Stanford is one of about 20 universities, including Cornell, New York University, Ohio State, the University of Hawaii and Williams College, with Cantonese classes. In the last 14 years or so, enrollment in language classes at universities nationwide has declined by 20%, said Stanford spokeswoman Joy Leighton. Stanford still offers more than 40 languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese. The Cantonese-language program was never eliminated, Leighton said. This decision to reduce courses, for Cantonese as well as many other languages, was based partly on student demand. In February, Scott Chun Ho Suen, chief executive of S.J. Distributors, a local Asian food wholesaler, donated $1 million to establish an endowment for Cantonese at Stanford. "In order for it to be inherited, it needs to be spoken continually, said Suen, who grew up in Hong Kong. If the number of speakers of this language dwindles, a significant part of Cantonese culture will also be lost. Suen and his wife, Jenny Lin, hire a private Cantonese tutor for their children most Saturday Chinese schools only offer Mandarin. Even with Suen's gift, Dennig is not coming back. Instead, she is launching the Cantonese Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the language. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A Russian deadline for Ukrainian troops to surrender in the devastated port city of Mariupol came and went Sunday in a pitched battle whose outcome could change the course of the war. A few thousand Ukrainian fighters bunkered in the Azovstal steel plant were offered a chance to lay down their arms, the Russian Defense Ministry said. But the Ukrainian side appears to have rejected the offer, and Russia's military warned that troops who refused "will be destroyed." In an address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the strategic coastal city was on the verge of being lost, saying Ukraine's troops were outnumbered 6 to 1 and the situation there remains as severe as possible. "Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there," said Zelensky, who also warned that Ukraine may walk away from peace talks with Russia if it continues to commit atrocities in the city. Mariupol, which has endured almost two months of fighting, has become one of the starkest examples of Moscows brutal tactics in the invasion of its smaller neighbor. Officials say more than 20,000 people have been killed there. An estimated 100,000 civilians remain in siege conditions, with no food, water or heating, local officials and aid groups say. Bodies are put into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine. (Evgeniy Maloletka / Associated Press) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said remaining Ukrainian soldiers and a large group of civilians "are basically encircled by the Russian forces." The badly damaged city "doesn't exist anymore," Kuleba said, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation." "They decided to raze the city to the ground at any cost." Still, Mariupol has become a symbol of defiance for Ukrainians for refusing to bow even as many of its buildings lie in ruins and its people are buried in mass graves. A takeover of the city, which lies on the Sea of Azov, would be a significant victory for Russia in a war largely marked by its forces missteps. A win there would not only provide a land bridge from the east to Russian-annexed Crimea, but would also free up Russian forces to move north and link up with the other thrust of the Russian offensive coming from the city of Izyum, some 144 miles north, and complete their encirclement of eastern Ukraines Donbas region, the stated objective of the second phase of Russias invasion. The escalating battle for Mariupol comes as Russian troops press their offensive on cities and towns in the east. On Sunday, the United Kingdoms Defense Ministry said Russia was deploying additional combat and support equipment from Belarus to locations close to Kharkiv and Severodonetsk in Ukraine. Russian artillery continues to strike Ukrainian positions throughout the east of the country as part of what the Defense Ministry said was a shift in its operational focus. Officials said two people were killed in an attack on a residential building in the town of Zolote, in the eastern Luhansk region. They said Russian shelling on central Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, killed five people and wounded dozens more. Among those injured in the attack on Kharkiv were four people working for chef Jose Andres World Central Kitchen a nonprofit that provides meals in places suffering from war and natural disaster according to the organization. "This was a big hit, as you can see," Nate Mook, chief executive of the group, said in a Twitter video as he panned across dozens of mangled cars and badly damaged apartment buildings. "Just a tremendous amount of carnage left behind for no reason. People live here, people work here, people cook here." An update I hoped Id never have to make. Im at a @WCKitchen restaurant in Kharkiv, where less than 24 hours ago I was meeting with their amazing team. Today, a missile stuck. 4 staff were wounded. This is the reality herecooking is a heroic act of bravery. #ChefsForUkraine pic.twitter.com/AyU4fUnA61 Nate Mook (@natemook) April 16, 2022 Ukrainian officials said they had tried and failed to reach a cease-fire agreement with Russia to create an evacuation corridor that would allow civilians to escape fighting in the eastern and southern parts of the country on Sunday. At the same time, Russia continued striking other parts of the country in what it has described as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. Sunday morning brought fresh reports of explosions in Kyiv and the western city of Lviv. The capital, which was heavily bombarded at the outset of the war, had enjoyed a period of relative peace after Russian forces broke off an offensive in Ukraines north this month. Lviv, which has become a western outpost for aid organizations and displaced families fleeing toward Poland, had seen only sporadic attacks. The renewed assaults came after Russia was humiliated by the sinking of its most important warship in the Black Sea. Ukraine says its forces struck the ship an assertion backed by U.S. officials although Russia maintains the ship was not attacked and sunk while being towed to port after suffering a fire. Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Lysychansk, a few miles from the front line with Russian forces and one of the easternmost points of Ukrainian control, a tense calm pervaded as residents went about their morning shopping ahead of Palm Sunday. But in nearby Severodonetsk, workers brought a fresh batch of corpses in body bags to the southern edge of the city, even as a bulldozer dug out a fresh furrow in the expanding cemetery. Once workers heaved the bodies into the grave, the bulldozer pushed the displaced earth over them. It was hard and dangerous work, said Michael Padgaynyi, a white-haired volunteer with a humanitarian organization in town who was sweating in the morning sun. "We're every day under artillery shelling. Some people from our personnel have been wounded," he said, pleading for sets of body armor so they could do their grim work with some measure of safety. In the distance, a volley of artillery could be heard. "We're just waiting for the big offensive from the Russian side," he said. Moments later, a truck drove up to the cemetery, bringing another group of bodies to be buried. Smoke rises above 400 new graves in the town of Severodonetsk, Ukraine. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Even amid worldwide prayers for peace in the conflict as Christians around the world celebrated the Easter holiday Sunday, hopes for a diplomatic resolution were fading. Kuleba, speaking to CBS, echoed Zelensky in saying that Russia's siege of Mariupol may be a "red line" in the path of peace talks. "After Bucha, it became particularly difficult to continue talking with the Russians," Kuleba said, referring to the suburb of Kyiv where Russian troops are accused of raping and executing hundreds of civilians. Meanwhile, multiple European leaders said it is increasingly apparent that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to acquiesce anytime soon. "I am beginning to think that those people are right when they say, 'It is useless to talk to him; it's just a waste of time,' " Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in an interview with a local newspaper. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Putin last week, told NBC that Putin repeats Russian propaganda that Ukraine sparked the war by committing genocide against Russian speakers in Ukraine's east. One thing is certain, Nehammer said. Putin "believes he is winning the war." Bulos reported from Severodonetsk and Linthicum from Mexico City. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The UK, in collaboration with the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will facilitate business-to-business meetings during the summit The business-to-business meetings will enable participants to identify opportunities for future collaboration, research and innovation, and facilitate the expansion of trade and investment. (Image credit: Facebook) Kolkata: The United Kingdom (UK) is set to send its biggest ever delegation to the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2022, a signature conclave of the Mamata Banerjee government, that is scheduled to be held in Kolkata this week to attract investments to the state. A 49-strong delegation of senior figures from a wide range of businesses, institutions and universities will represent the UK at BGBS on April 20-21, the British Deputy High Commission stated on Sunday. The UK, in collaboration with the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will facilitate business-to-business meetings during the summit. These discussions will enable participants to identify opportunities for future collaboration, research and innovation, and facilitate the expansion of trade and investment. British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata Nick Low said, Im delighted to bring such a large delegation to BGBS. The 2030 Roadmap agreed by our Prime Ministers in May last year promised to transform trade and investment between the UK and India. Thats what were here to do. I want to increase the United Kingdoms portfolio of investments and partnerships in West Bengal, which already provides around thirty thousand jobs in Kolkata alone. There is strong interest from UK companies looking to expanding existing investments here and from others who are new to India. As the splendid Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town and the magnificent Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan show, Bengal means business. So does Global Britain. Education, arts and culture / creative economy is another vital aspect of the UK spectrum for BGBS. There will be a major thrust on education, research, creative economy and sustainable tourism during these two-day engagements. British Council Director East and Northeast India Debanjan Chakrabarti said, West Bengal has an enviable pool of education and research talent. From the British Council we are delighted to contribute to West Bengals global thinking on education through BGBS. We are supporting the public private partnerships on education, creative economy and sustainable tourism with ideas and expertise from the UK. We have several top UK universities taking part in BGBS deliberations which will create opportunities for young people from both Bengal and Britain and build on existing research partnerships between higher education institutions. We are supporting the strengthening of sustainable tourism and creative economy - all of which create huge number of jobs - and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals. We hope that at BGBS 2022 we the start scripting a new Bengal-Britain story that will drive the 21st century economy. The British Council will organise a creative economy Round Table from April 21 to 22 after the conclusion of BGBS and will look at regeneration of public. After the clashes, there has been heavy deployment of the police and Rapid Action Force in the area to maintain law and order Police deployed to control the situation after violent clashes broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession at Jahangirpuri, in New Delhi, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) New Delhi: There was stone-pelting and some vehicles were torched after violent clashes erupted between two communities during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Delhis Jahangirpuri area on Saturday evening. According to police sources the situation is under control however several people as well as Delhi Police personnel were injured in the skirmish that occurred around 6pm. After the clashes, there has been heavy deployment of the police and Rapid Action Force in the area to maintain law and order. Police said there was stone-pelting and some vehicles were also torched in the violence that occurred at around 6 Pm. Additional police forces have also been deployed at the other communally sensitive areas. Several videos of clashes and stone pelting were doing rounds on social media. In a purported video of the incident, several people could be seen pelting stones during the procession. Some are seen brandishing swords on a street while others are hurling abuses and a police siren could also be heard in the background. Following the incident Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to take stock of the situation. Sources said the CP has also briefed the officials of the MHA regarding the present situation in the violence-hit area. Delhi police chief Asthana took to Twitter to inform that the situation in the North West District is under control. Adequate additional force has been deployed in Jahangirpuri & other sensitive areas. Senior officers have been asked to remain in field and closely supervise the law & order situation & undertake patrolling, he tweeted. Strict action will be taken against rioters. Citizens are requested to not to pay heed to rumours and fake news on social media, said CP in another tweet. A senior police official said that on Saturday evening there was a traditional procession, which was being escorted by police personnel, but when the procession reached near Kushal cinema hall a clash between two communities erupted. Police personnel who were present on the spot were injured as they tried to stop the violence, said the senior police official. An investigation has been initiated in the incident to know the reason behind the clashes, said the police official. The injured has been shifted to Babu Jagjeevan Ram hospital for the treatment. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it is the Centre's responsibility to ensure peace is maintained in the national capital. ''I also appeal to the people to maintain peace and order," he told reporters. Delhi Lieutenant Governor, Anil Baijal condemned the incidents of violence and stone pelting in the National Capital as unfortunate and said that none behind these activities will be spared. He took stock of the situation along with CP and has appealed to the people to maintain peace and restrain and cooperate with the Police in maintaining law and order. The LG has asked the CP to depute forces at all other identified sensitive areas and localities in the city and ensure mobile patrolling and vigil under the direct supervision and responsibility of senior officers. The LG has directed that all possible help be provided to the injured police personnel apart from civilians who suffered injuries in the scuffle. Meanwhile, the police in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar went on a high alert and carried out intensive patrolling in the wake of the communal clashes in the North West Delhi on Saturday evening. Patrolling and foot marches were conducted in all three police zones Noida, Central Noida and Greater Noida by the police force officials on instructions of Commissioner Alok Singh. "The patrolling was held in crowded areas and markets, near shopping malls, metro stations and areas having mixed populations. Senior rank officers supervised the patrolling and the law and order situation is being monitored continuously," the police said in a statement. The police also reviewed the situation in areas falling on the route of a proposed religious rally on Sunday, even as officials kept an eye on history-sheeters and anti-social elements, it said. The leaders express concern over the ruling establishment trying to polarise society by raising issues relating to food, dress, faith New Delhi: Thirteen opposition leaders issued a joint appeal to the people to maintain peace and harmony amid the rising cases of communal disharmony mushrooming across the country. In their appeal the leaders also demanded strict and stringent action against the perpetrators of hate crimes. Raising concerns over the manner in which issues relating to food, dress, faith, festivals and language "are being used" by the ruling establishment to polarise society, the leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand counterparts M K Stalin and Hemant Soren, National Conference chairman Dr Farooq Abdullah, CPM chief Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. Hitting out at Mr Modi the statement said, "We are shocked at the silence of the PM, who has failed to speak against the words and actions of those who propagate bigotry and those who, by their words and actions, incite and provoke our society. This silence is an eloquent testimony to the fact that such private armed mobs enjoy the luxury of official patronage." Exhorting the people to maintain communal harmony, the statement said, "We appeal to all sections of the people to maintain peace and foil the sinister objective of those who wish to sharpen communal polarisation. We call upon all our party units across the country to independently and jointly work for maintaining peace and harmony." The Opposition leaders also called upon their respective party units across the country to independently and jointly work for maintaining peace and harmony. The leaders further said, "We reiterate our commitment to combat and confront the poisonous ideologies which are attempting to entrench divisiveness in our society." In the last couple of weeks, several incidents of communal strife have been reported from several parts of the country especially during the Ram Navami processions. Several programs have been held across the country where hate speeches were made targeting specific communities. Also, calls have been given not to allow vendors of certain communities to put up their stalls. In the backdrop of increasing incidents of intolerance the Opposition leaders issued a joint appeal. The Conference will also assess any possible geopolitical implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for the region New Delhi: Top commanders of the Indian Army will conduct an extensive review of Indias national security challenges along the borders with China and Pakistan and also assess any possible geopolitical implications of the Russia-Ukraine war for the region at a five-day conclave from Monday. It will be chaired by Army Chief Gen. M.M. Naravane, and last till Friday. It will be the last such conference for Gen. Naravane, whose term as Army Chief will be over at the end of this month. Defence minister Rajnath Singh will interact with the senior commanders and address the conclave on Thursday. During the conference, the senior leadership of the Indian Army will review the operational situation along the active borders, assess threats in the entire spectrum of conflict and undertake an analysis of capability voids to further focus on capability development and operational preparedness plans, a senior official said. Discussions on aspects pertaining to infrastructure development in border areas, modernisation through indigenisation, induction of niche tech and assessment on any impact of the Russia-Ukraine war in this region are also scheduled. Various agenda points sponsored by regional commands will be deliberated upon by the senior commanders, apart from proposals on improving works, financial management, introduction of e-vehicles and digitisation in the Indian Army. As part of the conference, meetings of the boards of governors of the Army Welfare Education Society (AWES) and Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) will be organised. The conference is also a formal forum for the Armys senior leadership to interact with the senior officials of the department of military affairs and the ministry of defence during the MoD interaction session. The Army commanders conference is an apex-level biannual event that is held in April and October every year. It is an institutional platform for conceptual level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army. Among other issues, officials said the commanders will also delve into infrastructure development along the Line of Actual Control. India has been ramping up infrastructure development in the border regions in view of Chinas building new bridges, roads and related structures in key sectors along the frontier. India and China have been holding high-level military talks to resolve the faceoff in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. On March 11, India and China held the 15th round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the pending issues in the region. In the wake of the Ukraine conflict the visit is significant and will mark the next top-level in-person engagement between India and UK New Delhi: The stage is set for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons visit to India next week. In the wake of the Ukraine conflict the upcoming visit is significant and will mark the next top-level in-person engagement between India and the West. This follows the recent visit of the British secretary of state for foreign affairs (foreign minister) Elizabeth Truss to New Delhi. The forthcoming visit of Mr Johnson is expected to be officially announced soon and according to some reports, is slated to take place on April 21 and 22. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a detailed discussion on the phone with his British counterpart Mr Johnson on the Ukraine conflict. PM Modi said India believed in international law and the territorial integrity of all nations as the basis of the world order. However, Britain had then issued its version of the conversation separately in a statement from London, in which it said both leaders agreed that Ukraines integrity and territorial sovereignty must be respected and that Russia needed to adhere to the UN Charter. India has not publicly criticised Russia, but has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and dialogue between the warring sides to resolve the issue. The West though, wants India to take a strong stand against Russia publicly which New Delhi is reluctant to do because of its time-tested ties with Moscow. The two prime ministers had also discussed issues of bilateral interests and agreed on the potential of further deepening cooperation in various areas including trade, technology, investments, defence & security and people-to-people relations. PM Modi had also then expressed his satisfaction at the positive momentum in the ongoing negotiations on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement. He had also appreciated the progress in implementing the 'India-UK Roadmap 2030' adopted during the virtual summit between both leaders last year. Ties between India and its former colonial master are currently at its closest-ever in the past 75 years of India's independence. What the bilateral trade figures do not reveal is the transfer of wealth from India to the US through the export of talented Indian migrants Ask not what the United States does for India, ask what India does for the United States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ought to have paraphrased that famous line from John F. Kennedy during his recent interaction with US President Joe Biden. In media reports of the virtual meeting between the two heads of government and the 2+2 meeting between the defence and foreign ministers of both countries that followed, the focus has largely been on how the United States can and does extend strategic support to India. It is helpful to remind ourselves and the US every now and then that India too has long extended strategic support to the United States. Too much is made of the merchandise trade deficit of $23 billion that India enjoys with the United States. Former President Donald Trump and his administrations trade representative made quite a fetish out of quoting it. The US seeks to wipe this out by doubling its defence sales to India from the present level of $21 billion, at the expense of several rival suppliers, especially Russia. What the bilateral trade figures do not reveal is the transfer of wealth from India to the US through the export of highly talented Indian migrants. Indian brain power fuels the engines of education, research, innovation, corporate management and the services economy in the United States all fields that give the US a global edge over its rivals and peers. As recently as in 1990, the total number of Indian migrants to the US was estimated to be 450,000. By 2020, this was over 2.7 million. Till the turn of the century economists viewed this migration as a brain drain. Over the past couple of decades they have come to view the Indian global diaspora as a brain bank. Whatever form this brain power takes, the fact remains that this Indian talent has contributed positively to all the countries hosting it. This brain power is Indias investment in the development of those host countries. One need not take a moral or political view of this phenomenon, whether it is good or bad, but one must quantify it and understand in what way Indias society and economy have contributed to the development of the countries that are receiving such talent. In the 1950s, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru invited the Nobel Prize-winning American economist Milton Friedman to study India and offer his advice on its economic development. While Friedman made himself unpopular with Nehru by suggesting that the Planning Commission be wound up and the public sector be privatised, he made one prescient observation that ought to have been taken more seriously. The United States economy grew, Friedman wrote in a 1955 note to Nehru, because it had vast natural resources at its disposal and sucked in labour power from across the world. India has limited natural resources but a vast pool of people. Invest in your people, he suggested, and they will be for India what land and natural resources were for America. It is one idea that has failed to capture the imagination of successive generations of the Indian political and intellectual leadership. Of course, India has invested in its people and many of them fuel the engine of growth. But compared to the vast pool of people available, the educated and skilled remain a limited set. Worse, from this pool of talent, a sizeable number migrate to the developed world, mostly to the United States. It is, therefore, time for India to define the two-way relationship in a more balanced way, quantifying not just what the US does to support Indias rise but also what India and Indians do to support Americas global dominance. India certainly needs the United States, not just for the guns, ships and jets that it can sell and the intelligence it can share, but for all the new technologies it can give access too. The United States also needs India, not just as an ally against China and a provider of low-cost defence personnel and services in this part of the world, but as a source of highly talented manpower that can ensure Americas global dominance in information technology-enabled businesses. The US-India strategic partnership has often been viewed through the prism of third parties, and they are relevant to a certain extent. In dealing with the China-Pakistan axis, India has found its relationship with both Russia and the US to be helpful. However, the US-India partnership also stands on its own legs precisely because it is a two-way street. This fact is not adequately appreciated, indeed generally not recognised, because it has not been quantified. What exactly has been the contribution of 2.7 million people of Indian origin to sustaining US global power? Milton Friedman thought that population can do for India what natural resources did for the US. The irony is that the best of Indians are doing for the US what Friedman had hoped they would do for India. Of course, we in India must take full responsibility for this. The out-migration of talent has both a pull and a push dimension and there is no point blaming individuals. The question to ask is what can more India do to retain its talent so that it can fuel the countrys development. The problem of out-migration of talent has been accentuated in recent years by the shortage of opportunities at home as well as by domestic social and political trends. In my book Indias Power Elite: Class, Caste and a Cultural Revolution (2021) I show how the secession of the successful has accelerated in the past five years. The turn that domestic politics is taking may contribute to a further acceleration of this process. The beneficiaries will be the countries of the Anglosphere the United States, Britain Canada, Australia and other English-speaking countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. The government may be able to do very little to prevent this migration, and indeed it is doing a lot to make educated young Indians want to leave the country, but it can at least try and quantify it so that the host countries are aware of Indias generous contribution to their global dominance. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more heavy weapons from the West immediately to have any chance of saving Mariupol Kyiv: Russian forces renewed missile strikes on Kyiv and intensified shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, in an apparent strategy to hobble Ukraine's defences in preparation for what is expected to be a full-scale Russian assault in the east. These attacks and others scattered across the country were an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the whole country remains under threat. With the port city of Mariupol under siege, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there. He said Ukraine needs more heavy weapons from the West immediately to have any chance of saving the city. Each day brings new discoveries of civilian victims of an invasion that has shattered European security. In the towns and villages just outside Kyiv, authorities have reported finding the bodies of more than 900 civilians, most shot dead, since Russian troops retreated two weeks ago. After the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia's military command vowed to step up missile strikes on the capital. The Russians said they hit an armoured vehicle plant on Saturday, a day after targeting a missile plant. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko advised residents who fled the city earlier in the war not to return. We're not ruling out further strikes on the capital, he said. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it's safer, do it. The mayor said Saturday's strike killed one person and wounded several. It was not immediately clear from the ground what was hit in the strike on Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. The sprawling area on the southeastern edge of the capital contains a mixture of Soviet-style apartment blocks, newer shopping centers and big-box retail outlets, industrial areas and railyards. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said an armoured vehicle plant was targeted. He didn't specify where the factory was located, but there is one in the Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with air-launched high-precision long-range weapons. The Russian missiles hit the city just as residents were emerging for walks, foreign embassies planned to reopen and other tentative signs of the city's prewar life started resurfacing, following the failure of Russian troops to capture Kyiv and their withdrawal. Kyiv was one of many targets Saturday. The Ukrainian president's office reported missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours in eight regions across the country. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine, which has been only sporadically touched by the war's violence, reported airstrikes on the region by Russian Su-35 aircraft that took off from neighboring Belarus. In Kharkiv in the northeast, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said three people were killed and 34 wounded on Saturday. One explosion believed to have been caused by a missile sent rescue workers scrambling near an outdoor market. They said one person was killed and at least 18 wounded. All the windows, all the furniture, all destroyed. And the door, too, recounted stunned resident Valentina Ulianova. The day before, rockets hit a residential area of Kharkiv, killing a 15-year-old boy, an infant and at least eight other people, officials said. Nate Mook, a member of the World Central Kitchen NGO run by celebrity chef Jose Andres, said in a tweet that four workers in Kharkiv were wounded by a strike. Andres tweeted that staff members were unnerved but safe. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met with Vladimir Putin this past week in Moscow - the first European leader to do so since the invasion began Feb. 24 - said the Russian president is in his own war logic on Ukraine. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Nehammer said he thinks Putin believes he is winning the war and we have to look in his eyes and we have to confront him with that, what we see in Ukraine.'' Nehammer said he confronted Putin with what he saw during a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where more than 350 bodies have been found along with evidence of killings and torture under Russian occupation, and it was not a friendly conversation. Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that the continuing siege of Mariupol, which has come at a horrific cost to trapped and starving civilians, could scuttle attempts to negotiate an end to the war. The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol - what they are doing now - can put an end to any format of negotiations, he said. Later, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said, or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive. Konashenkov, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesman, said Saturday that Ukrainian forces had been driven out of most of the city and remained only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Russian Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov, whose troops have been among those besieging Mariupol, was buried Saturday in St Petersburg after dying in battle, Gov Alexander Beglov said. Ukraine has said several Russian generals and dozens of other high-ranking officers have been killed in the war. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russian forces in the south, which came up through the annexed Crimean Peninsula, to fully link up with troops in the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. Zelenskyy estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops have died in the war, and about 10,000 have been wounded. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said Saturday that at least 200 children have been killed, and more than 360 wounded. Russian forces also have taken captive some 700 Ukrainian troops and more than 1,000 civilians, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday. Ukraine holds about the same number of Russian troops as prisoners and intends to arrange a swap but is demanding the release of civilians without any conditions, she said. Russia's warning of stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. In the Vatican, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked gestures of peace in these days marked by the horror of war in an Easter vigil homily at St Peter's Basilica that was attended by the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol and three members of Ukraine's parliament. Francis did not refer directly to Russia's invasion but has called, apparently in vain, for an Easter truce to reach a negotiated peace. by Mario Ghezzi The wish of the director of AsiaNews for this Easter marked by war: "I asked myself what is the Christian's way of facing this conflict, like any other. We are succeeding in the primacy of welcoming Ukrainian refugees, but perhaps not that of praying for peace. May this Easter be, in spite of everything, an Easter of peace for the whole world". Dear friends of AsiaNews, in recent weeks we have had fixed in our eyes the images of destruction in Ukrainian cities, of the population fleeing without knowing where to escape the destructive fury that is devastating their country. We carry in our hearts the heartfelt words of Pope Francis who cries out: "In the name of God I ask you: stop this massacre!". In this Europe where we dared to think that weapons would never again be heard, we feel in our lvery bones the fear of a conflict that is all too close to home. But as we report every day through our news agency, this conflict also has profound repercussions in Asia and other continents. War is knocking at our door. A war that, like any other, is incomprehensible to us, its reasons escaping our reasoning. And yet we are faced with a threat that threatens to overwhelm decades of dialogue and peace that have allowed several generations to say: "We have never known armed conflict". We have heard the words of Patriarch Kirill echoed, invoking the justness of this conflict against the Western enemy that would threaten the Christian integrity of the Russian world. A clumsy attempt to justify the war as if it were a lesser evil in favour of the greater good that would be the preservation of Christianity. Yet the words of Jesus were clear: 'render to Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's'. Many times I have asked myself what is the Christian's way of dealing with this conflict, as with any other. I believe the only way is to keep these words of Jesus in our hearts. A war can never have a justification with an evangelical flavour. It is Caesar's responsibility, his decision, his action, his responsibility. God stands before violence with the rosary in His hand and with actions of peace, always saying no to war. In one of his Angelus in recent weeks the Pope said: "I ask all diocesan and religious communities to increase moments of prayer for peace. God is only the God of peace, he is not the God of war, and those who support violence profane his name". This is how Christians stand in the face of war, of all the wars in the world. He raises the voice of prayer, he fills the squares praying. In Italy we are winning the primacy of welcoming Ukrainian refugees, but perhaps not that of praying for peace. I see too much lukewarmness about this. May this Easter be, in spite of everything, an Easter of peace for the whole world and for all of us. Happy Easter Francis' urbi et orbi message "in this Easter of war". An appeal for tormented Ukraine: "Stop flexing muscles while people are suffering ". A look at the world's other wounds, from Jerusalem to forgotten Yemen. Reconciliation for Myanmar plagued by hatred and violence and for Afghanistan in the throes of a humanitarian crisis. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Only Jesus has the right today to announce peace to us. He alone, because he bears our wounds". In an Easter deeply marked by the war in Ukraine, after the silence of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, Pope Francis entrusted the words of his urbi et orbi message delivered from the loggia of blessings in the Vatican Basilica to the Risen Lord. He did so after the Mass celebrated on the parvis awash with Easter flowers in front of St Peter's Square, once packed with the faithful up to the middle of Via della Conciliazione after two years of pandemic. After only attending and pronouncing the homily last night in the vigil presided over by the Dean of the Sacred College, Card. Giovanni Battista Re, today the Pontiff presided over the rite and also drove through the entire square to greet the faithful at length. But the festive atmosphere cannot ignore the news of death and destruction that continues to arrive from Ukraine. And so the Pope himself openly questioned at the beginning of his message to the world: can we really believe that Jesus is risen "that he has truly conquered death. Is this an illusion? A figment of our imagination?" Pope Francis recalls the "incredulous looks of the disciples" before Jesus, the Crucified One who is risen: "He stands in the midst of those who mourned him, locked behind closed doors and full of fear and anguish. to say "Peace be with you". "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing. We struggle to believe that Jesus is truly risen, that he has truly triumphed over death." "No, it is not an illusion". For the announcement of this Easter he chose the words so dear to the Christian East: "Christ is risen! He is truly risen!". "ToToday, more than ever, we need him, at the end of a Lent that has seemed endless". He recalled the two years of the pandemic with its heavy marks: "It was time to come out of the tunnel together," he commented bitterly, "It was time to come out of the tunnel together, hand in hand, pooling our strengths and resources... Instead, we are showing that we still have within us the spirit of Cain, who saw Abel not as a brother, but as a rival, and thought about how to eliminate him. This is why "we need the Risen Crucified One to believe in the victory of love, to hope for reconciliation". Jesus announces peace to us - continues Francis - by bringing "our wounds. His wounds are indeed ours, for two reasons. They are ours because we inflicted them upon him by our sins, by our hardness of heart, by our fratricidal hatred. They are also ours because he bore them for our sake; he did not cancel them from his glorified body; he chose to keep them, to bear them forever. They are the indelible seal of his love for us, a perennial act of intercession, so that the heavenly Father, in seeing them, will have mercy upon us and upon the whole world. The wounds on the body of the risen Jesus are the sign of the battle he fought and won for us, won with the weapons of love, so that we might have peace and remain in peace". And so it is up to us to let this peace enter "into our lives, into our homes, into our countries". "Let there be peace for the tormented Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it has been dragged. Let peace be chosen. Let us stop flexing our muscles while people are suffering. Please, let us not become accustomed to war, let us all commit ourselves to clamouring for peace, from the balconies and in the streets. Let those in charge of nations listen to the people's cry for peace. He quoted, repeating twice, the question written in 1955 by Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell in their manifesto against nuclear war: "Will we put an end to mankind, or will mankind renounce war?". "I hold in my heart ," the pontiff added, "all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground. I see the faces of the orphaned children fleeing from the war. As we look at them, we cannot help but hear their cry of pain, along with that of all those other children who suffer throughout our world: those dying of hunger or lack of medical care, those who are victims of abuse and violence, and those denied the right to be born". He praised the many families and communities that are welcoming refugees from Ukraine and hoped that 'these numerous acts of charity will become a blessing for our societies, sometimes degraded by so much selfishness and individualism, and help make them welcoming to all'. The conflict in the heart of Europe is not the only one that is staining the world with blood. Pope Francis once again invokes peace for Jerusalem and for those who love it "Christians, Jews and Muslims": "Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. May Israelis, Palestinians and all who dwell in the Holy City, together with the pilgrims, experience the beauty of peace, dwell in fraternity and enjoy free access to the Holy Places in mutual respect for the rights of each". "But - he recalls - how thirsty for peace and reconciliation the peoples of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Christian communities throughout the Middle East are." He invoked it for Libya and for Yemen "which is suffering from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims: may the truce signed in recent days restore hope to the population". "We ask the risen Lord for the gift of reconciliation for Myanmar, where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence persists, and for Afghanistan, where dangerous social tensions are not easing and a tragic humanitarian crisis is bringing great suffering to its people". And then Africa: "stop the exploitation of which it is a victim, the haemorrhaging brought about by terrorist attacks, particularly in the Sahel area", the crisis in Ethiopia, the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Not forgetting Latin America, where the pandemic has worsened social conditions, "exacerbated by crime, corruption and drug trafficking", and the path to reconciliation with Canada's indigenous peoples. Francis concludes, "Faced with the continuing signs of war, as well as the many painful setbacks to life, Jesus Christ, the victor over sin, fear and death, exhorts us not to surrender to evil and violence. May we be won over by the peace of Christ! Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyones primary responsibility! ". This one's definitely a project, but it's a runner. And if we are to believe the odometer, it's been driven for 56,000 miles (90,123 km), which isn't a lot for a motorhome that's 53 years old as of 2022.While it's no match for modern campers, the Travco was a big deal when it debuted back in 1964. Mostly because it was one of the most aerodynamic motorhomes available at the time. And here's an interesting fact: the Travco originally emerged as a 1961 model called the Dodge Frank Motor Home. Its designer, Ray Frank, is the guy who coined the term "motorhome" and went on to develop Xplorer Motorhomes.Unlike the latter, which was a small, Class B RV built on a van chassis, the Travco was a Class A hauler. But they had one thing in common, as both were built on Dodge chassis. In fact, the Travco was marketed with the help of the Chrysler Corporation, which supplied the Dodge M-series chassis. The latter was also used by Winnebago , yet another famous motorhome builder from the era.Back to the 1969 Travco in question, it needs a new home because the current owner does not have the time and finances to handle a rebuild. Purchased in 2021, it's now waiting for a second chance in a covered storage facility. But even though it needs TLC to shine again, the motorhome appears to be in solid condition, with no rust issues or noticeable dents in the body.The paint seems to be in great shape as well, which suggests that this camper may have been repainted at some point. Either way, it's finished in a fetching light blue livery with a white roof and matching stripe in the center.The interior has seen better days, but it looks usable and should come back to life with a mild restoration. And it still includes everything you need for a long vacation off the grid, such as a refrigerator, stove, sink, and a bed that provides room for two people. It also comes with a relatively new RV deep-cycle battery and an old-school generator that needs attention.So does the V8 engine, which appears to be the motorhome's original Dode 318-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) gas mill. But unlike the generator, the V8 still runs. And overall, the whole thing looks like a fun project to work on. Assuming you have the time and the finances, of course.If this Dodge Travco is a motorhome you could see yourself spending time in, it's available via Facebook Marketplace as we speak. The seller wants $8,000 for it, but he's also accepting offers. The RV is located in Eagle Point, Oregon. The Mountain View-based search giant claims there are over 150 million cars running Android Auto , and the number is probably even higher considering some older vehicles have been fitted with aftermarket head units.But at the same time, drivers dont specifically need Android Auto to enjoy Android behind the wheel. The mobile phone itself can double as a great driving companion, as it can pair with the Bluetooth system in the car, run navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze , and allow the driver to interact with apps using voice commands.Given Samsung is currently the worlds number one phone maker, most people obviously expect the experience with its devices to be as flawless as possible. And when the companys flagship, most expensive, and newest device is involved, theres no room for mistakes.Unfortunately, the experience with Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra leaves a lot to be desired. And people who paid more than $1,000 on this device (the top configuration with 1TB of storage is priced at $1,499 in the U.S.) are complaining pretty much all over the web that their high-end phone sometimes becomes useless in the car.First and foremost, its the Android Auto support.Like any other Android device, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with Android Auto pre-loaded (the app is now offered at the OS level on new-generation Android smartphones), so simply plugging it into a compatible head unit should be enough to launch the app.It sounds straightforward on paper, but in reality, the whole thing is a huge mess.Users have been complaining of Android Auto connection issues ever since the launch of the device back in February. And unfortunately, neither Google nor Samsung figured out a way to fix the problems, with users still struggling to find a method to get Android Auto up and running in their cars.More often than not, Android Auto just fails to launch on a Galaxy S22 Ultra, while others claim the app just randomly disconnects as if it encountered a connection issue. Whats even worse is that older and cheaper Samsung phones work absolutely flawlessly in the same car, with the same head unit, and with the same cable.In other words, the Galaxy S22 Ultra seems to be the culprit this time, and the more time passes, the more obvious it becomes that fixing Android Auto on this super-expensive Android device is something thats a huge challenge even for Samsung and Google.And then, there's the experience on Bluetooth.As said, not all cars come with Android Auto support, so users rely on a much simpler setup. Phones are paired to their vehicles audio systems via Bluetooth, while apps, be they navigation tools, music streaming solutions, or anything else run on the mobile screen.Not even this simplified approach works properly with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, as the audio sometimes cuts out for absolutely no reason. Others say the connection is lost completely, while some claim theyre getting vague errors like the app has stopped working.Some of the luckiest Samsung customers discovered a fix that comes down to toggling the airplane mode of a Bluetooth smartwatch on and off, but on the other hand, not everybody struggling with these problems has a wearable device.This seems to suggest the Galaxy S22 Ultras Bluetooth support is the one that needs to be fixed, but again, Samsung has so far offered no confirmation that at least its investigating the reports.There are complaints pretty much everywhere you look online (there are plenty of posts here on Googles forums and here on Samsungs community boards), but officially, no fix seems to be on the radar.Unfortunately, customer support services arent exactly helpful and sometimes cause even more frustration in the Galaxy S22 Ultra customer base. A long thread on Samsungs forums has recently been locked, with users told to submit feedback via the Samsung Members app.As if this wasnt upsetting enough, the thread has been marked as solved even if, obviously, its not. Since the beginning of March, both the EU and the U.S. have been seizing property from Russian oligarchs with close ties with leader Vladimir Putin. And they have seized a lot of yachts, including the worlds largest, Dilbar , and more.In response, many Russian billionaires have been trying hard to get their yachts and superyachts away from Europe or U.S., most of them moving them into Turkish waters. For example, Roman Abramovich s megayachts, Solaris and Eclipse, are currently in Turkish waters.And now Oleg Deripaska seems to follow the same path for a yacht linked to him, the 78-m Clio. The billionaire also received sanctions from the U.S., EU, and Britain.According to a Reuters witness, the 73-meter (287 ft) yacht Clio arrived off the coast of Gocek in the Aegean coastal provide of Mugla on Saturday, April 16. The yacht, which bears a Cayman Islands flag, is currently in a bay off Gocek.The vessel was built in 2004 by Lurssen, with design from Espen Oeino for the exterior, and Donald Starkey for its interior. It's powered by two MTU engines that take it to a top speed of 18 knots (21 mph/ 33 kph) and a cruise speed of 16 knots (18 mph/ 30 kph). The yacht has a range of 5,000 nautical miles (5,754 mi/ 9,260 kph).The luxury yacht has enough space for 18 guests in nine cabins, with a crew of 21 members. According to SuperYachtFan , it's value is estimated at $65 million.Besides the main yacht, it also comes with a shadow vessel called Sputnik, which has a crew of 26. Yacht Clio used to bear the name of Queen K, but, despite the name change, there was no change in owners. EV ICE With people discovering the many benefits of EVs and them becoming ever so popular, its a tiny bit surprising to see a luxury automaker executive thats not excited about abandoning the internal combustion engine. Drivers are starting to enjoy the instant torque, the silence, and the ease their cars operate with. Also, just charging them at home will save you a lot of money.But Marek Reichman says EVs are nothing but a necessary craze. He sees all-electric cars as an obligatory step forward to something even better than this. According to an interview quoted by Motorious on MSN , the executive believes hydrogen and biofuels are the future.Thats not all. The man also believes that the search for a new way of powering cars without harmful emissions will spark a Golden Age of automotive design thatll change how we view passenger vehicles and trucks.He also underlines that charging antakes too much right now. Reichman considers everything over five minutes to be too long.Still, you and I cannot disagree with Aston Martin s CCO. Hes got a point and hes not alone in thinking like this. Plus, lets not forget hes been with the British marque since 2005. Mazda Europe said last year that forcing carmakers to switch entirely to EVs might translate into expensive cars, while also destroying the secondhand market in developed nations. The immediate effect would be pollution moving from countries in the West to those in the East.Porsche shares the same vision, even though theyre working on bringing a better Taycan and an all-electric Macan soon. The Stuttgart-based automaker is also trying to make eFuels a reality.Mercedes-Benz, even though is pushing to create better battery-electric cars and vans, is already exploring hydrogen as a better alternative tovehicles. The German carmaker is already involved in a lot of deals that bring this type of fuel to Germany mainly for its trucks, and BMW is following suit as well with its iX5. These cars are known as fuel-cell vehicles (FCEVs). Toyota already has one that reached its second generation the Mirai.Last year, Aston Martins Chief Executive Officer (CEO) told us the company is seriously preparing to have EVs account for half of its total sales until the end of the decade. Its a pretty way of saying we dont have that many cars in our portfolio, so were just going to electrify some of them hoping our customers wont ditch us. While admirable, this doesnt fit very well with UKs agenda to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine cars and vans starting on the 1st of January 2030. The automaker will have to comply or find other markets that still allow for new sales of V8 and V12-powered vehicles from 2030. Lets also not forget that from 2035, all UK cars will have to be zero-emission vehicles.With the 2023 V12 Vantage coming soon as a swan song for the majestic 12-cylinder engine, it's clear Aston Martin is getting ready to abide by the upcoming rules. But we still have to wait and see which of its cars are going to be all-electric. Or will the luxury automaker switch to something else before 2030 comes? We'll have to wait for a clear answer. Speculation won't help much.It's a brave new world well have to face very soon, but it might not bode very well with people that arent ready to splurge over $60,000 or $70,000 on a new car. Will we really own nothing, and be happy?Plus, we have to consider that not every country has a great auto industry like the U.S., Germany, China, India, France, or the UK. Different economic climates mean different solutions. The world won't just switch over to EVs because they're cool in the G20 member countries, or because a company like Tesla will bring a 2+2 roadster that reaches 62 mph (100 kph) in under two seconds.But, at the end of the day, legacy carmakers like Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and even Lamborghini have the best shot at bringing some form of a new powertrain to the table. Look at them like youre watching the testing of various technologies in F1. The discoveries are expensive at first, but give it enough time and youll find some similar tech on cars. The expanded use of carbon fiber in the auto industry is one example, better aerodynamics is another. These famous car brands can impress us all while sharing their discoveries with the group their part of.The future sure sounds exciting, if well manage to get over the chip and supply chain crises. Based on feedback received, we will drop mobile connector price to $200 & make it easy to order with car. Note, mobile connector is not needed if you have a Tesla wall connector or to use Superchargers. Recommend installing Tesla wall connector well before car arrives. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2022 At first, Twitter users announced that Teslas mobile connector was not included as standard anymore. The accessory was priced separately at $400, a move that surprised many. The company and Elon Musk himself said the usage statistics were super low, so they deemed offering this product for free to be wasteful. Unfortunately for this random fact shared on Twitter, a Teslascope analysis backed by real data revealed that almost 60% of Tesla owners use the connectors.What Elon Musk didnt know or probably didnt want to admit is that, following the social media uproar, the price decreased to $275.After the mobile connector got a very fast discount, Teslas CEO came and said the new price would be $200. Musk also confirmed itll be easier again to add it with new orders for one of the carmakers vehicles.Still, many chose to express their dissatisfaction with the American automakers move.Did Elon reduce the price of the car by $400 today? If not, he is a hypocrite. I guess he got used to this lately. I cant believe I used to promote this mans company at a time when it was about to get bankrupt, said one former customer on the popular forum Reddit Another person pointed out these situations appear when people and employees refuse to tell their CEO they might be wrong. Dude always gets his way and when he doesnt, he buys the competition and relies on his super fans to defend him. The people who lose in the end are us, the consumers. How the hell am I supposed to recommend this car as a purchase now when features/necessities keep getting pulled? underlined this Tesla fan.Given the situation at hand, the news that a judge ruled Elon Musk lied about taking Tesla private got lost in the shuffle. Next month, Teslas CEO might be forced by a jury to compensate investors that lost money buying the companys stock exactly because they thought the social media star would buy back everything.The mobile connector is useful for charging at home and it is the best solution for those that only drive their car for commuting. It's been regarded as a good option because it never meant any extra costs.At the end of the day, we must remember carmakers are facing increased costs of production. Batteries need a lot of raw and expensive materials, which are not found in infinite quantities. Add the chip and supply chain crises and you get a recipe for disaster. Tesla might be looking to cut some costs and improve some profit margins, but theyll barely do it with the mobile connector not being included in the package with a new car. Its unpleasant, but its the truth.What is worrying is that Tesla doesnt publicly announce when its making changes to its products. Even the hikes for the cars were just modified by the web developer team and thats it. Everyone should follow Rivians path in this matter, and keep everything transparent. Companies that go this way might lose their customers trust. If you drive a lot, then you surely had days when the road was just not a safe place to be because the solar glare was very strong at sunrise or sunset. Add a wet road to this equation, and youll get a recipe for the perfect disaster.You can try and use glasses, sun visors, or just squint your eyes, but there are moments when it is genuinely hard to properly see the road. Ford wants to help you with this by giving you improved augmented reality in a future car of the Michigan-based manufacturer.While Mercedes-Benz made all the headlines with its AR navigation that now is slowly making its way onto more luxury or premium cars, the technology is widely known since it was used in mobile games. Remember Pokemon Go?According to a recently disclosed United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ) filing, Ford has another use for AR. The automaker plans on installing this system in a car equipped with a head-up display (HUD). The company calls it User-centric Enhanced Pathway, or UEP for short.This invention may provide vehicle pathway guidance () in the event of a sun glare. Read the wording carefully, and youll see Ford is not yet ready to assume responsibility for this tech working as envisioned on every occasion. Don't get your hopes up just yet.Fords new patented AR system will make use of the HUD, cameras, GPS, and radars to project on the windscreen the path that must be followed by the driver. Its essentially giving you another set of eyes. Furthermore, it will be able to adjust settings like brightness, contrast, and color on its own to make sure the person behind the wheel sees what information is being shown to them.The AR system will also know when it must activate on its own based on data like the drivers eye squint status, the speed, the location, or what the weather is like at a certain moment within the day.This technology is not limited to cars or trucks, as Ford is looking to install it even in vans or buses. You can find a lot more specific details about this new AR system in the USPTO filing attached down below.You ought to keep in mind that patents arent necessarily a guarantee of production. The American carmaker just wants to make sure its invention is protected by the law. Given the current climate of things and what the future prognosis says about getting back to normal, its hard to imagine Ford going all-in with this anytime soon. For now, its good that they at least have it. kW CEO Stephan Winkelmann has made it clear that as of 2023, the company will only introduce vehicles with electrical assistance, and that includes the successor of the Aventador. Nonetheless, with some eight months left until New Years Eve, there is enough time to present more exciting products that do not have anything in common with the electric cloud hovering above the automotive industry.And they will, because Lamborghini has already confirmed two versions of the Urus for 2022. One of them will obviously be normal facelifted model, whereas the other could be the track-focused EVO . The companys super crossover lineup should eventually grow to include a plug-in hybrid too, though that one will likely debut next year.A new variant of their V10-powered supercar, the Huracan Tecnica, was just introduced, with rear-wheel steering, carbon-ceramic brakes, enhanced aerodynamics, and power on par with the EVO. And they wont stop here, because another Huracan will officially premiere before the end of the year, and it will be the most extreme take on the model yet. Previewed by the 2019 Huracan Sterrato Concept , it may or may not retain that moniker, but thats not important. What truly matters is that it will actually be able to venture off the beaten path every now and then.Call it a rally-bred supercar if you may, as in theory, that is what it is (or it will be). Sporting more inches between its belly and the road than any rear mid-engine model ever made by Lamborghini, it will also have different front and rear bumpers. The fat tires, hugging the new alloys, will spin inside the wheel arches, which should get black plastic protection, just like the side skirts. Skid plates could be a thing here, and Lamborghini will top it off with roof rails. We are also keeping our fingers crossed for an LED light bar that would elevate the visual drama.Sturdier upholstery should be wrapped around the seats inside, and it might get rubber floor mats straight from the factory. In all likelihood, enthusiasts should expect at least one additional driving mode over the regular Huracans , aimed at making it feistier once the paved road ends, and perhaps new submenus in the infotainment system.Naturally, the whole experience will be sprinkled with the usual V10 noises. Lamborghini is understood to give it the same amount of power as the Huracan EVO , where the 5.2-liter unit, which does not feature any forced induction, kicks out 631 hp (640 ps / 470) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque. A dual-clutch seven-speed automatic transmission is responsible for channeling the thrust to the all-wheel drive system with mechanical self-locking differential in the EVO, which does the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) in 2.9 seconds, and tops out at 202 mph (325 kph).Undoubtedly a future collectible, the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato , if that is indeed its real name, should be one of the most exciting products ever launched by the Italian car firm. It definitely has our attention, as were dying to see it, and find out what it is capable of. As far as Im concerned, it is the hottest new car of the year, and the only thing that can come close to offering the same thrills is Porsches upcoming 911 Dakar (name unconfirmed). Rapper Fabolous is a huge fan of Rolls-Royces, and he seems to own at least several, including two Cullinans. One of his favorite ways to show them off on social media is by matching his looks with them , and he never fails to show off his style.Not long ago, the rapper went on social media to blast a delivery driver for stealing from his Cullinan . Now, the rapper seems to find himself in a different situation.The man was in the drivers seat of one of his Rolls-Royces, giving an interview with Jim Jones. The two were discussing whether Fabolous has something up his sleeve and if hell release new music soon.But, to his surprise, an officer pulled up to him, leaving him stunned. The police officer explained that someone called and claimed that "there were no plates" on the rappers car. After the officer asked why he was sitting in his car in that area and asked if he has a witness, the New York native clarified, "I was just pulled over to do this interview on the phone."Jones asked him if a police officer really came up to him, to which Fabolous replied, "Yeah, police pulled up on me."Not long after, Fabolous ended the interview, but Jones had something else to add. "That's kinda wild, um, he was sitting in a Rolls Royce. How is police hating on that man?" he wondered. "This is crazy."So far, Fabolous hasnt addressed the incident. Knowing that, the space industry is scrambling to find alternatives, and continue human presence in orbit. By space industry, we mostly mean the U.S., which has the largest concentration of space startups anywhere on the planet.No less than three projects are being backed by NASA through official agreements and funding: the Blue Origin-Sierra Space Orbital Reef, the Lockheed Martin-Nanoracks Starlab, and an unnamed Northrop Grumman idea. Another company, Axiom, is also working on a space station concept.As most of you already know, the ISS is an international venture, being operated by the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. With the exception of Russia, which is planning its own station, ROSS, the others will be pretty much left out if they do nothing.The European Space agency doesnt like that, and would like to be a continued presence in low-Earth orbit even after the ISS is gone . To that end, its thinking of something called SciHab, which stands for Science and Habitation.SciHab, first proposed as part of the agencys Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy roadmap, presented at the end of last year, is envisioned as a station that could piggyback on the upcoming American ones, or even on the ISS itself.Like any other station before it, it will comprise a next generation advanced laboratory & habitation module, but possibly even other ones. The lab part should accommodate experiment hardware of various sizes and purposes, including the provision of resources, with capabilities at least on par with Columbus, ESAs single largest contribution to the ISS. Launched in 2008, Columbus has an outside diameter of 4.5 meters (almost 15 feet), and can support a crew of three.The habitation module is the one that will have the environmental control and life support systems, communications, sleep stations, galley, toilet, exercise devices, and stowage.The thing is envisioned as having an open architecture, meaning hardware made by different players in the industry could easily be accommodated, and, more importantly, modules could be added later on depending on needs.ESA thinks of this as a very important station. It could complement the upcoming Gateway NASA is planning to float in orbit around the Moon, and could even support the lunar surface colony were bound to set up in the mid-term future.Moreover, there are ideas being thrown around about SciHab having in-space manufacturing capabilities, including on-orbit assembly, and even transit technologies meant to help people head for Mars.There are four ways of giving birth to this station, envisioned by the people behind the SciHab idea, most of which depend or are inspired by what others are doing. First, it could be implemented as temporary appendix of the ISS, kind of like what Axiom is doing, building its station on ISS forward docking port and planning to float free of it sometime in the future.Then, it could be created in cooperation with Orbital Reef or Starlab, potentially with an added contribution of a resource module as well as functions like attitude and orbit control. Third, it could even be built as part of the ISS, helping it stay afloat past the 2031 deadline.The way that could truly make SciHab a standalone, ESA-made space station involves building it from the ground up, including with help from international partners, and operating it just like the ISS.The Europeans are planning to settle on one of the four ways in time for SciHab to be built while the ISS is still in orbit, so that a gap in LEO services is avoided.SciHab was at Request for Information status, open to private sector entities based in ESA Member States, until January 28, 2022, with a deadline for submitting the executive summary March 31. At the time of writing, there is no info available on how many companies expressed interest. Just look at it. This isn't your average grocery-getter. You would never drive this up to Ikea to get your fix of meatballs. And your mom wouldn't even think of driving it, at least if her name wasn't Shirley Muldowney.You don't have to be an expert to tell that this abomination was built to go fast: the huge scoop on the hood, the huge Mickey Thompson tires, the rear wing, the wheelie bar, and the chute all point in the same direction. This 780 fits into Dominic Toretto 's philosophy: "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time, and for those 10 seconds or less, I'm free".There isn't much Volvo left inside this thing, and that becomes even more obvious once you look under the hood. The biggest unit ever fitted by the Swedes under the hood of the 780 was a 2.8-liter V6. But you can't do 10-second passes with that around.And building it up to spec will most likely be unreasonably expensive. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, if you're going to build a car for drag-racing , American Muscle is what you need. Right now, this 780 is equipped with a Chevrolet 522 ci (8.55-liters) V8 engine.The seller hasn't provided a dyno sheet for this vehicle, but one can assume, judging by the NHRA Chassis Certification, that this car can probably do sub-9-second runs all day long. The engine is paired to a 10-clutch Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission and it seems that the last NHRA inspection was performed in June of 2019.Reportedly, this Volvo 780 hasn't raced since then, and you can't help but wonder why that is. It's not like you can go around the neighborhood for a test drive in this thing, at least not without waking everyone up and getting pulled over in an instant.The good part about buying a car like this is that you can skip all the hard work and just go out and have fun with it. But you should always be cautious when buying someone else's project vehicle, as it may have hidden flaws that won't pop up until you hit the drag strip.The car is currently located in Staten Island, New York and you've got 5 more days to bid on it. The highest bid at this time is $4,000 , which either means no one is keen on getting a project car these days, or that everyone is waiting for the last possible moment so that they can get it as cheap as possible. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares made it into the French presidential election. He didnt intend to do so, but the incumbent Emmanuel Macron said he is paid too much by the auto giant. Heres what the politicians want to do in this regard. 6 photos Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Wind increasing. Lots of sunshine. High 67F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 39F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.